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First Look: Fender Elite Jazz Bass

Posted by iBass | Nov 14, 2017 | Gear

A different spin on an established model The Jazz Bass is still one of the best-selling and most used instruments in music today. During its history it’s been subject to various specification and design changes, some subtle and others not so subtle. This has usually been down to general trends and customer demands at the time, and also production methods and costs that have varied dramatically over that period. Certain variants have been especially popular, a fact that drives the vintage market and has also provided Fender with opportunities to ‘reissue’ a variation from a particularly classic year. You can get ones...

Album of the Week: Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Posted by Nick Wells | Nov 9, 2017 | News

“It Was The Album We’d All Been Waiting For…” To many, the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s 1991 album is Flea at his very best. With the band’s line-up at it’s peak, Blood Sugar Sex Magik is a glorious fusion of metal, funk and punk rock. Dedicated to the boundary-pushing jazz-punk bassist Mike Watt, the team assembled to produce it was also unmatchable. Rumour has it that producer Rick Rubin clashed with Flea, trying to persuade him to simplify his basslines, especially on the standout track Give It Away. Regardless, the bass playing throughout was a total inspiration. Just as previous generations...

Tony Levin Launches Reverb Shop

Posted by iBass | Oct 31, 2017 | Articles, News

Tony Levin’s Bass Gear Goes Up For Sale From King Crimson to Peter Gabriel, Tony Levin is one of the most admired bass players in popular music. The Boston-born bassist has just launched The Official Tony Levin Reverb Shop, featuring more than 80 pieces of equipment from his 40 year career, which has also seen him take care of bass duties for the likes of John Lennon, Lou Reed, Paul Simon, Peter Frampton, David Bowie and many others. Among the many items up for sale is the Yamaha SB-100 Tony used on the iconic King Crimson performance of “Elephant Talk” live on ABC’s Fridays in December 1981, an MXR Script...

Chris Wyse: On The Road With Ampeg

Posted by iBass | Oct 25, 2017 | Videos

Ampeg’s the Only One for Bass Ace Chris Wyse Lauded for his work with The Cult and Ace Frehley, as well as with his own trio, Owl, in the world of bass guitar there’s not much Chris Wyse can’t do. He’s also played with the likes of Mick Jagger, Ozzy Osborne, Tal Bachman and Scott Weiland. A major factor in his tone is his bass amp. “When I finally got the Ampeg backline with the full SVT, I felt like King Christopher,” says Wyse. “I love the natural compression that comes from the...

Dean Markley SR2000 Bass Strings

Posted by iBass | Oct 17, 2017 | Gear, News

Dean Markley Delivers New Strings Dean Markley has been a big player in the strings game for quite some time. These new bass strings offer what the company say is “the perfect mix of mass, tension and other engineering marvels.” All of Dean Markley’s bass strings are made with compound winding in smaller incremental sizes of premium-quality wire. The winding directions are reversed between layers to cross-hatch the covers, making the string smoother. Using smaller incremental wire for the wraps allows for more layers, which means more mass. Dean Markley uses three covers at thicker gauges like .095 and four covers at .120. We reckon that...