Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 698

John Patitucci has teamed up with David Gage String Instruments to release Episode 1 of the bassist’s new Kindle book, Melodic Arpeggios and Triad Combining for Bass. The book, which is made of exercises that Patitucci developed over 10 years, is the first of a six part series designed to take the tedium out of practicing valuable skills. “It is...

While perusing Facebook, I stumbled upon this uber-sleek, uber-unique instrument: The Stash Stainless Bass Guitar. Designed and built by Stanislaw Potyrala in Mississauga, Ontario, the bass is made entirely of stainless steel, which the company says improves stiffness, mechanical and environmental stability, sound quality and tunability. “The only disadvantage is that rock stars will not be able to destroy this...

Grip Studios has expanded their hand-shaped Guitar Grips with the GS Ladies series. Made in Detroit, the guitar hangers are shaped like female hands and mount to the wall to hang your instrument. Like the rest of their models, the Ladies series hangers are built from durable resin with felt on their “wrists” to protect your wall and TAH3 cushioned...

Extreme death metal bassist Sean Martinez does a play-through of the song “Shards of Scorched Flesh” by his band Rings of Saturn. Hold on to your hats. Things are going to get heavy.

Les Claypool’s acoustic outfit, Duo De Twang, will be hitting the road in March and April. Starting in California, the tour will head East in mid-April with dates in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Washington, DC and New York City. Claypool and guitarist Marc “Mirv” Haggard make up the duo, playing acoustic versions of the bassist’s tunes as well as...

Here’s an awesome rendition of the classic John Coltrane tune “Countdown,” performed by Petros Klampanis. The bassist gets creative with harmonics, insane rhythms, and a shaker attached to his ankle.

Radial Engineering has introduced the StageBug SB-2 Passive DI, which they say suits well to electric bass, acoustic guitar, and keyboards. The new, compact direct box was designed in response to the trend of reducing gear size for traveling purposes and measures at 2? wide and 3.5? deep. The SB-2 revolves around a custom made Eclipse ET-DB3 transformer, which performs...

Eden Electronics introduced their new E-Series of combo bass amps at NAMM this year. Ranging from 20 watts to 180 watts, the six new models are aimed at beginners and up with features to aid practice and performance. Each of the amps is built with Eden’s proprietary enhance EQ control, a custom Eden designed speaker enclosure, heavy duty carpet covering,...

Check out this great clip of bassist Amanda Ruzza getting down on Rique Pantoja’s “Melancia”. The performance was filmed during Cornelia St. Cafè’s Brazilian Jazz Festival in New York City.

ESP Guitars unveiled a host of new basses at NAMM this year, including the LTD BB-4. Available in Natural and Black finishes, the new model features neck-thru construction, a P/J pickup configuration, and active/passive electronics. The ESP LTD BB-4 is built with a 5-piece maple and walnut neck with an alder/swamp ash body. The rosewood fretboard holds 21 XJ frets....

Can you ever get enough Primus? I think not. Here’s a clip of Les Claypool and the boys playing “Too Many Puppies” from their 1990 debut Fizzle Fry.

Just over ten years ago, the documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown made its debut at the Apollo Theater in New York. The film’s detailed look into the musicians behind all of Motown’s hits reignited the passion for the era’s music and led to the Funk Brothers receiving Lifetime Achievement Awards from the Recording Academy. As just about any...