Skip to main content

Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 545


EC Pedals Releases Michael Benson FuzzDriver Pedal
Pedals & Effects

EC Pedals Releases Michael Benson FuzzDriver Pedal

EC Pedals has joined forces with bassist Michael Benson to released the FuzzDriver, a stompbox that combines the company’s Bass Overlord and Angry Ape Gated Fuzz effects into one. The effects can be activated separately or together to create new textures. The Fuzz side of the FuzzDriver has Level, Tone, Gain, and Growl controls. Its Growl knob controls the gate...

Metalin’ Guitars Introduces New Aluminum Instrument Stands
Accessories & Strings

Metalin’ Guitars Introduces New Aluminum Instrument Stands

Metalin’ Guitars has a pair of funky new instrument stands made of solid aluminum. The respective Floor and Gooseneck models feature a sturdy tri-tilt balancing assembly that can be disassembled for storage or moving. Built to fit basses and guitars guitars, the stands have a lacquer safe padding to keep your instrument’s finish safe. They also come in custom finishes...

Bass of the Week: Prometeus Guitars Ahab
Bass of the Week

Bass of the Week: Prometeus Guitars Ahab

Any instrument named after the monomaniacal captain from Herman Melville’s Moby Dick needs to have a similar aggressive design, and the Prometeus Guitars Ahab delivers in spades. This week we check out a 6-string, multi-scale version of the bass that left me speechless. While the Ahab can be built with varying woods and materials, this particular bass sports a jaw-dropping...

Sketches of Bob: An Interview with Bobby Vega
Interviews

Sketches of Bob: An Interview with Bobby Vega

San Francisco in the ’60s and ’70s was a hotbed for bassists. With bands like Sly and the Family Stone, The Grateful Dead, and Jefferson Airplane calling the city their home, the Bay area was fertile with exciting new music filled out by a lot of low end thump. It was in this musical landscape that Bobby Vega began his...

Muse Releases “Live at Rome Olympic Stadium” CD/DVD
New Albums

Muse Releases “Live at Rome Olympic Stadium” CD/DVD

Muse has followed up the success of last year’s The 2nd Law with a new live album and DVD. presents the band’s Italian performance on July 6th in front of over 60,000 fans as part of their Unsustainable Tour. It also acts as a musical snapshot of the band’s increasingly electronic sound, which lead singer Matt Bellamy says will be...

Lehle Now Shipping Julian Parametric Booster Pedal
Pedals & Effects

Lehle Now Shipping Julian Parametric Booster Pedal

Lehle is now shipping the Julian, a preamp pedal with parametric mids and treble controls for tonal shaping and recreating sounds of classic treble boosters. Its booster offers up to 15dB of boost or cut. Since the vintage boosters had low input impedance, the Julian is equipped with a switch that reduces the impedance from 1MOhm to 10kOhm to reproduce...

Jon Liebman’s “Rock Bass” Method Reissued
Sheet Music & Instruction

Jon Liebman’s “Rock Bass” Method Reissued

Fifteen years after its original release, Jon Liebman’s Rock Bass instructional book has been updated. The revised edition features a new section focusing on music from the 2000’s, an updated appendix on equipment and effects and a foreward by Billy Sheehan. Rock Bass now features over 130 musical selections ranging from the earliest rock riffs of the ’50s to present...

Sandberg Announces 5-String MarloweDK Signature Bass
Basses

Sandberg Announces 5-String MarloweDK Signature Bass

Two years after issuing MarloweDK’s signature bass, Sandberg has unveiled a five string version of the instrument. The MarloweDK 5-string bass retains most of the features of the four-string with a few adjustments to accommodate for the extra string. Built with an alder body and a bolt-on maple neck, the bass has a longer 35″ scale for a more powerful...

Deep Purple Releases “Perfect Strangers Live” DVD/CD
New Albums

Deep Purple Releases “Perfect Strangers Live” DVD/CD

1984 was a big year for Deep Purple fans. The band, notorious for personnel changes, announced a full-scale reunion with its classic “Mark II” lineup of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, singer Ian Gillan, keyboardist Jon Lord, drummer Ian Paice and bassist Roger Glover. The resulting Perfect Strangers album was the lineup’s first work together since 1973 and ultimately led to a...

Kim Shattuck Leaves The Pixies
News

Kim Shattuck Leaves The Pixies

Just months after recruiting Muffs low ender Kim Shattuck, The Pixies are once again bassless. Shattuck announced her dismissal on her Facebook page. “Super disappointed to learn that my time with the Pixies ended today,” the bassist shared. “Amazing experience. Looking forward to focusing my attention back on the Muffs and our upcoming new album. All the best to everyone.”...

Bass of the Week: Memphis Guitar Spa Cinnamon Gurl
Bass of the Week

Bass of the Week: Memphis Guitar Spa Cinnamon Gurl

As a Neil Young fan I’m also a huge Rick Rosas fan, so I was pumped to see pictures of his newest bass pop up on Facebook. Rosas called on Kevin Ferner of Memphis Guitar Spa to create a bass to bring a different sound to his studio work. This week we check out the resulting beauty they call Cinnamon...

Billy Cox and Bootsy Collins to Join Experience Hendrix Tour 2014
Concerts & Tours

Billy Cox and Bootsy Collins to Join Experience Hendrix Tour 2014

The Experience Hendrix Tour is back for its eighth run, and this year is set to be another spectacular show. Leading the charge is bassist Billy Cox who will be a constant member of the tour’s rhythm section. Cox is the only musician, apart from Hendrix himself, who was a member of both the Band of Gypsys and the Jimi...