Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 559

Reed James Engineering was at the 2016 Winter NAMM show to introduce the VVN NEOA5 set of pickups. Based on their VVN RJNEO set, the new pickups differentiate themselves by creating a relationship between the neodymium magnets and vintage Alnico 5 rod magnets. “We mated precise amounts of each magnet material to create the magnetic pull and field in order...

This week we’re checking out the Puntundo 5 by Spain’s Ele Custom Basses. This version of their El Puntundo bass was made for Fabio Lessa and features the headless version of the striking singlecut design. One’s eye is led straight to the buckeye burl top, which is accentuated with matching pickup covers. The set-neck bass is also built with a...

Bassist Jimmy Bain, who laid down the low end for hard rock icons Rainbow and Dio, has passed away at the age of 68. A cause of death has not been announced. The announcement was made by Def Leppard guitarist and Last in Line bandmate Vivian Campbell. “It’s with the heaviest of hearts that I must confirm the news of...

Aguilar Amplification is expanding their SL line of bass cabinets with the SL 410x. The cab is rated at 800 watts RMS and weighs in at 49 pounds, which the company states is nearly half the weight of a traditional 410. The SL 410x comes in either 4 or 8 ohm configurations and is loaded with four custom voiced woofers...

Videos from this year’s Winter NAMM show are starting to roll in, and this one really caught my ear. Cory Henry of Snarky Puppy performed at the ROLI event with his band The Funk Apostles, including bassist MonoNeon. The band spins out their own jaw-dropping versions of The Jackson Five’s “I Want You Back” and Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues...

Beginning bassists have a new option with the Washburn Sonamaster SB1 bass. The entry-level instrument, which comes in Black and Tobacco-Sunburst finishes, is inspired by their ’80s models in its body shape, reverse headstock, and offset position markers. It’s built with an alder body, maple neck, and fingerboard. Washburn fits it with a P-style pickup and passive electronics for an...

Electro-Harmonix unveiled the Bass Preacher at the Winter NAMM Show this year. The compact compressor/sustainer pedal is designed specifically for bass guitar to manipulate its dynamics. It begins with input sensitivity ranges from -10 dBu to +2 dBu, which EHX says makes it ideal for passive and active basses. The Bass Preacher has Volume and Sustain knobs with a three-way...

Slave’s “Slide” was one of those songs that created a wave of new bass players, thanks to the down and dirty groove pinned down by the late Mark Adams. Get a dose of some old school funk with this performance from a 1981 episode of Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.

The eccentric effects creators at EarthQuaker Devices have released the Bellows Fuzzdriver, which they describe as a “back-to-basics, transistor-based dirt device.” The pedal is pared down to just Level and Drive controls for a straight-forward vintage vibe. “Similar to the volume control of a “non master” amp, the Drive determines how hard the signal hits the input. At lower drive...

Bassist Olivier Babaz sent us this video of himself taking an arco solo over the gypsy jazz standard “Minor Swing”, and I had to watch a few times. Besides playing some great ideas, he gets a huge tone that will make your ears happy.

I’ve been getting pumped up for the Guns N’ Roses reunion this year by checking out older performances, and this one caught me. Shot in Tokyo in 1992, the video starts with Duff McKagan riffing for Axl Rose to intro the band with “Sail Away Sweet Sister” and “Bad Time” before kicking into “Sweet Child O’ Mine”. The song, of...

There’s been a great wave of instrumental/jazz-rock bands as of late, and Vels Trio is one of them. Anchored by bassist Cameron Dawson, the group explores genre bending grooves and textures. Here’s a great clip of the trio performing “Yellow Ochre,” which has Dawson alternating between a bubbling, filtered bass line and a straight groove.