Archive for 2015 - Page 100

One of the major highlights for me at the 2015 NAMM Show was finally getting the chance to meet the great Alphonso Johnson. Alphonso deserves way more credit than I think he gets – in my opinion and many others. Going back through the wealth of music he’s been a part of just offers up more proof, including this 1975...

TC Electronic took the opportunity at the Winter NAMM Show to unveil the new K-Series of bass cabinets. Following in the footsteps of the company’s RS and BC cabinets, the K-Series models are designed to be lightweight with vertical stacking ability. The lineup includes the K210, the K212, and the K410. Each is constructed with a durable plywood cabinet loaded...

We’re wrapping up the annual Winter NAMM trip, heading home with stacks of notes and photos of all the bass goodness from the show. Our coverage began last week – with many of them making the top 10. But we also featured some killer videos – from Thundercat, Alex Webster, and St. Paul and the Broken Bones. That, plus Damian...

Marcus Miller has a new line of signature instruments with Sire Guitars. The series is based on two models – the J-bass inspired V7 and the modern-styled M3 – and aims to create quality instruments at low prices.

Scott Varney has a knack of writing and performing tunes with a great, chill vibe. The talented bassist recently decided to submit a performance of one of his recent songs to NPR for their “Tiny Desk” series. “The only rules were you needed to record an original song at a desk (any desk),” Scott told us. “The weather has been...

Good things can be found on dusty old cassette tapes — like live music made by three jazz legends playing as a trio. Swingin on the Korner: Live at Keystone Korner by the Red Garland Trio with Philly Joe Jones and Leroy Vinnegar offers more than 150 minutes of previously unreleased Garland music. The tracks for the album were pulled...

Aguilar unveiled a new pedal at this year’s NAMM Show this year called the Fuzzistor. The bass fuzz pedal features a classic silicone transistor distortion circuit for a retro, fuzzy ’70s tone. The Fuzzistor allows for dialing in your tone with Level, Blend, Tone, and Fuzz controls. Aguilar says the Fuzz control ranges from “subtle to crushing,” while the Blend...

I’ve run into bassist Or Lubianiker a few times during the NAMM Show and Bass Bash. He’s always been one of our favorite bass players around here, now he’s one of our favorite humans. Or just shared the latest from Project RnL – an ambitious band with a ton of talent. This is “Twisted Truth”, which takes many forms throughout...

Every now and then, the car radio takes me by surprise. A station spins just the right song to pique my insatiable curiosity as I sit in traffic, easing the pain of running late by distracting me with a sing-along. An Elton John song is no anomaly when it comes to commercial radio, and for good reason… a tune like...

Brazilian fusion trio No-Metric is back at it with a new video for their song “Risk Factor.” Anchored by bassist Fernando Molinari, the song keeps you on edge with a mix of heavy riffs and ear bending harmonies. Molinari takes a ridiculous solo starting at the 2:04 mark with some insane tapping and lightning fast licks.

Orange Amplifiers has announced the OB1 Series of class A/B rack mountable bass amplifiers. The amps are based on recent bi-amping trends, the company says. “For years bassists have been combining guitar and bass amps to remarkable effect, adding harmonics and layers of overdrive from a guitar amp to their core bass tone in pursuit of the ultimate live sound,”...

Every once in a while a product comes along that totally reimagines a piece of gear that most of us take for granted. In the world of gig bags, that product is the Gruv Gear GigBlade. The main idea behind the GigBlade is economy of space and weight distribution. Most gig bags have backpack straps for carrying on your back,...