New Gear: Aguilar Amplification Next-generation Tone Hammer and AG Series Amplifiers…

Aguilar Amplification is excited to unveil the next generation of Tone Hammer and AG series amplifiers. These amplifiers are designed to meet the exacting standards of today’s bassists, enhancing their musical expression through in-demand features and fresh new designs.

The latest innovations in the Tone Hammer and AG series include the introduction of the Aguilar Cabinet Suite, dual XLR outputs, expanded connectivity options, and power section upgrades. These features not only provide superior sound quality and flexibility but also maintain the classic Aguilar performance that musicians have relied upon.

Key features of the next-generation amplifiers:

Aguilar Cabinet Suite: This new software allows players to load Aguilar ’s custom-designed SL/DB cabinet impulse responses (IRs), or their own custom IR files. This feature is available through both XLR and headphone outputs, offering new tone shaping and cabinet emulation options.
 
Dual XLR Outputs & Expanded Connectivity: Musicians can now tailor their tone and utilize cabinet IRs for their monitor mix, while also sending a pre-EQ ’d signal directly to the front-of-house. This dual functionality ensures optimal sound for both the artist and front-of-house. The new amplifiers include auxiliary input and headphone output options for silent practice. They also feature mix controls to fine-tune the listening experience, ideal for both practice and performance.

Upgraded Power Sections: Previously exclusive to Aguilar’s 700-series, the upgraded power sections in the Tone Hammer and AG 500 now support a 2.67 ohm load and include universal mains. These enhancements make the amplifiers perfect for international touring, offering seamless voltage adaptation.

“The new Tone Hammer and AG series amplifiers are a testament to Aguilar ’s commitment to world class sound and performance, providing bassists with the tools they need to define their sound on the global stage,” remarks Jordan Cortese, Brand Manager, Aguilar Musical Instruments.

The next-generation Tone Hammer and AG series amplifiers are available for purchase through www.aguilaramp.com and Aguilar’s extensive dealer network worldwide. For more information about the new amplifiers and other Aguilar products, please visit www.aguilaramp.com.

Meet Ellis Hahn of LEH Basses…

In this issue, I have the honor of interviewing Ellis Hahn of LEH Basses.

You’re obviously not one for name-dropping, but you’ve built basses for some legendary musicians from Colin Greenwood (Radiohead) to Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie, Tedeschi Trucks, Black Crowes). How does it feel when your instruments are played on big stages by these icons?

Not gonna lie!  It really feels pretty amazing. Being at a venue and feeling a bass you made through the sound system rattling your chest… it’s surreal.

I recently got the chance to have Tim Lefevbre pick up his bass at my shop. It was so great to see him take to it right away. I literally dropped him off at rehearsal with it an hour later. When  I got a chance to see him play it the next day with the BlackStar Symphony Orchestra: The Music of David Bowie… let’s just say it was an absolute high note. I think I was smiling for two days straight.

The bulk of my experience building basses for legendary musicians comes directly through my time building for Sadowsky. While I was there I got the chance to build basses for Jason Newsted, Will Lee, Tully Kennedy, Verdine White, Tal Wilkenfeld and definitely some others whose names are escaping me right now.

One of my favorite builds was for Colin Greenwood of Radiohead. He wanted a bass that felt like and sounded like his vintage P bass but that was a bit less worrisome on the road. He brought in one of his favorite P’s for me to get to play and listen to so that I could recreate it…but as a Sadowsky.

That was also a fun lesson for me- there’s a lot of geometry you can tweak in the neck pocket that can drastically change the feel of a bass. The neck pocket, more than anything, was the main difference between a “normal” Sadowsky and Collin’s vintage P. Dialing in the neck pocket for the right feel was crucial. Colin was so at home with his P bass that other instruments felt “wrong.”

Collin came to pick up his bass while Radiohead had a multi-night gig at Madison Square Garden. I still have the backstage pass to that show next to my workbench pegboard, right next to my BlackStar Symphony Orchestra ticket.

Is there a quintessential L.E.H. musician? Who are you building for lately?
Oh gosh! I get this one a lot, and I don’t want to build for a specific subset. A lot of things have become polarized in the past several years and music bridges gaps. I just want to make a bass that anyone can feel at home with. That’s my goal. I want my bass to be able to adjust to you and age with you and be the thing you can pass down to your kid who is going to do something I cannot even fathom with it.

You are also a musician on top of being a builder. How does that influence your building?
I’m not the greatest musician, but my greatest talent as a musician is being able to be a blank slate for playing styles. I can play-test a bass or a pickup combo and leave myself and my music out of it. Very neutral fretting and right-hand technique.

