Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 696

With all the talk of the new Black Sabbath album this year, I’ve been geeking out on tons of old videos of Geezer Butler and the band. Here’s one of my favorite songs, “Snowblind”, live in 1975. Geezer really rocks out on this one, white ’70s pants and all.

Sadowsky has introduced a new onboard bass preamp that comes prewired and offers the same controls and preamp as all Sadowsky basses. The controls include Volume, Pan, Vintage Tone Control, Treble, and Bass. Pulling up on the tone control bypasses the preamp. The preamp can be installed with the included control plate or transferred to another plate or pickguard and...

This week we look at the Ibanez BTB776PB, a six-string bass featuring a hot poplar burl top. Ibanez created the BTB line to create a boutique feel by implementing the same concepts without the boutique price. The line, including the BTB776PB, features a 35? scale, select body materials, neck-thru construction, and deep cutaways. The BTB is built around a 5-piece...

Photo Credit: Mika Hiironniemi As bassists, one of our main goals is to make the band groove. The only problem is that the term can be vague. Many young players that begin their quest for the elusive groove are met with descriptions like, “If you have to ask, you’ll never know.” In an effort to share ideas and bring us...

Ryan Haines sent in this very cool video of an original song he co-wrote with singer-songwriter Jenna Jackley. “It’s a nice, bass oriented piece with a tuneful bass solo at about 2:50,” he shares. Indeed.

Victor Wooten has announced the first tour dates of 2013 in support of his latest releases Words and Tones and Sword and Stone. The band will be trekking across the West Coast through February, including a two night stay at Yoshi’s in Oakland, California. As with his new albums, the tour will include a stellar group of musicians playing many...

EBS will be debuting their latest offering for bassists at next week’s NAMM Show, the Billy Sheehan Signature Drive Pedal. Designed along with the bassist himself, the new pedal mixes clean and distorted signals together to preserve low frequencies to “find balance between distortion and definition.” “This pedal is a distillate of several important principles in the signal chain for...

Damian Erskine sent this to us with the headline “Killer Groove.” Coming from Damian, that means something! Here’s a tricked out tune from bassist Munir Hossn and drummer Tedy Santana called “De Rua Pra Rua!” from an upcoming album entitled Tambour du Prince. The Brazilian duo are obviously having a blast while keeping an angular groove. Make sure you check...

Black Sabbath has offered up new details about their new album, which will feature original members of singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler. The new release will be titled 13 and will be dropping in June, 2013, according to the official Black Sabbath website. The post also revealed that the band recorded the album in Los...

TC Electronic is getting back to the basics with the Ditto Looper, a looping pedal that keeps things simple with only a footswitch and a level control. The Ditto allows for five minutes of looping with unlimited overdubs to create full arrangements. All the magic is in the footswitch: press once to record, then press again to play the loop,...

The Bradetich Foundation shared this video of bassist Shannon Birchall performing a beautiful duet with pianist Jeremy Woolhouse, which was recorded last year at Baker Street Studios in Melbourne, Australia. Birchall provides an introspective arco melody to set the tone of the song before the duo share a flowing improvisation over the song’s changes. Perfect for a Sunday afternoon. Or...

Fender has announced four new models in the company’s eccentric Pawn Shop series, one they describe as “guitars that never were but should have been.” The new lineup includes two basses: The Pawn Shop Bass VI and the Pawn Shop Mustang Bass. Fender Pawn Shop Bass VI Originally produced from 1961 to 1975, the Fender Bass VI is a six-string...