Buzz
Cheikh Ndoye, Featuring Woz Kaly: Jolie
Cheikh Ndoye is back with another incredible performance on the bass ngoni, a traditional West African instrument that has similarities to a three-string fretless bass. This time he plays through the song “Jolie” from his recent album . Ndoye’s rhythmic and melodic bass lines support a melody sung by Woz Kaly to create an incredible groove.
Fredric Effects Introduces The BugCrusher
London’s Fredric Effects has expanded their tonal palette with the BugCrusher, an analog sample rate reducer that produces an aliasing effect. Although its name makes it sound like it is a BitCrusher, Fredric writes that’s not the case. “Despite the name, the BugCrusher is not an actual BitCrusher. Most BitCrusher effects will have sample rate (x-axis quantization) and bit depth...
Oscar Peterson Trio: Bag’s Groove
After people find out I’m a bass player, they always ask who my favorite bassist is and the answer is always the same: Ray Brown. The jazz bassist’s sense of melody and harmony always blow me away, but it’s the time and groove that keep me coming back. Here’s a fantastic take on “Bag’s Groove” with the Oscar Peterson Trio....
Ashdown Announces Norman Watt-Roy Special Edition OriginAL Pre-DI
Ashdown has expanded their lineup of signature gear with the Norman Watt-Roy Special Edition OriginAL Pre-Di. Watt-Roy, who is best known as the bassist for Ian Dury and the Blockheads, helped create the unit. “Strictly limited to a run of 50 special units, the special edition Norman Watt-Roy OriginAL Preamp Pedal has been tweaked to Norman’s specification,” Ashdown writes. “As...
Chick Corea & The Vigil: Galaxy 32 Star 4
Christian McBride may be best known for his killer upright playing, but as we’ve shown before, he can also tear it up on electric. Here’s a fine piece of evidence with a live video of the bassist laying the foundation on fretless for the song “Galaxy 32 Star 4” with Chick Corea & The Vigil. McBride keeps the groove interesting...
Phil Lesh and Bob Weir Announce Duo Tour
Grateful Dead fans have one more reason to be grateful: bassist Phil Lesh and guitarist Bob Weir have announced a duo tour. The trek, which will be their first ever duo run, will take place with multiple night engagements in New York City, Boston, and Chicago during March. “I guess it was last summer, Phil and I played a little...
CruzTools Updates GrooveTech Multi-Tool
CruzTools has updated their GrooveTech Guitar and Bass Multi-tool just in time for the holidays. The second generation of the gadget has the original features: both metric and inch hex wrench sizes, ball-end for the truss rod sizes, and S2 steel tools with a polished chrome finish. New features include a 5/16” socket that fits Gibson and other truss rod...
The Lightbulb Moment: Setting The Stage
I’m standing in front of my amp. I’m sure of it. It’s two feet behind me, the light is on, and there’s definitely sound coming out of it – well, at least I’m pretty sure that there’s sound coming out of it. There comes a time in every musician’s life when you realize that a sound check can be an...
Zander Zon: Star Wars – The Last Jedi
We don’t just geek out over the bass, we also geek out about Star Wars. So today is an exciting day where we get to see the combination of both. In celebration of The Last Jedi, Zander Zon has put together his solo bass arrangement of the film’s theme song.
Raymond Elgar’s Books On Double Bass Republished
If you’re interested in the history of the double bass, you may want to check out Stephen Street’s new republished editions of three books by Raymond Elgar: Introduction to the Double Bass, More About the Double Bass, and Looking At The Double Bass. Originally published in the 1960s, the books chronicle the double bass in three aspects. Introduction covers the...
Thin The Herd Guitars and Birdsong Guitars Announce the CBG 30.5 T-Bass
Thin The Herd Guitars recently collaborated with Scott Beckwith of Birdsong Guitars to create the CBG 30.5 T-Bass. The bass takes elements from each of the companies’ instruments. “Scott started with our familiar Model T body, then applied his signature ‘recipe’ for quality tone and ease-of-playability into the design. Loaded with EMG-sized, custom-wound PUNCHBUCKER Pickups – specified by Scott Beckwith....
Alex Canion: Bass Playthrough of Voyager’s “Ghost Mile”
Voyager’s Alex Canion gives us a closeup look at the bass line to the title track from the band’s 2017 album, Ghost Mile. Armed with a tone that will bite your face off, the bassist tears through the bass line with slapped notes for punctuation. “This song is deceptively hard to play live and it features a few different techniques;...