Bass Gear

This year Fender released an up-dated line of their well-established Rumble series of bass combo amps. The previous Rumbles offered options from 15 to 100 watts. They’ve now extended the range to include 150 and 350W model,s taking them out of the entry level/practice category to serious live gigging power options. ...more

Okay so you’re a bass player. Your band has three different shows this week starting with Friday night’s pub gig with a vocal PA. You need a rig loud enough to stand alone without a DI to the desk, but with limited stage space it also needs to be small enough to tuck into the back corner. A 4x10 cab would be ideal. Saturday’s gig is on a decent outdoor stage with a full mic up. This time you’ll be running a DI to the front of house system but you’re standing so far away from your amp that you need a bigger rig to be able to hear your bass over the thunderous drum kit. This time a 4x10 and a 1x15 would be ideal. Then there’s the little cafe set on Sunday. It’s okay for the guitarist to plug his acoustic into the PA but as the bass player you still need to carry your own amp to the show. Ideally something small and portable that you can carry in one hand like a single 10" would be great, but it also needs to sound warm and full. ...more

This MIM (Made In Mexico) ’60s Jazz bass reissue is one of Fender’s new line of Road Worn instruments, carefully (un)made to look like an authentic vintage classic that’s been kicking around for four decades. ...more

As a bass player who plays both electric and double bass I’ve met many electric players who would love to try the transition to upright but find it hard to make the financial commitment – without selling the car and pawning the Fender to get their hands on a halfway decent acoustic or a hand-crafted Ned Steinberger stick bass. ...more

The Danelectro range of basses and guitars was originally made in 1963 for Sears and Roebuck department stores in the US. There have been reissues since then and in 2008 this bass guitar has the same retro styling of the original. ...more

I would describe it as sounding more like a hot, punchy Musicman Stingray than a warm, fat Fender Precision. ...more

The opportunity to get my hands on this Ashdown ABM rig was a very enticing prospect. ...more

Thanks for doing the review Mark," the friendly voices of the NZ Musician crew ring in my ears as I depart their headquarters. ...more

Spector basses were made famous in the 1980s by players such as Gene Simmons of KISS, Gary Tallent of Springsteen's E-street Band, Jason Newsted of Metallica and even Nick Seymour from Crowded House. ...more

Magpies swarm my studio as I lift the lid on the obscenely shiny Schecter CV-4 bass. A chorus of angels harmonise in glorious unison as I extract it from its packaging and a ray of sun beams onto its metallic black cherry finish, blinding me for days to come... and then a knob falls off. ...more

“Oh you have a van? Excellent!” is the last thing I hear from Mel at the NZ Musician office before I head off to collect the SWR WorkingPro 700 amp and 4x10 cabinet. ...more

I needed to draw on the exceptional pedal geek knowledge of good friend to help descramble the technical workings of these two clever little MXR units from Jim Dunlop, the M-188 Auto Q which has an rrp $400, and the M-80 Bass D.I which sells for $480. ...more

The good folks at Fender are this year celebrating the brand’s 6oth birthday, which means they have now been churning out some of the best instruments on the market for a legendary three score years and counting. ...more

As a bass player I've found that there aren't a lot of effects that are truly useful for creating that perfect rich, fat bass tone without destroying the natural tonal characteristics of your instrument. ...more

She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah. When I first set eyes on this fine piece of German craftsmanship my head was immediately flooded with a river of early Beatles tunes. ...more

I'm scratching through the foam blocks in a box labelled 'bass amplifier', and starting to worry. Nothing here looks like a 500 watt bass amp. I like that CD player though... ...more

When you've spent the last five years on a limited diet of 100 watts of power and up to eight 10" speakers it seems a joke to go back to 30-watts and a single 12. ...more

When I opened the box at NZ Musician and saw this guitar I was actually really excited. I thought this review was going to be easy. ...more

Well, another product of musical and technical intuition has come my way, and I must say I have yet to be disappointed. This time it's the Vox T-60 bass amplifier occupying my time. I've always been fond of Vox products and the T-60 leaves that opinion unchanged. ...more

The two new bass processors from Korg's Toneworks range both come in a nice little package no bigger than your average effects pedal. ...more

As a bassist, no compromise bass distortion has been an ongoing mission for me. I've heard recordings of distorted bass that sound amazing and heard tones live that blow holes in walls, but getting these sounds myself has been quite difficult and at times I admit to having suffered badly from Tone Envy. ...more

I have to admit that when I was first approached about reviewing a budget ($699 is a lot less than my amp) 65 watt bass combo I wasn't overly excited. However, when I found out it was an Ibanez my curiosity was aroused. ...more

First impressions count for a lot, and when I first pulled this Italia Modulo bass from its box it certainly did make an impression. ...more

It is safe to say that most folk, whether musically inclined or not, will show familiarity with the Fender name – and shapes even. Fender have a reputation for producing guitars of superior quality, lasting beauty and exceptional playability. And it is a well deserved reputation at that! ...more

Warwick has been making their high quality basses in Germany for decades. The quality of wood, the unique designs and overall thought that goes into these instruments helps you to understand why the brand comes at a premium price. ...more

When the Fender Rumble 100 combo bass amp arrived my initial response was a giggle. ...more

Your sound is as personal as your signature. Visit the Hughes and Kettner website and you will find that this is key to their statement of purpose. ...more

What were my first impressions? Well... the full colour box cover claims 'The Most Powerful Bass Effects in History!' Whoa, give the Boss some room! ...more

It's blue, it has too many strings, it's funny shaped and it just has way too many strings. ...more

With some experience playing electric and acoustic basses I was happy to agree to review for NZM. When asked to review an acoustic bass I was expecting just that... an acoustic bass. You know - it's the one that looks like a violin on growth hormones. ...more

Founded in Sun Valley, California in 1984, SWR's main product lines have traditionally been aimed at the professional or working musician market. SWR amplifiers built their reputation on providing a clean, precise sound, ideally suited to bass players who like to cut through and maybe even solo. ...more