I’m doing the full price breakdown of the new stereo pedalboard, and the number at the end of the episode is eye-watering.

I’m always astonished at the kinds of prices people think they can get away with charging for gear, but as we run through the cost of each pedal on the new board, scouring Reverb.com for current prices, things get a little out of hand…

More soon,

Janek

I have some new pieces in the pedal library that are going into the new stereo setup. I’m actually most excited about the one pedal that makes no sound at all: The Walrus Audio Stereo Canvas. More on that in the episode!

Could it be the solution to a Stereo/Mono all-in-one board that I’ve been looking for? If it is, that board might get even crazier with a stereo loop switcher in the end going out to four DI’s…

Massive thanks to everyone who has streamed the new album. It’s by far my most successful release based on Spotify streams in the first week, and it’s growing every day. I’m very happy to see this music get a fresh lease of life, and hear your feedback about the new bass tracks I recorded for the album.

We also have a massive update to the website that I hope will give way more access to the books across the world. I’ve been racking my brains about how to solve the issues we’ve had over the past year with crazy shipping costs, and not having the ability to bundle digital and physical products together.

Well… we’ve solved both of them! And have moved to Shopify for a way more streamlined and smooth user-experience.

In some cases shipping is actually going to be free now!

Shipping, to so many parts of the world, has been as much as the cost of a book itself. We’ve set some thresholds for each part of the globe that, if met, shipping will go to zero. That way we end up sharing the cost of the shipping a little, and you get more products for your money rather than burning it all on Fedex.

It’s the start of a new chapter, and I’m sure there will be a few bumps along the way. I appreciate both your support and your patience as always, and look forward to bringing you much more very soon.

Janek

I know that stereo anything is probably not front and center when you're leaving the house for a gig to play bass, but there is a use-case once in a while for delays and reverbs and they sound amazing in stereo!

I'm digging the Del-Verb from UAFX, and will soon add the Golden Reverberator to the signal chain to see if I can get where I want to go with ambient soundscapes.

Make sure you get in the comments on YouTube and let me know what you use, how you use it, and if you've ventured into the land of stereo bass yet!

Don’t miss our last sale of the year: Buy any signed physical book and get any digital book for just $5, and get 25% off all digital book bundles. The sale runs until midnight on NYE, and all discounts are added automatically at checkout.

Happy reverberating, and more soon!

Janek

Bass tone isn't just in the fingers and the pedals...

There's the key ingredient of who you work with, both live and in the studio, and how they capture your sound.

In this week’s episode we take a deep dive into my journey as a recording artist and highlight some of the engineers and moments along the way that have helped shape my sound to where it is today.

Make sure you take advantage of our final sale of the year with digital copies of our books discounted by 80% off when you purchase a signed physical book.

Add ANY digital book to your order of a signed physical book and you’ll get an automatic 80% discount on the digital version at checkout, up to 10 books in an order.

You can also get 25% off any Digital Bundle, including the Complete Library, through December 31st at midnight.

Happy practicing, happy holidays, and we’ll be back with more soon!

Janek

Boutique is an often misused term for our instrument, and in this episode I'm going to try and get to the bottom of what makes something "boutique" in the bass world, and shed some light on the process of choosing the right bass.

As mentioned in the episode I have a couple of pedals available for sale at the website. It’s something I almost never do, and it’s rare for a pedal to be on its way out of the library than on the way in!

Brand new and with the original boxes:

Hungry Robot Wardenclyffe Dexule

GFI Systems Specular Tempus

first come first served!

Good luck!

Janek

Having played the new bass live and spent some time in the studio with it, the verdict is in!

It's always interesting getting to know a new instrument and figure out where it sits in the lineup. I've found some cool use cases for it, and am getting more comfortable with the preamp and controls each day.

There are minor details that need adjusting, but the prototype plays incredible well and pretty much does exactly what we set out to do with this experiment.

I really hope some of you get the chance to play it at the NAMM show, and potentially get your hands on one of the 10 units we’ll offer in 2025. I’m super curious to see where they end up in the world, and how you guys use them out in the wild.

Make sure you take advantage of all the things on sale for Black Friday and Cyber Monday through December 4th at midnight. All discounts are either added at checkout or shown on the product page

* eBooks and eBook bundles are buy one, get 50% off another (up to four products per order)

* The Complete Library is super discounted and includes the new scales book

* Line6 HX Stomp Presets are 35% off

* Physical books on Amazon are discounted 20%

Happy Practicing and more soon!

Janek

The new bass from RKM is here. At least the first prototype is, and I’m really excited to be able to share it with you in this episode of the podcast.

Check out the video on YouTube to get a close-up look at this beautiful instrument, and drop a comment below the video with your thoughts on 5-strings, high C tuning, double reversed P pickups, and all the other stuff we’ve included in this build that we plan to launch at Winter NAMM 2025.

Black Friday is in full-swing with physical books on Amazon discounted worldwide, and our ebooks at the website discounted to get 50% off every other book you purchase. And that’s up to four books in each order. Want 3 books? get 3 more 50% off! This also applies to book bundles. Buy one, get 50% off another. All discounts are applied automatically at checkout.

And don’t forget the pre-sale for the new scale book ends in just a few days on November 26th. This is your last chance to get a signed physical copy bundled with a digital version of the book for this pre-sale price.

* Domestic Shipping (USA)

* International Shipping

We will have a digital-only version of the new scale book launching this Thursday, and our “Complete Library” bundle will include the new book and will go on sale with the book launch on November 28th.

More soon,

Janek

It is now my quest, in the most respectful way possible of course, to prove Rick Beato wrong on one of his recent uploads about successful musical output occurring when an artist is in their 20's. I don't actually think Rick is wrong at all, I just hope that I can prove him wrong about me and still make music for the rest of my life that leaves my fulfilled by the process.

Watch Rick's video here:

* Read the article I reference in today’s episode about the volume of music released in 1998 vs 2024.

We’re only days away from the launch of the the new scale book. Grab yours on Pre-Order discount until November 26th. This gets you both the signed physical and digital copies in this unique bundle.

More soon,

Janek

Today’s episode isn’t all doom and gloom, although some aspects of our industry do get pretty dark at times. Especially when it comes to the transparency of companies, channels, and gear videos.

I’m using an unlikely example to highlight where I’m at in the journey of creating these videos for YouTube, and as part of the episode will be doing a pretty tasty giveaway. Just make sure you leave a comment on the YouTube video to be entered to win, and I’ll pick a winner on the next episode of the podcast. It’s totally free and I’ll ship the giveaway anywhere in the world so anyone can enter!

If you want to be one of the first people to own the new book "The Bassist's Book of Scales and Arpeggios", get your signed pre-sale copy now:

Domestic Shipping (USA)

International Shipping

More soon,

Janek

Time is something we can't buy any more of, and the better we manage it while we're here, the more productive, fulfilling, and happy a life we can lead as musicians.

Just remember, always give the day more credit for the amount of time it offers.

If you want to be one of the first people to own the new book "The Bassist's Book of Scales and Arpeggios", get your signed pre-sale copy now:

Domestic Shipping (USA)

International Shipping

More soon,

Janek