In Memoriam: Chi Cheng
The bass community has lost another great player as former Deftones bassist Chi Cheng has passed away after a five year fight for his life. Cheng was in a car accident in 2008 in Santa Clara, California that left him in a coma. Though he had been showing signs of improvement the past two years, he succumbed to heart related...
Fender Unveils Cabronita Precision Bass
Fender has announced the Cabronita Precision bass, a take on their original bass model with a flair from their Cabronita series. The bass sports an alder body that comes in 2-color sunburst, black, or Candy Apple Red. The Cabronita Precision Bass is fitted with a single FideliTron humbucking bass pickup with classic Volume and Tone controls. Its maple neck has...
Ashdown Introduces Dr. Green Series Bass Effects Pedals
Ashdown has introduced the Dr. Green series to their lineup of bass effects pedals. The lineup includes five effects: the Octa Dose (Octaver), the Bearded Lady (Fuzz), the Doctor’s Note (Envelope Filter), Bass Verb (Reverb), and the Aspirin (Compressor). Handmade in the UK, the pedals are housed in steel stompboxes and feature true bypass. Ashdown Dr. Green Octa Dose Bass...
Bass of the Week: SimpleBass e4 Fretless Bass
After 20 years of playing a fretless Jazz Bass, Italian bassist Roberto Musso decided it was time to spice things up. That’s when he designed the SimpleBass e4, a 4-string fretless model with an extended fingerboard and a sleek body shape. The result is a lightweight, balanced bass. “Having some more fret space would have been a real help in...
Marcus Miller Selling Personal Basses For UNESCO Project
Just when you thought Marcus Miller couldn’t get any cooler, he tops himself. The legendary bassist was named a UNESCO Artist for Peace last month, and is now selling off several of his personal basses to help fund a special project with the organization. “Several years ago I decided against using my primary bass on tour,” Miller explained on his...
Bergantino Introduces CN Series Bass Cabinets
High-end bass cabinet manufacturer Bergantino Audio Systems has announced their new CN Series of bass cabs, consisting of 1×12? and 2×12? configurations. The line marks the company’s return to lightweight designs as the cabs feature woofers with neodymium magnets. Other common features include a high intelligibility tweeter, a custom phase-coherent crossover, a tweeter control, and a frequency response of 40Hz...
Charnett Moffett Releases “The Bridge: Solo Bass Works”
Charnett Moffett is reflecting on his instrument and his career on his latest release entitled The Bridge: Solo Bass Works. The record captures the veteran jazz musician alone with his bass in a creative burst that focuses on his past repertoire as well as eight original compositions. “I wanted to express who I am, carry on the tradition of the...
Ibanez Adds 6-String to Grooveline Bass Series
Ibanez has extended their Grooveline series with the introduction of the G106, a six-string version of the ergonomically-minded model. Made in Ibanez’s Japanese factory, the bass is designed for optimized balance in sitting and standing positions. The G106’s body features an alder center and ash for the top and back, all in a natural finish. Its 5-piece neck is built...
Epiphone Announces Limited Edition TV Pelham Blue Bass Collection, Including EB-3
Epiphone is paying tribute to the old school with a limited edition of six of their models in TV Pelham Blue, a color finish that was first introduced in the ’60s. The color was offered as a custom option in its heyday and as such is rare to find on vintage instruments. The lineup includes the Ltd. Ed. TV Pelham...
Dunlop Goes Lower with New Heavy Core Bass Strings
Dunlop’s bass strings lineup is going even lower with the introduction of their Heavy Core Bass Strings. Designed with thicker core wires, the new sets were created to give a standard feel and tonal definition at drop tunings. The Heavy Core lineup comes in three flavors: Heavy for Drop D and D-standard tuning, Heavier for Drop C and C-standard tuning,...
Seymour Duncan Introduces SPB-4 Steve Harris Signature Pickup
Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris has a new signature P-Bass pickup from Seymour Duncan called the SPB-4 Steve Harris Model. The new split single coil is the production version of the custom shop pickups Harris has been using for the last 10 years. The SPB-4 utilizes Alnico 5 rod magnets and a vintage-hot coil wind to produce what the company describes...
Killswitch Engage Releases “Disarm the Descent”
Metal outfit Killswitch Engage are back with their sixth studio album, Disarm the Descent, via Roadrunner Records. This is the band’s first album in four years and it marks the return of original vocalist Jesse Leach, who last recorded with the band on 2002’s Alive or Just Breathing. Bassist Mike D’Antonio says having Leach back is rejuvenating. “We had already...