Archive for October 2016 - Page 6

G&L has combined one of their flagship models with one of their flagship pickups to create the Kiloton bass. The Kiloton features the body of their SB-2 fitted with a Magnetic Field Design bass humbucker for an instrument they say has “explosive power.” Besides volume and tone knobs, its pickup is controlled with a 3-way mini-switch to toggle between series,...

Timothy Perkins sent us this cool video for “The Lonely Man Theme”, and it’s impressive. The bassist brings it all to the table for the high and lonesome melody, including his five-string, his double bass, and a fretless. The playing is fantastic and the song itself will get stuck in your head.

Drummer Virgil Donati’s The Dawn of Time features not one, but two bassists. The recording, which is orchestral, yet drum-centered, includes the work of bassists Jimmy Johnson and Hadrien Feraud. “The bass and drums are the impetus behind this music, with the orchestra arousing emotions, taking the listener on a transcendent journey,” according to Donati’s website. The Dawn of Time...

Effects pedal company Iron Ether Electronics has announced the Divaricator, a crossover and exciter pedal for bass that they call a “tone toolbox” for bassists. The pedal, which also includes an effects loop, splits your signal up to process it. “Using its 4th-order variable crossover, the pedal splits a signal into high and low frequency bands, and processes the high...

When it comes to picking out a bass player to know, I always try to look beyond the scope of my own musical knowledge. Frankly, it’s the best way to learn and discover new things and my hope is that you, the reader, look at this column series as a way to do the same. By enlisting the help of...

Young Pandas are back with a new video from sessions they did last year. Bassist Kyle Nagel shared this one, with the back story: “This one even has a little bass feature in it about halfway through. I’m once again playing my Lakland Hollowbody with flats and Bartolini pickups. We also took a cue from D’Angelo and added some big...

A March 2007 show plucked from an Eric Clapton world tour captures the guitarist and his band at their height. Their performance is now available as Live in San Diego (with Special Guest JJ Cale). With Willie Weeks (Donnie Hathaway, George Harrison, David Bowie, Randy Newman) on bass, Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall II on guitars, Chris Stainton and Tim...

Source Audio has introduced the Soleman MIDI Foot Controller, a device they call a highly configurable hardware and software MIDI controller packaged in a sleek, durable housing. The pedal is fitted with two 5-pin MIDI DIN outputs, a USB port, four programmable footswitches, an expression input, a tap tempo switch and a high-contrast LCD display. It also has complementary editing...

Blackberry Smoke is often hailed as the triumphant return of true Southern Rock, and maybe rightfully so. The five-piece, Atlanta-based band brings all the right flavors with authenticity and a penchant for writing memorable hooks, but they aren’t pigeonholed into one style. They have wide influences that seem to inform their powerful songs in unique ways. That idea is especially...

I’m a big Gregory Porter fan, so I was excited to hear he has a new coming out in November. The jazz vocalist is once again joined by bassist Jahmal Nichols, who plays beautifully crafted lines to perfection. This clip of “Holding On” is a great example with the bassist sitting just right in the pocket for most of the...

Eagles and Poco bassist and vocalist Timothy B. Schmit has released the solo album, Leap of Faith. The record, recorded at his Los Angeles studio, mixes rock, country, Americana and R&B, was written as the Eagles toured. It also features a host of guests, including vibraphone from jazz player Gary Burton, and some other famous players, on the song, “Red...

Here’s a great way to spend your evening (or afternoon, or morning): browsing through the top 10 most watched bass videos for the month. Thanks as always for watching, commenting and sharing. 1. Octavision: Three Lives Victor Wooten made an appearance with the progressive metal band, Octavision on their single, “Three Lives”. If you’ve ever wondered what Vic would sound...