Chris Brubeck’s Triple Play: New Stew, Opus 2
A friend sent in this video of bassist Chris Brubeck and his trio Triple Play performing their song “New Stew, Opus 2” live. Brubeck, whose father was jazz legend Dave Brubeck, brings a bubbly funk groove on his modded fretless Rickenbacker. The fun in the group’s playing is infectious. You’ll be bobbing your head to this one in no time.
Ampeg Unveils SCR-DI Bass DI Pedal at NAMM
Ampeg’s booth at NAMM this year featured their new revamped BA combo series, but it centered around the unveiling of their brand new SCR-DI. The bass-friendly direct box is their first new pedal in years and brings together an Ampeg preamp, EQ section, and their Scrambler Overdrive. The SCR-DI starts with a legacy Ampeg preamp with tone stack circuits, which...
Marco Morandi: Integral’s “Realm Of Atlantis” Playthrough
We featured the SiC Instruments Madness 6-string fretless as a bass of the week in December, and it was a fan favorite. Luthier Simon Calabrese followed up by sending us this video of Integral’s Marco Morandi using the bass to play through their song “Realm of Atlantis.” The song is straight tech metal, but takes a breather at the 4:24...
Radial Engineering Announces the Bassbone V2
After introducing the Bassbone OD last year, Radial Engineering is updating the original Bassbone with the Bassbone V2. The second generation device features a dedicated effects loop, a combination power booster-mute footswitch, and a piezo optimized input for upright bass. “We recently launched the Bassbone OD which has gained tremendous attention from many of the world’s most prominent bass players,”...
Michael Whittaker and the Bottom 40 Band: Workin’ Day and Night
The recent wave of reharmonized pop tunes has led to some really great music. Here’s keyboardist Michael Whittaker and the Bottom 40 Band – and featuring bassist Adam Nitti – performing an updated version of Michael Jackson’s “Workin Day and Night.” Nitti gets a huge tone to fill out the bottom end while syncing up with Whittaker for some unbelievable...
Bass of the Week: BL Design Marozi #014
One of the first basses we featured in the Bass of the Week series was the redwood themed BL Design Barbary. After revisiting the BL Design website I found this unbelievable 5-string Marozi that centers around a stunning spalted myrtle burl top. The Marozi is one of luthier Beau Leopard’s double cutaway designs. This particular instrument was built with a...
TC Electronic Unveils K-Series Bass Cabinets
TC Electronic took the opportunity at the Winter NAMM Show to unveil the new K-Series of bass cabinets. Following in the footsteps of the company’s RS and BC cabinets, the K-Series models are designed to be lightweight with vertical stacking ability. The lineup includes the K210, the K212, and the K410. Each is constructed with a durable plywood cabinet loaded...
Marcus Miller Teams with Sire Guitars for New Signature Basses
Marcus Miller has a new line of signature instruments with Sire Guitars. The series is based on two models – the J-bass inspired V7 and the modern-styled M3 – and aims to create quality instruments at low prices.
Aguilar Introduces Fuzzistor Bass Fuzz Pedal
Aguilar unveiled a new pedal at this year’s NAMM Show this year called the Fuzzistor. The bass fuzz pedal features a classic silicone transistor distortion circuit for a retro, fuzzy ’70s tone. The Fuzzistor allows for dialing in your tone with Level, Blend, Tone, and Fuzz controls. Aguilar says the Fuzz control ranges from “subtle to crushing,” while the Blend...
No-Metric: Risk Factor
Brazilian fusion trio No-Metric is back at it with a new video for their song “Risk Factor.” Anchored by bassist Fernando Molinari, the song keeps you on edge with a mix of heavy riffs and ear bending harmonies. Molinari takes a ridiculous solo starting at the 2:04 mark with some insane tapping and lightning fast licks.
Orange Amplification Announces OB1 Bass Amp Series
Orange Amplifiers has announced the OB1 Series of class A/B rack mountable bass amplifiers. The amps are based on recent bi-amping trends, the company says. “For years bassists have been combining guitar and bass amps to remarkable effect, adding harmonics and layers of overdrive from a guitar amp to their core bass tone in pursuit of the ultimate live sound,”...
Gear Review: Gruv Gear GigBlade Bass Gig Bag
Every once in a while a product comes along that totally reimagines a piece of gear that most of us take for granted. In the world of gig bags, that product is the Gruv Gear GigBlade. The main idea behind the GigBlade is economy of space and weight distribution. Most gig bags have backpack straps for carrying on your back,...