Miura Guitars Introduces the M2 Compressor/Limiter
Miura Guitars has gotten into the pedal business with the M2 Compressor/Limiter. The pedal has Threshold, Ratio, Attack, and Level controls for dialing in the right amount of compression. It has two LEDs: one to show the status as on or off, and one to indicate how strong the compressor is in effect. The Ratio knob can be turned to...
Unreleased Jaco Pastorius Live Album Coming Soon
A previously unreleased Jaco Pastorius live album has been unearthed and will be available to the public this spring. Truth, Liberty & Soul captures the entire performance featuring the bass legend’s Word of Mouth big band (along with harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans) from a 1982 recording for NPR’s “Jazz Alive!” program. “I think that this recording more than any other...
Bass of the Week: Simnett Guitars 5-String Fretless
Jon from Simnett Guitars shot us an email with his latest build, and it’s a beauty. This five-string fretless has some gorgeous features that the luthier put serious time and effort into. “It’s a 33-inch scale (tuned E-C) ‘piezo-only’ fretless. The Black Limba body is chambered and has a spalted Hornbeam top,” he explains. “There’s matching Hornbeam headstock veneers on...
Joyo Audio Releases the Iron Loop Looper Pedal
Loopers have a new option from Joyo called the Iron Loop. The digital phrase looper features a stripped back design with a single footswitch and a single level knob. Pressing the footswitch will toggle recording and playback modes to layer loops, while a ring around the level control shows the length of your recorded loop. As part of the company’s...
Robin Zielhorst: Release
Robin Zielhorst has recorded a special four-piece suite for solo bass. Although the bassist has played with heavy bands like Cynic, Exivious, Textures, Our Oceans, and OneGodLess, he took a more hauntingly beautiful and ambient approach for the music. Check out the sweeping melody of “Release”:
Reverend Guitars Unveils 20th Anniversary Mercalli Basses
Reverend Guitars is celebrating 20 years in the business with a special 20th Anniversary Mercalli Bass. Available in four and five-string versions, the bass carries many of the same features as the standard Mercalli with several special features. Most notable is the eye-catching sky blue flame maple top adorned with a brushed aluminum pickguard. It also has a 20th Anniversary...
Miët: Blame
Miët is a one-woman group that utilizes a bass, an amp, and a pedalboard. When you listen, it sounds like a lot more than that. French bassist Suzy LeVoid melds pop melodies with rock noise that her label describes as “offering an electric and introspective set.” Buckle up:
TWA Introduces the DM-02 Dynamorph
TWA has introduced the DM-02 Dynamorph, an envelope-controlled harmonic generator. The versatile pedal gives distortion, fuzz, filter, and synth effects in one unique unit. “Featuring a distortion circuit where the amount and type of saturation is intricately linked to the input signal level, the TWA DM-02 Dynamorph creates multi-layered, highly complex waveforms that “morph” your instrument’s harmonic structure in bizarre...
Donny McCaslin with Tim Lefebvre: Faceplant
Donny McCaslin’s latest release, , recruited his dream team with Mark Guiliana, Jason Lindner and Tim Lefebvre. The group has just put out a new video for the track “Faceplant”, and it’s epic. Lefebvre lays down a ferocious line while the rest of the band gets wild.
Mastro Valvola Introduces the Millibar Mk2 Compressor
Italy’s Mastro Valvola has unveiled the Millibar mk2, a studio-grade optical compressor designed for both bass and guitar. The new version takes their retro-styled pedal and adds a new feature. “Inspired by the performance of the Universal Audio 1176 and Teletronix LA2A, we have managed to recreate and implement their characteristics in the Millibar, in terms of both, transparent compression...
Dominic “Forest” Lapointe: B.A.R.F.’s “Leader” Playthrough
Dominic “Forest” Lapointe is one of my favorite metal bassists. His unique bass lines bring out his voice in the music and his killer chops make it impressive to watch. Here’s a great clip of Lapointe tearing through “Leader” by B.A.R.F. Although he typically plays fretless, his monster playing translates perfectly to a fretted six-string. He kicks things off with...
Earthquaker Devices Announces the Space Spiral Delay
Earthquaker Devices has launched the Space Spiral Modulated Delay, which they describe as an analog-voiced digital delay. The stompbox offers 30ms to 600ms of delay time with a variable waveshape LFO that affects the repeated signal. “[The Space Spiral] is a dark and dreamy modulated delay designed to take you across the highways of fantasy. If you are a fan...