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Nathan East Debuts “Sir Duke” from Upcoming Solo Album
We reported last August that Nathan East was working on his first solo album. Now we know a date. Nathan East will be released on March 25, 2014. “It’s a celebration of my musical friends and my musical life over 30 years’ worth of experiences and influences,” East told Billboard. “The one thing I’ve learned is that I love a...
Weekly Top Ten: The Best in Bass for the Week of January 5
The NAMM Show is almost here, and that means the gear news is starting to spin up. No surprise some of these early gear stories made this week’s top 10. We also had some killer solo bass videos, including the #1 slot (Nico Aranda’s performance of “Get Lucky”), and Simon Fitzpatrick’s jaw-dropping “Flight of the Bumblebee”. Add to it the...
Byron: “Zeitgeist” Live Bass Cam
I really love bass cams. Sometimes they make you feel a little dizzy, but the perspective is so cool. Here’s a bass cam video of bassist László Demeter playing with his band, byron. Demeter pins down the low end for the song “Zeitgeist,” which was recorded during their New Year’s Eve gig at Clubul Taranului in Bucharest.
Etienne Mbappe To Tour with The Ringers
After debuting in early 2013 for a short East Coast tour, the Ringers are back with more performance dates. The supergroup is made up of Jimmy Herring, Wayne Krantz, Michael Landau, Gary Novak and bassist Etienne Mbappe. Their trek kicks off January 18th during two appearances at Florida’s Sunshine Music & Blues Festival. They then make their way north along...
Carvin Introduces BX700 Bass Amplifier
Carvin has announced the BX700, an evolved version of their BX500 bass amplifier. The new head unit combines a Class A preamp with a Class D power section rated up to 700 watts at two ohms. Remodeled in a red-faced chassis, the BX700’s controls include three EQ sections. The Contour knob controls an adjustable preset EQ curve that is flat...
Tristan: MoonTune
Our friend Helge Rudolph sent this one, saying “fresh stuff from Europe. Maybe you’ll like it?!” Heck yeah! This band is tight, and bassist Frans Vollink is laying down one nice groove.
Schecter Unveils Session Series Basses
Schecter has introduced the Session series of basses, which they describe as combining “no frills looks with high end electronics.” The series includes four and five string basses in the company’s Stiletto and Riot body styles. Each of the models features a contoured swamp ash body and 6-bolt Canadian Maple neck. The 24-fret maple fingerboard is accented with ebony offset...
Simon Fitzpatrick: Flight of the Bumblebee… on Bass
I don’t know what to say, other than “Watch this and hold on to your hats!”
The Aristocrats Head Out On World Tour
The Aristocrats are back for another round of world touring in support of their second release, Culture Clash. The supertrio of guitarist Guthrie Govan, drummer Marco Minneman and bassist Bryan Beller will start things off with a string of dates in the West Coast and Mexico before heading to Europe for an extensive 10-week tour. “These will be first-ever live...
Bass of the Week: Zoov Guitars Classic 5 Fretless
This week we check out the Classic 5 String Bass from Zoov Guitars, a custom shop based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While each bass is made to order by luthier Nicholas Lacroix, this particular fretless version really stands out for its beauty and attention to detail. The bass has a beautiful assortment of woods. Its neck is tigerwood is topped...
Aguilar Announces AG 4M and 5M Music Man Style Bass Pickups
Aguilar has expanded their pickup line with the AG 4M and AG 5M Music Man-Style bass pickups. The humbuckers were designed to recreate the classic Stingray tone while enhancing string-to-string balance, consistency, and harmonic content. They fit as a direct replacement for basses with this style pickup. The company says the pickups are wired in parallel to give players “crisp...
Nico Aranda: “Get Lucky” Solo Bass Cover
Our Twitter friend Valeria Lecko sent this video to us, and it looks like Jim Bennett is inspiring bassists out there with his all-bass Daft Punk covers. This is Nico Aranda showing off some excellent technique – and some cool videography – in his performance of “Get Lucky”.