Buzz
Fender Updates Deluxe Series Basses
Fender has revamped their Deluxe series of instruments into a more cohesive lineup with a shared set of upgrades. The series includes new versions of the Deluxe Active Precision Bass Special, the Deluxe Active Jazz Bass, and the Deluxe Active Dimension Bass. Each of the basses now has a 12-inch fingerboard radius, active/passive electronics, a hi-mass bridge, and vintage noiseless...
Emile Nelson: Liberation
Emile Nelson shared this video with us saying “I just uploaded a live video from my album launch and thought it might be fun to share. It’s an original song with a 6/8 afro cuban groove. It’s quite a challenge to sing and play this one and make it feel good.” We dig the tune and that tone!
Tedeschi Trucks Band Adds Dates to Extend Tour
The Tedeschi Trucks Band, featuring bassist Timothy Lefebvre (David Bowie), has added eight fall/winter dates to its touring schedule, which had previously ended in October. The new dates start on Nov. 11, with a show with Amy Helm and the Handsome Strangers at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They’ll retain the same support act through Nov. 19. On Dec....
Radial Engineering Adds Bigshot EFX to ToneBone Series
Radial Engineering has announced the BigShot EFX, a true-bypass dual effects loop. The device lets you set up two separate effects loops to have two distinct and selectable pedal chains. This also helps to reduce tone-robbing and noisy by-products of certain non-true bypass pedals. Both loops are in series, allowing you to feed loop-A into loop-B for more creative options....
The Lightbulb Moment: Support Your Local Economy, Part 2
I remember the day that I got my first bass. Months of daydreaming culminated in a trip to Medley Music, a local music store just outside of Philadelphia. I knew that place well. It was a few blocks down the street from an ice cream parlor, a movie theater, restaurants, and various businesses. A frequent Friday afternoon destination, there were...
Vulfpeck: Conscious Club
Vulfpeck has released another video of a track from their debut full-length album – and it is one of our favorites. Joe Dart really lays it down on this one. If you dig this, you should check out our bass transcription for the tune, by Alasdair McLachlan.
Ben Williams Plays on Jazz Pianist’s Debut Album
Clockwork, jazz pianist Victor Gould’s debut as a bandleader has arrived. The album features Ben Williams (Pat Metheny’s Unity Band) on bass, and even features an homage to bass great/composer Ron Carter, called “Sir Carter.” The record includes sextet arrangements and pieces augmented by strings. “I didn’t want to be locked in with instrumentation,” Gould says. “I’ve come to believe...
Bergantino Audio Systems Announces the HG310 “Holo-Graphic” Loudspeaker
Bergantino Audio Systems has announced the HG310 “Holo-Graphic” loudspeaker. The forward-thinking cabinet, which features three ten-inch neodymium magnet woofers and a tweeter, is designed to create a 360-degree sonic experience. “Three woofers are mated to a lightweight sealed cabinet with 2 facing forward and a third facing rearward,” the company writes. “This speaker orientation generates a 3-dimensional soundstage that makes...
Groove – Episode #20: Miroslav Vitous
Miroslav Vitous. A legendary musician. A true innovator of the bass. Those are facts. Vitous attended the Prague Conservatory (where he played with Jan Hammer long before either of them were stars), which led him to Berklee College of Music. In the mid sixties Miroslav moved to New York, and found himself in the middle of one of the most...
Steve Lawson: Five Stages
As in most of the world, politics in the UK have taken some strange twists and turns this year and it deeply affected bassist Steve Lawson. Today we’re sharing a first look at his upcoming album, The Surrender of Time that expresses his feelings on the situation. “The next chapter in my instrumental exploration of what’s going on in the...
Elvis Costello & The Imposters To Play Fall/Winter U.S. Dates
After Elvis Costello wraps up solo U.S. tour dates this fall, he’ll join with his band, The Imposters for East Coast/Midwest dates on the Imperial Bedroom & Other Chambers Tour. The tour’s name, of course, references Costello’s 1982 album Imperial Bedroom and the tour will feature selections from that record, as well as ”the songs that led in and out...
Q-Tuner Unveils Transparent Q2.0 Pickups
Q-Tuner has announced a small-scale production of transparent versions of their neodymium q2.0 bass pickups. Each unit will be one of a kind and made to order. As such, the pickups can be fine-tuned in terms of output, dynamic response and frequency range, the company says. The new models, which will be available later this year, will act as a...