Phil Lesh and Bob Weir Announce Duo Tour
Grateful Dead fans have one more reason to be grateful: bassist Phil Lesh and guitarist Bob Weir have announced a duo tour. The trek, which will be their first ever duo run, will take place with multiple night engagements in New York City, Boston, and Chicago during March. “I guess it was last summer, Phil and I played a little...
CruzTools Updates GrooveTech Multi-Tool
CruzTools has updated their GrooveTech Guitar and Bass Multi-tool just in time for the holidays. The second generation of the gadget has the original features: both metric and inch hex wrench sizes, ball-end for the truss rod sizes, and S2 steel tools with a polished chrome finish. New features include a 5/16” socket that fits Gibson and other truss rod...
Raymond Elgar’s Books On Double Bass Republished
If you’re interested in the history of the double bass, you may want to check out Stephen Street’s new republished editions of three books by Raymond Elgar: Introduction to the Double Bass, More About the Double Bass, and Looking At The Double Bass. Originally published in the 1960s, the books chronicle the double bass in three aspects. Introduction covers the...
Thin The Herd Guitars and Birdsong Guitars Announce the CBG 30.5 T-Bass
Thin The Herd Guitars recently collaborated with Scott Beckwith of Birdsong Guitars to create the CBG 30.5 T-Bass. The bass takes elements from each of the companies’ instruments. “Scott started with our familiar Model T body, then applied his signature ‘recipe’ for quality tone and ease-of-playability into the design. Loaded with EMG-sized, custom-wound PUNCHBUCKER Pickups – specified by Scott Beckwith....
Alex Canion: Bass Playthrough of Voyager’s “Ghost Mile”
Voyager’s Alex Canion gives us a closeup look at the bass line to the title track from the band’s 2017 album, Ghost Mile. Armed with a tone that will bite your face off, the bassist tears through the bass line with slapped notes for punctuation. “This song is deceptively hard to play live and it features a few different techniques;...
“On Air” Compiles Early Rolling Stones Recordings
Listen up, Rolling Stones fans: the legendary rock band has put out a new compilation album called On Air. The 18-song collection brings together live and studio performances from various BBC shows between 1963 and 1965, during which time Bill Wyman was starting to produce some of his most iconic bass lines. Tracks include takes of their classics “Come On”...
Fodera Reveals Masterbuilt Yin Yang Hybrid Bass
Fodera revealed their fourth and final Masterbuilt bass for the year, and it’s incredible. The Masterbuilt Yin Yang Hybrid combines two signature instruments to pay tribute to their respective owners: Victor Wooten and Anthony Jackson. “Not only are these two artists pioneers in their craft, but also in instrument design through our collaborative relationship,” the company writes. “It was because...
Ron Carter’s Comprehensive Bass Method Reissued
Bass master Ron Carter has teamed up with 1630 Jazz Books to re-release his Comprehensive Bass Method instruction book and two song books. The 84-page bass method book builds on the original from the 1970s with “several of his compositions, a transcription, new photographs and video links to Ron demonstrating several exercises.” Designed for both upright and electric bass, it...
Bass of the Week: Mas Hino NYC Matador
Master luthier Mas Hino is a man that can appreciate the finer things in life. That’s why his bass design called the Matador is inspired by both Picasso and Lamborghini. “The Matador was inspired by Pablo Picasso. The shape is an acoustic guitar with an offset on the sides like Picasso’s guitar,” Hino writes. “The body line and shape was...
U2 Release “Songs of Experience”
U2 has followed up their 2014 album Songs of Innocence with Songs of Experience. Like its predecessor, the group’s 14th album looks back on the band’s career and lessons learned through the years. Adam Clayton explains that through everything they’ve experienced, it boils down to simple things: “The idea is what has it taught us? Where are we at now?...
Xotic Unveils the XJPRO-1 5-String ProVintage Series Bass
Xotic has expanded their bass lineup with the XJPRO-1 5-String ProVintage Series Bass. As part of the ProVintage Series, the new bass combines elements of classic and modern features while building on their previous lineup. “The ProVintage Series basses, inspired by the Xotic XJ Series, feature a structurally balanced neck for reliable intonation that is coated with a unique oil...
Willcox Guitars Unveils 2018 Saber Bass
Wilcox Guitars is updating their bass lineup by replacing their outgoing Saber VL Bass with the 2018 Saber bass. The reworked instrument features an AAAA flame maple top, lightweight chambered swamp ash body, and their patented LightWave optical pickup system. “LightWave pickups use infrared light technology to ‘map’ or ‘see’ string vibration, resulting in a significant enhancement in tone, sustain...