Archive for February 2011 - Page 3

AweSome Musical Instruments has released a new switching control plate made to drop into a standard American Jazz Bass or its equivalent. The JCP-T2 Hyper-Mod Jazz Bass Control Plate utilizes AweSome’s Pickup Tone Multiplier to double the amount of pickup tones available via three switches. Two of the switches turn each of your 2-pickups on and off while in or...

In response to the my last column on bass pickups (Bass Pickups: A Guide to Formulating Your Sound) we received a request from a reader to cover the topic of setting up pickup height. Because everyone plays differently and every bass is different – even when comparing two similar models from the same company – there is no black and...

Les Claypool rocks the bass banjo on this live performance of “Iowan Gal”, a tune written for his “wonderous, lovely wife”, Chaney Claypool. “Iowan Gal” is from Claypool’s album.

Here are the most read, most popular stories and features on No Treble for the week of February 13 – 19, 2011. 1. Top 10: Top Bass Gear from the 2011 NAMM Show Our coverage of the 2011 NAMM show showcased a ton of exciting new bass gear – hopefully a sign that 2011 will be a great year for...

In this 1990 video, bassist Charlie Haden talks about improvisation before performing the Charlie Parker tune “Barbados”, with Phil Woods, Hilton Ruiz and Art Farmer. At the end of the clip, Haden talks about the electric bass as well, and his take on finding an identity with an amplified instrument.

Bassist Bunny Brunel has announced the release of the latest CAB album, Live on Sunset. The lineup for this live performance includes Brunel on bass, Virgil Donati on drums, long-time CAB member Tony MacAlpine on guitar and Dennis Hamm on keys. Recorded live at SIR in Hollywood on November 14, 2010, Live on Sunset features new material. The album is...

Radiohead’s newest album, King of Limbs, is now available for download, with physical copies to be released in retail stores on March 28. The release was announced less than a week ago, and in fact was released a day earlier than previously stated. Colin Greenwood’s bass and synth bass hold down the abstract collection of songs, which feature intense polyrhythms...

New Wave rockers The Cars have reformed to record new material for the first time since their split in 1988, though the group will be missing bassist/vocalist Benjamin Orr, who died of cancer in 2000. Co-founder Ric Ocasek told Rolling Stone that, “This is not a reunion – it’s more like a conjunction. I never thought I’d make another Cars...

Checking out videos featuring bassist Bakithi Kumalo this morning, I ran into this old favorite from Paul Simon’s Graceland concert in South Africa in 1987. Kumalo’s fretless work on this and the rest of the performance is so awesome, even 24 years later.

Daisy Rock has introduced the Rebel Rockit Bass, the newest model in the company’s line of full-scale instruments. The 34” scale bass features a lightweight sycamore body and a rock maple neck with 22 frets, designed to be more comfortable for girls with smaller hands. Seymour Duncan P+J passive pickups are included. In keeping with the manufacturer’s “girl rocker” demographic,...

Christian McBride is one of those rare bassists who switch from upright to electric and back with ease. We more frequently see (and feature) him playing upright, but this one was too fun to pass up. Here’s a fan shot video of McBride taking a solo break to Jaco Pastorius’ “Havona”.

Bassist Bernhard Lackner has released a new instructional book, Plucking Hand Workout For Electric Bass, featuring 200 exercises on 2-finger right hand technique. Written in both standard notation and tablature, the book focuses on developing your plucking hand in order to improve your overall technique, tone and musicianship. The exercises start at the beginning with quarter notes and work up...