Category: Articles

Pedulla Guitars and Basses Celebrates 40 Years

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Pedulla Guitars and Basses Celebrates 40 Years
Article by Eric Larson, © Copyright 2015 FretlessBass.com

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I’ve been working with the fine folks at Pedulla Guitars to learn more about their basses, and to learn more about their story. This year, 2015, happens to mark their 40th anniversary in business. The story is a very interesting one, starting with Michael Pedulla in the early 1970’s making banjos and guitars as a new luthier in the Boston area, and switching to building basses after being in the instrument repair business for quite some time. One of my favorite stories is …continue reading »

Music – Overture-Cotton Avenue – Jaco Pastorius – Joni Mitchell – Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter

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Music – Overture-Cotton Avenue – Jaco Pastorius – Joni Mitchell – Don Juan’s Reckless Daughter – 1977
Article by Eric Larson, © Copyright 2015 FretlessBass.com

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Jaco Pastorius

A dissection: Many people consider Jaco Pastorius to be one of the best bass players to ever live, if not the best. Though his life was short, his impact is practically eternal. But with all of the music that has come and gone in the last five decades, it can be easy to become numb to just how good he was. Listening to Joni Mitchell’s Hejira (1976) and Don Juan’s Recklass Daughter (1977) albums recently, reminded me again of his frightening ability and innovation. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to be Joni Mitchell or the engineers working on these two projects. I chose to dissect “Overture-Cotton Avenue” as an exercise. This song is an outstanding example of several of Jaco’s signature styles. It has …continue reading »

Pedulla Guitars at NAMM 2015, January 22-25, Anaheim, CA – Schedule and Details

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Pedulla Guitars at NAMM 2015, January 22-25, Anaheim, CA – Schedule and Details
Article by Eric Larson, © Copyright 2014 FretlessBass.com

If you’re going to NAMM 2015 be sure to check out Pedulla Guitars. The folks at Pedulla sent us some details on their schedule and attractions. We have been told that Michael Pedulla has been working 12-hour days, 7 days a week, for months now, preparing basses and details for the show.

“Our booth number for the upcoming show (January 22-25, 2015) is …continue reading »

Mark Egan Interview – “About Now” Album, Tour, and More – Part 1

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Mark Egan Interview – About Now Album, Tour, and More – Part 1
Article by Eric Larson, © Copyright 2014 FretlessBass.com

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I recently interviewed Mark Egan, focusing on his latest solo album About Now, and also covering some new projects that he is working on. This particular project was released in the spring of 2014, and features long time collaborators Danny Gottlieb on drums and Mitchel Forman on keyboards.

Mark Egan is a bass guitar veteran and a hugely accomplished and influential fretless bass player. His career spans more than forty years. In addition to solo albums, he has worked with many different artists and groups (the Pat Metheny Group, Sting, Arcadia, Roger Daltry, Joan Osborne, the Gil Evans Orchestra, Marianne Faithful, David Sanborn, John McGlaughlin and Sophie B. Hawkins, just to name a few), and has a list of accomplishments a mile long, including television and movie credits, and platinum and gold records.

Egan has been touring and supporting the About Now album for a good portion of 2014 …continue reading »

John Taylor Book “In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death, and Duran Duran”

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John Taylor Book: In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death, and Duran Duran
Article by Eric Larson, © Copyright 2014 FretlessBass.com

       

Sitting at an airport bar in Kansas City, MO, I hear the faint sounds of a Duran Duran song come on the radio. It happens to be from the one Duran album that bassist John Taylor was not involved in, Pop Trash. And, coincidently, I had just reached that chapter in his book, In the Pleasure Groove: Love, Death, and Duran Duran, where he recalls the need to try and lead a normal life – focusing on family, and staying in one place for a while – leaving the machine – leaving the band. The separation was temporary, but at the time the future was unknown. It is a refreshing chapter for the reader, feeling as if you too need a break from the chaotic ride. After nearly 20 years in the same band at that point, it’s not difficult to understand how the band was his life. It’s not difficult to understand the amazing sense of accomplishment. And it’s not difficult to feel the simultaneous and overwhelming sense of hopelessness that he had many times. …continue reading »

Review: Vox Pathfinder Bass 10 Mini Bass Amp

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Review: Vox Pathfinder Bass 10 Mini Bass Amp
© Copyright 2014 FretlessBass.com

