David Hood and The Swampers Release New Muscle Shoals Album
The Muscle Shoals sound was the key to some America’s most popular music of the ’60s and ’70s. The secret weapon, of course, was the group of musicians, dubbed The Swampers, who made up the legendary rhythm section for so many hits. They crafted hits for Aretha Franklin, Big Joe Turner, the Staple Singes, Paul Simon, Rod Stewart, and more....
Crazy Tube Circuits Unveils the Locomotive Tube Bass Overdrive Pedal
Crazy Tube Circuits is expanding their bass effects line with the Locomotive. Debuting at the Winter NAMM Show, the pedal will offer real tube overdrive to players. “[The Locomotive features] a 12AY7 tube for warm organic tube grind with excellent touch sensitivity and dynamic response,” Crazy Tube writes. “We provided a wide range of gain that can produce from a...
Bass of the Week: Moonshine Custom Guitars Rat Rod J Bass
The Daily Funk Club’s Andy Irvine is a guy who knows what he wants in a bass. That’s why he reached out to Rick Wilson of Moonshine Guitars with some specifics in mind. “He contacted me after seeing pics of my bass, he was looking for the feel of a well-played early 60’s Jazz as with the vintage look as...
Erik Arkö: The 12 Types of Metal Bass Players, Part 3
Last year Erik Arkö made a pair of videos parodying the “12 types of metal bass players.” Now he’s back with part three, and it’s just as great. From “Les is More” to “The Folk Metal Guy,” Arkö has some fun with the genre. As with all good parodies, there’s a decent amount of truth to each spoof but no...
Spinal Tap’s Derek Smalls Reveals Album Details, New Song
Back in June, we reported that Spinal Tap bassist Derek Smalls (portrayed by actor/bassist Harry Shearer) would be releasing a solo album. Now we have more details and the title track from Smalls Change. The album, which is a contemplation on an aging rocker, is packed with guest artists including Peter Frampton, Donald Fagen, Dweezil Zappa, Rick Wakeman, Richard Thompson,...
Electro-Harmonix Releases Their Most Powerful Loop Station with the 95000
Electro-Harmonix has pushed their looping pedals to the max with the new 95000 Performance Loop Laboratory. Featuring six mono tracks with one stereo mixdown track per loop, the unit can record up to 375 minutes and 100 loops with a 16GB Micro SD card. The 95000 has MIDI capabilities, and the company says nearly every function of the pedal can...
In Memoriam: Jim Rodford
Sad news to report: Jim Rodford, who played bass with The Kinks and The Zombies, has passed away after falling down stairs. He was 76 years old. Rodford was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, England in 1941. He began his musical career in a Skiffle band called Bluetones. He helped his cousin Rod Argent form The Zombies in 1961 by...
Yamaha Introduces Flame Maple Models To TRBX Series
Yamaha’s TRBX bass series will get two models this year. The company will be unveiling the TRBX604FM and TRBX605FM at the 2018 Winter NAMM Show in Anaheim, California. Four and five-string basses, respectively, the TRBX604FM and TRBX605FM upgrade the bass’s looks with flame maple tops with matching headstocks. They carry many of the same features of their predecessors with Yamaha...
Dead & Company Announce Summer Tour Dates
Dead & Company are heading back out for an extensive summer tour in 2018. Featuring members of the Grateful Dead and anchored by bassist Oteil Burbridge, the band will kick things off May 30th in Mansfield, Massachusetts before heading down the East Coast, across the Midwest, and to the West Coast. They’ll wrap the trek up with a pair of...
Schecter Unveils The Apocalypse Bass Series
Schecter will be rolling out a new line of basses at the Winter NAMM Show called the Apocalypse Bass Series. Designed with “high-end specs and aggressive style,” the company says that the C-4 and C-5 Apocalypse basses pack a punch thanks to their pickups. “[They are] powered by Schecter US Custom Shop Apocalypse Bass Humbucker Pickups,” Schecter explains. “These earth-shaking,...
Dawn of the Dregs: An Interview With Andy West
Last year one of the biggest surprises for music lovers was the announcement that the original members of the Dixie Dregs would be reuniting for a tour. That lineup includes guitarist Steve Morse, violinist Allen Sloan, drummer Rod Morgenstein, keyboardist Steve Davidowski, and – of course – bassist Andy West. West co-founded the band with Morse, who now spends much...
Fender Reveals American Original Series Including Four New Basses
Fender will be unveiling the American Original series at the 2018 Winter NAMM Show, including four new basses. The line focuses on recreating instruments from the company’s past while updating them with enhancements. “For more than six decades, Fender’s core models of guitars and basses have developed their own distinct personalities and legions of devoted disciples. Whether it was the...