
Ernie Ball Music Man is excited to launch a brand-new collection of limited edition bass guitars with Tim Commerford, the legendary bassist of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Prophets of Rage, and his newest project 7D7D, with a debut release coming soon. Tim has been a part of the Ernie Ball Music Man family throughout his career. This collaboration is the natural evolution of this amazing ongoing partnership.
"I literally was like 18 years old when I saw a Music Man StingRay. It was a blonde Sting Ray with a black pickguard, and it was at a pawn shop..." Tim reflects. "I scraped up the money and I got it, and that bass became the bass I used to record the first Rage [Against The Machine] record and it was a big part of my life."
Ernie Ball Music Man: Tim Commerford Artist Series StingRay Bass
The all-new Tim Commerford Artist Series StingRay Bass Collection includes 4 unique models, each marked by a numbered backplate and limited to just 50 instruments per model. The passive full scale and active short scale models deserve special consideration, as these never before offered configurations are now available for the first time.
- 50 Full Scale Active Basses in Black
- 50 Full Scale Passive Basses in Natural
- 50 Short Scale Active Basses in Natural
- 50 Short Scale Passive Basses in Vintage Sunburst
Each instrument shares three unique appointments:
- Height adjustable custom finger ramp
- Pickup cover with a contoured thumb rest
- Classic string-through bridge with adjustable mute pads
The Tim Commerford collection has been created to meet Tim's exacting specifications. Over the years, Tim's custom additions and personal refinements have all been implemented to his custom line of artist series basses. Features such as a pickup cover thumb rest and adjustable finger ramp allow for a more comfortable hand position when playing fingerstyle. Other custom refinements include a sculpted 5-bolt neck joint for full access to all upper register frets, and a classic string-through bridge with adjustable mute pads that allows Tim to dial in the perfect tone.
Over the last 30 years, Commerford has built his signature sound playing a multitude of passive and active basses, so having the ability to have both full and short scale basses in one collection, gives him the tools needed to reproduce the tones he has made famous over these past 3 decades.
With only 200 instruments available worldwide, this limited edition 4 instrument collection is available exclusively from music-man.com, as well as the all-new Ernie Ball Music Man Reverb Shop. In addition to the Tim Commerford bass collection, the brand new Ernie Ball Music Man Reverb Shop will be home to an ongoing curated collection of unique colors, prototypes, small batches, and demo models that would have normally only been found in the Ernie Ball Music Man Vault.
- Tim Commerford's Gear - Premier Guitar āŗ
- Tim Commerford: Wakrat and the Power of Now - Premier Guitar āŗ
- Rig Rundown: Tim Commerford - Premier Guitar āŗ
Empress Effects is proud to announce the release of the Bass ParaEq, a bass-specific parametric EQ pedal.
Building on the success of their acclaimed ParaEq MKII series, which has already gained popularity with bassists, the Bass ParaEq offers the same studio-grade precision but with features tailored for bass instruments.
Basses of all types ā including electric and upright basses with active and passive electronics ā can benefit from the Bass ParaEqās tone-sculpting capabilities.
The new pedal follows the success of the Empress Bass Compressor and ParaEq MKII Deluxe, which have become some of the companyās best-reviewed and top-selling products. The Bass Compressorās popularity confirmed what Empress had long suspected: bassists are eager for tools built with their needs in mind, not just adaptations of guitar gear.
The Bass ParaEq retains the lineās powerful 3-band parametric EQ and studio-style features while introducing a bass-optimized frequency layout, a selectable 10M⦠Hi-Z input for piezo-equipped instruments, a dynamically-adjusted low shelf, and automatic balanced output detectionāperfect for live and studio use alike.
The Bass ParaEq also offers an output boost, adjustable by a dedicated top-mounted knob and activated by its own footswitch, capable of delivering up to 30dB of boost. Itās perfect for helping your bass punch through during key moments in live performance.
Whether dialing in clarity for a dense mix or compensating for an unfamiliar venue, the Bass ParaEq offers precise tonal control in a compact, road-ready form. With 27V of internal headroom to prevent clipping from even the hottest active pickups, the Bass ParaEq is the ultimate studio-style EQ designed to travel.
Key features of the Bass ParaEq include:
- Adjustable frequency bands tailored for bass instruments
- Selectable 10M⦠Hi-Z input for upright basses and piezo pickups
- Auto-detecting balanced output for long cable runs and direct recording
- Three sweepable parametric bands with variable Q
- High-pass, low-pass, low shelf, and high shelf filters
- Transparent analog signal path with 27V of internal headroom
- Buffered bypass switching
- Powered by standard 9V external supply, 300mA (no battery compartment)
The Bass ParaEq is now shipping worldwide. It can be purchased from the Empress Effects website for $374 USD and through authorized Empress dealers globally.
