Jonathan Scales Fourchestra: TNFJ
Our friend Charmaine Kirsch sent in this video, and I was hooked. As if the idea of a steel drums trio isn’t awesome enough, bassist Cody Wright lays down some extremely righteous bass. He kicks things off with a funky riff and the hits keep rolling. Besides a groove that won’t quit, Wright lays it all out in his solo...
StageTrix Releases Wah Fastener
StageTrix has unveiled a new utility product for effects pedals lovers. The Wah Fastener allows for traditional wah pedals to be securely fastened to pedal boards. It uses the same hook and fastener material from their Pedal Fasteners and is mounted on the bottom of your pedal. To attach the fastener, just remove the rubber feet from your wah and...
Squier Adds New Precision Bass Models to Vintage Modified Series
Rounding out the summer’s new models for Squiers Vintage Modified Series are a trio of P-basses: The Vintage Modified Precision Bass V, Precision Bass Fretless, and Precision Bass PJ. Similar to the rest of the series, the new basses are designed to add new twists to familiar designs. Vintage Modified Precision Bass V The Vintage Modified Precision Bass V is...
Tech 21 SansAmp VT Bass DI Pedal Now Shipping
Tech 21 is now shipping the VT Bass DI Pedal. First introduced at this year’s Winter NAMM show, the VT Bass DI puts the company’s VT Bass preamp into a direct box format with three outputs: 1/4 Inch, XLR, and Parallel. The DI’s Blend knob lets you control the amount of direct signal with the SansAmp circuitry to get the...
Nathan East Recording Debut Solo Album
He’s played on tons of influential songs, but now bass legend Nathan East is working on his debut solo album. East, who has worked with Eric Clapton, Phil Collins, Beyoncé, Stevie Wonder and Daft Punk, has announced that he’s been recording his first album as a leader at Ocean Way’s Studio B. The project is being done with Yamaha Entertainment...
Bobby Vega, Prarie Prince and Chris Rossbach: Mercury
Bobby Vega is hands down one of my favorite bassists. Here’s a clip of him with fellow San Francisco heavyweights Prarie Prince and Chris Rossbach performing a flowing tune called “Mercury.”
Le Fay Updates ROB 344-66/IIIa Bass Guitar
Le Fay has updated the ROB 344-66/IIIa with a new pickup system that brings together four single coils under three covers. The coils are selectable with a 6-way rotary knob and offer a variety of sounds. Position one activates the coil closest to the bridge, the next adds the coil closest to the neck for a J-style configuration, and the...
Bass of the Week: Toby Chennell Arco Acoustic Bass Guitar
In July, we posted a cool video of Bart Soeters displaying a wide variety of basses, and one of his instruments really stood out to me: the Toby Chennell Arco Acoustic Bass Guitar. The electric bass and upright bass share several qualities, but overall they’re really different instruments. UK-based luthier Toby Chennell set out to bring more of their elements...
Going Up: An Interview with Sandy Beales
Behind every major pop star, there’s usually a cast of talented musicians backing them up. This includes the wildly popular boy band One Direction, who get their groove from bassist Sandy Beales. Since 2011, the London-based low-ender has been touring the world with the “What Makes You Beautiful” singers and playing to sold-out crowds. But his playing doesn’t stop there....
Name That Bass Line!
Name That Bass Line! is a fun show on YouTube that mixes skit comedy and famous bass lines. What more could you want? Each segment has ten mystery bass lines played by fellow YouTubers that the viewers have to guess. This episode features bassists Dave Baron, Will Lee, MarloweDK, DavidSinRocks, TJH3113, MusicLisha, Paul from “How To Play Bass Dot Com”,...
TC Electronic Announces Polytune 2
TC Electronic has upgraded its flagship tuner with the Polytune 2. The polyphonic tuner, which displays the pitches of all your strings when you strum them simultaneously, now offers a bigger, brighter display as well as chromatic strobe tuner. The Polytune 2 features much brighter LEDs than its predecessor and the brightness of the display is adjusted automatically with an...
Chick Corea Releases “The Vigil”, Featuring Hadrien Feraud and Stanley Clarke
After releasing four collaborative albums last year, legendary keyboardist Chick Corea has gotten back to creating his own songs with The Vigil. The effort includes a brand new band filled out by saxophonist Tim Garland, guitarist Charles Altura, drummer Marcus Gilmore and bassist Hadrien Feraud. The band, which is also called The Vigil, gives Corea the opportunity to return to...