Archive for 2016 - Page 107
Tanya O’Callaghan and Carolyn Cahill: Reason
During the 2016 Winter NAMM Show, my friend Steve Lawson introduced me to bassist Tanya O’Callaghan, and I’m glad he did. Tanya sent me a few of her videos, and we plan to feature them all over time. This one is from Tanya’s “Gold Blend,” a bi-monthly web series featuring different known and unknown Irish artists jamming together at different...
Megadeth Releases “Dystopia”
Megadeth, one of the “big four” bands of thrash metal (along with Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer) has released its 15th studio album, Dystopia. The album started coming together in an unusual way, as the band was between guitarists and drummers. “It was an interesting process. I don’t know of any other record that started with recording the bass to a...
Ernie Ball Music Man Unveils 40th Anniversary “Old Smoothie” StingRay Bass
Ernie Ball Music Man kicked off the NAMM Show this year with a press conference to reveal new products, including the 40th Anniversary “Old Smoothie” StingRay Bass. The bass is modeled after a 1976 prototype featuring a 10 pole piece pickup design that gives it a smooth tone. “Since its introduction in 1976, the Music Man StingRay bass has been...
Bass Players To Know: Wilbur Bascomb, Jr.
“Come Dancing”, “Play With Me”, “Led Boots”… these were some of the funkiest songs I had ever heard! It was 2005 and a bass player friend had just turned me on to Jeff Beck’s Wired. The groovy keyboard parts, punchy bass lines, and space-age sounds of Beck hooked me like a fish. It was a magical time; strolling down the...
Craig Butterfield and Jesse Jones: Pisces
The amazing Craig Butterfield is back with another jaw-dropping video. He’s once again teamed up with mandolinist Jesse Jones for an upcoming album, entitled Pisces. Here’s the duo tearing through the title track, with Butterfield burning up the fingerboard. The bassist gets creative during the breakdown with a pizzicato line punctuated by hand percussion on the bass’s body.
Jazz Great Gary Peacock Records As Part of a Duo on “53rd Street”
Gary Peacock, the legendary jazz double bassist known for his numerous collaborations, including his work within a trio featuring pianist Keith Jarrett and drummer Jack DeJohnette, has added another collaborator to his list: Robert Kaddouch. Kaddouch is a French jazz researcher interested in the dynamics of duos. Peacock and Kaddouch encountered each other in a recording studio in July 2015...
Peavey Reintroduces the Cirrus Bass
Nineteen years after it debuted, Peavey reintroduced the Cirrus bass to their instrument lineup at the 2016 Winter NAMM Show. The neck-thru design will once again be available in four-, five-, and six-string models featuring a 35-inch scale maple and mahogany neck. Its alder body wings will be topped by either red oak or walnut. Similar to the previous versions,...
Choosing the Right Bass Strings
Q: I’m making a custom 5 stringer tuned from E to C. It’s a 34 inch scale and the string spacing are 18mm. What strings are recommended, and what gauge are preferred to get both tighter E and a great high C? I’m used to nickel medium gauge. My luthier promised me it wouldn’t have a floppy C, but I...
Ray Riendeau: Black Or White
At first, Ray Riendeau produced a bass arrangement of Michael Jackson’s “Black Or White”. After that, he wanted to see how the vocals fit with it. He said after only a few edits, it all came together. “I’m jamming’ with the king of pop…well not really but pretty cool nonetheless,” he shared. We thought it turned out spectacular. If you...
Tortoise Returns with “The Catastrophist”
The Catastrophist is the first release from the quintet Tortoise in seven years. The band, which features Doug McCombs (Eleventh Dream Day, Brokeback) on bass, creates music that’s hard to categorize, and this time out, the primarily instrumental group called in vocalists for a cover of David Essex’s 1970s hit, “Rock On” as well as the ballad, “Yonder Blue.” Check...
Reader Spotlight: Dean Milano
Meet Dean Milano, a long-time bassist with a ton of gigs under his belt. We loved his story, and his 1966 Fender Precision gave us some serious GAS. Here’s Dean’s story… Bio: I’ve played bass at one time or another in probably 75 bands over a 50 year long career that encompasses my love of rock and roll, folk music,...
Reed James Engineering Introduces VVN NEOA5 Pickups
Reed James Engineering was at the 2016 Winter NAMM show to introduce the VVN NEOA5 set of pickups. Based on their VVN RJNEO set, the new pickups differentiate themselves by creating a relationship between the neodymium magnets and vintage Alnico 5 rod magnets. “We mated precise amounts of each magnet material to create the magnetic pull and field in order...