PG contributor Tom Butwin reveals his favorite songwriting secret weapon: the partial capo. Watch how the Shubb C7 and C8 can simulate alternate tunings without retuning your guitarāand spark fresh creative ideas instantly.
Shubb C8b Partial Capo for Drop-D Tuning - Brass
The C8 covers five of the six strings, leaving either the low E or high E string open, depending on how it's positioned.
- Standard setup: Placed on the 2nd fret while leaving the low E string open, it simulates Drop D-style soundsāexcept you're still in standard tuning (key of E). You get that big, droning bass feel without retuning.
- Reverse setup: Flipping the capo allows the high E string to ring, giving you shimmering drones and new melodic options across familiar chord shapes.
- A flexible tool that lets you simulate alternate tunings and create rich sonic texturesāall while keeping your guitar in standard tuning.
Shubb C7b Partial Capo for DADGAD Tuning - Brass
The C7 covers three of the six stringsāeither D, G, and B or A, D, and Gādepending on how it's flipped.
- Typical setup (D, G, B): Creates an open A chord shape at the 2nd fret without needing your fingers. This frees you up for new voicings and droning notes in the key of A.
- Reversed setup (A, D, G): Gets you close to a DADGAD-style tuning vibe, but still keeps you in standard tuningāgreat for modal, spacious textures often found in folk or cinematic guitar parts.
Use it alone or stack it with the C8 for wild, layered effects and truly out-of-the-box inspiration.
PRS Guitars celebrates 40 years with the limited edition McCarty SC56. Featuring vintage-inspired design and modern innovations, this single-cutaway guitar pays tribute to Ted McCarty and his impact on the industry. With only 400 pieces available, this instrument is a must-have for collectors and performers alike.
PRS Guitars today announced the 40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 Limited Edition. With a classic PRS single-cutaway body shape and carefully chosen specifications, the McCarty SC56 is both a tribute to tradition and a reliable tool for the modern performer. Only 400 pieces will be made.
āThe SC56, signifying Singlecut and 1956, model is our most recent tribute to my late mentor Ted McCarty and his impact on the guitar industry. We started with our take on a classic late ā50s singlecut body. 1956 marks the year that Ted first had guitars made with his newly coined 'humbucker' pickups. It also happens to be the year I was born. Bringing vintage design into the modern era, we loaded this model with our McCarty III pickups, meticulously designed to deliver warm, clear, vintage tone with exceptional note separation and dynamics,ā said PRS Guitars Founder & Managing General Partner, Paul Reed Smith.
Anchored by a maple top and mahogany back, the 24.594ā scale length and 22-fret Pattern Vintage neck work with Phase III non-locking tuners and PRS two-piece bridge to promote its musical sustain. The PRS McCarty III pickups are controlled by a simple layout ā two volume controls, two tone controls, and a three-way toggle on the upper bout.
Single-cutaway guitars are known to be heavier than their double-cutaway counterparts. The McCarty SC56 Limited Edition design incorporates weight-relief, decreasing the weight of the guitar by about 2/3 of a pound, while maintaining several points of attachment between the guitar top and back to eliminate the āhollowā sound of the cavities and promote tone transfer.
With appointments like binding on the fretboard, classic bird inlays, and a vintage-inspired nitrocellulose finish, the 40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 Limited Edition blends heritage and innovation into a timeless instrument.
PRS Guitars continues its schedule of launching new products each month in 2025.
For more information, please visit prsguitars.com.
40th Anniversary McCarty SC56 Limited Edition | Demo | PRS Guitars - YouTube
The Future Impact V4 is an incredibly versatile pedal with an exceptional range of sounds. In addition to producing synthesizer sounds such as basses, leads and pads, it can function as an octaver, chorus, flanger, phaser, distortion, envelope filter, traditional wah-wah, tremolo, reverb, etc., and even has a built-in tuner. It can potentially replace an entire pedalboard of dedicated single-effect pedals.
The very powerful signal processor of the Future Impact V4 is able to replicate the various oscillator, filter, amplifier and envelope generator blocks found in classic synthesizers. In addition, it contains signal processing blocks more traditionally used for processing the sound of an instrument such as a harmonizer block and audio effects such as chorus, distortion and EQ. These architectures complement each other in a very flexible way.
Setting the standard for the bass guitar synth pedals since 2015, together with an enthusiastic community and long line of great artists, the Future Impact V4 is the guitar synth platform for the next decade.