Port City Amplification Introduces Orleans All Tube Bass Preamp
Port City Amplification has entered the world of bass preamps with the Orleans model, an all tube preamp housed in a rack-mountable unit. The sleek unit offers Treble, Middle, and Bass tone controls as well as a Thick switch that provides extra tone shaping in the low frequencies. Handmade in North Carolina, the Orleans features JJ Preamp tubes and is...
Mr. P.C.: The Life and Music of Paul Chambers Book Now Available
Author Rob Palmer gets into the world of one of jazz’s greatest bassists in his new book entitled Mr. P.C.: The Life and Music of Paul Chambers, which is out now from Equinox Publishing Limited. The 416-page hardback biography uses literary sources as well as family and friend interviews to capture Chambers’ story from his birth in Pittsburgh to his...
EC Custom Shop Introduces Super Switcher
EC Custom Shop has unveiled the Super Switcher, a programmable switching system for bass and guitar setups. The system features eight effect loops, seven presets with three banks, and five amp control relay functions for controlling amp channels, effects, tap tempo and more. Users can create presets to activate certain pedals or change amp channels. The Super Switcher also has...
Fender Custom Shop Unveils 2013 Custom Collection Basses
Fender Custom Shop has introduced their 2013 Custom Collection, including the 2013 Closet Classic Precision Bass Pro and the 1951 Relic Precision Bass. As with all of the line, the basses are built by Fender’s craftsmen in their Corona, California Custom Shop. The 2013 Closet Classic Precision Bass Pro combines vintage styling with new customized features, says Fender. It’s built...
Bass of the Week: David Gage Czech-Ease Double Bass
Anyone who has traveled with an upright bass knows that it can be a real hassle. While electric upright basses are easier to get around, they don’t give the same feel and response as their acoustic brethren. Renowned luthier David Gage reacted to the issue by designing the Czech-Ease: a full scale double bass that features an abbreviated body for...
Meshell Ndegeocello with Pino Palladino: “Home is Where the Hatred Is”
Santi Umbert sent us this clip of Meshell Ndegeocello teaming up with bassist Pino Palladino for a cover of Gil Scott-Heron’s “Home Is Where The Hatred Is.” Palladino lays down a seriously funky groove throughout the entire song while the band kicks it out. The songs then evolves into a bass jam around the four minute mark as Ndegeocello picks...
In Memoriam: Remembering the Bassists We Lost in 2012
2012 had some incredible highlights in the world of bass, but we must also stop to remember the incredible bassists we lost this year. We lost some of our biggest heroes, and while their strings have stopped ringing, their musical legacies will live on. Bob Babbitt (July 16, 2012) Motown bassist and member of the Funk Brothers. Babbitt’s bass lines...
Deftones Announce Spring Tour Dates
After releasing their critically acclaimed seventh studio album Koi No Yokan in November, The Deftones have announced a slew of U.S. tour dates for spring 2013. The band begins the new leg of its journey on March 4th at Rochester, New York’s Main Street Armory before sweeping the East Coast and South, finishing up in Houston, Texas. The band features...
Bass of the Week: Warwick Thumb NT
The Warwick Thumb NT is one of their flagship models that packs in features the company is best known, such as the choice of exotic woods. NT stands for Neck Through construction, but the design is a little more intricate than most since the top is solid. Warwick employs exotic woods for the Thumb including Bubinga Pommele for the body,...
Pablo Elorza: “Continuum” Lesson and Analysis
Pablo Elorza has published the second video in his “Deep Into Electric Bass Classics” series of bass lessons with an in-depth look at the popular Jaco Pastorius tune “Continuum.” After playing through the tune, Elorza explains the methods and techniques Pastorius used to create his melodies. The lesson is a great one for any music theory buff as well as...
NS Design Announces NXT-Series Omni Bass
NS Design has introduced an NXT-Series version of their Omni Bass, an electric upright that sports a 34? scale like that of a bass guitar. The new instrument is designed for the bass guitarist interested in adding the character and expressiveness of an upright. Available in 4- and 5-string models, the NXT Omni Bass is built with a solid maple...
Spawn of Possession: Erlend Caspersen Plays Through “Bodiless Sleeper”
One of the things I really love about YouTube is that everyone uses it, so it’s easy to find awesome bassists doing their thing. Case in point: Norwegian death metal bassist Erlend Caspersen has an account that he’s filled up with play alongs of the songs he plays. Here’s his play through for Spawn of Possession’s “Bodiless Sleeper,” where he...