“Peavey’s AmpKit LiNK electric guitar adapter provides users with a powerful way to play, practice and record high-quality tones anytime, anywhere,” wrote Music Inc.’s editorial staff in the December 2011 issue.

AmpKit LiNK connects an electric guitar or bass directly into the headphone jack of an iPhone, iPad or iPod touch.Together, AmpKit LiNK and AmpKit—the guitar amps, effects and recording app for iOS devices developed by Agile Partners—provide guitar and bass players with a powerful and convenient way to jam wherever they go.

“AmpKit and the AmpKit LiNK set a high standard for realism and fidelity on the iOS platform,” said Hartley Peavey, founder and CEO of Peavey Electronics Corporation. “We’re excited that our retailers have found so much success with AmpKit LiNK, and we’re honored to be among Music Inc.’s Best of 2011.”

Peavey and Agile Partners recently celebrated the release of AmpKit Version 1.2, which includes major tone advancements that enhance the iOS guitar-playing experience for Peavey AmpKit LiNK guitar interface users. Next-generation tone advancements such as dual-stage amp simulation, convolution-based cabinet simulation, adaptive input compensation, a significantly upgraded noise gate, and solo and mix output shaping deliver by far the best-sounding, most realistic guitar tone on the iOS platform.

Adaptive Input Compensation technology, new in AmpKit 1.2, automatically identifies frequency variations among the headset interfaces of iOS devices, and compensates for the differences by adding slightly attenuated bass frequencies to the output. The results are an amazing increase in the fidelity of the incoming guitar signal and much richer amplified guitar tone regardless of the chosen virtual amp or playing style.

With its new dual-stage amp simulations, AmpKit 1.2 also doubles the simulation fidelity of all Peavey amps in AmpKit when running on newer iOS devices, including iPhone 4, iPad 1 and 2, and the fourth-generation iPod touch. The combination of dual-stage amp simulation and convolution-based cabinet simulation in AmpKit 1.2 delivers an unparalleled level of realism.

AmpKit is available in two versions—AmpKit, a free app, and AmpKit+, $19.99 U.S.—on the iTunes App Store. AmpKit’s in-app Gear Store offers the largest gear selection of any amps and effects app, including 19 amps with 35 separate amp channels, 22 effects pedals, 20 cabinets, 8 mics and more gear on the way. The Peavey amps in AmpKit include the Peavey 3120, Peavey 6505 Plus, Peavey 6534 Plus, Peavey Classic 30, and Peavey ValveKing.

The AmpKit LiNK (U.S. MSRP $39.99) is available now from authorized Peavey retailers, and AmpKit 1.2 is available now for download on the iTunes App Store. Please visit www.peavey.com/dealerlocator to find the Peavey dealer nearest you.

The event will feature Jim Stinnett and Grant Stinnett as the main faculty, with special guests Brent Rusinow and Shane Allessio appearing as well. Topics to be covered will include tecnique, walking lines, slap bass, tapping, reading, improvising, practice techniques, and transcription skills.

Jim Stinnett has been teaching at Berklee College of Musicfor well over 20 years, and has earned the title of full Professor in the college’s Contemporary Writing & Production department. In 2001, Jim created the Bass Workout in Candia, NH, where he sought to provide students with a serious environment to help them work towards personal growth in their playing. The Bass Workout now runs several times a year at multiple different levels and with Workouts dedicated to specific goals, such as the Slap/Tap Workout, the Todd Johnson Workout, and the Recording Workout. 2010 saw the institution of the inaugural Bass Workout Austria as well as the Bass Workout California. Jim also runs the Stinnett Music Nonpareil online school which offers classes such as The Music of Paul Chambers, Contemporary Techniques for Electric Bass, and Music Theory.

Tuition for the event is $425 USD, and registration is available athttp://www.bassworkout.com. For directions and lodging information, contact BWOA director Albin Palasser at: palasser@aon.at.

To this end, we felt that it would be important to discuss Clarion Associates, who are a musical instrument insurance company. Clarion his been representing financially stable insurance companies since the early 1980′s. With programs fitting just about anyone (including students, professionals, amateurs, collectors, trusts, and corporations), Clarion is a serious consideration for anyone who truly values the instruments that they make music with. Not only that, but they will insure sheet music, tuners, metronomes, music stands, and just about anything else used to make music.

Clarion is recognized and endorsed by the American Federation of Musicians, the International Association for Jazz Education, Berklee College of Music, the Country Music Association, and Sam Ash, among many others.

For more information, or to get a quote, please visit:http://www.clarionins.com/

We live in a world filled with lots of instrument companies that claim to be owned and operated by seasoned players, only to find out that their basses look good, but possess absolutely no qualities befitting of a great working bass for a real player.

This is where Charlie “Chopper” Anderson comes in. Right here in Nashville, Chopper has created a great bass company called Alien Audio. I could rattle on about what this company means myself, but I think that the Alien Audio mission statement knocks it right out of the park.

