BassPlayer 2017-04

Winter NAMM 2017
The Best Of What’s Next
By Jon D’Auria
FOR FOUR DAYS, WE VENTURED
into the chaos of the packed Anaheim Convention
Center to scout all of the greatest
new bass gear for 2017 during the
biggest music-instrument event of the
year, Winter NAMM. We scoured the halls
and searched through the masses of full
stacks, combos, Class D heads, 4-strings,
6-strings, 27-strings (probably), and the
heaps of pedals and newest novelties to
hit the shelves. The result was a bout of
hearing damage, calloused feet, and a
full report of all the exciting and amazing
products debuting in the bass world.
Between talking shop with the best
luthiers, builders, and low-end gurus
in the world, and catching up with
some of our bass heroes, the yearly
conglomeration of all things music was
a wild success that left us lusting for
new basses, amps, and pedals of every
variety. There’s really nothing else in
the world like the NAMM show, so for
those who have never been, here’s our
best attempt to recount it for you with
some choice items that caught our eye
from the wonderland of bass.
Aguilar AG 700
Offering 700 watts of powerful punch, the
newest amp from Aguilar is a solid-state powerhouse
that weighs in at only 4.9 pounds.
Its innovative deep and bright EQ switches
summon the deepest lows and highest highs to
give a serious boost.
Street $850
Contact aguilaramp.com
Ampeg
Classic Analog Bass Preamp,
Scrambler Bass Overdrive
After unveiling its popular SCR-DI unit in 2015, Ampeg
has split the key components in two and is now
offering them as cost-efficient
and pro-level bass preamp
and overdrive pedals.
Now they’re designed
to fit on pedalboards
of any size.
Street $100 each
Contact ampeg.com
36 bassplayer.com / april2017