MBS Effects Introduces Parallel Universe Bass Blender
MBS Effects has released the Parallel Universe Bass Blender, a pedal they describe as a parallel mixer that allows you to mix your dry signal with the pedals placed on its effects loop. The Blend feature has become more popular on many new pedals, but the Parallel Universe allows for blending with older pedals or with multiple pedals. “Doing this,...
Bass of the Week: RG Custom Basses Pathos
Bassist Sam Battaglino shared some details of his new RG Custom Basses Pathos on a Facebook group called Best Boutique Basses, and it stopped me in my tracks. The left-handed bass features a neck-through design with solid spalted Ambrosia maple body wings that give it a raw, organic, and yet refined aesthetic. Its five-piece neck brings together spalted Ambrosia maple...
Vail Johnson Releases “The Seventh Son”
Session bass ace Vail Johnson has returned with The Seventh Son, a thirteen-song album that brings together several genres to create a style the bassist calls “JazzAmericana.” Johnson, whose has worked with artists from Herbie Hancock to Whitney Houston, fuses country, blues, R&B, folk, and jazz for an eclectic yet cohesive sound. “This mix of originals and covers of timeless...
Nordstrand Guitars Introduces Dan Lutz Nordy DL vM5 Bass
Nordstrand Guitars has teamed up with bassist Dan Lutz to unveil the Nordy DL vM5. The bass is a take on the company’s Nordy vM5 model that brings together their NP5 and BigMan pickups for a unique configuration. Similar to the vM5, the DL vM5 is built with either an ash body and maple fingerboard or an alder body with...
Rise to Power: An Interview with Don Slater
You know you’re doing something right when metal mainstay Kirk Windstein is singing your praises, and that’s precisely the case for Don Slater of Battlecross. The bassist brings an intense energy to the stage every night with a unique voice on his instrument. Battlecross is now gearing up to release , a 10-song collection that combines their thrash and groove...
Oteil Burbridge to Join Grateful Dead Alumni Band “Dead and Company”
Hundreds of thousands of people witnessed The Grateful Dead’s “Fare Thee Well” concert series, marking the final time the “core four” surviving band members would perform together under the band’s moniker. A month later, three of the four band members – Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart – have announced a concert on Halloween night at Madison Square Garden...
Universal Audio Introduces Ampeg SVT-VR and SVT-3 Pro Plug-Ins
Recording bassists have some new amp modeling software options with Universal Audio’s new Ampeg Bass Amp plug-ins. The two new plug-ins focus on the SVT sound with an SVT-VR model and an SVT-3 Pro model, both of which are included in UAD Software v8.3 and are made exclusively for UAD-2 hardware and Apollo interfaces. Each of the amp simulating plug-ins...
Herbie Hancock with Tal Wilkenfeld: Actual Proof
Herbie Hancock has never been short on great bassists to play with over his career. Here’s a killer clip of his band being anchored by Tal Wilkenfeld on “Actual Proof” during the 2010 Montreux Jazz Festival. Wilkenfeld brings tons of energy to the performance and follows each soloist to support their ideas. She then takes a thoughtful solo of her...
Mike Poggione: Bass Playthrough of Doomsilla’s “Redlight Executioner”
Mike Poggione is back with another death metal playthrough. This time the bassist tears through his band Doomsilla’s “Redlight Executioner” on his 7-string bass with lighting fast riffs and a biting tone. Warning: death metal vocals ahead.
Bass of the Week: Fodera Flame Koa Monarch 4 Elite “#4000”
It’s always good to look back at your work when you hit a milestone, but Fodera does it with style. They recently completed a special Flame Koa Monarch 4 Elite that they’ve dubbed Fodera #4,000, and it’s a beauty. “Our Monarch design was our very first bass design and the second instrument that we ever built was a Monarch Bass...
Ibanez Terra Firma Bass Gets Maple Fretboard
After introducing the model last year, Ibanez is now offering the Terra Firma model in 5- and 6-string models with maple fretboards. The single-cut BTB model is part of the company’s experimental “Bass Workshop” series and has several features typically found on boutique basses. Its neck-through design includes a five-piece maple and bubinga neck with ash body wings topped by...
Bachman-Turner Overdrive: Not Fragile, Live 1974
Here’s your daily dose of old school cool: Bachman-Turner Overdrive performing “Not Fragile” live in 1974. Fred Turner lays down one of the most simple yet effective bass lines on his black Rickenbacker to kick the band into high gear.