May 2023Phill Jones Bass BP-800, C4 (400 watts), C8 (800 watts)
I recommend this because of the sound. The sound you get is second to none. It’s pure, unadulterated, great bass sound. Simple as that.
JULY 2022Playing fast isn’t difficult. Stopping when you’re supposed to is.
Imagine a bunch of toddlers running down a hill, laughing with reckless abandon, going faster and faster until their little legs can’t keep up anymore and they tumble in a heap. The joy of feeling speed is followed by a colossal wipeout.
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December 2021Let’s play, connect the dots! It’s not “Let’s play connect the dots,” but truly, “Let’s play commaconnect the dots!” In this final installment of Elements of a Groove, I’m presenting you with a way to connect the dots … quite literally.
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August 2021Here is a tall tale to tell (pun-filled introduction, but you should be used to this by now): The third part of a great groove is the groove tail. It’s the most fun part, the sign-off, the least structured part, the freedom-loving revolutionary of the Three Groove-sketeers.
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November 2020If the groove skeleton is responsible for giving a groove its genre-defining outline, then the groove apex is responsible for giving it its character, or attitude.
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March 2020A lot of musical information is packed into a bass groove. What is the tempo of the music? The feel? What’s the tonal center? The electric bass guitar is unique in that it is as much an instrument of harmony as it is of rhythm, which brings a lot of responsibility to the job of being a bass player.
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November 2019Vilkommen to zis latest Pfeiffer column. Vat vill ve play today? Why, akzents, of course! Okay, let me drop this faux-German accent before my throat burns from rolling all the R’s. Accenting a musical note means striking it slightly harder than you do a regular note, making it louder.
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August 2019After dedicating the past three columns to your fretting hand, it’s high time to concentrate on the hand that's actually pulling the strings. This is the right hand, unless you’re playing lefty.
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July 2019Any time someone asks you to play a major scale, where do you start? In all likelihood on the low root, playing the notes in ascending order from the lowest to the highest. Right? Same for a groove.
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June 2019Imagine you’re stretched out on your little rowboat, a gentle breeze playing with your hair, waves lazily lapping against the wooden hull and you’re just enjoying the moment…and then, suddenly it hits you!
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