Archive for 2017 - Page 87
Trace Elliot Unveils ELF Micro Bass Amp
Trace Elliot is back in a big way in a tiny package. The ELF bass amplifier weighs in at just 1.6 pounds and produces 200 continuous watts RMS at 4 ohms. Its input section has three regions of operation: uncompressed, variable multiband compression, and overdrive. The three-band EQ section has the company’s proprietary filters with low center (80 Hz), mid...
Fender Unveils Limited Edition American Professional Jazz Bass
After introducing the American Professional line in December, Fender has unveiled the Limited Edition Exotic Collection. The series includes the 2017 Limited Edition American Professional Jazz Bass FMT, which combines the features of the Professional model with a figured maple top. The bass is built with an alder body, quartersawn maple neck, and rosewood fretboard. The neck has a slim...
Peekaboom & Valerio Fuiano: Hysteria
Simone Masina sent us Peekaboom’s latest video, with some exciting news. The duo of Simone and vocalist Angelica Lubian were joined by Valerio Fuiano, who added some extra sounds using GeoShred on an iPad on their cover of Muse’s “Hysteria.” It turns out this video caught some attention early on: “Jordan Rudess, among the greatest keyboard players in the world...
The Grateful Dead’s Debut Album Given 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition
The Grateful Dead celebrated the 50th anniversary of their band back in July 2015, and now they’re celebrating 50 years since their debut album with a special re-release. The Grateful Dead: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition contains a remastered version of the original album plus a bonus disc of an unreleased concert from July 29th, 1966 and select songs from July...
Ampeg Introduces Two New Bass Pedals at NAMM
Ampeg launched two new pedals at the Winter NAMM Show this year with the Classic analog bass preamp and Scrambler bass overdrive. The pedals represent either side of Ampeg’s other pedal offering, the SCR-DI, into two smaller focused pedals. The Classic pedal allows for dialing in an Ampeg tone with its three-band tone stack as well as Ultra-Lo and Ultra-Hi...
Melodic Minor vs. Diminished Scales Over Dominant Chords
Q: You know, jazz theory can be really, really confusing! I know that you can use a melodic minor a half step above a dominant chord as a substitution before resolving to the I-chord to emphasize tension notes (creating an out-sound). But, apparently, you can also use a whole-half diminished scale a half step up from the same dominant chord....
Magnus Sjöquist: Blackbird
Our good friend Magnus Sjöquist just sent his newest video with us, which was inspired by another one we shared recently. “I just saw an amazing cover of Blackbird by Jakob and Anna from Sweden on No Treble! I though I would join in an send you my solo arrangement that is bass+voice by one person) of the Beatles song!”
Juan Alderete and Halo Orbit Preview New Music
Juan Alderete has teamed up with guitarist/synth player suGar Yoshinaga and drummer Mark Guiliana for a killer new project called Halo Orbit. The trio is spread across the globe with the Alderete in Los Angeles, Guiliana in New York, and Yoshinaga in Tokyo. Their combination of influences and styles create a sound they describe as blending “futuristic rock, a volatile...
Creative Bass Lines: The Chameleon Variations
In this lesson, I’ve taken a pretty classic and fairly easy to play bass part from Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon” and given you a few examples of how to use that as a springboard for creating other bass lines around that core groove. This can be really useful when playing under multiple soloists on the same tune. It’s not always enough...
Diego Tarantino: Nuages
Diego Tarantino sent us one of his latest videos, and once again, he knocked us out. Diego took one of Django Reinhardt’s most popular tunes, “Nuages,” and turned it into an all-bass arrangement.
Tedeschi Trucks Band Announces Summer Tour with Wood Brothers, Hot Tuna
The Tedeschi Trucks Band has been going hard on the road this year, and now they’ve announced the biggest “Wheel of Soul” tour to date. The third annual summer tour will include support from The Wood Brothers and Hot Tuna, meaning bass lovers will be treated to Timothy Lefebvre (Tedeschi Trucks), Chris Wood (The Wood Brothers), and Jack Casady (Hot...
Bass of the Week: Stradi Symphony Stone Bass
A lot of times, basses with exotic burl tops look like they are made out of marble. The Stradi Symphony Stone Bass is a step in that direction. In addition to its unique singlecut body shape, this particular bass is built with a cedar body topped with a thin layer of natural stone. The result is stunning. The bass’s five-piece...