Roscoe Century Basses

Sep 2,2011
Twentieth Century American philosopher and educator Mortimer Adler once said, “People value things in three ways: as useful, as pleasant, or as intrinsically admirable.” This quote came to mind this past month as I reviewed More...

Retro-Rama: 1964 Framus 54-19

May 10,2012
THIS IS ONE OF THE COOLEST BASSES I have found in a long time. I fell in love with it from the first note, and had to take it home. Made in 1964 at the Framus factory in Bubenruth, Germany, it features the company’s famous More...

Warwick Thumb Basses

May 1,2011
WITH ITS EVER-EXPANDING ROSTER OF artist endorsees and swelling product lines of basses and amplifiers, Warwick seems to be capturing the zeitgeist of the bass world especially well as of late. Founded in 1982 by Hans-Peter More...

Retro-Rama: 1968 Silvertone 1443

Mar 9,2012
FOR THOSE WHO STARTED PLAYING music in the ’50s and ’60s, Silvertone was an iconic brand name that meant quality instruments at an affordable price. They were sold through the Sears catalog to thousands of eager beginners, More...

Fodera Yin Yang Standard & Emperor 5 Standard

Mar 9,2012
Yin Yang Standard FODERA BASSES HAVE LONG BEEN THE stuff of dreams for most bass players—their reputation as exquisite instruments and their association with some of the bass world’s baddest More...

Roundup: Acoustic Bass Guitars

Mar 9,2012
WHILE IT AIN’T EXACTLY THE BIG CAT in the bass jungle, the acoustic bass guitar (ABG) has definitely earned its place in the ecosystem. Unlike uprights, ABG’s can’t usually be heard in a live situation unless they’re plugged More...

Retro-Rama : 1964 Gibson EB-6

Mar 30,2011
The early '60s were a time of identity crisis for many bass players. In the wake of Leo Fender’s creation of the first modern electric bass, the Precision, there was no doubt the electric bass was here to stay. But not More...

Retro-Rama: 1960s Kent Bass Guitar

Mar 20,2012
THIS MONTH’S RETRO-RAMA BASS IS AN INTERESTING JAPANESE twist on a classic American design. Kent was one of many brand names used on inexpensive basses made by Japanese companies for import to the United States. Over the years More...

Top Shops For Bass

Mar 20,2012
WHETHER YOU’RE A JET-SETTING SALESMAN OR A ROAD-WEARY ROCKER, CHANCES ARE YOU WILL ONE DAY FIND yourself away from home, wondering where you might find a little low-end love. Well, we’ve scanned the States and found what we More...

Cort A5-Custom Z

Mar 15,2011
Cort Guitars is well known for producing instruments for several prominent brands—its own among them—with a primary focus on affordability. Lately the company has been making a name for itself, perhaps most notably More...

Ibanez Grooveline Basses

Jun 1,2011
BY ROD TAYLOR IN 1990, MY DAD DECIDED I WAS serious about this “bass thing,” so he took me into the local music store in Rolla, Missouri, and told me I had $800 to spend. I went straight for the Jewel Blue Ibanez More...

Veillette Guitars Concorde Bass

Jul 6,2011
BY ROD TAYLOR SINCE THE EARLY 1950S, SOLID-BODY basses have dominated the groove-making sector of the market. And while most players prefer the weight, density, and tone such instruments offer, hollow-body and More...

Cort GS-Punisher-2

Feb 23,2012
WHEN CORT INTRODUCED THE GENE Simmons Axe [see Soundroom, August 2010], it delivered a bass that was as visually striking as the man whose name it bore. You couldn’t blend into the crowd with that bass if you wanted to More...

Retro-Rama: 1966 Klira Twen Star

Feb 16,2012
WHEN THE BEATLES BECAME SUPERSTARS IN 1964, sales of electric guitars and basses took a huge upswing all over the world, and manufacturers had to adapt to survive. Höfner—whose 500/1 “Beatle Bass” was the instrument of choice More...

Peavey Millennium 4 AC BXP

Apr 1,2011
PEAVEY MILLENNIUM 4 AC BXP Street $299 Pros Great value; loads of low end Cons Timid treble response In his book Mojo Triangle [Schirmer, 2005], author James L. Dickerson drops anchor points in the musical meccas of More...

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