Top 10: New Bass Gear, Old School Gear, The Week’s Top Bass Videos and More

Last week was a week of more gear, old and new. In the new category, No Treble readers enjoyed the news about the Ultra-Light Bass from Traveler Guitar, the new Demonator 4 “Chaos” Bass from Dean, and the unique DevilWing Bass from Oktober. In Old School, we took a look at Jay Fortier‘s 1963 Fender Jazz bass, including the great story on how he bought the bass in 1966. Rounding out the top gear stories is our Bass of the Week, the Kristall Solid electric bass.

Top billing in the videos category goes to Jacogrow, and his “Improv (Fast) Fretless” performance, Brian Bromberg’s take on Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child”, and Pino Palladino’s magic fretless work on Paul Young’s “Wherever I Lay My Hat”.

Plus, Austin Underhill, our Player Spotlight for the week, and a look at ThumbJam, the iOS app for creating and performing music.

Here is the top 10, most viewed stories and videos on No Treble for the week of March 4 – 10, 2012.

Traveler Guitar Unveils the Ultra-Light Bass

1. Traveler Guitar Unveils the Ultra-Light Bass

New for 2012 is the Traveler Ultra-Light Bass, an extremely lightweight and compact bass guitar. The whole instrument measures 33 3/4? in length and weighs in at a mere three pounds and 6.5 ounces. Built from a solid piece of Eastern American Hard Maple, the Ultra-Light Bass features a removable metal lap-rest and a built…

Old School: 1963 Fender Jazz Bass

2. Old School: 1963 Fender Jazz Bass

In our last edition of Old School, we shared Mark Anderson’s 1963 Fender Shoreline Gold Precision bass. This time, we’re showcasing Fender’s Jazz bass from the same year, and specifically Jay Fortier‘s ’63 Jazz. Fender introduced the first Jazz in March, 1960, becoming the company’s second bass model after the Precision. In 1963, Fender replaced…

Dean Introduces Demonator 4 “Chaos” Bass

3. Dean Introduces Demonator 4 “Chaos” Bass

Among the new basses announced by Dean at the 2012 NAMM show is the new signature model for Morbid Angel’s bass player David “Evil D” Vincent. The Demonator 4 “Chaos” Bass was custom designed by Vincent and Dean to match the bassist’s playing style. The bass features a mahogany top and a 34? scale, set…

Jacogrow: Improv (Fast) Fretless

4. Jacogrow: Improv (Fast) Fretless

We first featured bassist Choi Dong-Ju (aka “jacogrow”) about two years ago and his video “Fretless Bass Improv”. Here he is once again, with a video he titles “Improv (Fast) Fretless”. His three-finger technique is obviously inspired by the great Gary Willis, and the closest we’ve heard to the original himself. Jacogrow even plays this…

Brian Bromberg: “Voodoo Child”

5. Brian Bromberg: “Voodoo Child”

Brian Bromberg pays tribute to Jimi Hendrix in this clip, playing both standard and piccolo bass, and taking a few tasty solos along the way. We love it when bassists cover Hendrix. So much so, we made a top 10 list last year.

Bass of the Week: Kristall Solid Electric Bass

6. Bass of the Week: Kristall Solid Electric Bass

German builder Andreas Kristall makes a host of impressive basses, including this week’s bass of the week: The Kristall Solid. Available in 4, 5, and 6-string models, the Solid sports a singlecut design with bolt on construction. Kristall says the bass was built for “Rock character, sound, look, and feel.” As each piece is made…

Paul Young: “Wherever I Lay My Hat” Live, with Pino Palladino (1985)

7. Paul Young: “Wherever I Lay My Hat” Live, with Pino Palladino (1985)

I never cared for the 80?s music scene (then or now). But when I listen to Paul Young’s recordings, I’m amazed how Pino Palladino‘s bass lines have aged so well, even if the rest of the music of that era hasn’t. Here’s Paul Young and company performing the laid back, fretless-focused “Wherever I Lay My…

Oktober Introduces Production Version of DevilWing Bass

8. Oktober Introduces Production Version of DevilWing Bass

After first introducing it a year and a half ago, Oktober Guitars is now making a production model of their DevilWing bass guitar in addition to the U.S. Custom Shop version. The bass was designed by Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and is aptly part of the company’s Von Frankenstein line. The DevilWing features…

Player Spotlight: Austin Underhill

9. Player Spotlight: Austin Underhill

Meet Austin Underhill, a twelve-year vet of the low end who has one of the best lines we’ve heard when describing what he does for a living: “a freelance bassist both day and night”. Austin is our player in the spotlight for the week of March 6, 2012. Bio: Home grown in Napa, California, Austin…

ThumbJam: A Look at the Music Performance and Creation App for iOS

10. ThumbJam: A Look at the Music Performance and Creation App for iOS

I first heard about ThumbJam from Richard Bona in the Blue Note Tokyo green room while we were both working with the Jaco Pastorius Big Band. (I’m setting this up not to brag, but rather to let you know that when a master like Bona raves about a music app, we all listen!) The app…

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