Trace Elliot Announces the Transit B Bass Guitar Preamp Pedal
Along with the launch of their micro ELF bass amp at the NAMM Show this year, Trace Elliot returned with the Transit B Bass Guitar Preamp Pedal. The versatile preamp offers a host of controls with a pre-shape to dial in the classic Trace Elliot EQ curve, a dual-band compressor, a drive section, and a 5-band semi-parametric EQ. The compressor...
Schecter Introduces Stiletto Stage Basses
Schecter introduced the Stiletto Stage four- and five-string models at the Winter NAMM Show. The basses are designed to be a stripped-down, performance-ready bass at an affordable price point. Available in white and black gloss finishes, the neck-through basses are built with a mahogany body, a carbon-fiber reinforced maple neck, and ebony fretboard. The frets are marked with mother of...
Marcus Miller: How To Improvise a Solo
After getting the ability to groove under their fingers, many bassists struggle to learn how to take a solo. Luckily one of the greatest bassists ever is here to give you some tips. Marcus Miller sat down to make this video lesson for the Montreux Jazz Academy, which is affiliated with the annual jazz festival. From drawing to inspiration to...
Trevor Dunn Anchors New John Zorn Album
Composer John Zorn has released the sixth album with his 21st-century ensemble Simulacrum, called The Garden of Earthly Delights. The powerhouse band is comprised of bassist Trevor Dunn, keyboardist John Medeski, drummer Kenny Grohowski, guitarist Matt Hollenberg, and vocalist Sara Serpa. The exploratory album celebrates the 500th anniversary of the death of renowned painter Hieronymus Bosch. “A visionary of unparalleled...
Steve Lawson: Vertigo
Steve Lawson’s recent album Referendum is filled with powerful music inspired by the political events in the UK last year. Each song is a stream of consciousness as the bassist reflects on Brexit, starting with the track “Vertigo.” “This is entirely live and improvised,” Lawson wrote. “Looped and layered exactly as you see it. Some pretty heavy Kaoss Pad abuse...
Forever Funk: An Interview with Lige Curry
George Clinton has been spreading the gospel of funk around the world with Parliament Funkadelic for nearly 50 years, and bassist Lige Curry has been the group’s anchor for nearly four of those decades. Born in Flint, Michigan and raised in the Cleveland, Ohio area, Curry first caught the attention of the P-Funk crew along with his cousin, guitarist Michael...
Erik Arkö: The 12 Types of Metal Bass Players
Our friend Erik Arkö knows his metal, and that means he knows his metal bass players. He decided to have a little fun by making a parody video of the “12 types of metal bass players”, plus a follow-up to finish the ones he missed. “Being one myself, I hope that this is considered somewhat funny,” he writes. “Hope that...
DOD Introduces Rubberneck Analog Delay Pedal
DOD has announced the Rubberneck Analog Delay, a stompbox that features four bucket brigade chips that allow it to provide over one second of delay. It has a tap tempo footswitch and knobs for modulation, gain, and tone, but the pedal gets its name from its unique Rubberneck feature that lets users pitch shift from one time setting to another...
Ashdown Engineering Announce the B-Social Lite Desktop Bass Amp
One of the biggest hits of NAMM 2015 was the B-Social desktop bass amp. This year Ashdown expanded the range with the B-Social Lite, which they describe as the best aspects of the original in a smaller package. “It makes the amp more affordable,” says Ashdown’s Lee Alexander. “It doesn’t have wireless feature for the instrument, but you still have...
Stevie Wonder: Live on Musikladen/Beat Club, 1974
I watched this awesome Stevie Wonder performance a couple of times trying to figure out which song to feature. Finally, I realized you should watch the whole thing. Taken from a 1974 show for Musikladen (formerly The Beat Club), the clip has the great Reggie McBride laying it down on some of Wonder’s greatest hits with some especially stretched out...
In Memoriam: Lyle Ritz
Lyle Ritz, who worked as a session bassist during L.A.’s golden era of recording, passed away on March 3rd. He was 77 years old. Ritz began his musical career working at the Southern California Music Company, where he worked in the small goods department. It was here that he picked up the ukulele, which he also became famous for. He...
Warwick Unveils 2017 Limited Edition Thumb NT Models
Warwick unveiled their annual limited edition bass this year and this year is a landmark. The Thumb NT 2017, which comes in four and five-string versions, also marks the company’s 35th anniversary. The master-built instruments are built in Germany and limited to fifty units of each the four and five-string versions. Taking its cues from the standard Thumb NT model,...