Bass Gear Roundup: The Top Gear Stories in May 2019

Fender has unveiled a new limited edition Lightweight Ash American Professional line of instruments. The series includes a Strat, a Telecaster, and, most importantly, a Jazz Bass. Each model is built with a lightweight ash body while retaining most features from their American Professional counterpart.

Joyo has introduced the MA-10 series of dual-channel portable amps. The lineup has three models, including the MA-10B for bass, that each have two channels, a headphone output, and a five-inch off-frequency speaker.

R. Low Vaughn Instruments has introduced a new budget model that’s made in the United States. The Panzer series is made by luthier Rob Vaughn in his Boise, Idaho shop with set features to streamline the process and reduce cost.

Payson Bass has been making strings designed for multi-scale basses for several years. Now, after two years of prototyping, they’ve announced the Payson Fanned SuperCharger series of basses is ready.

Form Factor Audio is expanding their line of bass amps with the Bi1000Di, which builds upon their 1,000-watt flagship Bi1000. The new model retains many of the same features with some key differences in the direct output department.

GR Bass has expanded its line of bass specific gear with the Pure Drive pedal. The unit features a four-band EQ with four selectable frequencies for the mid-range control. It also has deep and bright filters for more general tonal shaping.

MXR has teamed up with renowned amp and pedal designer Shin Suzuki to create the Raijin Drive. The new pedal reinvents two iconic Japanese stompboxes – an overdrive and a distortion – with more tonal range to keep up with modern pedals.

Mattoverse Electronics has once again updated its Drone Tone pedal with the MkIII version. The pedal is a drone synthesizer that delivers “brutal buzzing, blatant beeping, [and] raucous rhythmic pulses.”

Aclam Guitars has introduced a new overdrive pedal for bass and guitar called Dr. Robert. Named after the famous Beatles song, the pedal features artwork by Klaus Voorman, who designed the band’s “Revolver” cover. It is also based on a vintage amp from the same era.

RJM Music has unveiled the PBC/6X, a pedal unit they describe as an “all-in-one loop switching system and MIDI controller for pedalboards.” The new unit borrows features from the company’s flagship Mastermind PBC while housed in a smaller chassis and with programmable loop order.