“After 40 years of playing bass in almost every conceivable environment, I decided to combine the very best aspects of classic and custom bass design with the finest quality audio and hardware components I could find. I believe that any bass player can now own an instrument with virtually infinite tonal range, incredible ease of playability, outright beauty and ageless durability. It is my goal to put an Alien Audio bass into the hands of every player at an affordable price.”

We can’t argue with that idea.

Consequently, Chopper has put together a hell of an instrument. The instruments are made to hard and fast specifications at the Southbound Custom Guitar shop here in Nashville. All of the basses are made from great mahogany, polar, walnut, maple, and ash hardwoods, which are then filled with Nordstrand pickups wired into exclusive preamps designed by Mo West. Even better the preamp is called the Depends Preamp, as they feel that’s what you’ll wish you were wearing when you hear it.

One exciting detail is that there are 2 graphite rods in the neck, one on either side of the truss rod. This means that the neck on an Alien Audio bass should stay nice and sturdy for you to move around with to various sessions, gigs, rehearsals, and whatever else you might be doing with it through different hot car rides, room moistures, and etc.

You can get each model of their bass (the double-cutaway “Constellation” model, and the increeeedddible looking single-cut Lunar) in 4 or 5 string models, all of which have a long 35-inch scale neck (even the 4-string!!! Awesome!!) 34-inch models are coming soon.

We’re not the only ones who think these basses are great. Artists are starting to LEAP onto the bandwagon. These basses are getting played in the studio and live by some of the best players around, including David Hungate (Toto, Seals & Croft, Dolly Parton, Andrae Crouch), Paul Chapman (Terri Clark 4HIM, Taylor Hicks, Joseph Wooten), Travis Carlton (Larry Carlton, Robben Ford), Bernd Renn, and Tony Gottlieb.

Alien Audio is out there making some great instruments, designed by a real honest-to-God professional bassist who has a really fine idea of what we need in an instrument. And further to that end, these basses come with a lifetime warranty to the original purchaser which covers manufacturing and electronics. Like Chopper says in the mission statement, these instruments need to go into the hands of players at an affordable price.

We can’t HELP but agree.

For more information please visit:http://www.alienaudio.us

Kala Brand Music Company

World Renowned Bassist Bakithi Kumalo will be providing demonstrations of the U-Bass at Kala Brand Music’s booth, #1336 in Hall E. The U-Bass is Kala’s breakthrough 20” scale bass that is strung with proprietary polyurethane strings and is notable for its deep rich bass tones. The U-Bass has captured the attention of bassists worldwide for its extremely portable size and its ability to produce the sounds of an upright as well as electric bass.

Bakithi Kumalo is known for his legendary performances on Paul Simon’s landmark Graceland album with whom he still tours and records. He has also recorded and/or toured with Herbie Hancock, Gloria Estefan, Chaka Khan, Josh Groban and Chris Botti.

World Renowned Bassist Bakithi Kumalo

Kumalo will be appearing 3 times daily (12:00, 2:00, 4:00) on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and twice (12:00 and 2:00) on Sunday.

Kala Brand Music Co. offers over 120 models of Ukulele, the Kala U-BASS, The Utar and a complete line of Uke Crazy Ukulele accessories. Kala Brand Music Co. also distributes Aquila Strings.

Lakland bass guitars are among the market’s most well respected instruments, favored by discerning players and professional artists worldwide. Since the introduction of the flagship model in the mid 1990′s, Lakland basses have been recognized for their tone, playability, and construction. On January 10th, 2010, Bass Frontiers will give away this Lakland Decade bass guitar with a hardshell case. The Decade bass sports mahogany body with a rosewood fingerboard sitting atop a maple neck that is just 1.5″ at the nut. It also comes equipped with the Lakland CS-series Chi Sonic pickups, which sound fantastic in the midrange, while rounding out the lows. To top it all off, the Decade has a truss rod wheel at the neck heel for easy adjustment. This is free to you, our readers, for simply being a registered user on bassfrontiersmag.com.

Duff McKagan Of Guns & Roses

Metal Legends Duff McKagan of Guns & Roses / Velvet Revolver fame and James Lomenzo from Megadeth lead a star studded line up of artists appearing on the Rotosound booth at NAMM 2010, Saturday 16th January. They are joined by a newly emerging star Eva Gardener fresh from touring with Pink; Warren DeMartini, Warren DeMartini, Robbie Crane from Classic metal rockers Ratt and veteran bass player, the one and only Billy Sheehan. A full list of appearances is detailed below:

James Lomenzo (Saturday 11am)
Duff McKagan (Saturday 1pm)
Eva Gardner (Saturday 2pm)
Billy Sheehan (Saturday 3pm)
Ratt band (Saturday 4pm)

For further information and to see the latest new products visit Rotosound’s website or Booth 5596, Hall B at Winter NAMM.

