Carvin Introduces JB4 and JB5 Classic Bolt-Neck Jazz Basses
Following up on their recent PB series, Carvin has announced the JB4 four-string and JB5 five-string Classic Bolt-Neck Jazz Basses. The new models blend classic styling with the company’s more contemporary features including a locking bass bridge, a smooth contoured neck heel with a 5-bolt neck plate, and a 22-fret neck with dual carbon fiber reinforcement rods. Another key aspect...
Molten Voltage Introduces The Tempode
Molten Voltage has released The Tempode, a MIDI clock generator pedal for synchronizing up your MIDI-capable pedals to a single device. The Tempode can be used as a stand-alone device but is also compatible with all MIDI controllers. Built for simplicity, the pedal has MIDI in and out jacks and a pair of footswitches to start the clock or tap...
Rotosound Revamps Tru Bass RS88LD Black Nylon Bass Strings
Rotosound has upgraded their Tru Bass RS88LD Black Nylon bass strings with a new computer controlled engineering process in their UK factory. The company says that the process, along with finishing by their craftsmen, add to the strings’ lifespan and playability. Rotosound describes the tone as “double bass-like.” The Tru Bass 88 was originally designed by James How for Jim...
Bass of the Week: HJC Customs Alchemy Fretless 5
Back at the Winter NAMM show this year, we ran into our friend Vuyani Wakaba roaming the floor with a smile from ear to ear. He was overjoyed by his new HJC Customs Fretless Alchemy 5, which is this week’s Bass of the Week. Wakaba teamed up with luthier Harold J. Cagle for the custom creation. It features an African...
Big Wreck: Ghosts
I love discovering new artists, and it’s even better when a No Treble reader shares something with us. Justin Barker dropped me a line about bassist Dave McMillan of Big Wreck. “Just heard the single ‘Ghosts’ from a band called Big Wreck,” he wrote. “It’s pretty rare to me that a bass player from what I’d consider a ‘mainstream’ act...
Electro-Harmonix Introduces the Nano Bass Big Muff Pi
Electro-Harmonix has expanded their bass offerings with the announcement of the Nano Bass Big Muff Pi, a distortion/sustainer pedal that blends features of its predecessors into a smaller package. The new pedal is voiced like the EHX Russian Big Muff but has a classic Big Muff Pi control layout with Sustain, Tone, and Volume knobs. Electro-Harmonix says the pedal dishes...
Geezer Butler: Another Black Sabbath Album Possible
Less than a year after scoring their first number one album in the United States with 13, the metal pioneers in Black Sabbath may be getting ready for a followup, says bassist Geezer Butler. “We’ve still got four tracks left over from the album,” he told Time Out Dubai, “so maybe we’ll fill in the other four or five tracks...
Deltron 3030 Featuring Juan Alderete: City Rising From the Ashes
Juan Alderete has such a singular voice on the bass, and yet he can be so versatile. He got his first break in the metal scene, spent plenty of years with innovative rockers Mars Volta, and has his own experimental duo Big Sir with vocalist Lisa Papineau. Through it all, he’s always been about hip hop. “When [I joined Racer...
Freekbass: Victoria Thunder
Tie dye? Check. Disco skating? Check. Funky bass? Check, check, check. Freekbass likes to keep things funky and, well, freeky. Here’s the first video for the track “Victoria Thunder” from his latest album, Everybody’s Feelin’ Real.
Luminlay Introduces M19 Luminescent Knobs
Luminscent position marker company Luminlay has expanded their product line to include the MA19 series of knobs. The knobs, which come in five colors, are inlaid with luminescent numbers for easy visibility on a dark stage. Similar to their inlays, the knob’s numbers are activated by a Luminlay LED light charger. Suited for a six millimeter shaft diameter, the knobs...
Bass of the Week: Oliver Lang Instruments Limes “Erik”
This week we check out the Limes bass, a unique singlecut design that’s handmade by Oliver Lang Instruments. The series came as a collaboration between Lang and his customer Michael after meeting at a fretless workshop. Together they created the first of the Limes series, dubbed the “Erik,” which features a five-piece maple and walnut neck, walnut body wings with...
Paul McCartney Hospitalized, Tour Dates Postponed
Paul McCartney has been forced to postpone his appearances in Japan and South Korea this month after being sidelined by a viral infection. The 71-year-old is reportedly hospitalized in Tokyo, although his admittance was not confirmed. “Thank you so much for your kind messages of support. I’m so very touched,” the former Beatle stated on his website. “Unfortunately my condition...