Buzz
Carvin Introduces JB4 and JB5 Classic Bolt-Neck Jazz Basses
Following up on their recent PB series, Carvin has announced the JB4 four-string and JB5 five-string Classic Bolt-Neck Jazz Basses. The new models blend classic styling with the company’s more contemporary features including a locking bass bridge, a smooth contoured neck heel with a 5-bolt neck plate, and a 22-fret neck with dual carbon fiber reinforcement rods. Another key aspect...
The Lowdown with Dr. D: A Call for Questions
Over the years, I’ve received questions from aspiring bassists, and many of those questions have turned into the Lowdown columns you read here. I’d love to do more of this. Please send me questions you’d like to see me cover in future Lowdown columns. You can send them to [email protected] or post them in the comments below. I look forward...
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Isolated Bass and Drums on “Give It Away”
Kicking off our fourth Isolated Bass Week is the one and only Flea. Here is the isolated bass and drum track for the Chili Pepper's "Give It Away"...
Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow and Bobby Previte Team Up for “The New Standard”
Three jazz greats — Jamie Saft, Steve Swallow and Bobby Previte — prove that excellent music doesn’t always take long to make. The trio’s first record, , was recorded in about three hours in an upstate New York studio. Saft, who composed seven of the record’s 10 tracks, had high praise for bassist Swallow, who has played with Gary Burton,...
Weekly Top 10: The Best in Bass for the Week of May 25th
The last week of May closed the month with a bang (or a boom) in the world of bass. Our top 10 list this week kicks off with two monster videos, along with some great bass how-to’s, some new bass method and transcription books, the Bass of the Week and more. Here is your top 10 for the week of...
Molten Voltage Introduces The Tempode
Molten Voltage has released The Tempode, a MIDI clock generator pedal for synchronizing up your MIDI-capable pedals to a single device. The Tempode can be used as a stand-alone device but is also compatible with all MIDI controllers. Built for simplicity, the pedal has MIDI in and out jacks and a pair of footswitches to start the clock or tap...
Jaco Pastorius and Bireli Lagrene: Teen Town Jam
If you’ve listened to Live in Italy, with Jaco Pastorius, Bireli Lagrene, and Tomas Böröcz, you’ve heard one killer version of Jaco’s “Teen Town”. Now you can see a video of the trio performing the tune (with some other tunes/jams thrown in) live in 1986. Thank goodness we’re past the era of video tapes (and thank goodness they were around...
moe. Releases “No Guts, No Glory”
The 11th studio album from moe., , was supposed to have a completely different sound than the finished product. “Everything we started out to do turned into completely something else. An album that was supposed to be an acoustic based album recorded in a barn turned into a hard rock album recorded in Connecticut with a hip-hop producer. Go figure....
Bass Gear Roundup: The Top Gear Stories in May 2014
Hard to believe another month is coming to an end. But the good news is that it means we have a top 10 list of the most popular gear stories for the month. Thanks as always for reading, commenting and sharing. 1. Gibson Memory Cable With Built-In Recorder Gibson has unveiled a new development in the world of instrument cables...
Charles Bradley and The Menahan Street Band: Live in Studio
Sometimes the path to music discovery is a long and winding one. I recently heard about Soul of America – a documentary focusing on singer Charles Bradley. I haven’t seen it yet, but I did start checking out music by the singer. One of the tunes was “The World (Is Going Up In Flames)” from the album, No Time for...
Hal Leonard Releases “Paul McCartney: Bass Play-Along Volume 43”
A new book features just about everything you need to play bass just like Paul McCartney on some of his most well-known songs. includes standard notation, the tab and a CD revealing how the bass should sound as well as the backing tracks to play along with. The melody and lyrics are also included for those who want to sing...
Rotosound Revamps Tru Bass RS88LD Black Nylon Bass Strings
Rotosound has upgraded their Tru Bass RS88LD Black Nylon bass strings with a new computer controlled engineering process in their UK factory. The company says that the process, along with finishing by their craftsmen, add to the strings’ lifespan and playability. Rotosound describes the tone as “double bass-like.” The Tru Bass 88 was originally designed by James How for Jim...