Billy Sheehan Will Appear At Winter NAMM 2010

About Rotosound

Rotosound is a pioneering force in string manufacturing and celebrated their fiftieth anniversary last year. Their world famous music strings have been the first choice for some of the greatest musicians in the history of music and include Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin, Rush, Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd and the cream of more recent bands such as Franz Ferdinand and Oasis. They continue to endorsee an ever increasing list of the most respected, innovative and professional musicians, as well as being used by millions of satisfied customers around the planet.

The Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP), Musicman and Bass Guitar Magazine are proud to announce the launch of the 2010 bass scholarships program.  These sought after scholarships are for study on the ICMP’s world-renowned one year Higher Diploma bass course. There will be one fully funded place for the winner (worth £5,250) with a partially funded place for the runner-up (worth £2,625).

Ernie Ball Musicman

The Higher Diploma is a specialist one-year full-time course, developed by the ICMP to train and develop students of guitar, bass, drums and vocals for a career in the music industry. It was the first full-time course of its kind ever developed in the UK and achieving a place on the course continues to be an aspirational goal for young musicians. The ICMP, widely recognized as one of Europe’s leading schools of modern music, counts on an unrivaled teaching and visiting faculty, many of whom regularly work and tour with some of the music industry’s greatest artists. This faculty includes such names as Janek Gwizdala, Laurence Cottle and Dave Marks. Previous ICMP students can be found throughout today’s music industry, working with high profile artists such as Radiohead, The Noisettes, Kylie Minogue and Paolo Nutini.  Previous bass scholarship winner Beni Giles has gone on to play in Gary Go’s band as the support act for Lady Gaga, playing regularly in front of crowds of more than 10,000 people.

Bass Guitar Magazine

Closing date for entries is 5th March 2010 and there is always a great demand. The scholarships are open to anyone from the UK or internationally and the application form is available to download fromwww.icmp.co.uk. This is a fantastic opportunity to win a free place on one of the most prestigious bass courses in Europe and the winner of the scholarship will also have the opportunity to write a regular column in the UK’s biggest Bass magazine, Bass Guitar.

The Ultimate Bass Frontiers Magazine, Daisy Rock Christmas Giveaway

The Bass Frontiers Daisy Rock Christmas Giveaway has ended. Congratulations to Krista from Redwood Falls, Minnesota, she is the winner of the giveaway. Thank you to all who entered. Please keep coming back to Bass Frontiers! We have already started a New Years Giveaway, which you can find here. We will be giving away a Lakland bass guitar. Tell all of your friends! If you registered for the Christmas Giveaway, you are automatically entered to win the New Years Giveaway. Stay tuned!

Daisy Rock Stardust Elite

Friends, on December 10th, we’ll be doing one of the biggest (not to mention COOLEST) giveaways that we’ve ever gotten to put together. In keeping with the great tradition of female bass players like Carol Kaye and Rhonda Smith, we’re partnering with Daisy Rock to give away a Stardust Elite Bass!

Not only will we be giving the Stardust Elite bass away, but SWR is pitching in with a Workingpro 12 amp! This amp is great to work with at home or in a small gig situation, and does its share of awesome by providing our lucky winner with that classic SWR growl!

SWR Workingpro 12

What? There’s more?! Oh yes. Our great friend Curt Mangan is throwing in an entire box of strings! Curt’s strings are what we’re using hard here around the office, and believe us when we tell you that we’re picky about our strings!!!

BUT WAIT!!!!!! Not to be left out, Levy’s Leathers is going to provide us with some great bass straps to keep the Stardust Elite around your neck! Levy’s is the classic strap used by more professionals than we can count on fingers, toes, and limbs!

Levy's Leathers

You’re going to need a great pair of cans to wear so that you can hear and feel all of the fantastic music that you’re going to be producing with all of these great items! Equation Audio is going to throw in a pair of their renown RP-22X headphones! These headphones feature great isolation, and an extended low frequency, which bass players tend to appreciate!

And to close the deal, Clementine Industries will be handing us off some jewelry and stickers that just scream, “I’m a chick and I groove with the best of the boys!”

Curt Mangan

Equation Audio RP-22X Headphones

Remember, the only way to get in on this giveaway is to sign up for our newsletter! You can sign up on our front page. Just look for the “Sign up for Bass Frontiers Magazine’s Newsletters” spot in the upper right hand corner! Please help us get all the girl bass players we can find to be in on this! As a matter of fact, tell all the bass players you know that we’d love to have them on the list for future giveaways.

Esperanza Spalding - Esperanza (2008)

Michael Brecker’s Pilgrimage (2007)

Dave Brubeck’s Indian Summer (2007)

Simone Dinnerstein – JS Bach’s Goldberg Variations (2007)

Joe Zawinul’s Brown Street (2007)

Ladysmith Black Mambazo’s Long Walk to Freedom (2006)

Maria Muldaur’s Heart of Mine – Love Songs of Bob Dylan (2006)

Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Park Avenue South(2003)

Jaco Pastorius Big Band - Word Of Mouth Revisited (2003)

Jaco Pastorius Big Band’s Word of Mouth Revisited (2003)

Robert Spano/Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Chorus – Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony (2002)