What Makes A Great Bassist? Part 2: Expressing Yourself
With all the things to work on to improve ourselves, it’s easy to lose sight of why we play bass. That’s why we’ve been polling famous bassists and the community at large on what they think makes a great bassist. (Be sure to check out What Makes a Great Bassist? Part 1: Playing for the Song). For part two of...
Killswitch Engage Celebrates Album’s 10th Anniversary with Tour
Killswitch Engage is celebrating the 10th anniversary of their breakthrough album Alive or Just Breathing with a U.S. tour during which they’ll play the album in its entirety. The 20-date tour will feature support from Shadows Fall and Acaro. Anchored by bassist Mike D’Antonio, the group recently reenlisted their original singer Jesse Leach, who sang on the 2002 effort but...
Manne Guitars Introduces VibraBass
Italian boutique builder Manne Guitars has expanded their bass offerings with the VibraBass. Inspired by the AcoustiVibe guitar, the new bass features a fully chambered body made of Korina with an Italian poplar burl top, a maple/beech laminate neck, and a thin, hard resin fingerboard. Besides a magnetic single coil pickup mounted in the bass’s sound plate, the VibraBass is...
Andres Rotmistrovsky: Solo Bass Arrangement of “You’ve Got a Friend In Me”
Andres Rotmistrovsky has a way with arranging songs for solo bass. Here’s his version of Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend In Me.”
Jack Bruce: Cream 2013 Reunion Plans Scrapped
In a recent interview with the BBC, rock legend Jack Bruce revealed that plans for a Cream reunion in 2013 have been halted due to a rift between guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker. The band, which was one of the first rock supergroups, last reunited in 2005 for four sold out shows. “There was supposed to be [a...
Sting with Christian McBride: Englishman in New York
Last week we celebrated Sting’s birthday, and our Facebook friend Andrew Bennett reminded us of this great version of his hit “Englishman in New York” from the DVD …All This Time. Sting’s eclectic band is joined by double bassist Christian McBride, who kicks the group into a burning jazz trio at the 2:10 mark.
Alberto Rigoni Releases Third Solo Album, “Three Wise Monkeys”
Alberto Rigoni has released his third solo effort, entitled Three Wise Monkeys. Further refining the style presented in 2011’s Rebirth, the new album is made up of half instrumental and half vocal songs that revolve around the Japanese folk legend of the “Three Wise Monkeys,” which embodies the proverbial principle “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Rigoni’s...
Squier Introduces Chris Aiken Signature Precision Bass
Squier has introduced the Chris Aiken Signature Precision Bass, which the Strung Out bassist helped design. “I decided to make something that’s really cool, that I like to play,” said Aiken. “But, also something I want to give to the fans of Strung Out and any average bass player that wants to buy a bass – something that’s simple, practical...
Ibanez Introduces Promethean P3110 1×10? Combo Amp
Ibanez has expanded their Promethean combo range to include the P3110. The 1×10? combo amp features a Class-D power amplifier and pumps out 300 watts. It’s also stocked with a high frequency tweeter with a passive crossover and on/off switch. Similar to the rest of its brethren, the P3110 offers a 3-band EQ and a Phat control, which enhances lows...
Radial Engineering Introduces PZ-DI Orchestral Acoustic Direct Box
Radial Engineering has introduced the PZ-DI, a direct box designed to work with all types of acoustic and orchestral instruments on stage by having an adjustable input impedance. This allows to you to optimize the impedance to match your pickup or transducer, including active basses and basses with piezo pickups. The impedance selector has three settings: 220k-ohm to warm up...
Johan Hansén-Larson: Kopano
If you haven’t noticed yet, Johan Hansén-Larson is a guy you need to keep an eye on. In his newest video, Johan shares a new original called “Kopano,” inspired by a recent trip to Botswana and South Africa. The composition includes three parts for guitar (which he also covers), but the focus is really in the bass as it takes...
Genz Benz Updates Cabinet Line with NX2 Series
Genz Benz has introduced the NX2 series of cabinets including the NX2-212T and NX2-112T. The new line follows up on the company’s NeoX cabinets, offering improvements like proprietary neodymium loudspeakers and a new cabinet design to add strength and reduce weight. Furthermore, they feature Dual Edge “X” porting, which Genz Benz explains helps to increase low-frequency support and projection. Both...