Weekly Top Ten: The Best in Bass for the Week of November 18-24

by Corey Brown Sunday, November 25th, 2012

Here are the most read bass stories, lessons, videos and more, for the week of November 18-24, 2012.

Thanks for reading, commenting and sharing!

1. Electro-Harmonix Announces Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi

Electro-Harmonix has unveiled their latest bass specific pedal with the Deluxe Bass Big Muff Pi. Building on its predecessor, the Deluxe has the same Volume, Tone, and Sustain controls, but adds a -10dB input pad, a Blend knob and a noise gate. Another new feature is a foot-switchable crossover section that’s split into two parts…

2. Six String Fretless: Beyond Creation’s “Omnipresent Perception”

You don’t hear a lot of fretless in death metal (save for Steve DiGiorgio and Jeroen Paul Thesseling). So it’s cool to hear the instrument add a new element to a genre. A good example is the band Beyond Creation, featuring bassist Dominic “Forest” Lapointe on six-string fretless…

3. Forked Fingering: A Guide to Comfortable Double Stops for Bassists

Playing fourths across strings on the upright bass can be fraught with problems, especially when we are playing double stops. Sometimes it is appropriate to “bar” the notes using the same finger like this: However, this can create a clamping of the hand and needless tension, which in turn limits our facility and ability to adjust quickly…

4. Jason Newsted Launches New Online Presence to Connect with Fans

Jason Newsted is ready to reconnect with his fans, as evidenced by a new official web presence, including his own website and social media outlets. The former Metallica bassist announced the news with a YouTube video…

5. Stanley Clarke: Acoustic Bass Solo

It never ceases to amaze me how musical Stanley Clarke is, and how easy he makes it look when he’s playing. Plus, he looks cool too. Enjoy.

6. When The Gig Gets Canceled…

Given the recent meteorological events, particularly Hurricane Sandy, as well as the threat of snowstorms during the approaching winter season, I figured it was appropriate to tackle this topic. The weather is just one of the curveballs that may get tossed our way… artists, agents and club owners tend to mess up our plans as well…

7. Simon Fitzpatrick: “Karma Police” for Solo Bass

Here’s a recent video by bassist Simon Fitzpatrick, this time showing off his incredible solo bass arranging and playing skills with an all-bass cover of Radiohead’s “Karma Police”. Simon is playing his 6-string GB Spitfire bass. Awesomeness.

8. Chuck Rainey Loses Home to Fire

Chuck Rainey has been dealt another tragedy just 12 months after suffering a stroke, as the 72-year old bassist and family have lost their home to a fire on November 15th…

9. Eric Clapton Announces 2013 Tour Featuring Willie Weeks

Eric Clapton will be hitting the road in 2013 for a U.S. tour, set to kick off March 14th at in Phoenix, Arizona and culminating in the 2013 Crossroads Guitar Festival at New York City’s Madison Square Garden. The guitar legend has once again enlisted bassist Willie Weeks to lay down the groove…

10. Player Spotlight: Kody Audette

Meet Kody Audette, a bass player from Albuquerque, NM who loves the bass as much as we do, and is as diverse a bassist as they come. He has a pretty impressive sounding day gig too. Kody is our player in the spotlight for the week of November 20, 2012…