This year the spotlight that I wanted to place on some products I saw from online NAMM coverage is considerably smaller than last year, but that’s not to say that there wasn’t some great stuff unveiled. With all the cool things that I saw I simply didn’t see much that embodied the spirit of what I talk about here on the (slightly) Discerning Bassist, which is just as well because I really don’t need anymore gear to lust after (and not afford) anyway. Here’s a quick look.
Guy Pratt’s sliding pickup Warwick signature model.
Envy Guy Pratt. He got what I would have to imagine would be the greatest gig of all time, that of course being the post-Roger Waters Pink Floyd and has always done a pretty good job tastefully and effectively keeping that role locked. Discussions on his talents versus the songwriting and creative genius of Roger Waters are not relevant here, or perhaps ever, but needless to say he knows his stuff. While I’ve mostly seen him keep true to Pink Floyd with P-basses, it looks like he’s been cooking up something tasty with Warwick in the form of this sliding pickup bass. I’m honestly surprised that no one made this idea happen before although I’m sure that this bass will carry a hefty price tag. I could imagine that a bass like this would have to give you true control of tonal response to your playing. This video pretty much tells you everything you need to know, but the Warwick and Framus folks need to do something about that intro music…
Walrus Audio’s new pedal line
I’ve heard good things about Walrus Audio before but I’ve never gotten around to trying any of their pedals. That might change now that these three have been unveiled. They’ve now gotten themselves a double phaser that doesn’t sound like any other phaser I’ve ever heard, a delay with the ever coveted bucket brigade chips, and an octave that has an awesome octave swell-in function as well as alot of other cool features. No bass demos yet as far as I can tell but the video tells you what you need to know, I just wish they spent longer with that Vanguard! It doesn’t hurt that these pedals look really cool too.
Electro-Harmonix C9 Organ simulator
Ok, this one was announced a little before NAMM but has still understandably been talked about alot here lately. Following very quickly on the heels of EHX’s B9 organ simulating pedal is the C9, a similar pedal with a whole different slew of organ and key sounds. While I initially thought that the B9 sounded a little too midi and not transparent enough, I’ve come around to the idea of using a function like this to really transform your instrument since organs are not exactly the easiest instruments to transport (or find a band-member to play). The prog, shimmer, and mellotrone sounds have really got me salivating for this one and I can’t wait to hear some bass demos.
Anything else I missed?
The (slightly) Discerning Bassist 