Monster Truck: Sweet Mountain River & Old Train, Live
I’m not sure how I got onto this band, but I’m glad I did. Monster Truck is a gritty rock band informed by classic ’70s metal riffage. While the group is based out of Ontario, there’s a certain southern rock groove to it, too. The band is fronted by bassist Jon Harvey, who unleashes some solid grooves while handling lead...
Eden Amplification Launches the World Tour Pro Series
Eden has announced the World Tour Pro Series, consisting of the WTP900, the WTP600, and the WTPPRE. Eden calls the series their new flagship line and steps things up from their existing World Tour amps. Each of the models is loaded with the same features but differ in the power sections. The WTP900 is rated at 900 watts with stereo...
Josh Cohen: Solo Bass Arrangement of “Chameleon”
Here is a video that will freak you out musically and visually. Josh Cohen created a beautiful, funky arrangement of Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon,” and decided to do something a little different for the video. The bassist is clad in an all white suit and moves erratically to emphasize parts of the song. While the visual dynamic may be bizarre, the...
ESP Guitars Introduces Bunny Brunel Signature Basses
Fusion bassist Bunny Brunel teamed up with ESP Guitars to unveil a new signature line at the 2015 Winter NAMM Show. The basses comes in two models: the BB-1004/QM, which is a four-string with a See-Thru Black Sunburst, and the BB-1005FL/QM, a fretless five-string with a Burnt Orange finish. Both editions carry many of the same features, including an alder...
Rinat Ibragimov: Bach Cello Suite No. 3, 5. Bourrée
Bach may have written suites for cello, but they sound just as fantastic on the bass. In fact, this third suite is often used as solo material for classical bassists. Here’s the London Symphony Orchestra’s principal bassist Rinat Ibragimov performing the fifth movement of Bach’s Cello Suite No. 3. His mastery of the instrument is obvious as he plays the...
The Levin Brothers Announce Tour Dates
After releasing their first ever album together last year, Pete and Tony Levin have announced twelve date tour of the Northeastern United States. The musical brothers duo will kick things off in Rosendale, New York at the Rosendale Cafe on March 14th before covering most of New York state with stops in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. The group’s classic cool...
Bass of the Week: Rikkers Guitars Hollowline
Based on the the company’s Powerline model, the Rikkers Guitars Hollowline is distinguished by a chambered body that makes all the difference. “Not only do [the chambers] reduce weight significantly, they also make for a remarkably resonant and transparent tonal character,” Rikkers shares on their website. Each bass is custom built to order with a plethora of options. Rikkers prefers...
Nordstrand Introduces Alnico III Series Bass Pickups
Nordstrand Pickups has launched the Alnico III series of bass pickups. After introducing an Alnico III Tele pickup set, the company realized the alloy works well for bass. “[Alnico III] gives it a slightly more mellow sound,” Stewart McKinsey told us at the NAMM show. “It doesn’t have quite as much crunch to it, but it really fills out the...
Seymour Duncan Introduces Studio Bass Compressor
Seymour Duncan has added to their lineup of bass products with the introduction of the Studio Bass Compressor, a pedal the company says is designed to provide increased sustain, accentuated picking and evened out single-note runs. The pedal is designed for versatility while keeping things intuitive. I has Level, Attack, and Compression knobs for controlling the tone, while a Blend...
Jojo Mayer & Nerve, Featuring John Davis: Live in Europe
We don’t often feature full sets of music, but when John Davis sent us this video of Nerve performing live in Europe, I couldn’t stop watching. The band – which also features drummer Jojo Mayer, keyboardist Jacob Bergson, and effects specialist Aaron Nevezie – mixes the formats of programmed electronic music styles with live instruments and improvisation. Davis is described...
Mike Frost Band: Armando’s Rhumba
Mike Frost sent us this great clip of his band performing the classic Chick Corea tune, “Armando’s Rhumba.” Taken from a performance at the Shapeshifer Lab in Brooklyn, the band is cooking with some Latin flavor. Frost gets a warm sound from his fretless to pin the band together. “The video is showing my new Fretless Clifford Roi 4 string...
DOD Announces The Boneshaker Distortion Pedal
DOD is getting heavy with the new Boneshaker, a distortion pedal aimed at bass, baritone, and extended-range guitars. The circuit was designed by Black Arts Toneworks to focus on anything “heavy, loud and low.” The Boneshaker has Distortion, Depth and Level controls for dialing in the type of distortion. Its twist is a 3-band parametric EQ section that includes Low,...