What's Next? Bass Magazine's NAMM 2019 Wrap Up

Bass Magazine’s Winter NAMM 2019 Wrap-Up

By Jon D’Auria

Fender Duff McKagan Signature Series

For his latest signature model, Duff McKagan threw it back to the same design of his ’80s Jazz Bass Special that he used to record Guns N’ Roses seminal album Appetite for Destruction, and Fender delivered. With a sexy design featuring pearloid block inlays, a black headstock, a drop-tuner, and two sleek finish options, this new series was the talk of NAMM. fender.com

Bergantino forté HP

Now bringing 1,200 watts of tone and power to its forté collection, Bergantino has unleashed the latest addition to its workhorse amp line with the forté HP. Like all Bergantino amps, the forté HP offers highly customizable options, all in a compact package. bergantino.com

Nordstrand Acinonyx Basses

Not surprisingly, Carey Nordstand delivered perhaps the most fun bass we played at the show with his brand new Acinonyx short-scale prototype. Modern tributes to Goya Panther basses, Acinonyx basses feature tone buttons that greatly alter the frequencies you can cop on these addicting compact 4-strings. nordstrandaudio.com

(Bonus) Nordstrand NordyMute

This new foam mute with a wood covering stopped us in our tracks. Simply pop this lightweight device onto your strings near your bridge, and all of a sudden you get killer Bobby Vega-esque muted-picking sounds with automatic staccato resonance and tone similar to that of an upright bass. We couldn’t get our wallets out fast enough. nordstrandaudio.com

Aguilar Amplification SL 115 Cabinet

Weighing in at only 34 pounds, this lean, mean 15" cabinet rumbles deep, but with all the precise clarity that Aguilar has become well known for. We heard it isolated and were blown away, but now we’re daydreaming about what this heavy-hitter sounds like paired with an AG 700 head and SL 410 cabinet. aguilaramp.com

MTD H34D5 Headless Bass

We had to do a double take when we first saw MTD’s new H34D5 headless basses, but then we did a triple take when we heard the tone these beauties produce. Constructed with a highly figured maple top on a mahogany body with a maple neck and bird’s-eye maple fingerboard, these innovative new axes are a perfect addition to MTD’s collection. mtdbass.com

Stonefield Mighty Mini Cabs

Always one for crafting innovative new bass creations, Stonefield’s Tomm Stanley has entered the amplification game with his new line of Mighty Mini cabinets. Available in 8" and 6.5" speaker configurations, these compact cabs pack some big tone, and they’re definitely the coolest-looking colorful new amps to hit the market. stonefieldmusic.com

Ampeg Liquifier Analog Chorus

Utilizing dual chorus circuits, Ampeg’s Liquifier Analog Chorus creates a thick, juicy, modulated tone. With the easy-touse rate, depth, and effect level knobs, you can dial them in subtly for tone enhancement or crank it up for heavy waves of chorus frequencies. Its sparkly purple metal casing pretty much seals the deal on its own. ampeg.com

Dunlop MXR Dyna Comp Bass Compressor

With Sire bass in hand, Darryl Anders was happy to demo MXR’s new Dyna Comp Bass Compressor for us, and along with his highly enjoyable funky playing, we were super impressed with this small stompbox’s ability to home in on some serious tone. What sets this compressor apart is how it leaves your low end intact while letting you alter your dynamic range to your heart’s desire. jimdunlop.com

Gallien-Krueger Legacy Amps

GK once again wowed bass goers at NAMM, this time with its new Legacy series of amps. In honor of its 50th anniversary, GK released these powerful new heads with 500, 800, and 1,200-watt models. Not only do they look amazingly sleek, they deliver all of that iconic GK tone. Additionally, GK unveiled its Fusion S, Fusion +, and Plex-series amps to cover all sonic territory. gallien-krueger.com

Markbass Kilimanjaro & Kimandu Basses

When Richard Bona puts his name on a product, you know it has to be good. That’s why we weren’t surprised that the first line of bass guitars from Markbass is stellar on all fronts. With a highend model (the Kilimanjaro) and a less expensive series (the Kimandu), these 4 and 5-strings basses are beautifully crafted and boast phenomenal tone that we got to hear played by Bona himself. markbass.it

BackBeat Rumble Pack

One item generating a ton of buzz this year (both figuratively and literally) is the innovative new wearable rumble pack from BackBeat. This small device clips to the back of your bass strap and vibrates along with every note and bass line you play. Great for players who use in-ear monitors or play through smaller rigs, we feel like this innovation is a must-have. getbackbeat.com

