Rewind: The Best Bass Videos, New Basses from Fender, Cort, Luthman and Le Fay, Plus the Rhonda Smith Interview

Here are the most read, most popular stories and features on No Treble for the week of July 10 – 16, 2011.

Top 10: The Best Bass Videos (June 2011)

1. Top 10: The Best Bass Videos (June 2011)

This week, we’re taking a look back at the top 10 most popular bass videos from June, 2011, based on the number of views by No Treble readers. 1. Esperanza Spalding: I Know You Know / Smile Like That Live Here’s a great clip of Esperanza Spalding sporting a Fender fretless and performing live in…

Jaco Pastorius: Solo / Chromatic Fantasy / Blackbird – Live in Italy (1986)

2. Jaco Pastorius: Solo / Chromatic Fantasy / Blackbird – Live in Italy (1986)

Ingrid Pastorius shared this video of Jaco Pastorius performing solo in front of an audience in Italy in 1986. This performance includes Chromatic Fantasy/Blackbird, which appears on Jaco’s Word of Mouth album. Always great to see new footage of Jaco! Have a video to share? Send it to [email protected].

Fender Introduces Blacktop Series Basses

3. Fender Introduces Blacktop Series Basses

Fender has incorporated some low end into their Blacktop series with the introduction of the Blacktop Precision and Blacktop Jazz Bass guitars. The line of basses are made for a thick, heavy sound and are what Fender describes as “two of the most distinctive iterations of the instruments.” Built on an alder body, the Blacktop…

Rush: Xanadu, Live (1977)

4. Rush: Xanadu, Live (1977)

Old school Rush! As usual, three guys sound like eight as Rush performs “Xanadu” in 1977.

Le Fay Introduces the Herr Schwarz Grant Stinnett D-Tuner Bass

5. Le Fay Introduces the Herr Schwarz Grant Stinnett D-Tuner Bass

Le Fay Basses has unveiled the Herr Schwarz Grant Stinnett D-Tuner Model, a 34” scale bass with a D-Tuner on each string. This allows for alternate tunings on the fly. The bass is handmade at the Le Fay shop in Germany and features an Ash body, 5-piece Maple neck and Rosewood fingerboard. The hardware and…

Cort Introduces Sandberg Designed Arona Series Bass Guitars

6. Cort Introduces Sandberg Designed Arona Series Bass Guitars

Cort has teamed up with the German bass builders at Sandberg to create the Arona series of bass guitars. Available in 4 or 5-string versions, the Arona marries Sandberg’s engineering and designs with Cort’s production. The Arona is available with a swamp ash or alder body depending on the finish, and has a 3-piece bolt-on…

Practical Theory: Practice Tips for Scales (Part 1)

7. Practical Theory: Practice Tips for Scales (Part 1)

Practicing scales in a musical way helps keep things interesting. In this lesson, we kick off with some tips for practicing scales by using different intervals, arpeggios and fingerings. We’re also introducing a new approach to looking at the Major scale formula. Normally, we view it as 7 different steps (8, if you count the…

An Interview with Rhonda Smith

8. An Interview with Rhonda Smith

Bassist, singer and songwriter Rhonda Smith‘s musical resume is as impressive as they come. Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia to a musical family, Rhonda started on baritone horn, keyboard and guitar. Picking up the bass, she said, was all thanks to her brother. “He brought a bass home one day and told me not to…

Fret Tester: A Look at the Fretboard Trainer App for iOS

9. Fret Tester: A Look at the Fretboard Trainer App for iOS

I am often asked how one can better learn the fretboard and how one can improve their reading. I generally talk about certain things I’ve spent time studying and how to practice with intention and focus, the importance of repetition (to make information stick) and suggest a few books, and so on. I now will…

Luthman Basses Announces Mystic First Custom Bass

10. Luthman Basses Announces Mystic First Custom Bass

Custom bass builder Luthman Basses has announced their latest model, the Mystic First. Mystic First is a passive bass with bolt-on construction. Bodies are made with the bassist’s choice of ash, alder, ovangkol or mahogany woods, and the neck is made with either wenge with maple accents or the reverse, maple with wenge accents. Fingerboard…

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