Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 536

Baer Amplification is now shipping the Valkyrie, an 850-watt bass amplifier featuring the company’s Trans-Hybrid Preamp. The Valkyrie’s solid state preamp sounds rich without adding much coloration while the amp’s tube hybrid preamp adds more personality with more harmonic overtones and growl. The two sections are switched as easily as the push of a button. The Valkyrie puts out 850...

After discontinuing the model in 2007, Dean has reintroduced the Stylist Cabbie Bass. The outlandish semi-hollow bass stands out with a yellow top and a black and white checkerboard design on the back and sides. The 4-string bass features a 32″ scale. Its maple neck sports a “C”-shape profile and is topped with a rosewood fingerboard adorned pearl off-set dot...

Justin Meldal-Johnsen took to Twitter to make an announcement about his 2014 plans. The bassist/producer will be spending more time performing with Beck and a bit less time in the studio. “Nostalgia aside, I have a little announcement to make which hearkens back to my past a bit,” he wrote. “Starting now, I will be spending most of my time...

Epiphone is celebrating legendary bassist Jack Casady once again with a limited edition version of his signature hollowbody bass. The limited edition 2014 Jack Casady Bass will come in Alpine White with a six-layer white/black body binding further accented by black plastic hardware. Casady, who turns 70 this year, helped design the bass and was most instrumental in building its...

Adam Blackstone is not only a monster bassist, he’s an amazing musical director. Currently working with pop stars like Justin Timberlake and Rihanna, here’s a great video of Jill Scott from VH1’s SoulStage with Blackstone laying down some serious groove. The song arrangements are absolutely killer, too.

King Crimson is notorious for all of its lineup changes, but no one can deny that John Wetton was a major force in the group during their 1972-1974 run. His bass and vocals shaped the band’s Larks’ Tongues in Aspic, Starless and Bible Black and Red albums. Here he is with the band on French television performing “Starless” in 1974....

Chris from Alpher Instruments sent us a few shots of their latest creation, a Mako Elite MBL 5, and we were stunned. The sheer beauty of the deluxe walnut top in the company’s curvy Mako shape makes for one gorgeous instrument. Alpher makes their instruments by hand in their Yorkshire, England shop. This particular bass was commissioned by the Manchester...

This one is sure to get your head bobbing. Italian bassist Tobia Ciaglia gets an awesome groove going with just his bass, a slide, and a wooden box.

Dunlop has expanded the MXR Bass Innovations series with the M81 Bass Preamp, a pedal that packs a preamp into a stompbox the size of the company’s Phase 90. Similar to a studio preamp, the Bass Preamp has level controls for its input and output. The EQ section has bass, mid, and treble controls with a sweepable midrange from 250Hz...

Maurice Ellis has a way with all bass covers. His first one of Justin Timberlake’s “Mirrors” hit the nail on the head, and he’s done it again with the song “I Can’t Make You Love Me.” “Originally by Bonnie Raitt, this song has be redone by numerous artists,” he writes. “I figured it would be a good platform for a...

When we were interviewing Alex Webster for our recent Profiles in Tone column, one of the bands he said we had to check out was Revocation. And he was right. Bassist Brett Bamberger gets a gnarly pick tone on the track “Spastic” from the band’s self-titled album. Here’s his play-through of the song (first video), followed by the second video...

If you’ve ever wanted to hang out and learn with Billy Sheehan, here’s your chance. The Winery Dogs has announced the Dog Camp, an immersive program for musicians of all ages and levels. The event is set for July 21st through July 25th at Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, New York. Formed in late 2012, The Winery Dogs is...