Gerald Veasley’s Bass BootCamp Returns March 18-20
Gerald Veasley’s Bass Boot Camp is back in Philadelphia again this year from March 18th through the 20th. Led by Veasley, the camp three-day camp includes workshops, lessons, masterclasses, and performances by world class bass players to teach bassists of all levels. This year’s workshop instructors include Gail Ann Dorsey, Andrew Gouché, Tony Grey, Adam Nitti, Patrick Pfeiffer, Rob Smith...
Orange Introduces 4 Stroke Bass Amplifiers
Orange Amplification has introduced the 4 Stroke Bass Amplifier, an all-analog bass head available in 300 and 500-watt versions. The Class AB amps are described as staying “crystal clean and expressive all the way up, without ever becoming sterile or fatiguing.” Each amp centers around a 4-band parametric EQ section that has variable frequency knobs for Bass, Lo-Mids, Hi-Mids, and...
Back To The Funkture: An Interview With Alissia Benveniste
Alissia Benveniste has been turning heads with her fresh take on classic funk for a few years, starting with a viral hit of the video for her song “Let It Out”, but now she’s stepped it up by releasing her debut EP. Back to the Funkture is a six-song, feel-good album tied together by catchy hooks and top notch bass...
Soften The Glare: Controlled Chaos
Former Mudvayne bassist Ryan Martinie has a new trio with guitarist Bon Lozaga and drummer Mitch Hull called Soften The Glare. It’s not in the same vein as his previous outfit, but the group has some serious attitude. The trio, who lists their genre as Instrumental/Prog/Jazz/Rock/Funk/Chaos on their Facebook page, bring equal parts funkiness and heaviness to their song “Controlled...
Bass of the Week: Wahlbrink Hades 4-String Salmo Salar
Germany’s Wahlbrink Basses created the Hades as a workhorse bass that is “less fancy” than their Art-Line, but even so the model is a beauty. Here we’re checking out a four-string Hades dubbed the Salmo Salar, or Atlantic Salmon. The clean white finish is accented by a pickguard covered with genuine salmon leather, which Wahlbrink describes as “tough, pleasant to...
Schecter Adds To Session Series With 8-String, 5-String, Fretless Models
Schecter expanded their Session Series of basses this year with an 8-string version of their Riot bass, a 5-string version of the Model-T, and a fretless version of the Stiletto. As a part of the series, each of the basses is built with a swamp ash body, hard rock maple neck, ebony side block inlays, and active EMG pickups and...
Surine Basses Introduces The Lunara NTVII Bass
Luthier Scott Surine was showing his basses at the NAMM Show this year including a brand new model called the Lunara NTVII. The bass, which is Surine’s second single-cut design, features neck-through construction with a seven-piece Rock Maple and Walnut neck. The Lunara NTVII’s swamp ash body core is sandwiched between a Redwood burl top and back with black Sycamore...
Ninth Annual Rocky Mountain Bass Slam Announced
The Rocky Mountains will be shaking once again at the 9th Annual Rocky Mountain Bass Slam on May 15th, 2016. This year the Slam, held in Denver, will be headlined by bass legend Chuck Rainey and funkmeister Doug Johns along with local performers. “The Bass Slam will showcase the Colorado Bass Talent via several different formats: There will be solo...
Ibanez Introduces SR300E with Upgraded Electronics
Ibanez is stepping up their SR300 series with the SR300E basses, featuring upgraded pickups and electronics. The models, which come in four-, five-, and six-string versions, aim to bring a high quality of tone and control to a lower price point. The lineup centers around Ibanez’s new Powerspan dual coil pickups that have stainless steel poles to improve output, clarity,...
Tedeschi Trucks Band: Laugh About It
Tedeschi Trucks recently released Let Me Get By, the first to feature bass monster Tim Lefebvre since he joined up nearly three years ago. The band killed it in the studio, but this clip from Austin City Limits goes to show they’re hitting their stride in live situations, too. This clip of “Laugh About It” has all the right ingredients...
Gittler Instruments Unveils Bass Models at NAMM 2016
First introduced in the 1980s, the minimalist Gittler Guitar was reborn in 2013 thanks to musician and titanium expert Russ Rubman. This year Gittler Instruments has unveiled three new bass models, including four-string, five-string, and fretless versions. “Similar to the six string Gittler Guitar, these basses are manufactured of aircraft grade titanium with an optional weapons grade finish and weigh...
B’ANG Duet: Whisper Not
We love it when bassists get together to make music. Double bassists Petros Klampanis and Or Bareket teamed up to form the B’ANG Duet (aka the Bass Hang Duet), and it’s a perfect reason why bassists should band together. “B’ANG first appeared at the 2015 International Bass Society Convention in Colorado and received enthusiastic reaction,” they write. “The Duet continues...