Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 606

Iuliu-Bogdan Diaconeasa, aka Bass Battle, sent us the latest in his live looping adventures with this song called “Breathe”. Kick back, relax and enjoy! Bass Battle has also made the audio track available via Soundcloud:

Here’s a cool interview that DunlopTV did with Marcus Miller backstage at the San Francisco Jazz Festival. After speaking on his career a bit, Miller talks about getting his sound. The chat offers some nice insight into the bassist’s newfound use of effects and his approach to using them.

G&L has unveiled a new line of instruments labeled the “Black Ice Collection”. The new basses and guitars feature a “Black Ice” finish, which incorporates the company’s Nearly Naked (NENA) finish with a sleek matte black base and silver highlights in the body’s wood grain. Introduced last year, NENA is a super thin finish the company says promotes body resonance....

Vulfpeck’s Jack Stratton has a cool project called Sound of Two, where he takes two completely separate musical events and puts them together for a unique jam. Our favorite is a clip of slap master Louis Johnson, from his instructional DVD, mashed up with a clip of the Grambling State Drumline at the 2008 Bayou Classic.

After months of speculation, guitarist Keith Richards has confirmed that bassist Bill Wyman will be making a cameo during the Rolling Stones’ 50th Anniversary concerts. Wyman, who played with the iconic rock band from 1962 to 1993, will be at both the London and New Jersey concerts, though he previously stated he doesn’t fly anymore. While the 76-year old bassist...

Reed James Custom Pickups has added a new pickup to their RJ NEO line. The Vintage Modern ALNEO Soap Bar bass pickup combines neodymium and Alnico components into a single pickup with one of the coils mimicking a vintage Jazz bass pickup while the other is a neodymium powered coil. Four conductor lead wires allow for switching from full humbucker...

Bassist Janek Gwizdala has released You’re a Musician. Now What?, a new instructional ebook aimed at teaching musicians modern day skill sets to make it in the music business. The book focuses on building and nurturing an online presence with tips on how to build a website, creating a mailing list, blogging, and much more. It also details time management,...

Sandberg has unveiled the latest in their Electra series of basses, the TT4. The new bass takes cues from classic designs with a pair of single coil pickups and a tobacco sunburst matte finish. Similar to the Electra VS4, the TT4 is built with a basswood body, a Canadian hard rock maple neck, and a rosewood fingerboard. The bass has...

Peter Malinoski is a luthier with an artistic vision for his instruments and passion for uniqueness. With several college degrees in the arts, it’s no wonder his designs stand out. “[My instruments] are a step back and beyond the roots of electric guitars that represent what electric guitars could have been and still can be when mass production and mass...

Video game music has always held a special place in my heart. Looking back I realize that a lot of the themes from the games of my youth had really sweet bass lines, and I think MonoNeon realized that, too. Check out his play-along of the theme to the Green Hill Zone from the Sega Genesis classic Sonic the Hedgehog,...

Check out this video of The Deep MO performing their tune “Civilized” live on the BBC. The group is headed up by bassist/vocalist Yolanda Charles, who lays down some serious groove.

Tech 21 has a long history with bassists, and that history is growing even larger with the inclusion of bass-friendly versions of the Boost Series pedals. Offering an extra 21 dB of clean boost at your disposal, the line is characterized by analog circuitry that takes classic tones and attempts to improve them. The Bass Boost Fuzz takes aim at...