News - Page 412

Ibanez has unveiled a new take on their SR series with four new models. The SR Premium basses are built at Ibanez’s premium factory and all feature USA Nordstrand “Big Single” pickups, a first for any of the company’s basses. Each model also includes their EQB-IIISC 3-band EQ that has a Mid frequency switch and an EQ bypass switch for...

Ernie Ball/Music Man has unveiled a new patent-pending pickup switching system called the Game Changer that will be available on their Reflex HH bass. By choosing the coils in any order, whether they are in series or parallel, and whether they are in or out of phase, the system allows for 250,000 pickup combinations without rewiring, digitizing, or remodeling. A...

Genz-Benz unveiled three new amps at the NAMM show, including two in the new Streamliner series and an update to the ShuttleMax line. Sporting a retro look and feel, the Streamliner 900 and 600 amps have straight-ahead controls, allowing players to “focus more on their playing and less on adjusting knobs.” The models feature Class A Six Stage All Tube...

Jazz bassist Robert Hurst has released Unrehurst, Vol. 2, a straight-ahead trio album featuring pianist Robert Glasper and drummer Chris Dave. As the names suggests, the CD was recorded in 2007 without any rehearsals at Smoke in New York City, though that’s not how the jazz veteran had planned it. A taped-off crime scene prevented him from checking in to...

Bassist Billy Sheehan will be part of the “house band” of an upcoming heavy metal tribute to Frank Sinatra. The album, SIN-atra, is collection of twelve of the master jazz vocalist’s most famous tunes sung by the “finest voices in rock,” including Dee Snider, Tim “Ripper” Owens, and Joey Belladonna. Bassists/vocalists Glenn Hughes and Doug Pinnick will also be getting...

Alfred Music Publishing and Cartoon Network Enterprises have teamed up to release a new bass transcription book featuring the songs of Dethklok, the animated metal band from Adult Swim’s “Metalocalypse” TV series. Dethklok: Bass Anthology includes 14 tunes from the The Dethalbum and Dethalbum II, selected by Bryan Beller, Dethklok’s live performance bassist. Bonus materials include “The Duncan Hills Coffee...

Aerosmith bassist Tom Hamilton recently taped an update video for the band’s fan site AeroForceOne revealing that the group is working on new material “commencing immediately,” and should be touring by the end of the year. The group’s progress has been delayed by singer Steven Tyler’s new gig as a judge on the TV show American Idol, but according to...

Fender has rolled out a few new bass products this year, including the introduction of their bass models into the American Special series and an update to the Mark Hoppus Signature Jazz Bass. The American Special Precision and Jazz basses are built in the U.S. and feature a slim neck profile, high-gloss finish, and the Fender “Greasebucket” circuit. The circuit...

F-Bass has released a new Alain Caron signature model, dubbed the AC-Classic. Built to attain an “upright” tone from an electric bass, the instrument features a redwood top, additional chambering, and a floating bridge. Another new development for the series is a natural sounding RMC piezo pickup system that is controlled by master volume, bass cut/boost, and treble cut/boost knobs....

Hal Leonard’s latest entry in their Bass Recorded Versions book series features the music of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Lynyrd Skynyrd: All Time Greatest Hits (Bass Recorded Versions) is a 114 page book including complete transcriptions in both standard notation and tab for 14 Lynyrd Skynyrd classics and featuring the bass lines of Leon Wilkeson and Ed King.   Song list: All...

Among a slew of new gear Ampeg released at NAMM this year is the Heritage B-15, a combo that pays homage to former Ampeg VP Jess Oliver’s original flip-top design. Limited to 50 units, the B-15 is hand-built and hand-wired in the U.S. by George Metropolous and his team at Metroamps. The classic design includes an all-tube head and a...

Fishman unveiled their new Fission Bass effects pedal at NAMM; a box that adds harmonies to your bass lines, including octave up, 4th and octave up, octave and 5th up, and an octave, 5th, and second octave up combined. The stompbox utilizes 32-bit signal processing and 24-bit audio conversion. Harmonies selected are visually displayed via four footswitch LEDs. There are...