Archive for May 2011 - Page 4

The Foo Fighters, anchored by bassist Nate Mendel, has announced a U.S. tour spanning September in support of their latest effort, Wasting Light. The album is is their first in four years, following 2007’s Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace. Mendel says the new record has the group getting back to basics. “The last couple of albums in particular, we were...

There’s nothing like a nice jam to make your day. Here, Melvin Lee Davis lays down some funky slap grooves on guitarist Lee Ritenour’s tune “Rio Funk” from the Northsea Jazz Festival in 2009. The man is groovin’ so hard, you can tell even with the sound muted!

David Hughes has released his fourth solo album, entitled Hopeful Romantic. The album features ten of the bassist’s original tunes, revolving around jazz, funk, and jazz/rock fusion. While the bass gets a lot of time to shine on melodies and solos, the album’s tone centers more around the ensemble playing and the compositions. Hughes pulled out his arsenal of basses...

Traveler Guitars has introduced the TB-4P Bass, an electric travel bass designed specifically for practice. Featuring a classic double cutaway design, the bass has several unique features to aid silent practice including a built-in headphone amplifier and a 1/8” aux-in jack for connecting an mp3 player. For increased portability, Traveler removed the headstock and reduced the scale to a 32”...

This week, we’re wrapping up the series on the making of Orchid, an in-depth look at the build process for a custom bass for No Treble’s founder, Corey Brown, by luthier Rick Toone. If you missed the earlier part of the series, check out Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Shaping Contours Sculpting the body is one of the...

Here is a rare clip featuring Jack Casady‘s legendary bass Alembic 001 (dubbed “Mission Control”) in action live with Hot Tuna in 1972 as they wind out on “Come Back Baby”. The video quality is not so good, but there are some very nice shots of the bass that started it all when it comes to high-end custom rigs. You’ll...

Godsmack bassist Robbie Merrill has announced Rock Dawg University, a live lesson series where fans will get to the chance to see, hear and interact with him in an “exclusive and intimate online setting.” Currently, there are 10 sessions scheduled starting May 27th and wrapping up July 5th though the schedule is subject to change due to Merrill’s touring. The...

Q: Every morning, when I wake up at about 5 am to practice my bass, I find that my fingers get cold and blood stops going to them. When I stop and rest, I feel the blood rushing back to them. This started happening since I upgraded my practice time from four hours to about seven hours. Have you ever...

Here’s a clip of French fusion bassist Hadrien Feraud jamming out some solo bass ideas on his signature Ken Smith 5-string. The video was shot by fellow bass monster Janek Gwizdala before he interviewed him.

Bassist Alex Bershadsky has released his latest solo effort, Anonymous. The 8-track album is full of Bershadsky’s fusion compositions, with heavy influences from jazz, funk, and R&B. The final two tracks are his arrangements of the traditional song “Ma’oz Tzur,” on which he plays solo bass, and Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The band on the album proves its versatility...

Meet Ryan Ladd, a bassist from Placerville, California and our player in the spotlight for May 17, 2011. Bio: I’ve been playing bass guitar my whole life. I’m in a progressive rock band called “Crimson Sky.” I also play solo bass, and I’m working on an album. I’m what you would call a sonic omnivore, meaning I listen to and...

As we reported back in March, the original members of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones have reunited to record Rocket Science, released today. Pianist/harmonica player Howard Levy returned to the group for the first time since 1991, with bassist Victor Wooten, percussionist/drummer Roy “Futureman” Wooten and banjoist and leader Bela Fleck. The group wanted to avoid doing the “reunion thing”,...