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Jazz ScaleHelper: A Look at the Scale Analysis and Study App for iOS and Android
Jazz ScaleHelper is, at it’s essence, a discerning ear. The app listens to you play your scales and arpeggios and gives you feedback on what you just played, as well as a grade. It judges your note stability, intonation, time and shows you how many notes per minute you played. The app’s analysis screen presents your scale in notation. My...
B2Men: Bass and Voice Cover of Sting’s “Shape of My Heart”
Bassist Viktor Lorincz has a great duo with László Peck called B2Men. The two are best friends and grew up together, so naturally they got into music together. Here’s a cool version of Sting’s “Shape of My Heart” featuring the duo on bass and voice.
Paul McCartney Announces 2013 “Out There” U.S. Tour Dates
Paul McCartney has added several U.S. stops to his 2013 “Out There” tour. The trek will stop at seven cities, including McCartney’s first ever concert in Austin, Texas. Macca’s “Out There” performances will be packed with nearly three hours of songs from the bassist’s career from the Beatles to Wings to his solo work. His band consists of keyboardist Paul...
Waterstone Honors Jackson Pollock with Studio Bass
Waterstone Musical Instruments is honoring the work of Jackson Pollock with a new line of guitars and basses named after the influential abstract artist. The instruments feature an abstract finish inspired by the floors of Jackson Pollock’s studio. “Pollock’s studio was a converted barn, where he spread his canvas out flat and danced around it, using rhythmic gestures to apply...
Weekly Top Ten: The Best in Bass for the Week of April 7
Our top ten this week included two different stories about prolific bassists giving their basses away: Geddy Lee’s Fender Jazz to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum and Marcus Miller’s long list of basses to support UNESCO. There was another trend of things coming in pairs this week, including two videos related to Pino Palladino. The first being...
WDR Big Band with Victor Bailey: The Music of Jaco Pastorius
Here’s the fantastic WDR Big Band with special guests Victor Bailey on bass and Peter Erskine on drums performing the music of Jaco Pastorius. Things kick off appropriately with “Come On, Come Over”, the second track from Jaco’s debut album. Bailey does double duty on this one, playing the funky bass line while singing the vocals. Other tunes include “Liberty...
In Memoriam: Chi Cheng
The bass community has lost another great player as former Deftones bassist Chi Cheng has passed away after a five year fight for his life. Cheng was in a car accident in 2008 in Santa Clara, California that left him in a coma. Though he had been showing signs of improvement the past two years, he succumbed to heart related...
Paul McCartney Reportedly Recorded a New Song with Nirvana Members for Upcoming Album
There’s some buzz building on the web about another collaboration between Paul McCartney and Nirvana members Dave Grohl, Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear, thanks to a news item from The Macca Report. The report suggests the musicians got together for one of the tracks from McCartney’s upcoming and yet-to-be-titled album. The Macca Report’s Jorie Gracen discovered a track-by-track sneak preview...
Joshua Pickenpaugh: Threelle
Joshua Pickenpaugh sent us this video of a tune he recorded back in 2011, while in his cabin aboard the largest cruise ship at sea, the Oasis of the Seas. Armed with his Vintage Modified Jazz bass, his Chapman Stick (1997 Purpleheart #1397) and GarageBand on the iPad, Joshua put together a pretty interesting tune. And at times, a very...
Fender Unveils Cabronita Precision Bass
Fender has announced the Cabronita Precision bass, a take on their original bass model with a flair from their Cabronita series. The bass sports an alder body that comes in 2-color sunburst, black, or Candy Apple Red. The Cabronita Precision Bass is fitted with a single FideliTron humbucking bass pickup with classic Volume and Tone controls. Its maple neck has...
Ashdown Introduces Dr. Green Series Bass Effects Pedals
Ashdown has introduced the Dr. Green series to their lineup of bass effects pedals. The lineup includes five effects: the Octa Dose (Octaver), the Bearded Lady (Fuzz), the Doctor’s Note (Envelope Filter), Bass Verb (Reverb), and the Aspirin (Compressor). Handmade in the UK, the pedals are housed in steel stompboxes and feature true bypass. Ashdown Dr. Green Octa Dose Bass...
Refresh Yourself: Some Thoughts on Musical Growth
As we grow and develop as bassists, we tend to go through different stages of learning. Sometimes we feel inspired and creative, other times we feel as if we’ve plateaued or burnt out. During the good times, it’s easy to find new concepts to work on, specific ideas to write about, or ways to make headway during practice sessions. During...