Another lesson from my time at Sadowsky was our “listening tests” for new pickups or tone woods.  As a new guy, it was “ear-opening” to be in a room with all my colleagues listening to someone play bass and hear the differences between the players and the pickups. By learning to make myself neutral and generic, I could find the nuance in the sound.

What role does your dog play in the process? It must be important.
Hahaha.. Yes! She is crucial. Burnout is not a joke. She helps me remember to take a breath and step away periodically. This is normally communicated by dropping a tennis ball at my feet and tilting her head slightly to the side. That’s her way of reminding me that whatever nuance I am squinting over is not as important as our ongoing game of fetch.

What’s the coolest part of an L.E.H. bass that tends to go unnoticed?
I’m not sure if it is the coolest, but my favorite aspects are the way that things line up together. Things that you don’t really think about unless they are off. For instance, if there is a pickguard, it lines up perfectly with the control plate. That’s because I get the plates cut, prepare them for plating, and check that the fit matches as the edges are de-burred and smoothed. I also have a new magnetic battery cover that fits into the backplate, and that is of course a perfect match.

One thing that is tricky but fun to line up is the treble side of the neck pocket where the heel is parallel to the body. If the body sticks out in front of it, that’s a deal breaker. I anticipate the thickness of the body’s poly finish versus the neck’s thin nitro finish and undercut it to make it either a perfect match or a slightly inset from the neck. It makes everything feel cohesive as you play up the neck near the body.

Okay now tell us about the faders.
I thought you’d never ask! I love those things! That was an idea that I came up with in order to simplify the controls and make adjustments easy for players at all times. I like the visual element too, because not only does it look cool, but you can see the EQ right there on the body of the bass.

What do you tell a client who’s a little wary of a bass that looks too out there?
First off, I guess I’d say to quit worrying!! Then I’d have to ask, what’s so “out there” about my basses? I know the headstock is a lot, but that mass helps the bass sing and pretty much eliminates dead spots. I also know the faders are a new thing, but trust me.. once you try it, you’re gonna love it. A client recently told me that he was a little wary of my faders but once he got it out of the case he said that it felt very, very easy to dial in what I was looking for on both the faders and the knobs.

For more than several years (sixteen to be precise) you worked at Sadowsky Guitars. What was that like?
Initially it was amazing. I got to level up my skill set in one of the best shops in the world with the best people and the best tools. But after leveling up, I wanted to push further. It wasn’t possible to go beyond the designs there. Yes, I could change my building technique and improve in very small ways, but in order to improve in a big way I had to move on and explore for myself. That’s why I started making my own designs. The biggest improvement I made, or rather, the biggest realization I made that led to an improvement was collaborating with Roger Sadowsky and Chip Shearin in designing the Sadowsky Single Cut.

On paper, the task was simple: make a single-cut bass with 24 frets and a bolt-on neck. What I didn’t expect to find was that the giant neck pocket improved the classic Sadowsky 24-fret model significantly. It added sustain, it reduced dead spots, and it made the long neck of the 24-fret much more solid. All that added up to making that bass much more acoustic and organic.

I kept that experience in mind when I designed the original Offset. I maximized the neck pocket and made the most solid neck-to-body contact that I could while still maintaining the aesthetic of a double cut. Honestly, I couldn’t be happier about the end result. I feel like I found the happy spot between cool Fender vibe and a solution to Fender-style-build problems

You’re known for a lot of things in regard to your builds, but tell us how you came up with your body design. Where did the offset shape originate?
With the Offset design, I’m attempting to evolve tradition. The goal is something immediately recognizable and, to be honest, just plain cool. Fender designs aren’t the most comfortable, balanced, or playable, but they are iconic. I took where they left off, offset the curves more for balance, carved the back for more comfort, and added a bunch of small improvements that I had learned over the past several years building Fender-style instruments.

Alright, so this isn’t exactly bass-related, but what’s with the space thing?
Ha! Yes….. Ok! I am weirdly obsessed with space. Since I was a kid, I’ve loved space exploration. In the 80’s I went to garage sales and was on the lookout for National Geographic Issues from the late 60’s that had amazing images and would tear out records of sounds from space. Never did find a lunar landing issue fully intact. But that’s ok, now there’s the internet.

I guess I use space imagery as a backdrop for what I do because space imagery feels like endless possibilities. My 10-year-old self would totally dig it.

