Archive for March 2018 - Page 2

Yes will be back on the road in 2018 to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The legendary prog-rock outfit, which was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame last year, will feature the lineup of Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, Jon Davison, and bassist Billy Sherwood. Sherwood, of course, was personally chosen by founding bassist and bandleader Chris...

Renowned bass educator Anthony Wellington has announced Bassology At Sea, a six-day cruise that will be both a vacation and an education. The cruise will depart from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida on November 10th and return November 15th. “This camp will be open to all electric bassists. It’ll also be open to other musicians who want to learn more about music...

Warwick has expanded their Alien Bass series of acoustic bass guitars with a new thinner model aimed at the touring musician. The Warwick RockBass Alien Deluxe Thinline Hybrid will be available as a 4-string or 5-string in both fretted and fretless versions. “[The bass was] designed to be thinner for more ergonomic comfort,” Warwick’s Marcus Spangler writes. “When listening to...

When I was in college, one of my best friends turned me onto the composer Philip Glass and I was hooked. His minimalist style entranced me with its use of repeated themes and overlapping rhythms. It seemed mind-bending to be performed on the piano, which is why my jaw hit the floor when John Ferrara sent me this video. The...

The amazing bass playing of Hadrien Feraud is featured on the debut album from Spirit Fingers, a jazz supergroup led by pianist Greg Spero and filled out by drummer Mike Mitchell and guitarist Dario Chiazzolino. The band’s unique and intense sound is forged by Feraud’s bass. “Hadrien’s technical and harmonic capabilities are beyond any other living bass player that I...

Dwarfcraft Devices has expanded their line of modulation pedals with the Ghost Fax Phase Computer. They call it “a digital powerhouse that adds exciting new abilities along with the tried and true phaser effects.” The Ghost Fax has four modes – Standard, Manual, Envelope Up and Envelope Down – with three knobs to control the phase sounds: Action, Feedback, and...

This week we’re checking out the Singulus by Ash Instruments. Russian luthier Andrey Shevchenko made the bass with a 30-year old pine body capped with a beautiful slab of poplar burl in a “Flying Blue” frosted transparent finish. The five-string bass’s three-piece padauk neck is also topped with padauk for its fingerboard, which holds 24 frets. For electronics, Shevchenko opted...

Double bassist Petros Klampanis is back with another groove with a view. “Pes Mou Mia Lexi” is the third video in his Rooftop Story series. This time he’s above the bustling streets of Havana, Cuba. “I have always been fascinated by the music and culture of this part of the world. The way that Western and African civilizations merge in...

Bass master Victor Wooten has announced the Fun & Funk Xplosion tour. The outing promises to be a good time as Wooten will be joined by his brother Regi on guitar, his brother Roy (aka Future Man) on percussion, saxophonist Bob Franceschini, and comedy legend Sinbad. The comedian is also an avid funk lover and musician. The tour will kick...

Warwick’s Rockboard has revamped their pedalboard series for 2018. The Rockboard Duo 2.1, Tres 3.1, Quad 4.1, and Quad 4.2 offer different sizes with power supply mounting options. “Setting out to create a pedalboard that is lightweight, rigid and rugged, allowing for the use of a multitude of pedals as well as power supply mounting solutions unique to this ingenious...

Italy’s GRBass has announced the ONE head series of bass amplifiers. The compact units come in three models based on their wattage: 350W, 800W, and 1400W. Each amp has a four-band EQ with three-way frequency switches for the low mid and high midranges. They also have deep and bright filters as well as the company’s “Pure Sound” mode, which bypasses...

The duo of bassist Jonathan Joly and vocalist/typewritist Leah Gracie, aka What a Day, are back with a new cover video. This time they tackle Françoise Hardy’s “Le Temps de l’Amour”. Joly sets the song up by alternating registers to offer a bass line and intro melody before Gracie’s beautiful vocals enter. The bassist then adds his bow to expand...