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Measuring just 15″ x 7″ x 11″ the Vox Pathfinder Bass amp is a very nice little mini amp for practicing and light jamming with friends. This is an amp that has great visual appeal and design, making it perfect to display in your living room or office, and a nice compromise for any “roommates” who don’t want the the bulk and distraction of a larger amp. You can proudly display this amp and its vintage Vox styling, complete with diamond grill cloth, chicken-head knobs, and classic gold accents.
…continue reading »

Bob Daisley Book “For Facts Sake”

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Bob Daisley Book Cover

 

 

Bob Daisley Book Cover
Bob Daisley Book “For Facts Sake”

We are proud to recommend the autobiography by Bob Daisley entitled “For Facts Sake”. This book is 325 pages long with over 480 photos, many of which were taken by Bob himself over his 45+ year career in the music business. It contains the whole story of his life as a musician spanning from his early childhood to today, and features stories about his experience with some of the most amazing bands and people in Rock and Roll history including Chicken Shack, Mungo Jerry, Widowmaker, Rainbow, The Blizzard of Ozz, Uriah Heep, Ozzy (and Sharon) Osbourne, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath, Don Arden, and many more. This book is a must read, with amazing stories from such a long, successful career.
Click here to get more info and to purchase “For Facts Sake”!
…continue reading »

HG Thor Guitar Lab – Epoxy Fretless Fingerboard Technique

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HG Thor Fretless Conversion Fender Precision Fretless Bass

 

HG Thor Fretless Conversion Fender Precision Fretless Bass
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Forward by Eric Larson, Founder of FretlessBass.com:

I have a weakness for 1970’s Fender Precision fretless basses with the one-piece maple neck and unlined fingerboard. I own three of them and they all have their own personalities.

One particular Fender I bought on eBay was not in the best condition when it arrived at my home.  It had a rust brown stain applied over the original natural body, and the fingerboard had nicks, chips and dead spots in various locations. The finish was worn and it just didn’t have the life that I knew it once had. I had read about Jaco’s epoxy fingerboard finish technique and always dreamed of having a fretless with that hard glossy treatment. Harris at HG Thor Guitar Lab, expert in this process, brought new life to this bass and I couldn’t be happier with the results.

…continue reading »

Mark Egan – On Recording “As We Speak”

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Mark Egan – On recording his newly released CD entitled As We Speak

 

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I have just finished recording a trio CD with drummer Danny Gottlieb and guitarist John Abercrombie. The session was at my studio, Electric Fields in Warwick, NY. The compositions were mostly written in the last few months specifically for these players. I’m a long time admirer of John Abercrombie’s guitar playing from all the ECM recordings and from touring opposite his group while with the Pat Metheny Group. Danny and I are longtime friends and have played together in various groups for over thirty years.
…continue reading »

Michael Manring – On Recording With Michael Hedges Aerial Boundaries

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Michael Manring – On Recording with Michael Hedges on his album Aerial Boundaries

Michael Manring 02

I’ve been lucky in my career to have been asked to play on lots of recordings — over 200 at last count. One of the ones I get asked about the most is Michael Hedges’ Aerial Boundaries. Michael was one of those rare musicians who changed everything for his instrument. His creativity and vision led him to experiment with expanding the expressive scope of the acoustic guitar through extended tunings, percussive effects, two-hand tapping and new ways to amplify the instrument that allowed for a greater dynamic range. All these techniques and ideas are considered a standard part of the vocabulary today, but they started with Michael and the record of his that people seem to have been most touched by is Aerial Boundaries.
…continue reading »

Mark Egan – On Recording Arcadia “So Red the Rose”

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Mark Egan – On Recording with Arcadia on their album So Red the Rose

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I was fortunate to be asked to be a part of the Arcadia recordings. Arcadia was a project by members of Duran Duran, Nick Rhodes and Simon Lebon along with drummer Roger Taylor in 1985. The producer was Alex Sadkin whom I knew from my recording days in Miami Fla. at Criteria Recording studios. Alex also engineered a David Sanborn recording, The David Sandborn Band that I was a member of. It was during a recording session at Right track recording in New York while I was in recording a solo project and Alex was producing a Foreigner record that Alex asked me if I would be interested in recording a project with members of Duran Duran. A month later I was in Paris at Grand Armee’ studios and my participation involved 6 weeks of intensive recording sessions. Long time friend and drummer Steve Jordan was also playing drums on the session.
…continue reading »

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