Archive for 2018 - Page 24

Boss has added to their Waza Craft lineup of pedals with reissues of two classic stompboxes: the DC-2W Dimension C and MT-2W Metal Zone. As part of the Waza Craft series, the new pedals feature Boss’s original analog designs with “artful refinements for enhanced performance and versatility.” The DC-2W Dimension C combines the original DC-2 pedal with the SDD-320 Dimension...

In this video, I’ll talk you through the basics of developing a walking bass line in addition to demonstrating a few approaches. There’s also a nice exercise at the end that’ll really challenge most of you as you explore new ways to navigate chord changes. Enjoy! Follow along with this chord chart I used in this lesson.

Studio Jams has just released one of several videos recorded from session #80, which was taped at Spyro’s Modern Music and Recording Centre in Reading, PA. This episode features Victor Wooten along with drummer Curtis Harmon, saxophonist Bob Franceschini and pianist James Lloyd, who perform Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man.” Aside from the great performance, it was interesting to see Victor...

High on Fire has released Electric Messiah, an album inspired by the late metal bass god Lemmy Kilmister. The band’s frontman, Matt Pike, wrote the title track after a dream. “When Lemmy was still alive I always got compared to Lemmy, so I had this dream where he got pissed at me,” says Pike. “He gave me a bunch of...

The Smashing Pumpkins have announced a handful of tour dates to celebrate their 30th anniversary. Beginning in Madison, Wisconsin on November 29th, the dates will include an already sold-out stop in their hometown of Chicago before heading south to end in Arizona on December 7th. The tour will be in support of a new album entitled Shiny and Oh So...

Ibanez has reintroduced their Artcore series bass models with the AFB200 and the AGB200. The hollow body, short-scale basses each carry an old school vibe with a different tonal palette to separate them. “The AFB200 is geared towards the traditionalist; the player after a huge, warm bass tone perfect for Jazz, Blues, or acoustic sets,” Ibanez explains. “The AGB200 is...

Vulfpeck is back with a new video from their upcoming album, Hill Climber, and as with past albums, it revisits and old favorite. Enjoy the fourth installment of “It Gets Funkier,” with Joe Dart laying down that killer line and a wicked solo.

Previously only available on vinyl, Ben Allison’s 2016 release, Quiet Revolution, is now available on CD and digital formats. The trio album features guitarist Steve Cardenas and saxophonist/clarinetist Ted Nash in a subtle setting that pays homage to the work of jazz greats Jim Hall and Jimmy Giuffre. “Those records were made in the late ’50s, through the ’60s and...

From the mind of Joel Illerhag comes one of the most incredible, dreamlike instruments I’ve ever seen. The Swedish Harp Bass is a double bass fitted with a 3D-printed carbon fiber structure to add 39 sympathetic strings and electromagnets that help to make the strings sound. “The aim of this project is to produce acoustic sound from a musical instrument...

Paul Kowert is best known as the bassist for the Punch Brothers, but he took his band Hawktail to the Reverb.com studios to play a couple tunes. The performances of “Say Old Man, Can You Play The Fiddle?” and “In the Kitchen” display the bassist’s virtuosity in a beautiful bluegrass setting. “Through both tunes, Paul deploys a masterful breadth of...

Jazz trio Phronesis has released their eighth album, entitled We Are All. The band, which was formed by bassist Jasper Høiby, dig deep to create expressive textures with a unified sense of melody. We Are All is a continuation of their unique instrumental sound, but it also leans on the message of togetherness. “More than ever before, we feel we...

If you’re looking for some bass-heavy tunes featuring some of the greatest players to ever pick up our instrument, Dave Schools has you covered. The Widespread Panic bassist curated a Spotify playlist of 21 songs with bass lines that “influenced and perplexed” him as a young player. “It is not meant to be a Top-21 list of greatest bassists but...