Fretlight Introduces FB-525 Bass
Educational instrument maker Fretlight has introduced their first bass guitar, the FB-525. The bass is the four-string to feature the company’s built-in LED learning system that teaches you to play by lighting up dots on the fretboard. The FB-525 comes in right and left-hand models and features a P/J pickup configuration with a 3-way toggle switch. Its neck is made...
Kala Announces Bakithi Kumalo Signature U-Bass
Bakithi Kumalo and Kala Brand Music have teamed up to released the Bakithi Kumalo Signature U-Bass. Kumalo, who first made his mark on Paul Simon’s Graceland album, has been a U-Bass endorser for several years and helped to create the new signature model. The B.K. U-Bass is solid-body fretless four-string with a 21″ scale. It’s built with a select ash...
Olivier Babaz: “Teen Town” on Double Bass and Kalimba
There’s something very satisfying about the combination of bass and kalimba. Olivier Babaz plays both simultaneously (not to mention a foot shaker) in this chilled out rendition of the Jaco Pastorius tune “Teen Town.” Talk about coordination!
Nathan Vonnahme Releases Teüna Chromatic Tuner App
Nathan Vonnahme has released Teüna, a chromatic tuner app for iPhone, iPad and iPad Touch. The app draws on historical aesthetic for its design. “I started looking at these pocket watches from the 17th century, and I realized, these were the iPhone of their day,” Vonnahme explains. “This was the object that every gentleman and many ladies would whip out...
Bass of the Week: Ronin Guitars Prætorian
This week we check out the Ronin Prætorian, a bass built with the environment in mind. Central to the instrument is its “Salvaged Old Growth Redwood” (or S.O.G.R.) body, which the company reclaims from old barns, wineries, and agricultural buildings. Each piece is selected for a tight quarter-sawn grain structure, which the company explains offers improved sound transfer and acoustic...
Clatter: Tree of Secrets
Who doesn’t love some gritty Rickenbacker tone? Here’s a great example from Clatter bassist/vocalist Amy Humphrey, who rocks it out on their song “Tree of Secrets.”
Justin Meldal-Johnsen Joins Paramore for Holiday Performances
Justin Meldal-Johnsen will be hitting the road with Paramore during their upcoming holiday tour while bassist Jeremy Davis sits out to be with his family while his first child is born. “Maybe you’re wondering how the heck we’re gonna play shows without Jeremy slapping the funky funk out of his bass? Don’t worry… we took care of it,” the band...
Paz Lenchantin Joins The Pixies
The Pixies have announced that former A Perfect Circle bassist Paz Lenchantin will be joining them as the touring bassist for their upcoming worldwide tour. Lenchantin, who has also played with ZWAN and The Entrance Band, will begin her duties with the band at Toronto’s Massey Hall on January 15, 2014. “We are really looking forward to playing with her...
Dean Markley Introduces Signature Series Bass Strings
Dean Markley has announced the Signature Series bass strings, available in 4- and 5-string sets. The strings feature a nickel plated steel that’s slowly wound over a hex core. This provides complete contact between the wrap wire and core, which the company says results in a maximum transfer of tone and sustain. The wrap wire is electroplated with pure nickel...
Sean Martinez: Interconnected
Sean Martinez has a new EP called Omnipotent Dream coming out soon, and he’s been dropping some teasers from the upcoming release. Here’s an awesome video of Martinez playing along with the track “Interconnected,” which features some gorgeous tapping, ambient effects, and gnarly distortion for a spacey vibe.
Ben Allison Releases “The Stars Look Very Different Today”
Ben Allison has a new atmospheric album out, . Taking its name from David Bowie’s lyrics to “Space Oddity,” the bassist’s eleventh album as a leader brings together his lifelong love of space, technology and film. Allison used the record as a medium to explore musical textures that tie the three together. The result offers up a sci-fi vibe influenced...
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...