Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 741

The news of the passing of Beastie Boy member Adam Yauch hit the web on Friday, with a massive outpouring that followed on the social web. What wasn’t mentioned as often was that Yauch held down the low end in addition to being a rapper in the group. Yauch, aka MCA, had been battling cancer for some time. He was...

Schecter has unveiled the Baron-H Vintage, a semi-hollow body bass with an f-hole that drips with old school vibe. Also available in a lefty version, the bass features a mahogany body with a bolt-on maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. The bass comes with a Seymour Duncan SMB-4D hum-canceling pickup paired with an active 2-band EQ. Hardware on the Baron-H Vintage...

Lynyrd Skynyrd have announced that they’ll have a new album on the shelves on August 21. Last of a Dying Breed will be their first effort since 2009’s God & Guns, and promises to be a real fan-pleaser. “It was great to get back in the studio with [producer Bob Marlette] for this new album,” guitarist Gary Rossington said. “We...

Ibanez has added to their BTB series of basses with the BTB675M and BTB676M, which sport maple fingerboard and an natural finish. The neck-thru bass is comprised of a 5-piece maple/bubinga neck and a light ash body with a walnut top. Five and six-string basses respectively, the BTB675M and BTB676M sport all the features of their predecessors, including deep cutaways,...

Jazz bassist Eddie Gomez has released Per Sempre, a new album with his quintet. Recorded in Bologna, Italy during his 2009 tour, the album features original compositions by his band as well as an inventive version of the jazz standard “Stella by Starlight.” Drawing on his varying experiences, Gomez’s refined arco work blends beautifully with the timbres of the horns...

Epiphone is unveiling a new version of a classic with the Thunderbird Classic-IV PRO. The bass is set apart from its siblings by being equipped with a pair of Gibson TB Plus Humbucking pickups featuring ceramic magnets, which the company says produce “high gain, smooth tone and high-end definition.” The pickups are controlled with separate volume knobs as well as...

Regular No Treble readers will be familiar with Donovan Stokes from his column, The Lowdown with Dr. D, but you may not be as familiar with his playing. As a professor at Shenandoah University, Stokes is well versed in the classical realm of double bass playing, yet his own compositions draw on an array of genres. His stunning performances often...

Today is bass legend Ron Carter’s birthday, and we’d be remiss if we didn’t celebrate with some of his incredible playing. Here’s the bassist’s Golden Striker Trio, featuring pianist Mulgrew Miller and guitarist Russel Malone playing their namesake tune, originally performed by the Modern Jazz Quartet. Happy Birthday Ron Carter!

After 20 years of work making and repairing stringed instruments, Meaulnes Laberge formed ML Basses to focus on building electric basses. One of his striking instruments is the Volcan, an edgy yet elegant design available in 4- and 5-string configurations. Featuring bolt-on construction, the Volcan is built with a light maple body, three-piece maple neck and an Indian rosewood fingerboard....

Fender has introduced the 2012 line of Pawn Shop guitars, which they claim are inspired by their eccentric creations from the ’60s and ’70s and are “guitars that never were, but should have been.” Included in that lineup is the Fender Pawn Shop Reverse Jaguar Bass, an instrument that takes their classic design and flips the body as well as...

NOFX has released 126 Inches of NOFX, a special box set containing 18 of the band’s classic 7? vinyls. Containing 82 songs, the collection is filled with limited and formerly out of print titles as well as previously unreleased material. The box set is limited to 1,792 copies, and all of the vinyl will be colored gold. The band, fronted...

Solo bassist Simon Little has released his third album, [un]plugged. Taking a step in a new direction, Little recorded the album on an acoustic bass guitar. “The entire album features my new Breedlove acoustic bass with minimal effects from my Line 6 Pod X3 Pro and Lexicon MPX G2,” the bassist explains. “Each track is a live solo improvisation using...