John McLaughlin’s U.S. Farewell Tour Captured on “Live in San Francisco”
Last year, jazz and fusion guitar legend John McLaughlin performed a tour of the U.S. that he says was his final outing in the States. The “Meeting of the Spirits” tour saw him exploring his past work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra in a different setting with his band the 4th Dimension featuring drummer Ranjit Barot, keyboardist Gary Husband, and bassist...
GHS Strings Introduces Fingerboard Care Kit
GHS Strings has a new Fingerboard Care Kit for cleaning and maintaining your frets and fingerboard. The set, which joins their line of string cleaning products, includes a fret buffer, a cleaner/conditioner solution, and a cloth. “The GHS Fingerboard Care Kit makes it easy to maintain your instrument’s frets and fingerboard,” they write. “The kit is ideal for all stringed...
Joe Bonamassa Releases “Redemption”
Joe Bonamassa has once again tapped bass groove monster Michael Rhodes to anchor his new album, Redemption. The blues-rock guitarist’s 13th studio release compiles 12 original songs that span a variety of styles while revolving around the themes of redemption and salvation. “We all need to be redeemed at some point in our lives. It’s this yearning to redeem yourself...
Darkglass Electronics Unveils the Microtubes X Series Pedals
Darkglass Electronics has once again expanded their line of bass pedals with the Microtubes X series, including the Microtubes X and Mictrotubes X7 pedals. Each of the units employs a multi-band distortion for affecting the high and low frequencies of your tone accordingly. “The Microtubes X series brings the studio method producers have been using the years to cover the...
Slash Releases “Living the Dream” with Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators
Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators have followed up 2014’s World On Fire with Living the Dream, an album that the Guns N’ Roses guitarist says expands their sound. “It’s a natural progression from World on Fire, for sure,” Slash states. “I think it has a little more diversity—some of the ideas are not really what I would consider...
Orange Reintroduces the Terror Bass Amp
Orange Amplification has reintroduced the Terror Bass, a compact amp that features a tube preamp and Class D power section. The combination makes it sound even closer to their flagship AD200, the company says. The new Terror Bass retains the original control layout while adding a clean switch for extra headroom and cleaner sounds. It offers up to 500 watts...
Bass of the Week: BassLab Guitars L-Bow
The L-Bow by BassLab Guitars is one of the most attention-grabbing designs in the bass world, but its extra bow in the neck is not for shock factor. This week we’re checking out a recent five-string L-Bow-V that, like their other instruments, features a tuneable composite material in place of wood. “This is the bass, that most often generates typical...
Wayne Shorter Releases “Emanon,” Featuring John Patitucci
Master jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter has blended his music with the visual arts on Emanon. The triple album, which is only available in physical releases, is accompanied by an 84-page graphic novel penned by Shorter with Monica Sly and illustrated by Randy DuBurke. Shorter borrowed the title Emanon, which is “no name” spelled backwards. “When Dizzy Gillespie had a piece...
Korg Announces MA-2 Metronome
Korg has expanded their line of metronomes with the MA-2, a compact card-type device that builds upon their MA-1 model. The new unit has an improved display, a louder sound, and new functions like a timer mode. Available in blue/black or black/red color schemes, the MA-2 has a tempo range of 30 bpm to 252 bpm. It allows for different...
David Ellefson Adds East Coast “Basstory” Tour Dates
Megadeth bassist David Ellefson is gearing up to release his second memoir, More Life with Deth, in November and he’s taking his bass on the road to support it. Following the final dates of the Midwest leg, his “Basstory: An Intimate Evening Of Riffs And Repartee With David Ellefson” tour will be coming to the East Coast with a string...
Zorg Effects Unveils the Glorious Basstar 2 Pedal
France’s Zorg Effects has updated their flagship bass pedal with the Glorious Basstar 2. New features include a vertical enclosure with top-mounted jacks and an optional soft switch relay true bypass. It still retains its sonic features with a three-band overdrive. “It cuts the signal in three frequencies bands: bass/mids/trebles,” Zorg writes. “Each band can then be saturated independently and...
Esperanza Spalding Teases New Album with Burniss Travis on Bass
Last year, Esperanza Spalding shocked the world by creating Exposure, an album created on the spot and completely live-streamed on Facebook over 77 hours. Now she’s revealed her next album, 12 Little Spells, will be available in October with another unique release. Starting on October 7th, Spalding will release one song per day on her website and social platforms until...