Archive for June 2012 - Page 3

Steve Uccello‘s latest release is Fire Times, an album on which he shares low end duties with UK solo bassist Steve Lawson. The group, dubbed Clarified Birds, is rounded out by drummer Mike Shannon and multi-instrumentalist and singer Dayan Kai. Fire Times came about after Uccello started thinking of arranging for a single tune he wrote. “I had this piece...

As bassists, we love when there’s a great drummer by our side. (And the opposite is among the worst experiences in life.) We should all be so lucky to stand next to one of the all-time greats: drummer Billy Cobham. In this live performance in 2002, Cobham’s group took the stage to perform “Red Baron”. Bassist Stefan Rademacher gets the...

Hal Leonard set their sights on the music of that little ol’ band from Texas with the release of Best Of ZZ Top For Bass. Part of the “Bass Recorded Versions” series, the 64-page book focuses on Dusty Hill’s bass lines on 15 ZZ Top tunes from over the years. The music is presented in both standard notation and tab....

Reunion Blues has introduced the Aero Series, including the AERO-2B Bass Guitar Case. The new line takes a cue from their RB Continental line, the Aero-2B features the company’s shock-absorbing Flexoskeleton system, reinforced EVA impact panels, and a strong interior neck-brace support system while offering a lighter, slimmer design. Lined with quilted red velvet, the case has a “Zero G”...

We see and cover a ton of basses here at No Treble (I know, tough life). And while the features are often as varied as they get, they also vary wildly on price. Many basses today are topping the $5,000 mark. Some by a lot. We hear more about price from readers when the basses hit these upper ranges than...

Following two vastly different solo recordings, guitarist Pat Metheny has once again turned his attention to the quartet format with the release of Unity Band. The guitarist set his sights on a new bassist this time around, enlisting Ben Williams for the record, and rounding out the group with drummer Antonio Sanchez and saxophonist Chris Potter. Williams, who won the...

Eastwood continues their bass lineup expansion with the addition of the Hurricane Bass. The Hurricane joins the recently announced Stormbird, offering a new 4-stringer based on the 1965 Magnatone Hurricane and bringing together elements of P and Tele basses. The Hurricane’s body is basswood, finished in a classic Sunburst matched with a maple neck and rosewood fingerboard. Building upon the...

In part one of Getting to Know Your Bass, we discussed the importance of knowing what the tone knobs do on your instrument. Now, we’ll continue our discussion by learning about how your instrument’s neck influences where, what and how you play. We’ll begin with scale length and how it may impact your tone or musical choices. Then, we’ll get...

Our friend Sylvain Gros-Desormeaux sent this video to us saying, “this is sick bass!!” Of course, we pretty much knew that as soon as we saw Hadrien Feraud’s name attached to it. Filmed during the 2012 Winter NAMM show, here’s Hadrien performing with David “Fingers” Haynes and Randy Emata. Enjoy.

John Harrison, the bassist and one of the founding members for the British rock band Hawkwind, has passed away following a long battle with Huntington’s disease. He was just two days shy of reaching 70 years old. Harrison died on May 26th, 2012, but the announcement of his passing was delayed, eventually being reported by way of the Hawkwind’s official...

Surine Basses decided to go all out on their Regency model with this “Rainbow” 8-string bass. The hollow-body bass has a stunning 32-strip laminate top and matching headstock with a variety of exotic woods. Equally impressive is the 7-piece thru neck made of rock maple and purple heart, which is topped by an ebony fingerboard. And if that’s not enough,...

For Kevin Brubaker, an aesthetic mod led to a lifetime of luthiery. Coupling his need to tweak his bass with his background in woodworking, he soon started building his own basses. Since his start nearly 30 years ago, Brubaker has created over a thousand custom instruments. Brubaker Guitars often feature distinctive book-matched tops with exotic woods and extraordinary finishes that...