Bass of the Week: Roks Instruments Futura
This week we’re taking a look at the Futura from Roks Instruments out of The Netherlands. Luthier Axel Roks, who created the bass as part of Dutch Design Week, uses the human body as a large influence on his creations. “This design originated out of the idea that a bass guitar could be an object in itself,” he writes on...
Dunlop Introduces Mini Bass Wah and Volume Pedals
If you’ve been skeptical to add a wah or volume pedal to your pedalboard because of the space it takes up, Dunlop may have you covered. They unveiled a pair of new Mini pedals at the NAMM Show this year including the CBM105Q Cry Baby Mini Bass Wah and the Volume X Mini. The new CBM105Q Cry Baby Mini Bass...
Evan Brewer: “Cause For Concern” Bass Playthrough
Evan Brewer has released a bass playthrough for his song “Cause for Concern”, and it’s something you should be sitting down for. The track, which is featured on his album Your Itinerary, utilizes extended techniques to create a swirling sonic atmosphere. “This song has some of the harsher, heavier elements that are on the record,” Brewer told us in a...
Hartke Introduces TX600 Lightweight Bass Amp
Hartke turned some heads when they unveiled the TX600 at this year’s Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. The 600-watt bass amp is the company’s first lightweight Class D amp, weighing in at a mere 7 pounds. The front end of the amp includes the same Class A tube preamp circuitry from Hartke’s LH Series with separate inputs for active...
Peter Cetera Backs Out of Chicago’s Rock Hall Induction Ceremony
Chicago fans were elated when they found out the band is going to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. They were even more excited when former bassist and singer Peter Cetera announced he would join the group for the induction ceremony on April 8th. Sadly, that’s now out of the question. Cetera posted on...
In Memoriam: Bob Raymond
Bob Raymond, former bassist for Sugarloaf, has passed away after a 7-month battle with lung cancer. He was 69 years old. Raymond joined the band in 1968 when they were called Chocolate Hair. The band was signed to Liberty Records and changed to Sugarloaf just before their debut album, which scored the hit “Green-Eyed Lady”. The song peaked at No....
Christian McBride: The Movement Revisited
Christian McBride may be the host of NPR’s Jazz Night In America, but he won’t let the show feature him unless it’s for something special. That time came this month with a special episode on McBride’s monumental work, The Movement Revisited. Inspired by the written words and speeches of Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King, Jr. and...
ESP Announces LTD Multi-Scale Basses
ESP got into the multi-scale game this year with the LTD B-1004SE and B-1005SE basses. Four and five-stringers, respectively, the new models have different scales for each string to optimize tension and ergonomics. The multi-scale effect is created with Hipshot solo bridges and a fanned fret design. Both basses are built with a swamp ash body topped with solid rosewood,...
Sadowsky Unveils Single Cut 24 Fret 5-String Bass
When we interviewed Chip Shearin last year, he let us in on the scoop that he was working with Roger Sadowsky on a special project. That project came to light at the 2016 NAMM Show with the unveiling of the Sadowsky Single Cut 24 Fret 5-String Bass. “Co-designed with bassist Chip Shearin by both myself and Lisa Hahn, this model...
The Funky Meters: Hey Pocky A-Way, Live
Happy Mardi Gras! We’re celebrating with the grooves of the one and only George Porter, Jr. Here’s a great clip of Porter with the Funky Meters, including fellow original Meters member Art Neville, guitarist Brian Stoltz, and drummer David Russell Batiste, Jr. The quartet sets a slow burn on the Meters classic “Hey Pocky A-Way”, which has become a standard...
Bass of the Week: Gibson SG Standard Bass
Today we’re checking out another iconic bass with the Gibson SG Standard. Originally introduced in the 1961 as the EB3, the current incarnation of the bass carries many of the same attributes including the instantly recognizable body shape. Nowadays, the SG Standard is built as a dual pickup model with a vintage-style TB Plus humbucker in the neck position and...
Esperanza Spalding: On The Sunny Side of the Street
Esperanza Spalding may be leaning towards jazz-rock fusion for her upcoming album, but she can still perform jazz standards with the best of them. Get an earful as Spalding performs “On the Sunny Side of the Street” for President Obama and guests at the White House during the “Celebration of American Creativity 2016”.