Archive for 2018 - Page 103

Metal bassist Dino Fiorenza pulls out all the stops in this playthrough for the song “Biondology”. Beginning with some intense two-handed tapping, he incorporates sweep arpeggios, slap, and more to fill the song out.

Stone Temple Pilots will be hitting the road in 2018 for the first time since announcing their new singer Jeff Gutt back in November. Gutt won the job after initially having his music introduced to bassist Robert DeLeo in the summer of 2016. “The guy’s through and through a great singer, and he’s a good dude, which was definitely one...

Aguilar Amplification is kicking 2018 off by unveiling the SL 212, a new bass cabinet in their superlight SL series. Weighing in at 45 pounds, the 4-ohm cab is fitted with two custom-voiced woofers with Neodymium magnets and a phenolic tweeter with variable level control. It can handle 500 watts RMS. “We spent a lot of time working on the...

Candidly, there are few bass players who sound as original as Cody Wright. In fact, when I first heard him play several years back, I was immediately transported back in time. It was the exact same audio sensation that came over me when I first heard Jaco Pastorius and Billy Sheehan play. It was not just great (and fast) bass...

Vulfpeck’s “Dean Town” is one of the all-time favorites around here. So it was super cool to see the band share this live performance of the tune, which took place during the “Wisdom of Crowds Tour 2017” in Dublin, Ireland. I was also super impressed with the audience, who pretty much sang it note for note and kept up with...

Italian-born, London-based bassist Alex Lofoco has just released his debut album, Beyond, although you wouldn’t know it’s his first solo album from the music. Sometimes biting and sometimes intimate, the intricate music brings lots of influences and was created with an A-list team of musicians. “The album is a mix of fusion rock, jazz, progressive, latin and heavy-metal, featuring an...

Q: I read your column on active vs. passive basses. I have been playing for a lot of years and am having issues with any Bartolini preamp/pickup combination that I use. I think one thing missed in the article was active vs passive pickups (or maybe I overlooked that). Anyway, I’m hearing a clicking sound. I know what you’re thinking:...

Level 42’s Mark King is a master of slap bass. His complex rhythmic and melodic bass lines are tough enough to tackle alone, but he manages to sing at the same time. The folks at Java Jazz Festival just shared this performance of “Something About You,” which took place in 2016. The band is in top form, and King’s performance...

Bassist Juraj Griglák has released a new live CD with a killer band. Juraj Griglák & Company Live features Bobby Sparks, Poogie Bell, and Chris Hemingway performing five of the bass player’s songs from a May 2015 concert at Barmuseum in Martin, Slovakia. “I listened to a recording from a concert in Martin and I found out that there are...

One of the great things about writing the Bass of the Week column is that builders send us photos of some of their best work. This recent Sadowsky NYC Will Lee 5-string hit my inbox and stopped me in my tracks. Built with a chambered swamp ash body, the bass’s candy apple orange finish and black pearl pickguard are enough...

I ran a survey a few weeks back asking bass players what they struggled with the most. With an overwhelming majority, the response had to do with practicing. Specifically, how to: Practice effectively so as to see improvement. Not be distracted. Know what to work on next or where to even start. Some people formulated it perfectly, asking for very...

Ben Titus and Brittany Frompovich took the stage at Roy Vogt’s 7th Annual Thunder Row Bass Invitational and performed this excellent bass and vocals cover of the Tedeschi Truck Band’s “These Walls.” Thanks to our friend, Vuyani Wakaba, for shooting the video, and to Brittany for sending it to us.