Bass of the Week: M-Tone Guitars Boki
M-Tone Guitars made their first bass earlier this year, and by the looks of it, they got it right the first time. The M-Tone Boki is a custom bass that was hand-built in Portland, Oregon with a “super light” one-piece swamp ash body finished in a gorgeous floral paint job. Its motif is carried over to its steel pickguard, too....
Janek Gwizdala Announces Ultimate Play Alongs App
Practicing will be taken to a whole new level with Ultimate Play Alongs, a new app that will be available for iOS and Android devices. The app, created by bassist Janek Gwizdala and drummer Louie Palmer, is built around a play-along experience with the back catalog of some of the world’s greatest musicians including Mike Stern, Nathan East, John Patitucci,...
Ibanez Introduces Peter Iwers PIB3 5-String Bass
In Flames bassist Peter Iwers has teamed up with Ibanez to release a third signature bass called the PIB3. Featuring a new blood red finish, the company says the new five-string model’s secret weapon is the EQB-IIID 3-band EQ. The mid control is set up to boost at one frequency while cutting at a different frequency to optimize mid-frequency control....
The Wood Brothers Announce Fall Tour Dates
After spending the summer on the festival circuit, The Wood Brothers have announced their own tour that will stretch from September through October. The Americana folk group will kick off their trek at the WorkPlay Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama and spend the two-month outing focusing on the Southeast and Midwest United States. The Wood Brothers is based on the duo...
ADA Amps Introduces Definition Preamp
ADA Amps has unveiled the Definition Preamp, a discrete transistor preamplifier housed in a stompbox format. The pedal is designed to get the most out of instruments with passive magnetic pickups. ADA says the Definition’s high impedance and low capacitance allow for passive pickups to “produce their full dynamic and frequency capabilities without introducing compression, noise or distortion.” The Definition...
Dominic “Forest” Lapointe: Beyond Creation’s “Elusive Reverence” Bass Playthrough
Technical Death Metal band Beyond Creation is getting ready to release their sophomore album, Earthborn Evolution, and bassist Dominic “Forest” Lapointe has dished up a bass playthrough of the first track from the album, “Elusive Reverence.” The left-handed, six-string fretless player tears through the track with deceptive ease. Rather than lay on root notes or double the guitar, Lapointe lays...
Phish Reveal Fall Tour Dates
Phish is continuing their tour in support of their latest release, Fuego, which dropped in June. Their fall tour dates will take them to the West Coast starting in Eugene, Oregon at the Matthew Knight Arena. The outing will also include dates in Washington, Nevada, and California with 3-night residencies at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium and the MGM Grand...
Profiles in Tone: Francis “Rocco” Prestia
Rocco Prestia has been making the world dance since 1965 when he first joined Tower of Power. His infectious and distinctive 16th note groove became a foundation of fingerstyle funk bass playing that innumerable bassists have been trying to master for decades. Prestia was born and raised in California, where he got into music at an early age. He joined...
Aries Basses Introduces the Aman II Bass
Aries Basses has added a new model to their lineup called the Aman II. The design is brings together elements of two of their existing basses with the front pulling from the Aman I and the semi-acoustic body style of their Conis bass. The Aman II is built with a chambered Mahogany body and spruce top. Its neck is a...
Bass of the Week: Whitt Guitars 5-String Fretless Archtop Acoustic Bass
My friend Gil sent me a heads up for this week’s featured bass, and I’m glad he did. This intriguing instrument is a one-of-a-kind acoustic fretless 5-string bass built by Daniel Whitt of Whitt Guitars. “At Whitt guitars, I build guitars that inspire creativity, capture the imagination and throw everything for a loop,” the bass builder writes. “I don’t build...
Xotic Launches Line of Bass Strings
Xotic Guitars has launched their own brand of bass strings including sets for 4-, 5-, and 6-string basses. Available in nickel or stainless steel, the string feature round wound construction and can be ordered for 34″ or 33″ scale basses. The 4-string gauges run .045 to .105 while the 5-string set adds a .125 B-string and the 6-string adds a...
Michelle Kuban: Over You
Camarel bassist/vocalist Michelle Kuban took to the studio to record a scaled-back version of the band’s song “Over You.” Using overdubs, Kuban lays down the bass line and chords as well as the lead and backup vocals.