Summer NAMM 2019 Roundup: The Latest Bass Gear News

Spector has upgraded their Legend Standard series for 2019. The body shape stays the same, but it is now crafted from lightweight ash and topped with flame maple.

Boss has expanded its looping pedals with the RC-10R Rhythm Loop Station pedal, which the company says is designed for in-the-moment music creation. It has 280 built-in rhythms with song structures and separate parts.

The late Thin Lizzy bassist Phil Lynott is being honored with a new limited edition signature bass from the Fender Custom Shop. Crafted by Master Builder John Cruz, the bass “painstakingly” recreates Lynott’s original bass in precise detail.

Source Audio has revealed their latest creation with the C4 Synth. The pedal, which works for bass or guitar, is a four-voiced synthesizer that takes the sound creation tools of a classic Eurorack modular synthesizer and puts it into one compact pedal.

Vox was on-hand at the 2019 Summer NAMM Show to launch two new basses: The Starstream 1H Artist and the Starstream 2S Artist. Both are short-scale active basses based on the company’s Starstream guitar design.

Fender launched nine new models to its Squier Classic Vibe series at the Summer NAMM Show. That includes four new basses: the Classic Vibe ’50s Precision, the Classic Vibe ’70s Precision, the Classic Vibe ’60s Mustang, and the Classic Vibe Jaguar.

Ampeg is celebrating five decades of the SVT bass amp with the Heritage 50th Anniversary SVT, which is launching at the 2019 Summer NAMM Show. The unit combines the SVT’s “most celebrated circuits” with the 1969 “Blue Line” and 1970s Magnavox-era circuits.

David Ellefson’s line of signature instruments has gotten a new spin with two new bassists: the 4-string X Series Signature David Ellefson Concert Bass CBXM IV and 5-string X Series Signature David Ellefson Concert Bass CBXM V.

Aguilar Amplification has added a new model to their Super Light Bass Cabinet series with the SL 210. The lightweight cab is fitted with a pair of custom-voiced 10-inch neodymium speakers as well as a phenolic tweeter with variable level control.

Blackstar Amplification has unveiled the amPlug 2 FLY, a compact headphone amplifier that comes in versions for guitar and for bass. Each features a fully analog circuit that’s been reworked for a clearer and more present sound, the company says.

Aguilar introduced a new pickup design at the Summer NAMM Show with the DCB-M4 and M5. The pickups, which are four and five-string versions of the same model, are humbuckers in a familiar shape.

Spiral Electric FX unveiled the new White Spiral Boost at Summer NAMM this year. The pedal, designed by former DOD/Digitech creative Tom Cram, is a light JFET boost “with a few tricks up its sleeve.”