Bass, Featured »

Fender are celebrating half a century of Jazz Bass goodness by introducing the limited edition, 50th Anniversary Jazz Bass.  The idea is that this bass incorporates design elements from several important periods in Jazz Bass history.
This baby includes features from a few different eras (even if ‘modernised’ versions of them).
From the 60’s:

Nitrocellulose finish in Candy Apple Red.
60’s style headstock logo
C-shaped neck
Chrome pickup and bridge covers
Pearloid block inlays on the fingerboard

From the 70’s:

Bridge pickup placement
Thumb rest

From today:

High-mass, vintage-style bridge
Modern tuners
Posiflex neck support rods

Personally, I’ve always liked Jazz basses with block inlays …

Bass, Featured »

It looks set to be announced properly at NAMM but information is out about Warwick’s Bootsy Collins Infinity Signature Bass.  One thing’s for sure; it’ll get you noticed.
Based on the Warwick Infinity bass, the Bootsy signature is available in two flavours – the Black Star and the Orange Star.  Obviously enough, perhaps, the differences in the models are the colours of the stars in the finish – black on the Black Star (pictured) and orange on the Orange Star. Simple.
The bass has an through-neck in maple.  The body wings (hollow) …

Bass, Featured »

Way back in the mists of time – September, 2009 to be precise – Warwick began offering a ‘bass of the month’.  What this meant was that they would release a special edition bass each month.  The special bass would be, essentially, a tweaked version of one of their standard instruments but tweaked sufficiently to make it a little more unique and exclusive.  Here’s a round-up of the Warwick’s fall line.
September – Thumb Bolt On French Flamed Ash

A mouthful to be sure.  This is a twist on the regular Thumb …

Guitar 101, Headline »

While there is a massive chunk of the this site’s audience already very familiar with what each bit of a guitar is, this article is really aimed at those who might be just starting their guitar journey (or even just thinking about it).
This first article in Guitar 101 is a primer (or a refresher if you want to do a little revision) to ensure we all know the basics before we start moving on to look, in more detail, at all of the bits of a guitar.  For that reason, …

Accessories, Bass, Featured »

Jim Dunlop – purveyor of many cool things such as the MXR range of pedals, the wonderful Crybaby wah and my regular brand of picks – also make strings.
There are a number of gauges and styles of acoustic, electric and bass strings.  There’s even banjo strings if some pickin’s yer thang.
Acoustic gauges are available in phosphor-bronze and brass.  Electrics run the range from extra light (8 top) to extra heavy (13 top).  Four and five string bass sets are available.
In addition, Dunlop have got their heads together with some pretty …

Accessories, Amps, Bass, Featured »

You’ve probably seen the Vox amPlug before.   It’s a plug-in headphone amp for late night jamming or those other times when cranking your Marshall stack just isn’t feasible (oh, the horror).  Well, Vox have recently added a number of options to the range.  You can now have amPlug convenience in a number of additional sound-styles.
As well as the AC30, Classic Rock and Metal styles, you can now get the amPlug in Lead, Bass or Acoustic versions.
Lead is modelled on a US high-gain boutique amplifier.  This amPlug has a digital delay …