Weekly Top 10: New Bass Gear, The Best Bass Videos and the Best Bass How To’s

How much bass can you take? Hopefully at least enough to get you through this weekly top 10 list of bass greatness.

Here are the 10 most read/most watched stories and videos on No Treble for the week of July 8 – 14, 2012.

Victor Wooten: “Isn’t She Lovely”, Live Solo Bass Performance

1. Victor Wooten: “Isn’t She Lovely”, Live Solo Bass Performance

In April, Victor Wooten held a music clinic at a music school in Mechanicsville, Virginia. One of the songs he performed was his solo bass take on Stevie Wonder’s “Isn’t She Lovely”. The folks who shared this video said that this was recorded “at 8am on a Sunday morning, and during a torrential downpour…”

Sterling By Music Man Unveils S.U.B. Ray4 and Ray5 Basses

2. Sterling By Music Man Unveils S.U.B. Ray4 and Ray5 Basses

Sterling by Music Man has unveiled the new S.U.B. line of basses, which the company says is meant to make Music Man designs available at more affordable pricing. The new line includes the Ray4 and Ray5, which are cousins to the Music Man Stingray 4 and 5 basses…

Vulfpeck: “Prom”, Live in Studio

3. Vulfpeck: “Prom”, Live in Studio

I’ve been listening to Vulfpeck’s EP, Mit Peck a lot lately. The band – which is the Vulfrecords Records’ house rhythm section – is so funky, thanks in large part to bassist Joe Dart who just lives in the pocket. But the whole group just grooves…

TC Electronic Unveils BH250 Bass Amplifier for Summer NAMM

4. TC Electronic Unveils BH250 Bass Amplifier for Summer NAMM

With Summer NAMM just around the corner, TC Electronic has unveiled their most compact bass amplifier to date: the BH250. Weighing in at just four pounds, the Class D amplifier boasts 250-watts while packing in the company’s intelligently contoured tone controls and TonePrint among other features. The BH250’s tone controls are tailored specifically for bass…

Bass of the Week: Zakrzewski Exclusive

5. Bass of the Week: Zakrzewski Exclusive

Polish luthier Piotr Zakrzewski has some pretty great bass designs, including his Exclusive model. The mid-range of his three basic basses, the Exclusive is a double-cut bass with the lower horn being significantly deeper to provide easy access to the very end of the fingerboard. The Exclusive EX1 01 really caught my eye…

Triplets: A How To Guide to Timing and Practice

6. Triplets: A How To Guide to Timing and Practice

Damian answers this question in this week’s column: “Can you give me some exercises to play with a triplet feel? I’d also love a comparision of how the division is different from a binary feel.”

Funk Bass Fills

7. Funk Bass Fills

Berklee bass professor Anthony Vitti has released his latest method book, this time focusing on funk bass. Funk Bass Fills offers up bass fills spanning funk, soul, R&B and hip-hop styles, playing fills in different positions and keys, funk rhythms and rhythmic patterns and more. The 72-page book comes with a companion play-along CD…

Steve Bailey Named Chair of Berklee’s Bass Department

8. Steve Bailey Named Chair of Berklee’s Bass Department

After 40 years at the helm, Rich Appleman retired as Chair of the Berklee College of Music’s Bass Department in May of this year. During his tenure, Appleman helped shape the face of the school by growing the bass department by leaps and bounds. Succeeding Appleman this fall will be bassist Steve Bailey…

Weather Report: “1” (1971)

9. Weather Report: “1” (1971)

Weather Report emerged thanks in large part to the late-60?s music of Miles Davis, particularly Bitches Brew. It was on that session (and In A Silent Way) that the band’s cofounders – Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter – first collaborated. Soon after, the first iteration of Weather Report came together, anchored by bassist Miroslav Vitous….

Duran Duran’s “Rio”: John Taylor’s Isolated Bass Line

10. Duran Duran’s “Rio”: John Taylor’s Isolated Bass Line

John Taylor really brought it in the Duran Duran tune “Rio”. His active bass line locks in with the drums and drives the song forward. Luckily, we have a video of Taylor’s isolated bass line to scope out his groove and tone. Thanks to Facebook friend Leon Wilson for sending this one in…

Get daily bass updates.

Get the latest news, videos, lessons, and more in your inbox every morning.

Share your thoughts