Traynor Adds SB500H Bass Amp To Small Block Series
Traynor has expanded their Small Block series of bass heads with the SB500H. A companion to last year’s SB200H, the new amp delivers 500 watts while weighting a mere four pounds. The SB500H retains many of the same features of its smaller brethren, including active and passive inputs, a 4-band EQ with low and hi mid controls, and the company’s...
Dave Klein Leaves Black Flag
Black Flag’s personnel is in flux once again as bassist Dave Klein announced he’s quit the band to rejoin punk band They Stay Dead. “I guess I should OFFICIALLY (puns!) say that I’m no longer playing with [Black Flag],” Klein wrote on his Facebook page. The news came the same day that Rolling Stone published a story stating the band...
Tonecraft Audio Launches with 363 Tube Direct Box
Tonecraft Audio launched this year with their flagship product, the Tonecraft 363 Tube Direct Box. The interface is made for all instruments that use a 1/4″ connection, but the company’s designer Ryan Feves notes that it was created with a slant towards upright and electric bass. “While the DI is not exclusively for bass, [Jon Erickson] and I are both...
OoN Releases “Polaris”
Electric bass and bassoon may seem like a strange duo setting, but OoN is proof that the instruments blend quite nicely. The group, which consists of the fabulous Ariane Cap on 6-string bass and bassoonist Paul Hanson, has released their debut album, . Named for the North Star, the album showcases a range of styles, from jazz to rock to...
Flea Makes Statement on Red Hot Chili Peppers Super Bowl Halftime Show
The Red Hot Chili Peppers received a lot of heat for their performance during the Super Bowl halftime show, and not in a good way. Social media was buzzing after a picture of Flea’s unplugged bass from the show proved the band was only miming to a pre-recorded version of “Give It Away.” After a few days of outrage, Flea...
Bass of the Week: CG Lutherie Sequel 5-String Hollow Body Fretless
I got a tip to check out CG Lutherie, a French bass builder, and I’m glad I did. The company’s Sequel bass is an interesting take on a hollow body with multiple sound holes on the bass side of the instrument. This 5-string fretless Sequel is built with a black limba body a neck of garapa and rosewood. It’s tied...
Radial Announces Bassbone OD Pedal
Radial Engineering has updated their ToneBone series of pedals with the Bassbone OD, a bass preamp with two input channels and a built-in overdrive. The new pedal builds on the original Bassbone with several new features in addition to the overdrive such as a mute footswitch and the option to keep the effects loop active at all times. Each channel...
Warwick Unveils 2014 Limited Edition Fortress Bass
Each year, Warwick releases the latest in their Limited Edition series of basses, and this year the company has announced the 2014 Limited Edition Fortress Bass. The model, which comes in 4- and 5-string versions, is limited to only 100 instruments in the world. The bass is built around a swamp ash body with a stunning 3/8″ birdseye poplar top...
Alissia Benveniste: Let it Out
Our Facebook friend Ricardo Franco sent us this killer video of bassist Alissia Benveniste leading a band with her song “Let it Out.” The super catchy tune features her on bass and vocals. Alissia has got some serious groove!
Care Fund Set Up for New Orleans Bassist Left in Coma
The music community is coming to the aid of jazz bassist Doug Potter, who was left in a coma after a brutal attack in New Orleans. Potter had just finished playing a gig at Cafe Beignet on Bourbon Street when two men assaulted him as he carried his bass back to his car. The incident was caught on video and...
Yamaha Now Shipping TRBX Basses
Yamaha was showing off their new TRBX series of basses at this year’s Winter NAMM show. Combining elements of their former TRB and RBX lines, the new basses come in 300 and 500 levels with differing controls and pickups. All of the instruments sport a mahogany body and a five-piece maple/mahogany neck. The 500-level basses include the TRBX504 and TRBX505,...
Manuel Jiménez Gastélum: “Fine China” Bass Cover
It’s always great to discover cool bass lines that you wouldn’t normally hear. I don’t listen to much pop, but Manuel Jiménez Gastélum sent in this cover of Chris Brown’s “Fine China,” and I dig it. The song has a funky distorted bass line that he absolutely nails and his tone is killer.