Having Fun With Inversions

I reread an old article in Bass Player about chord inversion, and I was fiddling around with them a bit last night. I don't really have a lot of time to practice these days, but this was an interesting sort of idea to play with.

Ibanez Basses: They're on fire!

No, literally. There has been a recall issued for several models in the United States because of a battery clip that may cause a fire(!)

Fender: Victim of its own success

New this year is Fender's Jaguar Bass. I played a couple of them and they seem to be quite nice basses if you're into that whole Jazz bass thing. Active/passive modes, series/parallel switching, attractive design, all in all a nice little package. That said, I predict that this bass will be discontinued in a couple years. Why? Well, the gain of the active and passive modes is not matched quit as nicely as I'd like, but that's probably not it. I would like to see a five string version, but the lack thereof is probably not why it will die. The reason: it doesn't look like either a Precision or a Jazz. Fender has produced some rather interesting and enjoyable models, but none of them have the staying power of those two designs. If they had stuffed the exact same electronics into a standard-looking Jazz, I'm sure there would be no problem moving this bass. I'm sure that it will have limited success as it is, for what my aesthetic opinion is worth, it is a very attractive design. I've always been partial to the design elements of the Jaguar guitar. Nonetheless, I'm sticking to my prediction, as nice as this bass is, I don't think it'll be around more than three or four years at most - something I wouldn't say if it was another variation on the design of the Jazz bass.

When Good Companies Have Bad Sites

I love Bartolini pickups, I really do. I have put them in two different basses that I have owned. But I was looking up some information on preamps, and I was disappointed that Bartolini has persisted in doing nothing about their site with 1998 graphics. I mean we make no claim that this blog is at all eye-pleasing, but even this is better than Bartolini's site. The site looks so old, that it makes you wonder if it was a relic from a defunct company. Not exactly the corporate image I would want to portray, especially as there are lots of outfits out there making great pickups.