Archive for September 2012 - Page 8
Renaud Garcia-Fons: Tiny Desk Concert
Whenever there’s a new video featuring bassist Renaud Garcia-Fons, I’ll drop everything to watch it. NPR recently hosted Garcia-Fons in their Tiny Desk Concert series where the bassist showed the world his approach to bass, music and his love for various genres. Garcia-Fons kicks things off with “Aqa Jan”, a tune we featured back in early 2011.
Rush’s “Clockwork Angels” Tour Kicks Off Today
Rush is kicking off their North America tour today in Manchester, NH. The tour is in support of Clockwork Angels, the group’s 20th studio album, released in June. The 33-date tour covering the U.S. and Canada will run through December, and following a five month break, the trio hits the road once again to tour across Europe. Clockwork Angels debuted...
Bass of the Week: Luthman Natural
Luthman is a company that puts out some pretty intricate work yet also knows simple elegance, the latter of which is evidenced in their Natural model. Handmade in France by luthier Thierry Etienne, the Natural has a unique, fluid body style with customizable options. Available in 4-, 5-, 6-, and 7-string configurations, standard features on the Natural include an ovangkol...
Bass Transcription: Evan Marien’s Arrangement of Jaco Pastorius’ “Havona”
Evan Marien‘s fantastic take on the Jaco Pastorius-penned classic “Havona” was high on my list of pieces to transcribe for this monthly feature. Evan’s breathtaking melodic soloing on the chord changes simultaneously calls to mind the spirit of the original, while showcasing his own unique melodic voice. Skip to the transcription and video “Havona” has a 22-bar form consisting of:...
John Entwistle: Isolated Bass on The Who’s “Sea And Sand”
No Treble reader Miles Graf-Brennen shares this epic isolated bass (mostly) track of John Entwistle, performing along with the Who on “Sea And Sand”. We’ll let Miles set it up: “This is a pretty random choice, because the bass part on this album are so critical to both its lyrical emotion and its rocking drive. Listening to the isolated bass...
Aphex Launches Audio Xciter App
Professional audio technology company Aphex has introduced the Audio Xciter Music App, a mobile application designed to improve the quality of digital audio through the use of their proprietary Xciter digital signal processor. The app, which works with music as well as audio books and podcasts, makes audio sound more dynamic with Low, Medium, and High presets as well as...
Vox Introduces Apache Series Bass Guitars
Vox has expanded their bass lineup with the Apache series of basses, which pick up where their predecessors from the ’60s left off. The new travel instruments are separated by body shape, as the Apache 1 Bass features Vox’s classic Teardrop shape while the Apache 2 Bass features their Phantom body style. Both models have an onboard amplification system complete...
Creating Bass Lines: Getting Your Mind Right
Q: I’m struggling with the thought process behind coming up with bass lines. What advice would you give for ways to approach and think about constructing lines? A: This is another question that is ripe for comments, as everyone probably has something unique to them going through their minds when developing a bass line. To start, a lot of what...
Under the Bridge: Double “V” Projection’s Bass & Drum Cover
A couple of month’s ago, we introduced Double “V” Projection, the collaboration between bassist Viaceslav Svedov and drummer Valentin Tarasov. The duo record remotely, with Viaceslav in Cologne, Germany and Valentin from Moscow. Here again are the guys, this time with their bass and drum cover of the Red Hot Chili Pepper’s “Under the Bridge”. Nice and groovy.
Reader Spotlight: Lucy Kiefert
It is always a thrill to share the story of one of the next generation’s great up-and-coming bassists. Meet Lucy Kiefert, who at the young age of 12 is already on the path to something special. Plus, her grandmother plays bass too. Now that’s our kind of family. Lucy is our player in the spotlight for the week of September...
Vox Introduces Two New Multi-Effects Bass Pedals
Vox has announced the StompLab series of multi-effects pedals, including the StompLab IB and IIB pedals for bass. The respective stompboxes offer 60 and 61 types of modeling including amp, cabinet, and effects with 100 preset programs. All the effects were created from Vox’s VT+ series of modeling amps as well as the Tonelab series of multi-effect units. Dressed in...
H.M.S Adriatic: Gold & Glitter
No Treble reader Travis Moore is the bassist for H.M.S Adriatic, a band from Reading, UK. This three-piece band, which also includes guitarist/vocalist Chris Hall and drummer Danny Southwell, describes themselves as a group “incorporating the ideals of fusion and drawing from a plethora of influences spanning Jazz to Grunge.” Travis sent us the group’s new video of their tune,...