Phil Lesh to Open Terrapin Crossroads in February
After some debate over the location, former Grateful Dead and current Furthur bassist Phil Lesh will be opening up a restaurant and performance venue called Terrapin Crossroads in San Rafael, California. The dining portion of the new venue will open in February with the “intimate” performance hall to begin shows soon there after. Though his original plan was to launch...
Posthumous Cornell Dupree Album Features Ronnie James, Larry Fulcher, and George Porter, Jr.
Last year, the world lost a great musician with the passing of guitarist Cornell Dupree, who appeared on countless recordings with artists from Bill Withers to King Curtis to Steve Gadd. Many bass players may know him from Donny Hathaway’s , which also had the outstanding work of bassist Willie Weeks. Two months before his death, Dupree tracked what would...
Xotic Introduces XP-1T 5-String Bass
Taking a cue from classic design, Xotic will be introducing the XP-1T 5-string bass at NAMM. The P-bass styled instrument debuts the newly designed PV-1 pickup, but also borrows from their XJ-1T by utilizing the Tri-Logic Bass Preamp. The preamp includes a 3-band EQ with toggle switches to adjust the mid and treble-frequencies as well as a pre-set gain control...
Guild Announces B-54CE Standard Acoustic Bass Guitar
As part of their additions to the USA Standard Series, Guild has unveiled the B-54CE Standard acoustic bass guitar. The cutaway bass is built on the company’s jumbo body design and features a solid Sitka spruce top with red spruce bracing, solid maple sides and a unique arched laminated maple back. The body is also bound with Ivoroid. The B-54CE...
Alberto Rigoni: Tetris Theme for Bass
Here’s a cool video of Alberto Rigoni bringing back old school gaming memories with a three-bass layered arrangement of the Tetris theme. For authenticity, he used a bitcrusher effect on the lead line for that classic game soundtrack vibe. Also, check out that fretless tone!
Fender Custom Shop Introduces 2012 Bass Models
Fender’s Custom Shop has announced two new bass models for 2012, including the 2012 Closet Classic Precision Bass Pro and the 1961 Closet Classic Jazz Bass. Both models are built in the U.S. by Fender’s master builders. According to Fender, the Closet Classic Precision Bass Pro combines “the best of the Precision and Jazz Bass models,” which can be partly...
Overt?n To Debut New Amp, Combo, DI at NAMM
Overt?n Amplification will be debuting a few new pieces of gear at the upcoming NAMM Show, including the Flyweight 500 amp, the Tremor 10mini combo, and the T?nLink-DI, which will be the company’s first foray into outboard gear. Overt?n Flyweight 500 The Flyweight 500 builds on Overt?n’s Flyweight 200 and pumps up the power to 500 watts at 4 ohms....
Van Halen Releases North American Tour Date Schedule
After putting out a teaser last week, Van Halen has released their tour schedule for what will be their first outing since their 2007-’08 “reunion” tour. The current lineup includes David Lee Roth as well as Alex and Eddie Van Halen, with Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen on bass. Wolfgang of course replaced longtime VH bassist and current Chickenfoot bassist...
AC Guitars Introduces Salace Model
AC Guitars has released a new model, dubbed the “Salace”. Built with the help of Paul Sugden, the bass was intended to be a headless design, but is also available with a headstock. Though AC Guitars builds to suit, this particular Salace is a 6-string bass with a wenge body and Maracarpra top. The neck is made of 7-pieces of...
Cephalic Carnage’s Nick Schendzielos: “Ohrwurm” Bass Playalong Video and Lesson
Here’s one for the metalheads! Nick Schendzielos of Cephalic Carnage made this incredible playalong of the group’s bass-heavy song “Ohrwurm,” from their album Misled by Certainty. “I had a lot of “fun” making this video,” Schendzielos wrote. “I wanted to increase the watchability for musicians and non-musicians alike, so I tried out some new things like Picture in Picture, and...
Bass of the Week: Wood & Tronics Chronos
Hand made in Italy, the Wood & Tronics Chronos is the company’s take on the single cut design, and a great one at that. Wood and Tronics was founded by Enrico Pasini and luthier Erik Furlan after Pasini, who was a frequent visitor and admirer of the Fodera Guitars shop, decided to follow his dream of making his own custom...
Custom Shop: An Interview with Grant Freifeld of Grant Bass
Armed with passion and determination, Ontario-based bassist Grant Freifeld got his start building instruments after becoming disgusted with “cheap painted plywood guitars” and basses that are “someone else’s idea of custom.” After apprenticing with Joe Kovacic of Lado Guitars, Freifeld created his own brand, Grant Bass. His humility allows him to be more open to ideas, citing that expanding his...