Archive for March 2018 - Page 8

Master luthier Rob Elrick is celebrating 25 years of building basses. To commemorate the anniversary, Elrick Bass Guitars has unveiled their first limited edition instrument. The Elrick 25th Anniversary Bass will be restricted to no more than 10 instruments that feature their most popular features and primary wood selections. The e-volution single-cut body is made from swamp ash with a...

Q: How do you deal with feeling overwhelmed with everything you want to/feel you should be working on? A: I’ve written a column in the past relating to how to maximize your work flow and time management. I thought that I’d take a bit of a different approach this time, although I would encourage you to read that column as...

Jerzy Six took on an ambitious project: transcribing Michael Manring’s “Sung to Sleep” and arranging it as a solo piccolo bass piece. The song was originally recorded as a piano piece for Manring’s 1988 album, A Winter’s Solstice II.

A mainstay of the rock and metal community, Marco Mendoza has been the anchor for artists like Neal Schon, Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy and currently The Dead Daisies. Now he’s released Viva La Rock, his first solo album in eight years. Described as “big, bad, and beautiful,” the album reflects Mendoza’s personality with a range of styles including rock, blues, funk,...

Dean Guitars and Black Stone Cherry bassist Jon Lawhon teamed up this year to release a signature bass. The Jon Lawhon Hillsboro Bass takes one of the company’s existing models and decks it out for the bassist’s wants and needs, including an old-school seafoam green finish. The bass is constructed with a classic configuration of an alder body with a...

A few weeks ago, Zander Zon shared his arrangement of the Elvis Presley tune, “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” That inspired him to tackle another classic: “Unchained Melody.” “My parents grew up [in the sixties], so I heard all these hits as a kid; I always wanted to arrange this one on bass and it works really well in standard...

The trio of Keith Jarrett, Gary Peacock, and Jack DeJohnette – referred to as the “Standards trio” – has been prolific in their recordings. Now a new album taken from a 1998 performance promises to be at the top of the heap. After The Fall was recorded in Newark, New Jersey following Jarrett’s two-year hiatus from the stage. “I was...

Nordstrand Audio has expanded their pickup line with a drop-in replacement to fit a Rickenbacker 4003 neck pickup. The Nordenbocker is Nordstrand’s Big Single pickup design housed in the unique pickup size. “It even uses your stock pickup screws,” the company writes. “Louder and more aggressive tones can now be found in your neck pickup to keep up with the...

I’m always floored by Tuli Basses, and builder Aron Bach made my day by sending me the details of his latest HIILYX bass. The six-string bass is the new single cut model that he revealed at the 2018 London Bass Guitar Show. Even with six strings and a single cut body, the HIILYX comes in lighter than many four-strings. “I...

I received Vulfpeck’s Mr Finish Line on vinyl recently, and I’ve been spinning it ever since. Here’s the most recent video release for the track, “Business Casual.” I love the vocals on this one, and as always, the bass playing of Joe Dart.

Are you a complete beginner or have someone interested in starting on bass? Hal Leonard has just published First 15 Lessons: Bass Guitar by Jon Liebman to aid fledgling players. The step-by-step lesson plan starts with holding the bass and graduates to playing open strings and beyond. While it covers the basics, the book gets you ready to jam with...

Although Leo Fender is often given credit, it was actually Paul Tutmarc who invented the first electric bass guitar. The Audiovox Model 736 was designed and manufactured by the Seattle-based builder all the way back in 1936. There are only three of these basses known to be left in the world, and now one of them is up for sale....