Bakithi Kumalo Anchors New Paul Simon “The Concert in Hyde Park” DVD
In 2012, Paul Simon reunited with his Graceland musicians to perform special concert at the Hard Rock Calling Festival in London. Held at Hyde Park, the concert also featured special appearances by Hugh Masekela, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Jimmy Cliff. The whole cast was anchored by the unshakeable bass grooves of Bakithi Kumalo. Luckily, it’s been released on DVD. Kumalo,...
Ibanez Announces Six-String Fretless Portamento Bass
Ibanez announced the expansion of their Portamento Fretless bass series with a six-string version. The SRF706 will retain the features of its four and five-string predecessors while adding a high C string. The bass is built with neck-through construction featuring a five-piece maple and bubinga neck, mahogany body wings, and a rosewood fingerboard. Ibanez fits it with a pair of...
Victor Wooten to Record Bass for Revived Nitro Glam Metal Band
Founding members Michael Angelo Batio and frontman Jim Gillette announced last year that they’d be reforming their ’80s glam metal band Nitro for a new album. They also announced that Lamb of God drummer Chris Adler would be filling the group out, though the question of who would play bass on the record has been a mystery until now. “Nitro...
Rockboard Introduces New Pedal Connectors
Warwick’s Rockboard brand has released a new set of pedal connectors aimed at keeping the connection between your pedals as short as possible. The new compact connectors come in three versions – S-Connectors, N-Connectors, and Z-Connectors – each designed to fit your pedal setup. Each model comes in gold, nickel, or black colors with 1/4-inch connectors. The new Rockboard Pedal...
Bass of the Week: Rick Turner Guitars Model 1 Bass
This week we’re checking out the Model 1 Bass from the legendary luthier Rick Turner. The instrument is a take on the Alembic co-founder’s Model 1 guitar and features a medium 32-inch scale. Described as “incredibly acoustic and detailed with a modern full-bodied tonal range,” the deluxe version of the bass is built with a mahogany body, 5-piece laminated maple...
NYC Ska Orchestra: Mood Indigo
I just got back from spending the week at the International Society of Bassists convention, and it was a double bass heaven. One of the many great bass players I got to see was Paul Nowinski, who spent years playing with Les Paul and is featured on the latest Keith Richards album. He shared this cool video of himself playing...
Ibanez Releases Big Mini Pedal Tuner
Ibanez has introduced a new line of MINI pedals, including the Big Mini pedal tuner. The compact pedal features a large LED display with Needle or Strobe tuning modes. It offers up to ± 1 cent accuracy with a tuning range of A0 (27.50Hz) to C8 (4186Hz). A push button allows for drop tuning down four semitones, while a second...
TC Electronic Unveils the Hall of Fame 2 Reverb
TC Electronic has expanded their line of effects with the Hall of Fame 2 Reverb. The new edition of the company’s stompbox adds a Shimmer reverb to its tonal palette. Even more interesting is a new type of footswitch they call the MASH. The MASH footswitch reacts to pressure, so the more you lean on it the more intense the...
Peter Dominguez Releases “Groove Dreams”
Peter Dominguez has released Groove Dreams, an intimate and jaw-droppingly beautiful new solo double bass album. While the 10-song collection varies in content from jazz standards to new compositions to pop ballads, there is one common thread throughout: the late, great jazz legend Milt Hinton. Dominguez, who is a professor of jazz studies and double bass at Oberlin Conservatory, first...
Electro-Harmonix Unveils the Battalion Bass Preamp
Electro-Harmonix is sending reinforcements for bassists with the new Battalion bass preamp and DI. The comprehensive unit features a four-band EQ, fully-featured MOSFET distortion section, a compressor, a noise gate, and flexible connectivity. Its distortion section has its own footswitch with Level, Blend, Drive, and Tone knobs for dialing in your grit. It also has a mini-switch to route it...
Simon Sammut Returns With “Crossing”
Bassist Simon Sammut has released his sophomore solo album called Crossing. Following up on 2011’s Bassic Attitude, the effort is an evolution of his sound, which he describes as “fluid in texture and inspiration.” “The musical score and complimentary paintings are based on a common theme of ‘crossing,'” he writes. “Essentially it is about crossing barriers or boundaries whether they...
Mu-FX Introduces the Phasor 2X Pedal
Mu-FX has expanded their line of effects with the Phasor 2X. The pedal is an enhanced reissue of the Musitronics Mu-Tron Phasor II from the 1970’s and was designed by Musitronics co-founder Mike Beigel. “The Phasor 2X features the same analog electro-optical phase-shift circuitry as the original Mu-Tron Phasor II, with many enhancements,” a press release states. “These include: dual...