Bass Of the Week: Xylem 5-String Black Limba Bass
This week we’re featuring a beautiful custom Xylem 5-string bass. This particular bass is a neck-through design featuring a black limba body with a bookmatched macassar ebony top, accented with bocote and maple. The quartersawn neck is bird’s eye maple and has an ebony fretboard and custom inlays of a tomoe and falling leaves. All the electronics are Bartolinis, including...
The Rise of Blast Cult
After settling up with customers left from the demise of King Doublebass brand, luthier Jason Burns went to work to create a new upright venture catering to the alternative bassist. Blast Cult officially launched this month with their One4Five model bass, a design cultivated from Burns’ 20 years of building. Among the first instruments built under the moniker is a...
Victor Wooten Releases The Music Lesson Soundtrack
Victor Wooten has released The Music Lesson Soundtrack. The album, which is the first all-original release for his new VIX Records label, is culled from the audio version of his book of the same title and is only available digitally. Wooten describes the album as the “largest musical project [he has] ever completed to date.” The bassist recruited his brothers...
Reed James Custom Pickups Introduces RJE NEO Neodymium Bass Pickups
Reed James Custom Pickups has announced the RJE Neos, new soap-bar style neodymium pickups. Made in the USA, the pickups have a modern sound, described by the manufacturer as “warm, punchy and very clear.” The RJE Neo pickups are available for 4- through 6-string basses and feature CNC machined black ABS plastic covers with a matte finish, though custom exotic...
R.E.M. Announce Split
Thirty-one years and fifteen albums after forming in Athens, Georgia, the rock icons of R.E.M. are calling it quits. The trio, whose latest album Collapse Into Now came out earlier this year, broke the news in a statement on their website explaining that they “walk away with a great sense of gratitude, of finality, and of astonishment at all [they]...
Dream Theater: YTSE Jam, Live in 2004
Dream Theater celebrated the 15th anniversary of their debut record, When Dream and Day Unite, in 2004 by performing the album in its entirety. The instrumental “YTSE Jam” has some fancy fretwork by bassist John Myung, as he plays the melody with guitarist John Petrucci. Unfortunately, the camera guys don’t focus on Myung during the bass solo at 3:47, but...
Bag End Updates TA Series Models
Bag End has updated their TA series with the introduction of the TA1202, TA2002 and the TA6002. Suited for both sound reinforcement and musical instrument applications, the Time Aligned, full-range loudspeakers feature the new and updated E-700 driver, replacing their previous counterparts’ E-600s. The new driver utilizes newer materials and offers better high-frequency response and lower rates of distortion at...
Signal Snowboards’ Duff McKagan Fender Snowboard Bass
Some people play bass, and some people ride it. Signal Snowboards is a company that makes handmade boards, and on every third Thursday they get a little adventurous. In their latest edition, they hook up with bassist Duff McKagan and build a snowboard out of his signature Fender bass. The kicker? It’s still playable.
Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings Announce “Back in the UK” Tour
Bill Wyman will be taking his Rhythm Kings on an extensive tour of the UK this Fall, beginning in October and wrapping in December. The “Back In the UK Tour” kicks off at the Grand Theatre in Swansea and snakes across the entire country, visiting 36 venues in all. The tour coincides with a new box set from the band,...
Anthrax Releases Worship Music
The metal veterans in Anthrax have released Worship Music, their first studio album in eight years and the first to feature vocalist Joey Belladonna since 1990’s Persistence of Time. “Getting Joey back in as our full-time, permanent singer solidified us as a unit like we hadn’t been in years,” said guitarist Scott Ian. “All of us were on the same...
Aerosmith: Sweet Emotion (Tom Hamilton Bass Solo)
Aerosmith has been together for 40 years. That takes some serious hustle. In this clip, Tom Hamilton plays a simple groove-based solo in this clip before kicking into one of the most recognizable bass riffs in rock history.
Ibanez Unveils Limited Edition Destroyer Bass
Ibanez has introduced a revamped version of their Destroyer bass, which will be available only as a limited run. Based on their guitar version, the Destroyer bass was discontinued in the late ’80s. Available in a Candy Apple Red finish, the DTB100 features a mahogany body with a classic angular design and a three-piece maple neck. The rosewood fingerboard has...