New Gear: June 2013

5/17/2013 1:14:00 PM
Lakland’s latest addition to its old-school collection is the Skyline Hollowbody 30, a 30"-scale hollowbody with a 1.5" nut width, a rosewood fingerboard, a machined hollow body with “F” hole, two single-coil pickups, and Hipshot-licensed Ultralite tuners. More...

Soundroom: Z. Vex Basstortion and Electro-Harmonix Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi

5/17/2013 11:44:00 AM
WHAT IT IS ABOUT FUZZ, OVERDRIVE, AND DISTORTION? OUR ATTRACTION to the full range of sizzling, brash frequencies makes perfect sense, especially in a world where guitarists hardly ever use clean tone, but these three effects have been known to kill low end— our bread, butter, meat, and potatoes—faster than a speeding bullet. More...

New Gear: May 2013

4/25/2013 9:42:00 AM
Pigtronix’ latest bass offerings are guitar products that have been tuned and tweaked for better low end. More...

New Gear from the 2013 NAMM Show

3/26/2013 4:55:00 PM
This month and next, we’ll be sifting through everything we saw at this year’s NAMM Show to bring you the best in bass. More...

Tale of the Tapewound: GHS 3060 Tapewound Black Nylon & La Bella 750T White Nylon Tape Wound Strings

3/21/2013 7:43:00 PM
EVEN THOUGH BASS PLAYERS TEND TO BE MORE PROGRESsive than our thin-stringed brethren when it comes to gear tech, there are plenty of us who are precious about the gear we hear on classic rock and R&B records. More...

Soundroom: MXR Bass Chorus Deluxe & Bass Overdrive

3/21/2013 7:19:00 PM
THERE’S A WHOLE LOT OF NOISE—FOR LACK OF A BETTER WORD—IN THE world of effect pedals, with announcements of “better-mousetrap” stompboxes coming fast and furious. More...

New Gear: March 2013

3/12/2013 8:56:00 AM
Following last year’s introduction of its American Stage instrument cables, Planet Waves now offers its premium cables with dual right-angle plugs. More...

Roundup: Pedal Pushin'

3/11/2013 12:23:00 PM
FOR THIS MONTH’S ROUNDUP, WE TURN TO A HALF-DOZEN STOMPBOXES INTENDED TO TITILLATE the tone tweakers among us: an analog multi-eff ect from Electro-Harmonix, fuzz boxes from Tech 21 and Dwarfcraft, overdrives from Carl Martin and Fulltone, and an analog chorus from Jacques. More...

New Gear: January 2013

1/30/2013 12:00:00 AM
A company long known for its strings steps out with an instrument perfectly suited to its oldschool reputation. More...

New Gear: December 2012

1/23/2013 12:00:00 AM
This classy new addition to Gibson’s line of semihollowbodies has a mini alnico bridge humbucker, wide ceramic neck humbucker, three-way pickup selector switch, volume control, tone control, and Gibson’s three-point adjustable bridge. More...

Soundroom: Acoustic B200 MKII & Warwick BC150

1/18/2013 12:00:00 AM
THE VENERABLE 1X15 COMBO IS LIKE THE HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA of bass amps; getting one is a good indication that you’ve learned the basic art, math, and science of bass playing, and you’re more or less ready for the real world. More...

Soundroom: Radial Firefly Tube Direct Box

1/18/2013 12:00:00 AM
THE FIREFLY TUBE DIRECT BOX INCORporates Radial’s time-tested Class A FET circuit and zero negative feedback design, prized for its natural tone and stable output. More...

New Gear: November 2012

11/5/2012 12:00:00 AM
Besides a 5-band EQ with ±18dB at 50Hz, 160Hz, 630Hz, 2.5kHz, and 12kHz, HAO’s Bass Liner preamp—co-designed by Phil Jones of Phil Jones Bass—offers true-bypass switching, a secondary direct output jack, and a mute switch. More...

New Gear: October 2012

11/1/2012 12:00:00 AM
For its 2012 Special Collection series of basses, G&L has gotten nekkid—or Nearly Naked, as they call it—with a new ultra-thin Honey Ale fi nish. More...

Dean Markley Helix Stainless Steel Strings

11/1/2012 12:00:00 AM
AS A WEE BASS PLAYER, I REMEMBER GETTING HIP TO DEAN Markley’s Blue Steel bass strings courtesy of my trusty local music store salesman. More...