Stellartone’s ToneStyler for bass is something that at first glance may confuse you as to why anyone would want one. But once you understand the principles of how it works, you’ll understand quickly why many bass players swear by it. First and foremost, a ToneStyler is for all intents and purposes a passive EQ knob … Read more
See Ian’s business listing here This week’s BotW arrived in the featureme@bestbassgear.com inbox as just a description but with no title. The headstock says “Graham” (the last name of the person who sent it in,) and since the color was inspired by a Detroit diesel 71 Series, it seemed only appropriate to name the bass … Read more
While the very name “bass guitar” would strongly indicate that a bass guitar is all about bass frequencies, in a mix the bass guitar is actually better mixed as a midrange instrument. But before I get into that, a smiley-face curve of an EQ does in fact look like a happy face: Sometimes this is … Read more
You may have noticed lately that a few model names for strings from the D’Addario brand have “BT” at the end of it, such as EXL160BT. What does BT mean? It means Balanced Tension. In a nutshell, what this is supposed to do is provide greater control and better playing comfort. And what does that … Read more
Off and on there is debate on whether or not you should play free gigs or not. I think this question can be easily answered just based on the convenience factor. The convenience factor is simply this: If the gig for whatever it may be is something local to you (meaning no extensive travel required) … Read more
Above: Chris shows us how to install a Mike Pope preamp system along with Delano pickups on a Fender 4-string Jazz Bass. Yes, this is a long video, but well worth the watch. And yes, you get to hear it when the job is done!
This week’s BotW comes from across the pond in the UK, where John Writes: Finally got round to taking a few pictures of my custom build bass. It was built for me by a friend a few years back now. We came up with the design together and at the time I was more sure … Read more
Something new and cool in the BBG shop is the Nordstrand Dual Blade 5 Neo pickups, which are available for the bridge, neck or as a set. What makes the DB5Neo pickups cool? It’s a dual coil blade configuration along with neodymium magnets (meaning you don’t have to worry about pole spacing,) and is optimized … Read more
GAS is an acronym (sort of) that doesn’t refer to fuel but is a word that every dedicated guitar owner eventually learns; it’s Guitar (or Gear) Acquisition Syndrome. You’ll note that I said guitar and not specifically bass guitar, because when you’ve got GAS, well then, you can’t just stop at bass guitars, can you? … Read more
Something the internet brought about that didn’t exist before it is this thing called the virtual band. It’s when a group of people living in different parts of the world put together a song, mix it all down, and you get something like this: The above is one of the better examples of a virtual … Read more
