Wampler Pedals Introduces the Fuzztration Pedal
The new Wampler Pedals Fuzztration combines a fuzz pedal with an octaver and three-band EQ. Although there are plenty of controls for dialing in your sound, Wampler says the effect is not for the faint of heart. “The Fuzzstration isn’t a pedal designed to really play ‘nice,'” they write. “It’s brash, raspy, doomy, in-your-face fuzz from top to bottom. This...
Federico Malaman Releases New Solo Album
Italian bass guru Federico Malaman has released a new solo album, entitled Life. The recording, which marks 14 years since his first solo effort, is a snapshot of the bassist’s life. “The full album title should actually be ‘Life is not in 4/4’”, he states. “4/4 is the simplest, straightforward meter. Real life is not like that: there are ups...
Kleissonic Announces The Howl Phase-Shifting Pedal
Berlin’s Kleissonic Boutique Pedals has announced a new two-notch phase-shifting pedal called the Howl. The unit has volume, Gain, and Sweep controls, but no Rate control commonly found in phasers. “The Howl is not another common phaser, it has no built-in LFO and it is ideal for any instrument. It’s also extremely useful for audio engineers and DJ’s both for...
Peter Baltes Leaves Accept
Founding Accept bassist Peter Baltes revealed that he will be leaving the band’s ranks. The German heavy metal band has been rocking off and on ever since 1976 with Baltes along for every lineup. “To all Accept fans: I hereby like to announce my departure as Bassplayer from ACCEPT,” Baltes wrote on the Accept Facebook page. “I have been with...
Dream Theater Announces New Album, Tour Dates
Dream Theater fans rejoice! The progressive metal band has announced their 14th studio album, Distance Over Time, will be released on February 22nd, 2019. The new record, which is their first in three years, is described as “showcasing a newfound creativity… while maintaining the elements that have garnered them devoted fans around the globe.” The whole band, including six-string bass...
Dwarfcraft Devices Releases the HAX2 Pedal
Dwarfcraft Devices has released a new take on one of their earliest effects. The HAX2 is described as “light years beyond” the original and adds the option of a square or sine wave ring modulation. Each of the waveforms has a broad frequency range, which Dwarfcraft says ranges from subsonic tremolo to laser blaster highs to a warm chorus-like effect....
Frank Kimbrough Releases “Monk’s Dreams” with Rufus Reid
2017 marked the centennial of the influential jazz pianist Thelonious Monk’s birth. Frank Kimbrough has celebrated the occasion by releasing an incredible six-disc album called Monk’s Dreams that features performances of all 70 of the late legend’s compositions. “The recordings form a fantastically diverse collection,” the liner notes read. “On the six-CD set, Monk’s compositions are played in various configurations,...
Bass of the Week: XTRM Basses “The Bass of Navarone”
This week we’re checking out a total monster of a bass built by Dimitris Matkaris, who says he likes to build “weird” basses to test his building skills. This instrument, which he dubbed The Bass of Navarone, has a multi-scale neck with a behemoth 47-inch scale B-string. For comparison, that’s 13 inches longer than a standard bass scale. “Electric guitars...
John Entwistle with Rick Wakeman And His Band: Go America
Now this is the kind of email we like to get. Brian Thomson wrote in with this incredible clip of The Who bassist John Entwistle from a TV show in the early ’80s. “[Yes] Keyboardist Rick Wakeman has been posting clips from the TV show GasTank that he co-hosted in 1982-3, in the UK, and John Entwistle was a guest...
The Rolling Stones Announce 2019 Tour Dates
The Rolling Stones have announced a new leg of their “No Filter” stadium tour that will take place in the U.S. for 2019. The 13-date outing will kick off at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida before heading to both coasts and then wrapping up at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Of course, bassist Darryl Jones will be laying...
MXR Releases The Mini Iso-Brick Power Supply
MXR has introduced a new power supply for your pedalboard with an emphasis on saving space. The Mini Iso-Brick Power Supply offers noise-free DC power while “taking up less space than a candy bar.” It has five fully-isolated outputs, four of which supply 9-volts at 300mA. The fifth can dish out either 9 volts or 18 volts at 800mA. If...
Chase Bliss Audio Unveils The Dark World Reverb Pedal
Chase Bliss Audio has expanded their line of pedals with The Dark World, a dual channel reverb that is their first fully-digital effect circuit. The effect is a collaboration with Keeley Electronics and Cooper FX that they say celebrates classic and ultramodern reverb engine. “Its dual channel format transcends what most people think of as a reverb pedal, moving freely...