Slipknot Announces Best Of Album and Knotfest in Honor of Paul Gray
Slipknot has announced their first release since bassist Paul Gray’s untimely death. Antennas To Hell will be a best-of compilation with songs spanning their career from their 1999 self-titled debut to 2008’s All Hope is Gone, as well as a bonus CD of their performance at the Download Festival in 2009. Tickets are on sale for Knotfest, the band’s first...
Wild Customs Introduces Bass Version of Vulture Guitar
Wild Customs has made a bass version of their Vulture guitar. The Vulture Bass’s retro design features a reverse headstock, angular body shape, and three pickups made by SP Custom. Stocked with passive electronics, each pickup has a volume control in addition to the master tone knob. The bass sports a sugar pine body with a maple neck and rosewood...
Krist Novoselic to Present Keynote At First CBGB Festival
The first ever CBGB Festival is set to take place in various venues across New York City on July 5-8. The four-day celebration will include music at over 20 venues, business/industry conferences, film screenings, and a spirits day that will bring artisan distilleries for a day of drinking. The festival’s keynote address will be given by none other than former...
Cooperstand Announces Duropro Line of Bass Stands
The Cooperstand has a new look with the introduction of the Duropro line. Built with industrial grade ABS composite, the colorful instrument stands are based of the company’s Ecco-G model and offer a flexible yet durable design. The Cooperstand supports basses, acoustic and electric guitars, ukulele, mandolins and more, while folding down to fit into gig bags. Colors include blue,...
Duesenberg Celebrates Eagles’ 40th Anniversary with Signature Bass
Forty years ago, The Eagles began their career with their self-titled debut album. During the four decades since, the band has earned six Grammys, sold over 120 million albums worldwide, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Anchored by bassist Timothy B. Schmidt, the Eagles celebrated the anniversary by teaming up with Duesenberg to...
Darkest Hour Bassist Switch is Official
Aaron Deal has officially replaced Paul Burnette as the full-time bassist for Darkest Hour, according to a statement on the band’s website. Burnette, who started a hiatus in August, is parting amicably to join Iron Reagan. “It’s with a heavy heart that we announce the official departure of long time friend and bassist, Paul Burnette,” the band’s statement read. “Paul’s...
Ibanez Introduces New Fretless SR Bass Models
Ibanez is now offering fretless versions of their SR370 and SR375 models. Aimed at providing fretless basses at a cost-effect price point, the company chose to start with the SR370 due to its maple body which they explain lends itself seamlessly to a fretless version. The SR370F and SR375F are 4- and 5-string basses, respectively, and are built with slim...
Jan-Olof Strandberg Releases “Made in Finland” with Michael Manring
Finnish bassist Jan-Olof Strandberg has released his seventh album as a leader entitled Made In Finland. The new effort also includes contributions from fellow bass heavyweight Michael Manring, along with keyboardist Kimmo Tapanainen, saxophonist Risto Salmi, drummer Kimmo Pörsti and guitarists Matias Kupiainen and Petteri Hirvanen. Included in the package is an hour long DVD with live studio performances by...
Bass of the Week: GMR Bassforce NT
While checking out different luthiers’ websites, I came across the GMR Bassforce NT: a neck-through version of their flagship model. Based out of the UK, GMR’s Bassforce is proof of their constant work. “The shape is seen on Bassforce is a case of evolution of early models which started coming out from the workshop nearly 30 years ago,” explains GMR’s...
Owen Biddle’s Mister Barrington: Rawzz
Since leaving The Roots in August, bassist Owen Biddle has been focusing on his project, Mister Barrington. Here’s a video from their latest album, II, for the song “Rawzz.” The trio’s experimental sound mixes electronica with hip hop and lots of crazy keyboard sounds.
Fender Introduces Factory Special Run Antigua Jazz and Precision Basses
Fender continues to bring old school to the forefront with the announcement of a “Factory Special Run” of instruments with their retro Antigua finish. Introduced in the late 1960’s, the distinct color scheme was revisited in 1977 with more of a greenish shade. The new limited edition line includes both Jazz and Precision bass models. Both basses feature an alder...
Juan Alderete Launches New Pedals and Effects Resource
Mars Volta/Big Sir bassist Juan Alderete has launched PedalsAndEffects.com, a new website with which the bassist hopes to spread his knowledge of using effects. Alderete, whose genre-bending career spans over two decades, is known for making some of the most incredible sounds with his extensive pedal collection. “Because of my 25+ year obsession for pedals/stompboxes/effects, I wanted to share my...