Prophets of Rage Announce Make America Rage Again Tour
Guitarist Tom Morello, drummer Brad Wilk and bassist Tim Commerford of Rage Against the Machine fame have teamed up with Public Enemy’s Chuck D and Cypress Hill’s B-Real to form Prophets of Rage. The politically themed band blends elements of each of the members’ respective groups. If you’re wondering what that sounds like, check this out: Now the five-piece machine...
Claus Freudenstein Introduces US Made Minibass
Claus Freudenstein has unveiled the US version of his Freudenstein Minibass, a miniature contrabass designed for teaching children as young as five years old. It has a 70cm string length and comes in multiple colors. The bass is made of plywood and is braced inside. Freudenstein also has an accompanying book, entitled “Mini Bass”, for getting youngsters started. The Freudenstein...
Rock Stock Pedals Introduces the Dark Horse Fuzz
Rock Stock Pedals have introduced the Dark Horse, a new silicon fuzz pedal for bass and guitar. With wide fuzz and gain ranges, the company says it has a wide palette from “cool lo-fi tones to all out saturated, high-gain fuzz.” The Pedal has three controls – Volume, Treble, and Sustain – for dialing in your tone. Rock Stock points...
Nutopia: Antares
Since Nenad Vasilic began sending his Balkan bass videos, I’ve taken more interest in the music from that region. That’s why I was excited to get an email from bassist Audun Ramo with the title “Balkan Slap”. “I’ve been working on slap techniques for the double bass related to world music – and more specific the music from Balkan –...
In Memoriam: Brian Rading
Brian Rading, who laid down the low end for Canada’s Five Man Electrical Band, has passed away after fighting throat cancer. He was 69 years old. Rading co-founded the band in 1963 in Ottawa. Originally called The Staccatos, the group changed their name after a handful of albums on Capitol Records of Canada. Rading was instrumental in choosing the name...
Cody Wright: Funk Funko Potamus
Cody Wright a real funkmeister, which is why it’s perfect that he’s helping to create the soundtrack to the new Toejam and Earl video game. Here’s a clip of the bassist getting down on the quacky “Funk Funko Potamus”.
Bass of the Week: AJR Guitars Singlecut Bass
Our friend Christopher Kerton sent in pics of his bass for us to check out, and it almost knocked me out. The custom singlecut bass by AJR Guitars is a beauty to begin with, but digging into the details got me even more excited. “So, this bass was 100% customisable. Down to how I wanted the pickup covers to look,...
Kinky Wizzards: The Snake
The Kinky Wizzards are gearing up for a new album and they’ve just released this brand new in-studio video as a preview. “The Snake” features the excellent drum and bass brother duo of Jonathan Griffiths and Matthew Griffiths with guitarist Ryan Elliott tearing it up overtop. Matthew lays down a strong pulse and some seriously cool syncopations. The instrumental trio...
Wounded Paw Effects Launches the Bass701 Amplifier
Wounded Paw Effects is now shipping the Bass701, a head unit they describe as a “compact but powerful bass amp with a ton of of overdrive.” The 700-watt amp boasts a 6-band overdrive that splits the signal into six frequency bands, each with its own overdrive channel complete with separate drive and level controls. “All the overdrive channels are summed...
Fender Introduces The Mod Shop
If you’ve been wanting to get a customized Fender, the company has got you covered with the Mod Shop. The online “immersive digital studio experience” allows you to pick an instrument model and make it your own with options for its orientation, body color, pickguard, fingerboard, pickups, and hardware. Once you’ve created what you want, you can order it to...
CStands Expands Electric Bass Guitar Stands Range
After launching last year, CStands has now introduced a new line of bass-specific guitar stands. The new range, which is described as more affordable and more suitable for the job, includes four models that feature iconic headstocks in their design. Each of the stands are made with 18mm birch plywood in 13 years with lacquer safe cork protection at touch...
Roy Vogt Presents the 6th Annual Thunder Row Bass Invitational at Summer NAMM 2016
Roy Vogt’s Thunder Row Bass Invitational is back for its sixth year. The two-day event will be held in Nashville, Tennessee at the Douglas Corner Café on June 23rd and 24th to coincide with the annual Summer NAMM show. This year’s event will have an incredible roster of bassists. Thursday night will showcase Anthony “Smooth Groove” Joyner, The Interludes with...