Going Up: An Interview with Sandy Beales
Behind every major pop star, there’s usually a cast of talented musicians backing them up. This includes the wildly popular boy band One Direction, who get their groove from bassist Sandy Beales. Since 2011, the London-based low-ender has been touring the world with the “What Makes You Beautiful” singers and playing to sold-out crowds. But his playing doesn’t stop there....
Name That Bass Line!
Name That Bass Line! is a fun show on YouTube that mixes skit comedy and famous bass lines. What more could you want? Each segment has ten mystery bass lines played by fellow YouTubers that the viewers have to guess. This episode features bassists Dave Baron, Will Lee, MarloweDK, DavidSinRocks, TJH3113, MusicLisha, Paul from “How To Play Bass Dot Com”,...
TC Electronic Announces Polytune 2
TC Electronic has upgraded its flagship tuner with the Polytune 2. The polyphonic tuner, which displays the pitches of all your strings when you strum them simultaneously, now offers a bigger, brighter display as well as chromatic strobe tuner. The Polytune 2 features much brighter LEDs than its predecessor and the brightness of the display is adjusted automatically with an...
Chick Corea Releases “The Vigil”, Featuring Hadrien Feraud and Stanley Clarke
After releasing four collaborative albums last year, legendary keyboardist Chick Corea has gotten back to creating his own songs with The Vigil. The effort includes a brand new band filled out by saxophonist Tim Garland, guitarist Charles Altura, drummer Marcus Gilmore and bassist Hadrien Feraud. The band, which is also called The Vigil, gives Corea the opportunity to return to...
Ampeg Adds 1×12 and 2×12 Cabinets to Classic Series
Along with the reissue of the V-4B, Ampeg has announced two new SVT bass cabinets: the SVT-112AV and the SVT-212AV. Both models are stocked with 12? Eminence LF drivers, making it the first time the company has released cabinets housing 12-inch drivers in over a decade. The cabs also include a 1? compression driver with a 3-way level control. The...
Flying Colors Announce Live Album and DVD
Prog rock supergroup Flying Colors is gearing up to release a new live album and accompanying DVD of their performance from Tilburg, Netherlands on September 20th, 2012. Flying Colors – Live In Europe captures the band at the toward the end of their fall European tour and just months after their debut album was released. Anchored by bassist Dave LaRue,...
In Memoriam: Tim Wright
Tim Wright, original bassist for the experimental rock group Pere Ubu, has passed away. The cause of death was not announced. Wright helped to form Pere Ubu in Cleveland, Ohio in 1975. Blending punk and art rock, the band’s sound was underpinned by the bassist’s growling tone on early tracks including “30 Seconds Over Tokyo” and “Final Solution.” Wright also...
George Duke with Byron Miller: “Dukey Stick”, In the Studio 1978
The music community was rocked this week with the passing of the legendary keyboardist George Duke. The phenomenal musician had a long and varied career including work with Cannonball Adderley, Frank Zappa, and more. The list of bassists he worked with is equally inspiring: Stanley Clarke, Christian McBride, John Heard, Alphonso Johnson, Tom Fowler, Louis Johnson, Doug Rauch, Byron Miller...
Newsted Releases Heavy Metal Music
Newsted has built upon their Metal EP with the release of their first full length album, entitled . Fronted by bassist Jason Newsted, the band’s raw grooves and genuine attitude shine through on eleven tracks of unadulterated metal. “I’m doing this because I want to do this,” Newsted told us in an interview earlier this year. “I only do what...
Misa Introduces Tri-Bass MIDI Controller
Australian company Misa is all about enabling live bands to play electronic music, and their new Tri-Bass is a great example of that. The Misa Tri-Bass is a MIDI controller built for use with synthesizers or computers while fundamentally feeling like a bass. It has two main parts: a touch sensitive neck with three “strings” and a touch screen on...
ACT: Emin Köklü’s Bass Play-through of “You Owe Us Blood”
Turkish bassist Emin Köklü sent in this video of his recording session for his band ACT’s song “You Owe Us Blood,” and am I glad he did. The hard-hitting metal is underpinned by the bassist’s cutting tone, solid groove and wicked tapping and sweeping techniques. Make sure you check out the breakdown section starting at 2:39 for some cool melodic...
Bass of the Week: Adam “Nolly” Getgood’s G-Spot Basses Temptress
Hold on to your hats. Periphery’s Adam “Nolly” Getgood shared the details of his newest axe from G-Spot Basses called the Temptress, and the name fits the bill. The handmade six-string bass was built by luthier Steve Gammon out of Hollywood, Florida and recently got its debut at one of Periphery’s concerts. Based around a swamp ash body, the Temptress...