Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 532

Italian bass amp manufacturer Markbass has unveiled their latest bass cabinet with the Standard 121 HR. Featuring a 1×12″ configuration, the rear tuned ported cab has a sound the company calls “warm, focused, and natural.” The cab is rated at 400 watts and has a wedge design to allow for use as a floor monitor as well as sitting in...

We’re celebrating Nathan East’s birthday today with a killer performance of “101 Eastbound” taken from last year’s NAMM show. East chords on his bass while vocalizing the melody before playing the lead lines. His gorgeous playing is also supported by Melvin Lee Davis, who lays down the bass from the back of the band. Happy birthday, Mr. East!

More sad news to report today: bass and prog-rock legend Greg Lake has died after a long bout with cancer. The King Crimson and ELP founder was 69 years old. Lake was born in the town of Poole in England in 1947 and picked up the guitar at 12. During their school years, he became friends with Robert Fripp, who...

Radial Engineering has announced the 4-Play Direct Box. Aimed at multi-instrumentalists, the DI works well for bass, acoustic guitar, mandolin, fiddle, and more. It has a 1/4-inch input for your instrument with four selectable XLR outputs. You can switch instruments by hitting the mute footswitch, plugging in the right instrument, and then using the second footswitch to toggle to the...

Norway’s OnkartGromt has released the Grombass V2, an overdrive/distortion pedal made for bass. The innovative pedal has an analog circuit with a microcontroller inside that controls the gain stages. The microcontroller is Arduino compatible with open code that can be modified by the user via USB cable. The Grombass V2 has three distortion modes: Germanium, LED, and Silicon. “Germanium diodes...

Bass and cello duo Von Thord have returned with a set of new videos, including this performance of the song “Nya Mäster”. Bassist David Werthén sets up a beautiful groove for John Bergion’s melancholy melody before things get heated up with unison and octave lines. Their technical prowess and innate musicality make this a video you’ll want to watch more...

In case you missed them this year, Dead & Company have announced a new tour for 2017. “The Music Never Stops” tour will be a cross-country trek that kicks off May 27th in Las Vegas. The band, which is anchored by bass guru Oteil Burbridge, was formed by Grateful Dead members Mickey Hart, Bob Weir, and Bill Kreutzmann after the...

Steely Dan fans will want to check out Aidan Hampson’s latest transcription book, which documents the bass lines from the band’s biggest hits. The 13-song collection covers their most prolific period from 1972’s Can’t Buy a Thrill to 1980’s Gaucho. Featuring hits like “Reelin’ In The Years”, “My Old School”, “Peg”, and more, the book includes the bass work of...

I love it when luthiers think outside the box with the woods they use for their instruments. A recent trend has been to recycle old skateboards to create instant mojo, and Brazilian bass builder Antonio Cesar Scopel nailed it with his P-Board bass. Inspired by the Fender Precisions from 1951 to 1957, the P-Board’s body is made entirely from used...

We love seeing bass playing buskers, and this video is a good example of why. America Paz and Eduardo Sitja took to the streets of Santiago, Chile to play some bass and melt some faces. The duo trades slap lines back and forth, building on each other’s ideas for a fun jam session.

Ten years after their last release, Emma Electronic has unveiled the ON-1 Okto-Nøjs. The octave/fuzz pedal features an all-analog circuit that works well on both bass and guitar. It has separate footswitches for the octave and fuzz effects for flexibility. Controls include Dry, Okto, and Tone for the octave section with Gain, Tone, Color, and Nøjs for the fuzz. Level...

Ernie Ball Music Man has unveiled their 2017 Spring Collection, including a 30th Anniversary StingRay5 model. The 5-string version of their flagship bass was first introduced in 1986 and the company is celebrating gorgeous limited edition version. The bass is built with an ash body covered in a transparent buttercream finish that’s accented with a red tortoise shell pickguard. The...