Victor Wooten: NAMM 2018 Performance and Lesson
Victor Wooten’s appearances at the NAMM Show are always special. This year he gave a performance and talk at the Reverb booth. Starting with an awesome solo piece, Wooten talks about his summer camp before diving into music theory in a relatable way. He’s then joined by saxophonist Bob Franceschini for a pair of tunes.
Fuzzrocious Pedals Unveils the Octave Jawn Pedal
One of the cooler effects we got to check out at NAMM this year was the Fuzzrocious Pedals Octave Jawn. (Jawn is Philly slang for “thing”.) Builder Ryan Ratajski says the new digital octaver will be a drop-in mod for his pedals. “Octave Jawn is a digital octaver specifically made to track faster than many other digital octavers on the...
Ibanez Announces Soundgear SR870, SR875, and SR876 Basses
Ibanez is continuing to grow their Soundgear bass lineup this year with the SR870, SR875, and SR876 models. The new basses, which they describe as some of the most visually striking basses in the series, were unveiled at the Winter NAMM Show. Each of the basses is built with a mahogany body topped with flamed maple. The 870 is a...
Primus and Mastodon Team Up for Expansive Tour
The bass will be riding high this spring as Primus and Mastodon have announced a co-headlining tour. With Les Claypool and Troy Sanders at the helm of each band, the tour is not to be missed. The lengthy trek kicks off May 6th at Red Rocks in Colorado before heading South, up the Northeast, through the Midwest, and down the...
Ashdown Engineering Introduces Bluetooth-Enabled Bass Combo Amp
Ashdown Engineering has expanded their AAA line of bass amps with the AAA EVO 120-BT, a lightweight combo that offers 120 watts of power with a 15-inch driver and a tweeter. The new model sets itself apart by featuring Bluetooth functionality that allows for streaming music to your amp. “The AAA EVO 120-BT features deep, foot switchable tube emulated overdrive...
Sadowsky Reveals the MetroExpress Bass Series
Sadowsky Guitars unveiled a new line of basses called the MetroExpress series at the Winter NAMM Show this year. The line will be made in Japan with the company’s own preamp, pickups, strings, and hardware. “The MetroExpress is made in Japan to Roger Sadowsky’s exacting standards under the supervision of Yoshi Kikuchi,” Sadowsky writes. “Roger and Yoshi began working together...
Bass of the Week: Schorr Guitars The Owl Bass #011
While scrolling on Facebook, I came across the Owl Bass by Schorr Guitars and had to learn more. Its half-minimal, half-futuristic design exudes a funky style with a cool finish to boot. “Schorr Guitars is a one-person operation,” luthier Nicolai Schorr tells us. “I build instruments in Berlin, Germany based on my models – The Owl and Neptune – to...
Bart Soeters: Bass Sounds II
Back in 2013, bassist Bart Soeters sent us an awesome clip of himself demoing 19 basses. Now he’s released “Bass Sounds II”, which has him jamming out on a whopping 34 basses. The video ranges in styles to showcase the strengths of each instrument, which range from vintage axes to modern works of art. Joris Holtackers accompanies Soeters on keys...
Pigtronix Announces the Ringmaster Ring Modulator Synth Pedal
During the Winter NAMM Show, Pigtronix introduced the Ringmaster, an analog ring modulator synth pedal that they designed to create analog harmonizer and tremolo effects to follow the notes you play. “Expanding on the “Intelligent Ring Mod” found in the original Mothership pedal, Ringmaster adds LFO and Sample + Hold modulation sources, pitch following tremolo and well as wave shaping...
F Bass Celebrates 40th Anniversary with Limited Edition PJ Bass
2018 marks forty years since F Bass owner and founder George Furlanetto started the company. To celebrate, the company has announced a special limited edition 40th Anniversary PJ based off of the first ever fretted F Bass. The model will be limited to four pieces each of which will be crafted, signed, and numbered by George Furlanetto. Although it’s based...
Gospel Chops Bass Sessionz, Vol. 3 Now Available
You don’t have to be a worship bassist to know that the Gospel Chops series features some amazing musicians. Their latest release, Bass Sessionz Vol. 3, follows suit with amazing bass played by four extreme talents. The “2-hour low-end extravaganza” features Justin Raines, Alan “Snoop” Evans, Kenneth Diggs, and Daric Bennett. Each player performs, but BSV3 is filled out with...
Tech 21 Introduces the VT Bass 200 Combo Amp
Tech 21 has packaged their SansAmp preamp with a Class D power amp and 12-inch driver to create the VT Bass 200 Combo Amp. The rear-ported 200-watt amp is described as lightweight, portable, and offering both vintage and modern bass tones. “Like its pedal predecessors in the SansAmp Character Series, it has a unique, continuously-variable Character control that moves seamlessly...