Chickenfoot Releases III, Announces Tour Dates
Chickenfoot has released their second album, ironically entitled III. The group consists of bassist Michael Anthony, singer Sammy Hagar, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Kenny Aronoff, who replaces Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers while they go on tour. Anthony, who is a former member of Van Halen, says the new album has a lot more meat. “It’s...
Planet Waves Introduces NS Mini-Headstock Tuner
Planet Waves has released the NS Mini-Headstock Tuner, designed in cooperation with Ned Steinberger. The discrete tuner has a ratcheting clip to fit to your headstock and a 360 degree swivel for easy adjustments. Instead of a microphone or cables, the NS Mini Tuner utilizes a piezo transducer to detect pitch and displays the reading on a multi-color display. Red...
Fender Releases Classic ’70s Precision Bass
Fender has released the Classic Series ’70s Precision Bass, paying homage to the P-bass of yesteryear. Made in Japan, the basses include era-specific features like the bass-side thumbrest, the ’70s-style large headstock logo and a bound neck with block inlays. The bass has an alder body with a C-shaped maple neck and fretboard, which has a 9.5″ radius and 20...
Acoustic Image Introduces Series 4 Line
Acoustic Image has introduced its new Series 4 line of amps and cabinets, with new features and updates from their predecessors. The company says the new series simplifies their product line, as it consists of two preamp types, one power amp and three cabinet types. The components are then combined to create the actual line, consisting of two amp heads,...
The Jamiroquai Bass Book Released Worldwide
Bassline Publishing has announced the worldwide release of The Jamiroquai Bass Book, featuring transcriptions of 16 tracks from the group’s first two albums, Emergency on Planet Earth and Return of the Space Cowboy. Previously unavailable in the U.S., the 134-page book provides musical notation, TAB and chord symbols for all the lines played by founding bassist Stuart Zender. Each track...
Thunderfunk Introduces TFB800-B2 Bass Amp
Thunderfunk has unveiled the TFB800-B2 bass amp, rated up to 800-watts RMS at 2 ohms. The new model is an update of the TFB750, combining all the mods that had been added to its predecessor. The TFB800-B2 is housed in an aluminum chassis, weighing in at 21 pounds, and has a plethora of tone-shaping capabilities with a 4-band parametric EQ,...
Queen Launches Official Tribute Band with Open Auditions
Queen drummer Roger Taylor has announced a North American talent search to put together an official Queen tribute band for a tour next year, called the Queen Extravaganza. Auditions are open to bassists, vocalists, guitarists, drummers and keyboardists. “The Queen Extravaganza will not be a traditional tribute show,” Taylor explains. “It’s a brand-new show specially designed to enable fans to...
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]...