Premier Guitar September 2016 | Page 56

BASS GEAR CONT'D XEN NEBULA The 6-string Nebula that Xen showed at NAMM had a bolt-on neck, swamp-ash body, and Bartolini pickups, but they will also offer other wood, electronics, and string-number options. Prices start at $2,699 for a 4-string. xenstringedinstruments.com AMPTWEAKER BASS JR PEDALS James Brown brought a trio of new pedals for dirt-loving bassists to Nashville. The Bass TightRock Jr, Bass TightDrive Jr, and Bass TightMetal Jr all feature a side-mounted dry-low knob for unaffected low end, a fat/normal/tight switch to adjust the attack, and a noise-gate knob for subtle gating to hard stops. The pedals run on 9V for heavier, compressed sounds or 18V for more open and less distorted tone. amptweaker.com ACCESSORIES G7 PERFORMANCE 2 VINTAGE RADIUS CAPO G7 makes one of the highest quality, easiest-to-use capos on the market, and the company’s latest design ($49 street) was engineered specifically for use with vintage Tele and Strat neck radiuses. g7th.com WILKINSON SLIPSTICK Inventor extraordinaire Trev Wilkinson wasn’t officially showing these at NAMM, but when we dropped by he was so excited he couldn’t resist sharing. The ChapStick-style Slipstick lubricants are available in graphite (bottom) or natural (top) varieties, the former being intended for reducing string friction at the nut and bridge saddles, and the latter being useful for screw lubrication or reducing string noise. Both are safe on all finish types, and they are expected to street for $6.99 per stick. fret-king.com 54 PREMIER GUITAR SEPTEMBER 2016 premierguitar.com