Buzz

James LoMenzo’s Custom Megadeth Jackets Up for Auction

Two of James LoMenzo’s personal jackets from his time in Megadeth are being auctioned off on eBay. One jacket is a custom Carhartt featuring the Megadeth logo, and was made for the band and management during their winter 2008 tour. The second is a custom leather jacket that is one of four made special for the band members last year....

Gear Watch: Ibanez Introduces Three New Series of Basses

Ibanez introduced a number of new basses at Summer NAMM 2010, including new GSR, SR370 and SRT900 series. GSR Series All three of the GSR series basses are available as 4-string only, and come with a P/J pickup configuration. Two left-handed models are offered, including a short-scale version (28.6″). The new GSR series offers a line of basses for players...

Q: With some of the more pricey models of basses out there, it’s understood that they’re made with some of the most exotic and interesting types of wood. Why do these sound different, and how do colors and densities play their roles in determining the bass’s sound? A: Primarily, the density of the wood is what impacts tone. The denser...

This is part two of a live video of Big Pump by Now vs. Now featuring Jason Lidner on piano, Mark Guiliana on drums and Panagiotis Andreou on bass. Check out the way Andreou incorporates konnakol into his bass solo (and the drum solo ain’t bad either!)

Hellyeah Releases “Stampede”

Metal supergroup Hellyeah has just released their second album, Stampede. This is the follow-up to the group’s self titled debut, released just over three years ago. The band consists of ex-Damageplan bassist Bob Zilla, Mudvayne’s Chad Gray and Greg Tribbett, Nothingface guitarist Tom Maxwell, and former Pantera/Rebel Meets Rebel/Damageplan drummer Vinnie Paul. Bob Zilla and Vinnie were together in Damageplan,...

Reader Spotlight: Kira Roessler

Meet bassist Kira Roessler, our bassist in the spotlight for July 13, 2010. Bio: I have played in bands since 1977, performing live and recording. At first in local LA bands Waxx, The Visitors, The Monsters, Sexsick and Twisted Roots. Later I joined Black Flag and toured and recorded with them between fall 83 and fall 85 … Since 1986...

Korn III – Remember Who You Are

Korn released their ninth studio album today, Korn III – Remember Who You Are. The release features 11 tracks (plus a second CD with 14 bonus tracks on the Special Edition). Korn brought back producer Ross Robinson, who produced their first two albums, and named Ray Luzier – who makes his first appearance on a Korn album – as the...

This video features a nice, melodic solo bass piece by Doug Ross called “What Fortune Awaits”.

Mainstream Rock: Bass Play-Along Volume 15

Hal Leonard has released Volume 15 of their Mainstream Rock: Bass Play-Along series. Volume 15 includes the bass lines, tab, melody and lyrics of various rock tunes. A CD is included to allow the player to hear how the bass line should sound, as well as play along to the backing tracks. Songs include: Are You Gonna Be My Girl...

Gear Watch: Effectrode PC-2A Photo-optical Compressor Pedal

Effectrode is now shipping their new PC-2A Photo-optical Compressor pedal, which boasts a pure analog signal path. The pedal is built around a hand-selected photo-cell, polyester coupling capacitors, precision metal film resistors, and an NOS tube. NOS stands for “new old stock,” or tubes that were manufactured years ago, but were never used. The PC-2A has two knobs, Peak Reduction...

I constantly receive questions in my email box from aspiring bassists. Unfortunately sometimes these pile up and I can’t always get to everyone’s question in a timely manner, or even send a personal response. So for the next couple of installments, I thought I would take some time here on The Lowdown and answer a few of the more common...

Here’s a great video focusing on Thaddeus Tribbett in a live performance his brother, Gospel singer Tye Tribbett last year. Thaddeus has so much freedom in this context and it’s great to watch him play close up like this. He had a whole lot of fun in this performance. Thaddeus, also known as Terry, has appeared on several of Tye’s...