Archive for December 2011 - Page 6

It appears Marcus Miller is in the studio working on his new album, according to his Facebook page. Though details are still slim, the iconic bassist announced a few artists that he’s working with. “Working on my new album,” he posted. “In the studio with Sean Jones, Federico Gonzalez Pena, Adam Rogers, Alex Han and Louis Cato. Time to make...

This week we take a look at Chillbass Guitars’ Pantera, a sleek fretless bass that takes its cues from minimalism. The bass has a medium, 32″ scale, which the French bass builder explains lowers the string tension and ultimately aids upper register tones, playability, and adds to a “fat low end.” The Pantera has a swamp ash body, maple neck...

As one of the world’s most respected bass luthiers, Mike Lull’s work has been heard around the world. His Seattle, Washington-based shop has allowed Lull to work on nearly all of the instruments used by bands from the area known as “the grunge capital”, including Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam and others. His story began as many do, with youthful rebellion,...

Facebook friend Jim Cana shared this video with us, featuring Francois Lamouche grooving and playing along to the Maceo Parker tune, “Shake Everything You’ve Got”. The original has Rodney Curtis holding down the low end, and Francois does a great job on the tune. (We only wish it was longer.) Francois shares, “I invite you to listen to the original...

For all you do-it-yourselfer’s out there, JackTight USA released the JackTight, a tool for fixing loose output jacks on basses and guitars. The JackTight works by gripping and stabilizing the jack from the inside, allowing for users to tighten the nut without the jack spinning. In addition to being handy on instruments the JackTight works on any jack, including effects...

Philosophy Amplifiers has entered the bass amplifier scene with the launch of their flagship Philosophy amp, a 200-watt all tube bass amp. The class AB amplifier utilizes three JJ 12ax7 preamp tubes and four JJ KT-88 power tubes for it’s all-tube signal path, which the company explains is capable of both clean and overdriven sounds without the aid of pedals....

Q: Just recently a drummer friend of mine offered me a gig. It’s a little local bar gig, with a fixed payout (around $150 for the night, for the band). My friend suggested we hire a great piano player for the gig, but to get him on this trio, he said we’d have to give him the full payment. I...

Donovan Stokes (aka Dr. D and a regular contributor here) recorded his solo bass arrangement of “Gentle Rain” by Luiz Bonfá for the upcoming Shenandoah Conservatory Jazz Faculty Sampler CD. Luckily, Kevin Johnson was around to film it.

Bassist/composer Joseph Patrick Moore, well known for his contemporary jazz style, has just released a new experimental EP blending that very style with electronica. The result is a three song collection known as XYZ Factor. The three-track EP kicks off with “Yield” (video below), featuring an ambient electronic beat backed by Moore’s bass, with what the bassist describes as a...

Meet Joaquina “Roqui” Lluma, a multi-instrumentalist who currently resides in Denver, Colorado and calls music her day job, night job, weekend job and holiday job. One of our favorite lines in this interview feature: Joaquina says she uses “a TC Helicon distortion/distresser for my backing vocals sometimes when I’m feeling frisky.” Bio: I was born and raised in Buenos Aires,...

We featured several reader-submitted videos in November (one of our favorite things to do!), showcasing the awesome No Treble community of bassists, and the videos they love. This included a Bass Play-Along Week, where bassists play along to their favorite tracks and show off their transcribing and performance skills. Another week featured all-bass covers of famous tunes. Readers responded with...

George Lacson turns in this nice solo bass arrangement and performance of “Unthinkable”, written by Drake and originally produced and performed by Alicia Keys. George’s Warwick Streamer Stage 5-string is tuned B-D-G-D-G for this tune.