Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 565

Blackstar Amps has unveiled the Tone:Link, a Bluetooth audio receiver that allows any amp or device with a line-in jack to use Bluetooth for streaming. It works with bass amps, guitar amps, PAs, home stereos, headphones and car speakers. “By plugging into the line-in jack of any guitar amp, Tone:Link offers music playback with up to a 65 foot wireless...

Happy birthday to Fleetwood Mac’s John McVie! We’re celebrating in style with “Say You Love Me” from the band’s 1998 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction. McVie lays down a buttery bass line with plenty of tasty fills to drive the song. Happy birthday, John McVie!

We’re celebrating Edgar Meyer’s birthday today with an awesome throwback bass duet with Victor Wooten. The pair has fun with Meyer’s original tune “Webbed Feet” in this 1991 clip from Kentucky Educational Television’s “The Lonesome Pine Specials”. Both bassists push their instruments to the limit while making musical jests over the light-hearted groove. “Webbed Feet” first appeared on Meyer’s 1987...

In what promises to be one of the most anticipated tours of 2016, Tool and Primus are teaming up for a set of tour dates in January. The 8-date trek is a rare outing for Tool, who have seldom played more than 20 shows in a single year since 2007. Kicking off on January 9th in San Diego, the tour...

As they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That’s why luthier Scott Sterling of Lea Bass Guitars decided to create the Dumpster bass. Although the bass has a fine fit and finish, the components didn’t start out that way. “This bass started out as an ‘upcycled’ experiment in tonality – all the wood is from dumpsters in my...

Seymour Duncan has added to their line of bass pickups with the Apollo Jazz Bass Linear Humbucker. The new model employs two coils that sit next to each other under a standard single-coil-sized cover. Duncan’s head of R&D Kevin Beller designed the pickups to get a warm, traditional sound with modern attributes to clean up the sound. “I’ve been playing...

Volbeat bassist and founding member Anders Kjolholm has announced that he’s left the band. The group, which is reportedly in the studio for their next album, posted a message on their website with the information. “In connection with the planning and preparation of Volbeat’s extensive future plans and wishes for 2016 and onwards, Volbeat and Anders Kjølholm part ways. All...

Acoustic Amplification has introduced a new series of Class-D/Neo bass amplifiers including heads, cabinets, and combo amps. The new models are approximately 40 percent lighter than the company’s previous models. New head units include the B300HD, B600HD, and the B1000HD. Common controls on each head are a blendable overdrive circuit, an Acousti-Comp compression, a Notch filter with frequency control, an...

SolidGoldFX’s Apollo phaser has been updated to The Apollo II. The stompbox combines an all-analog, four-stage phaser circuit with the company’s tap tempo microprocessor. The Apollo II now has an 11-position detent knob that controls a variety of distinct waveforms. Combined with its three different rhythmic patterns, SolidGoldFX says the pedal offers a vast array of unique phasing options from...

Stuart Hamm is hitting the road again in support of his latest album, The Book of Lies. The winter tour will include four solo dates before bringing on the bassists’s band consisting of guitarist Alex Skolnick and drummer Joel Taylor. Hamm’s outing focuses on the West Coast and Midwest. The solo dates start November 27th in Spanish Fork, Utah and...

Nathan Navarro is back with another great solo bass arrangement. This time he explores the classical world with Mozart’s “Lacrimosa”. Navarro brings lots emotion to the performance, adding drama with dynamics changes and beautiful phrasing. A digital download of the song as well as tablature and sheet music are available on his website.

There’s not a whole lot of live footage of the late, great James Jamerson, but the bits that we have are fantastic. Here’s a clip of the master bassist laying it down for Martha Reeves on a 1974 episode of “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert.”