Archive for January 2013 - Page 2

James LoMenzo teamed up with drummer Mike Portnoy during the Bonzo Bash NAMM Jam, which celebrates the life and work of the late John Bonham. The duo jammed out “How Many More Times” from Led Zeppelin’s self-titled album, locking in perfectly to the groove.

String Harmonies has released their latest effort, Trinity. The string trio, which consists of Vik Momjian on six-string bass, Antranik Kzirian on Oud and Yervand Kalajian on violin, weave a beautiful mix of modern and traditional Armenian music that soothes and excites. Momjian’s bass serves as a solid foundation with a fat, gorgeous tone. Throwing in chordal work from time...

Aguilar has introduced the Super Singles and the DCB pickups, two new pickup series for bass. Both types of pickups are wound in the company’s New York City factory and will be available in a variety of 4-, 5-, and 6-string standard soapbar sizes. The Super Singles offer a single coil sound in a soapbar size, Aguilar says, going on...

Schecter and Nikki Sixx have teamed up to release the “Schecter Sixx” Bass, a 4-string signature model for the Motley Crue bassist. Sixx, who also is an accomplished author and radio show host, collaborated with the company to create the instrument. “It was an exciting and creative process to work with Schecter on the new Schecter Sixx Signature Series Bass,”...

La Bella Strings has introduced the 760T White Nylon Tape Wound Set of bass strings. The new strings differ from their 760N counterparts by being made with a transparent nylon wrapped over stainless steal underlays. La Bella notes that the White Nylon set offers a brighter sound and smoother finish for easier gliding between notes. The 760T set can be...

Kala is unveiling a new U-Bass at this year’s Winter NAMM show called the Rumbler. The new ukulele-sized bass offers new custom engineered electronics and proprietary strings. The Rumbler’s electronics include a piezo pickup matched with an active EQ and built-in tuner. Its strings are Kala Silver Rumbler Strings, which are made with a special Nylgut compound with calcium carbonate...

Just when you think no one is watching… someone comes along and compliments you on your technique. Technique? Really? Of all things… This past weekend, I played a rock ’n roll gig at a smoke-filled, small-town bar with Coors and Miller lights ablaze. A few older gentlemen approached me during a break and asked: “what did you play before bass?”...

Our friend Ben Blumgart sent this one in, noting that we could cover more punk videos. The clip is a playalong of the bass line to A Wilhelm Scream’s “The Horse” played by Vini of the Brazilian band Fall Over, who goes by Vinniescream on YouTube. Vini absolutely nails the high energy tune and makes the overdriven tapping sections look...

Warwick has a new RockBass version of their hollow body Star Bass model. As with the rest of the series, the RockBass Star Bass is built in China and checked by a German Warwick employee for quality inspection. The Star Bass is made with a laminated maple body and a maple neck with Ekanga veneer stripes, while different fingerboards are...

Clear your schedule, because you’ll want to work on your chops after watching this. Craig Butterfield has released a new video for Chick Corea’s “Got a Match?” While Butterfield shreds in thumb position, he accompanies himself as a veritable one-man orchestra style in an adaptation of the big band chart by Mike Bogle. Adding to the groove is drummer Marc...

The No Treble crew has you covered for all the latest bass gear, bassist news, videos and stories. We’ll be at the 2013 Winter NAMM Show all four days, so keep it lock on this page for our ongoing coverage.

Avenged Sevenfold’s Johnny Christ has joined Schecter’s artist roster and has a new signature bass with the company. The Schecter Johnny Christ Signature Bass features a brand new body shape and headstock. Built with an ash body, 3-piece maple neck and ebony fingerboard, the new bass is decked out in black with gold hardware. The hardware is accented by gold...