Archive for March 2020 - Page 3

Musicians everywhere are hurting as the COVID-19 pandemic has put a halt to nearly all gigs. Now, the Recording Academy is asking for everyone to contact Congress to get them to include relief for musicians.

After a devastating bicycle accident in January, Juan Alderete was left in a coma. His old Racer X bandmates have released a never-before-heard studio track from their “Technical Difficulties” sessions in 1999 to help support Juan’s recovery efforts.

Wintergatan is a Swedish band that focuses on engineering and innovation to create their music. One of their main creations is the Marble Machine X. The machine previously had a violin-style bass guitar, but they’ve just upgraded it to what they call the “Cyber Bass.”

Zander Zon just shared another video he did with Tommy Lee Depp. In this clip, the duo takes Alan Walker’s “Faded” and turned it into an incredible duo bass arrangement.

After releasing the Stella last year, BecosFX has expanded their lineup of compressor pedals with the CompIQ Twain. The unit is a dual-band/stacked compressor and limiter that the company says forges a new path in the realm of compressors.

Balaguer Guitars has unveiled the Monoceros bass, which they describe as their take on “a modern bass but with vintage vibes.” Central to the bass’s sound is its set of Marracobucker pickups (a new set from Balaguer) and a Darkglass Tone Capsule preamp.

In today’s video, YYNOT is kicking it old school. They began as a virtual band years ago, and they’re revisiting their roots with this epic (virtual) cover of Rush’s “Fly By Night.”

Jazz icons Kenny Barron and Dave Holland have teamed up with Johnathan Blake for a debut trio recording called “Without Deception.” Barron and Holland have worked together for nearly three decades but released their first duo album five years ago.

Ibanez has expanded its Premium line of SR basses with three new models this year: the SR5BPBLTD, the SR1600B, and the SR1340B. The first is a limited edition five-string, while the 1600 comes in four or five-string versions and the 1340 comes in four, five, and six.

We’ve lost another legend with the passing of Kenny Rogers yesterday. Many people don’t know he was a bass player, but he did hold down the low end for The First Edition from 1967–1976. Here’s a great clip of the band performing live in the early ’70s.

Tower of Power celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2018 with “Soul Side of Town.” Though it was a partial victory lap for the band, they’re clearly not done as they’ve just released a new album called “Step Up,” recorded during the same session.

Epifani has revamped its flagship products with the next generation. The UL901 is the more modern version of the already sleek UL501, while the new DIST 2 series updates their line of cabs. Kevin put them both to work.