Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 444

Fodera has revealed the latest in their top of the line Masterbuilt series with the Butterfly. The one-of-a-kind bass is inspired by the company’s butterfly themed models and uses the Imperial body shape as a “canvas.” “Using over 200 pieces of varying natural materials such as Gold Pearl, Mother of Pearl, Black Pearl, and various colored stone, each piece was...

Warwick’s W-Music Distribution has introduced a new string cleaner called the RockCare StringJet 64. Useful on six-string guitars and four-string basses, the gadget has microfiber cleaning pads on a hinge to wipe down both sides of your strings evenly. The pads can be used with or without a cleaning solution and can be washed for reuse. The StringJet 64 comes...

Larry Grenadier once again anchors the Brad Mehldau Trio on their latest effort entitled Seymour Reads the Constitution! Comprised of three Mehldau originals plus pop and jazz tunes, the album finds the bassist exploring alongside the pianist and drummer Jeff Ballard in flowing grooves. Grenadier joined Mehldau’s trio in the early ’90s, and this album is a testament to their...

Matthews Effects has revamped their Astronomer reverb pedal with a V2 model that dishes out three different reverb options: Orion, Canis Major, and Ursa Major. The celestial-themed effects are a hall with shimmer reverb, an echo reverb, and a chamber reverb with octave, respectively. Besides the three algorithms, the Astronomer V2 now offers a 100 percent wet mix control, an...

Dave Matthews Band has returned with his ninth album, entitled Come Tomorrow. The record is their first since 2012, but hardcore fans will recognize nine of the fourteen tracks from live performances over the past decade. Matthews worked in a variety of locations with four producers to expand the sonic palette. “Working between tours at studios in Seattle, Los Angeles...

I’m not sure what makes a bass with old-school mojo so appealing, but I do know that the Vuorensaku Guitars Mama bass has it in spades. The first bass in the Finnish company’s T. Family collection, the Mama shares several aspects of instruments from the past including a flexible body design. “In the beginning, I was already sure that I’d...

Singer-songwriter Kristo Rodzevski has released The Rabbit and the Fallen Sycamore, which is the third in a trilogy of albums examining his transition from his life in Macedonia to the United States. Each of the albums also utilized a crack team of improvising musicians, including Michael Blanco on the bass. Blanco’s jazz influence comes through even though the songs lean...

Mattoverse Electronics has unveiled the Quadramix, a four-input and two-output mixer in a pedalboard-friendly enclosure. It allows for sending multiple sources into your amplifier or it can be used as a headphone amplifier. “Featuring 2 high-impedance inputs designed for guitar/bass and 2 low-impedance inputs designed for keyboards/synths/drum machines along with enough gain to overdrive either the inputs or outputs, this...

Here’s a killer clip of the Cameron Graves Trio featuring drummer Mike Mitchell and bassist Max Gerl throwing down on “Satania Our Solar System”. Recorded at the TivoliVredenburg in the Netherlands, the trio stretches the groove into outer space. Gerl dishes out some mean bass work to back up Graves before taking an extended and ear-bending solo himself.

Sihasin (pronounced See-ha-sin) is the brother and sister duo of Clayson and Jeneda Benally of Blackfire from the Navajo (Dine’) Nation in Northern Arizona. The band mixes their Native American heritage with rock on their new album, Fight Like A Woman. The band is a bass and drums duo, with Jeneda dishing out a huge bass sound that fills out...

Primus has been pounding the pavement in support of their latest rainbow goblin-themed album, The Desaturating Seven, for the better part of a year, but Les Claypool says a new batch of dates this fall will mark the end of the tour cycle. “This will be the last Primus run for a bit as we will need to cool-out for...

The musical bond between pianist Chano Dominguez and bassist Javier Colina runs deep. After first meeting in 1986, the duo worked together to develop their own mix of flamenco and jazz music over nearly two decades until Dominguez moved to Barcelona in 2002. The move led each player to explore new avenues. Now they’ve reunited to release a live album...