Elrick Bass Guitars Handcarved Icon Gold Series Bass

With beautiful hand-carved bodies, bolt-on necks, and a heel-less design, the new Icon Gold series is yet another masterpiece of building from luthier Rob Elrick. Available in 4- and 5-string models, these basses have 34" scales, come equipped with Bartolini pickups, and have swamp-ash bodies and quarter-sawn hard-maple necks that make their level of playability exceed all expectations. elrick.com

Phil Jones Bass Micro 7 and BP 800

Phil Jones Bass always brings a slew of innovative new offerings to every NAMM show, so we decided to profile two new products. The compact Micro 7 combo amp is super lightweight at only 15.5 pounds, and it kicks out a sound much bigger than its 7" driver and 3" tweeter should be able to convey. PJB also unveiled its new BP 800 head, which weighs only 5.7 pounds and sits at a tiny 7.5" wide. For the gigging bass player on the go. pjbworld.com

Mayones Guitars & Basses Hadrien Feraud 5-string Signature Jabba Bass

Mayones debuted the latest addition to its Signature Hadrien Feraud Jabba Basses with a new 5-string model. We’ve been huge fans of his original 4-string signature, so this bass was something we had to check out. With a profiled swamp-ash body, spruce top, and block inlay-lined frets, this is one of the sexiest-looking basses we stumbled onto. mayones.com

Lakland Geezer Butler Signature Bass

The new all-black 55-94 Geezer Butler Signature model has a classic look and feel suited for the man behind Black Sabbath. Made of deluxe buckeye burl with an ebony fingerboard, this bass was just one of the many impressive new models that Lakland brought to the show. We almost got into a wrestling match with Ben Kenney to see who was going to take it home with them. (Full disclosure: He won.) lakland.com

Blast Cult Fretless Thirty 2 Bass

We swung by Blast Cult’s booth to witness a masterclass on grooving on upright bass from Miles Mosley, and ended up falling in love with the company’s latest fretless Thirty 2 Bass model. With a slick green paint job and a modern-meets-vintage design, this new 4-string was infinitely fun to play and boasts supreme sound. blastcult.com

Music Man Joe Dart Signature

While it’s yet to be determined whether this will be a one-off prototype or something Music Man will put into production in the future, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Joe Dart of Vulfpeck’s new signature bass. With a full-scale 34" neck, natural finish, and simple one-knob setup, this bass is one of a kind. Big thanks to Joe for letting us steal it for a bit. music-man.com

LEH Guitars Offset 4-string Bass

If our wrap-up had a “Rookie of the Year” award, it would definitely go to Lisa Ellis Hahn for her flagship bass series, the LEH Offset 4-string. But don’t be confused — Lisa is no rookie at all, as she has served as the top builder at Sadowsky Guitars since 2005 and is a seasoned veteran at making basses. The Offset reflects all of her luthier prowess, and we’re thrilled to see what’s next from her collection. lehguitars.com

Tech 21 SansAmp YYZ Geddy Lee

Taking the design of the previously released rack-mounted GED-2112 made for Geddy Lee, SansAmp has run with that engine and made it even smaller with the new YYZ pedal. This analog pedal allows you to cop Geddy’s tone and a versatile range of other sounds with a drive control, 3-band EQ, and a deep drive knob that will thrust your playing into the limelight. tech21.com

Ashdown CL-310DH Cabinets

Originally constructed specifically for Guy Pratt, these cabinets recently went into production and have a unique configuration of three 10" custom Ashdown drivers, and two high-frequency horns to project at loud volumes. Rated at 450 watts at 8 ohms, these tall and slender cabs have a unique look and sound. ashdownmusic.com

Hartke HD508 Bass Combo

We visited the Hartke booth to listen to Victor Wooten perform with John Ferrara, and also to check out Hartke’s new HD508 combo amp — and we weren’t disappointed on either accounts. Weighing in at only 49 pounds, this combo features a 500-watt Class D amplifier and four 8" HyDrive speakers. It sounds killer. samsontech.com/hartke

La Bella Olinto 5-string

La Bella’s Olinto line of basses has expanded with a 5-string model, and it’s every bit as phenomenal and vintage-sounding as all of La Bella’s 4-strings. Highly customizable options for these basses include a choice of body wood: alder, swamp ash, northern ash, mahogany, makore, black limba, and roasted. labella.com

GRBass Amps ONE Pure Sound Amp

Italian-based GR Bass has released its latest amplifier that packs a lot of power into a small frame. The new ONE amp (available in 1,400-, 800-, and 350-watt models) have deep and bright filters, a preamp exclusion function when “Pure Mode” is initiated, an integrated tuner, a high-qualityheadphone amplifier, and amazing tone all around. grbass.com