Fender launches MonoNeon Jazz Bass V to honor the inventive bassist's singular vision and empower players to approach the instrument with his curious spirit.
As the brand that brought forth the electric bass, Fender seeks to honor the biggest pioneers of the instrument across genres and MonoNeon is one of them. Mono’s fashion sense is on par with his playing, often adorned in fluorescent layers and accessories that would give any glow stick a run for its money. Thanks to this signature model’s eye-popping yellow and orange finish and pickguard, the optics on this bass keep up with the fashion sense of the man who inspired its creation.
“Getting my own artist signature bass with Fender is definitely a full circle experience happening right now,” said MonoNeon. “Seeing my dad holding my bass is really crazy. He’s like my first musical hero. He’s a very funky player. I’d just practice to all of his records, try to find anything he played on and just learn it. I wanted to be just like him and I still do.”
The 22-fret one-piece roasted maple neck is C-shaped for comfort and has a 10”-14” compound radius fingerboard and pearl block inlays. Custom Fireball 5-String Humbucking Bass pickups deliver luscious and robust low end with a growl, while the 18-volt active preamp provides extra headroom. Meanwhile, the 3-band active EQ gives players endless tonal capabilities and the Fender HiMass string-through-top-load bridge increases resonance, weight and sustain. Each bass comes with a MonoNeon sticker pack and custom headstock Stance sock.
Dywane Thomas Jr. or MonoNeon, as he is more commonly known, grew up with bass guitar in his blood. His father was a well known Memphis bass player who took every opportunity to share his love for blues and soul with his son. After growing up alongside musical family members and playing bass in church, MonoNeon published his first video on YouTube in 2013. His lifelong affinity with the bass and the power it wields was put on full display, for all the world to see. And the world was quick to embrace MonoNeon, in all of his fluorescent glory. Known in the broader pop culture space for taking viral clips of people talking and translating the pitch of their voices into a musical piece, his online following grew with each passing year but MonoNeon wasn’t only shining in front of his webcam. In 2015, he was asked to join Prince’s live band—a dream come true for any musician, but especially for one like Mono, whose roots exist in the emotional funk and R&B music of the 1980s. By 2020, MoneNeon’s list of collaborators had expanded to include the likes of Ne-Yo, Mac Miller, Nas, Bootsy Collins, Jacob Collier and many more.
Exploring the Mononeon Signature Jazz Bass V | Artist Signature Series | Fender
MonoNeon Jazz Bass $1,549.99. For more information, please visit fender.com.
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Working closely alongside Yngwie, the MXR design team created a circuit that delivers clarity, expressive dynamics, and rich harmonics—all perfectly tailored for his light-speed arpeggios, expressive vibrato, and big, bold riffs. The control setup is simple, with just Level and Gain knobs.
"Want to sound like Yngwie? Crank both knobs to the max."
“This pedal is the culmination of 45+ years developing a sound that’s perfect in every possible way,” Yngwie says. “I present to you: the MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive. Prepare to be amazed.”
MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive highlights:
- Perfectly tailored for Yngwie Malmsteen's signature sound and style
- Simple control setup tuned for maximum impact
- Boost every nuance with superior clarity, expressive dynamics, and rich harmonics
- Dig into light-speed arpeggios, expressive vibrato, and big, bold riffs
The MXR Yngwie Malmsteen Overdrive is available now at $129.99 street/$185.70 MSRP from your favorite retailer.
For more information, please visit jimdunlop.com.
Built on powerful dual‑engine processing and world‑class UAD modeling, ANTI 1992 High Gain Amp gives guitarists the unmistakable sound of an original "block letter" Peavey 5150 amplifier* – the notorious 120‑watt tube amp monster that fueled more than three decades of modern metal music, from Thrash and Death Metal, to Grunge, Black Metal, and more.
"With UAFX Dream, Ruby, Woodrow, and Lion amp emulators, we recreated four of the most famous guitar amps ever made," says UA Sr. Product Manager Tore Mogensen. "Now with ANTI, we're giving rock and metal players an authentic emulation of this punishing high gain amp – with the exact mic/speaker pairings and boost/noise gate effects that were responsible for some of the most groundbreaking modern metal tones ever captured."
Key Features:
- A complete emulation of the early '90s 120‑watt tone monster that defined new genres of modern metal
- Powerful UAFX dual-engine delivers the most authentic emulation of the amp ever placed in a stompbox
- Complete album‑ready sounds with built‑in noise gate, TS‑style overdrive, and TC‑style preamp boost
- Groundbreaking Dynamic Room Modeling derived from UA's award-winning OX Amp Top Box
- Six classic mic/speaker pairings used on decades of iconic metal and hard rock records
- Professional presets designed by the guitarists of Tetrarch, Jeff Loomis, and The Black Dahlia Murder
- UAFX mobile app lets you access hidden amp tweaks and mods, choose overdrive/boost, tweak noise gate, recall and archive your presets, download artist presets, and more
- Timeless UA design and craftsmanship, built to last decades
For more information, please visit uaudio.com.
- YouTube
MonoNeon, aka Dywane Thomas Jr., came up learning the bass from his father in Memphis, Tennessee, but for some reason, he decided to flip his dad’s 4-string bass around and play it with the string order inverted—E string closest to the ground and the G on top. That’s how MonoNeon still plays today, coming up through a rich, inspiring gauntlet of family and community traditions. “I guess my whole style came from just being around my grandma at an early age,” says Thomas.His path has led him to collaborate with dozens of artists, including Nas, Ne-Yo, Mac Miller, and even Prince, and MonoNeon’s solo output is dizzying—trying to count up his solo releases isn’t an easy feat. Premier Guitar’s Chris Kies caught up with the bassist before his show at Nashville’s Exit/In, where he got the scoop on his signature 5-string, Ampeg rig, and simple stomp layout, as well as some choice stories about influences, his brain-melting playing style, and how Prince changed his rig.
Brought to you by D’Addario.
Orange You Glad to See Me?
This Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V was created after a rep messaged Thomas on Instagram to set up the signature model, over which Thomas had complete creative control. Naturally, the bass is finished in neon yellow urethane with a neon orange headstock and pickguard, and the roasted maple neck has a 10"–14" compound radius. It’s loaded with custom-wound Fireball 5-string Bass humbuckers and an active, 18V preamp complete with 3-band EQ controls. Thomas’ own has been spruced up with some custom tape jobs, too. All of MonoNeon's connections are handled by Sorry Cables.
Fade to Black
MonoNeon’s Ampeg SVT stack isn’t a choice of passion. “That’s what they had for me, so I just plugged in,” he says. “That’s what I have on my rider. As long as it has good headroom and the cones don’t break up, I’m cool.”
Box Art
MonoNeon’s bass isn’t the only piece of kit treated to custom color jobs. Almost all of his stomps have been zhuzhed up with his eye-popping palette.
Thomas had used a pitch-shifting DigiTech Whammy for a while, but after working with Paisley Park royalty, the pedal became a bigger part of his playing. “When I started playing with Prince, he put the Whammy on my pedalboard,” Thomas explains. “After he passed, I realized how special that moment was.”
Alongside the Whammy, MonoNeon runs a Fairfield Circuitry Randy’s Revenge (for any time he wants to “feel weird”), a literal Fart Pedal (in case the ring mod isn’t weird enough, we guess), and a JAM Pedals Red Muck covers fuzz and dirt needs. A CIOKS SOL powers the whole affair.
