Fender Updates Deluxe Series Basses
Fender has revamped their Deluxe series of instruments into a more cohesive lineup with a shared set of upgrades. The series includes new versions of the Deluxe Active Precision Bass Special, the Deluxe Active Jazz Bass, and the Deluxe Active Dimension Bass. Each of the basses now has a 12-inch fingerboard radius, active/passive electronics, a hi-mass bridge, and vintage noiseless...
Radial Engineering Adds Bigshot EFX to ToneBone Series
Radial Engineering has announced the BigShot EFX, a true-bypass dual effects loop. The device lets you set up two separate effects loops to have two distinct and selectable pedal chains. This also helps to reduce tone-robbing and noisy by-products of certain non-true bypass pedals. Both loops are in series, allowing you to feed loop-A into loop-B for more creative options....
Bergantino Audio Systems Announces the HG310 “Holo-Graphic” Loudspeaker
Bergantino Audio Systems has announced the HG310 “Holo-Graphic” loudspeaker. The forward-thinking cabinet, which features three ten-inch neodymium magnet woofers and a tweeter, is designed to create a 360-degree sonic experience. “Three woofers are mated to a lightweight sealed cabinet with 2 facing forward and a third facing rearward,” the company writes. “This speaker orientation generates a 3-dimensional soundstage that makes...
Steve Lawson: Five Stages
As in most of the world, politics in the UK have taken some strange twists and turns this year and it deeply affected bassist Steve Lawson. Today we’re sharing a first look at his upcoming album, The Surrender of Time that expresses his feelings on the situation. “The next chapter in my instrumental exploration of what’s going on in the...
Q-Tuner Unveils Transparent Q2.0 Pickups
Q-Tuner has announced a small-scale production of transparent versions of their neodymium q2.0 bass pickups. Each unit will be one of a kind and made to order. As such, the pickups can be fine-tuned in terms of output, dynamic response and frequency range, the company says. The new models, which will be available later this year, will act as a...
Stu Hamm Band: Black Ice, Live
Stuart Hamm has been killing it on the road this year with solo and band tours. While he’s been touring behind his latest album, The Book of Lies, he has also been mixing in some of his older tunes for a career spanning experience. Here’s a clip of Hamm and his bandmates Jeff Bowders and Randy McStine tackling “Black Ice”...
Bass of the Week: Jerzy Drozd Soul IV “Matisse”
Tim Cook sent us a few pictures of his bass, and we were drooling. The Jerzy Drozd Soul IV “Matisse” is a real piece of art, which is fitting since it was inspired by other pieces of art. “Jerzy Drozd monikers his work as ‘Jerzy Drozd, the Bass Art Company’ and fittingly a search for a description of this bass...
Cyrille Aimée and Sam Anning: Tricotism
Oscar Pettiford’s “Tricotism” has been a benchmark melody for bassists since the bebop heavyweight wrote it in 1954. Today we’re checking out a superb bass and vocal version of the tune performed by Cyrille Aimée and Sam Anning. Our friend Dylan Kuerschner sent the clip in saying our readers might like it, and I have to agree. Each musician nimbly...
Ibanez Adds New Finishes For Summer 2016
Ibanez has added new finishes to a host of their electric basses, including the Gio series, the SR300 series, and the Talman TMB310. Each of the entry level basses have a pair of new color options. The Ibanez Gio series will now include the GSR200SDL, a Soda Blue 4-string, and the GSR205DVM Deep Violet Metallic 5-string. Each bass is built...
Birdsong Guitars Introduces Sparrow Bass and SD Curlee Phoenix
The short-scale masters at Birdsong Guitars have taken things a step further by adding the Sparrow Bass to their lineup. Originally introduced as a prototype, the model features an incredibly short 25.5-inch scale. Birdsong explains on their website: “The thought was this – if our 31? scales behave & speak like 34s, could we do a something even shorter that...
John Patitucci Joins Chick Corea for Elektric Band Tour
The classic lineup of Chick Corea’s Elektric Band will be hitting the road once again this fall. Anchored by bass heavyweight John Patitucci, the band will also include guitarist Frank Gambale, saxophonist Eric Marienthal, and drummer Dave Weckl. “The group sort of reformed itself with everyone’s desire to play together,” Corea explains. “I thought it would be an interesting thing,...
Beetronics Launches the Whoctahell Fuzz/Octave Pedal
Beetronics has launched its first handmade effects pedal line including the WhoctaHell, a low-octave fuzz with independent controls for each effect. “Its overdrive/fuzz is summed up with a gnarly, squared-wave low octave, resembling an 8-bit bass synthesizer,” the company writes. “Its octave has a range of one or two low octaves, selectable by a toggle switch and also has it’s...