Rewind: New Basses and Amps, Rare Cliff Burton Performance, Playing by Ear, and the Best Bass Videos
Here are the most read, most popular stories and features on No Treble for the week of April 10 – 16, 2011
1. Top 10: The Best Bass Videos (March 2011)
This week, we’re taking a look back at the top 10 most popular bass videos from March, 2011, based on the number of views by No Treble readers.
2. Playing by Ear (and Self-Evaluation)
Q: I have been playing bass for about 12 years now, and over the last 5 years, I have been practicing more and more. I’m definitely seeing progress in the areas of practive, but sometimes I feel there are holes in my playing. For example, I get very nervous when I´m in a situation where…
Meet Jared Carpenter, the sole proprietor of California-based custom shop JC Basses. We first discovered his work after watching Seth Horan, whose custom bass features fanned frets and an eye-catching red finish. After picking up bass, Carpenter quickly realized he couldn’t get what he wanted from a production instrument and boldly decided to make his…
4. Rare Live Cliff Burton Solo (1986)
The Metal Den has just posted a Youtube clip including audio of Cliff Burton’s bass solo from a Metallica concert at the Coliseum Ballroom in Davenport, Iowa on May 30, 1986. The solo is part improv, with Burton adding the themes from the Kill ‘Em All track, “(Anesthesia) Pulling Teeth.” Hailed as one of the…
5. Ashdown Engineering Debuts MiBass Amp Head
Ashdown Engineering has unveiled their new entry in the compact bass amp space with the new MiBass amp heads. Ashdown says the head, measuring 8.2″ wide, 2.6″ tall and 6.3″ deep with an internal power supply and weighing in at 3.1 pounds, can fit in most standard gig bag pockets. The unit is about half…
6. Eric Czar: 6 String Fretless Bass Sonata
Bassist Eric Czar recorded this beautiful, multi-tracked all-bass composition, using his 6-string fretless. The story behind the bass is interesting too… Eric took an old Ibanez SR-406 6-string bass he bought for $300 and ripped the frets out himself. His advice? “Don’t be fooled by the price tag!”
7. VOX Announces AC1 RhythmVOX Mini Bass Amp
The amp makers at Vox have translated their mini guitar amp to the bass world with the introduction of the AC1 RhythmVOX Bass, a portable practice combo that weighs in at only 19.4 ounces. Similar to its predecessor, the new model includes 66 built-in rhythm/song patterns including 8-beat, blues, funk, reggae, irregular patterns, and more….
8. Squier Releases Matt Freeman Precision Bass
Rancid bassist Matt Freeman now has his own Squier signature Precision Bass, modeled after his favorite personal bass. Freeman explains that “[it] is a ’77 P Bass that I picked up in 1987 for, like, $400 when I was in Operation Ivy. I went all over the world with that bass. And I still have…
9. The New Nashville Cats with Victor Wooten: Live (1991)
Mark O’Connor featured this group including Victor Wooten, Brent Mason and Paul Leim in a live performance in 1991. This group and many other musicians were also recorded on O’Connor’s The New Nashville Cats, released the same year.
PocketGK by PocketLabworks (in collaboration with Gallien Krueger) is the world’s first bass-exclusive iOS bass practice tool. The app was created in an effort to level the playing field for bass players, since there are so many guitar-exclusive apps out there. Features PocketGK features a bass amp with two channels: clean and Boost. Boost offers…
