New School: Mike Dimin
Mike Dimin is a bassist that focuses on stretching what he calls “The Chordal Approach.” Inspired in part by jazz guitarist Joe Pass, Dimin took his knowledge of melody, harmony, and rhythm to start making chord-melody arrangements of songs for bass. He also utilizes a looper to create “lush arrangements of everything from Jazz Standards to R&B and pop classics...
Steve Lawson Releases “Nothing Can Prepare” with Saxophonist Andy Williamson
Steve Lawson has released a new duo album with saxophonist Andy Williamson entitled Nothing Can Prepare. The album is taken from performances captured on tour in church venues and features Lawson’s beautiful, ambient improvisation with Williamson joining in, starting from the back of the church for a gorgeous effect. While the title is taken from one of Lawson’s compositions, it...
Bass of the Week: MechBass
Science just got a whole lot cooler thanks to Victoria University of Wellington engineering student James McVay. As part of Bachelor’s degree, McVay designed and built the MechBass, a 4-string robotic bass guitar. And yes, it rocks. Built with lasercut and 3D-printed parts, MechBass has four separate units for each string controlled with PCBs. The strings are plucked with picks...
Kinsman Announces New Bass Amplification Line
Distributor John Hornby Skewes & Co. Ltd. have introduced a new line of Kinsman instrument amplifiers, including four bass combos. Ranging 15 to 100-watts, the amps all feature a built-in limiter and a headphone output but add features as they grow. The K15B sports a basic 3-band EQ, while the K25B adds another band to the EQ and a CD/Tape...
Steve Harris: Us Against the World
In late September, Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris released his first solo album entitled British Lion. Now he’s put out a music video for the first single, “Us Against the World”. The project is a bit of a step away from Iron Maiden, but Harris’ ballsy bass tone is still the center of the music.
Radial Engineering Introduces Tossover Variable Frequency Divider
Radial Engineering has introduced a new 500 series module called the Tossover. The new pro audio tool allows for dividing frequency bands of a signal to process lows and highs separately or to combine them in series to create a band-pass filter. While there are tons of possibilities for its use, Radial Senior Engineer Dan Fraser gave a couple suggestions...
Making the Scene: Nashville – How to Live, Network, and Succeed in Music City
Location can be a very important factor in a bassist’s musical career. Larger cities bring more opportunities, but also more obstacles and competition. Author Liam Sullivan offers advice for living and working in Music City with his new book Making the Scene: Nashville – How to Live, Network, and Succeed in Music City. The 300-page book dives into how the...
Voodoo Lab Now Shipping Pedal Power Mondo
Voodoo Lab’s Pedal Power Mondo is a new power supply with twelve independent, filtered and regulated output sections offering varying current and voltages to accommodate a wide range of pedals. The Pedal Power Mondo features four isolated 9-volt high-current 400mA output sections, two of which have a 12-volt options, as well as two 250mA outputs and six standard 100mA outputs....
Ray Brown Trio: Lady Be Good
No one can lay down a greasy, heavy swing quite like Ray Brown. Here’s a great video of him grooving hard with pianist Gene Harris and drummer Jeff Hamilton on the song “Lady Be Good” during a 1992 concert in France. The trio’s use of dynamics is astounding, going from the softest whispers to raucous wailing.
Nikki Sixx Writing New Material, Launches Sixx Sense Magazine
Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx has been keeping busy, according to a teaser on his Facebook page. After premiering the new song “Sex” earlier this year, the band has been working on more new material. Though he said there were no plans for a new album earlier this summer, it seems we can be expecting something soon. “Obviously there is...
The Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back” Bass And Drums Cover
We love it when bassists work together, and this is video is a reason why. Swiss bassist Sebastiano Mereu collaborated with Jasmine from Hong Kong (AKA deppwaswho) and drummer Fabio from Switzerland (AKA PingaloBIll) to make this sweet version of the Jackson 5’s “I Want You Back”. Such a good groove.
Marcus Miller Injured in Tour Bus Crash
Bass icon Marcus Miller was injured in a crash early Sunday morning in Switzerland after his tour bus tipped over on the A2 highway. The bus driver was killed, while Miller and 11 other passengers were taken to local hospitals for treatment. Police say the cause of the accident is still unclear. Miller’s manager Bibi Green issued an update on...