Ok, final questions: Where can we find you on social media and how can our readers order a bass?
Important questions! Thanks for asking. My only social media thing I do is Instagram. I’m @lehguitars. And ordering a bass is the fun part. If you have an idea for a build or questions about my instruments please email me: LEHguitars@gmail.com.

I like to walk clients through all the ins and outs of their options and make sure we’re building the right bass for them. That way when the bass is complete, I can be sure that they are getting exactly what they want and need in their new instrument.

Approach Notes – Part 6 

As we move into lesson six of approach notes applied to chord tones, it’s important to go back and review the previous approaches. The constant review and application of these concepts will add a layer of chromaticism to both your bass lines and solos. The approaches need to be burned into your long term/ permanent memory for them to come out in your playing. 

This first example approaches a third inversion of a G major 7th arpeggio. 

A single chromatic approach from below and a double chromatic approach from above approaches the 7th, continue to the root, 3rd, 5th, single from below and double chromatic from above to the 7th, continue to the root, 3rd, and back down. 

The next example approaches the G major arpeggio in root position.

The next example approaches the root of a G major 7th arpeggio as a single chromatic from below and a double chromatic approach from above -before continuing to the third, fifth, seventh, single chromatic from below/ double from above to the root, continue to the third, fifth, and come back down. 

The next example approaches the first inversion of G major 7th arpeggio. 

A single chromatic from below/ double from above approaches the third, continue to the fifth, seventh, root, single chromatic from below/ double from above to the third, continue up to the fifth and seventh, and back down. 

The third example approaches a second inversion of a G major arpeggio. 

A single chromatic from below/ double from above approaches the fifth, continue to the 7th, root, 3rd, single from above/ double from below to the 5th, continue to the 7th, root, and back down.

After studying these various approach notes, you will begin to recognize the concepts utilized in your favorite solos. Continue the journey and good luck! 

The Bassist’s Complete Guide to Injury Management, Prevention and Better Health

I have often thought that it would be great if the doctors who delivered us as newborn babies provided us with a user manual to help us navigate through life in the best way possible. Now Dr. Randall Kertz, D.C. has produced a manual specifically designed to address the many possible afflictions plaguing us bass players.

Many of you will remember volumes 1 & 2 of this book and our first review in 2007. The new complete guide combines the two volumes and features over 20 pages of new material including interviews, techniques, and conditions.

If you play bass, you can read this book cover to cover and walk away with a ton of relevant and helpful knowledge. Another option is to search out issues relevant to you specifically (I found quite a few of my own with helpful options). This is possible because the book is very nicely organized into six chapters that address Pain, Conditions, Techniques, Road Issues, Inspirational Q&A with some of the biggest names in the bass community (too many to list here) and finally How to get relief.

All said, this book is essential if you play either electric or upright bass to the point where they should issue you one when you get that first bass in your hands.

Lastly,  if you have this book and you have specific questions, Dr. Kertz is readily available through his website, www.drkertz.com. As if that was not enough, he has a wealth of knowledge you can find right here on our website at bassmusicianmagazine.com/author/randallkertz

Get this book… Live long and play bass well into the years! Available on Amazon.com

Spector offers Doug Wimbish USA Custom Series basses…

Spector, a leading authority in bass guitar design, unveils two new Doug Wimbish USA Custom Series basses. Synonymous with bass excellence since 1987, Wimbish collaborated with Spector’s USA Custom Shop to create the DW-4 and DW-5 models, echoing the iconic instruments that have been favored heavily throughout his recording and performing career.
 
These signature basses faithfully replicate Wimbish’s originals, down to the smallest details like neck contours and nut widths. Customized EMG pickups, developed in collaboration with Wimbish, capture the distinctive sound that has shaped his monumental musical impact. These models invite players to explore the feel and response that have defined Wimbish’s signature style over the years.
 
Available in 4-string and 5-string versions, each model boasts unique features & finish options. The DW-4 comes in Amber Stain Gloss and Black Stain Gloss options, while the DW-5 offers Dark Blue Stain Gloss and Faded Natural Gloss. Every purchase includes a certificate of authenticity signed by Doug Wimbish. Wimbish comments, “Spector took the time to get every little nuance right, and that to me is dedication and being thoughtful enough to know ‘I want to nail it,’ and they did. I’m able to pick these instruments up for the first time and play them like I’ve already had them for years.”

For more information, visit spectorbass.com/doug-wimbish-usa-signature-series/.

Photo: Doug Wimbish, pictured with the new Spector Doug Wimbish USA Custom Series basses