Articles by Kevin Johnson - Page 802

Among a slew of new gear Ampeg released at NAMM this year is the Heritage B-15, a combo that pays homage to former Ampeg VP Jess Oliver’s original flip-top design. Limited to 50 units, the B-15 is hand-built and hand-wired in the U.S. by George Metropolous and his team at Metroamps. The classic design includes an all-tube head and a...

Here’s a classic clip of bassist Jerry Scheff pouring his soul into a blues solo during a taped performance with Elvis Presley.

Fishman unveiled their new Fission Bass effects pedal at NAMM; a box that adds harmonies to your bass lines, including octave up, 4th and octave up, octave and 5th up, and an octave, 5th, and second octave up combined. The stompbox utilizes 32-bit signal processing and 24-bit audio conversion. Harmonies selected are visually displayed via four footswitch LEDs. There are...

While checking out the booths at NAMM, we stumbled upon Jon Smith and Federico Malaman jamming on a couple of Ken Smith basses. Here they treated us to a funky duet of the tune “Footprints.”

We’re still sorting through plenty of photos and notes from our NAMM trip (and missing the warm weather!). There’s no shortage of gear and artist news left for us to cover, so keep your eyes out for that on our NAMM update page. In the meantime, here are some more photos from the trip. Sam Finlay from Dave Gage String...

To celebrate 10 years since the release of their Loop Station, BOSS has unveiled the RC-3 and RC-30 loopers, each featuring three hours of stereo looping, 99 on-board memory locations, and USB 2.0 connectivity for importing and exporting audio to your computer. A step up from previous loop stations, the new models have multiple inputs, including 1/4” A and B...

Maybe he’s not the Rick James you’re thinking of, but this Rick James really lays it down on his 6-string in this bass and drums jam.

Phish bassist Mike Gordon will be hitting the road again in March in support of his latest solo album, Moss. The 17-date tour will be similar to his November trek, as he begins on the West Coast and works his way across the continental U.S., ending with a show in his hometown of Burlington, Vermont on the 26th. Gordon will...

Aguilar Amplification has unveiled their second super light bass cab, the SL 410, designed as a blend of “modern technology with a classic vibe.” Weighing in at 69 pounds, the SL 410 features 4 custom-voiced 10” woofers with 11 oz. Neodymium magnets and a phenolic tweeter with a variable level control. The cab is rated at 1200 watts RMS and...

The guys from Gruv Gear were showing off a few new products at their NAMM booth this year, including the new FretWraps and V-Cart Solo Lite. Designed with bass in mind, the Gruv Gear FretWraps are a string-muting accessory made to replace the hair ties that most bassists keep above the nut. Available in three sizes, FretWraps fit around up...

Roland has expanded their line of Cube Bass combo amps with three new models: the 120XL, 60XL, and 20XL. Delivering 120, 60, and 20 watts respectively, the amps are built for portability. The 120XL and 60XL have more in common than the 20XL, as they share dual custom-designed Air Flow Ports, eight COSM amp models, seven effects (including new Drive...

Bassist Mick Quinn of the now defunct rock band Supergrass told the BBC that the group will probably be making a comeback in the future. “I’m still on good terms with the rest of them and I’m confident we would probably reform at some point,” he said in an interview. The British pop rock group, who parted ways in April...