Archive for December 2013 - Page 4
Norm Stockton: “O Come All Ye Faithful” Solo Bass Arrangement
Norm Stockton has a knack for making unbelievably great solo bass arrangements of songs. This year he’s put his talent into the classic Christmas carol “O Come All Ye Faithful.” “I hope you enjoy the music as much as I enjoyed performing it for you,” Stockton shares. “May the joy and hope of the season flood into your life today...
Mumpbeak Releases Debut Featuring Tony Levin, Bill Laswell, Lorenzo Feliciati and Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz
When keyboardist Ray Powell set out to fill out his project band Mumpbeak, he went straight to the top of prog rock royalty. Mumpbeak’s features drummer Pat Mastelotto and a host of talented bassists: Bill Laswell, Tony Levin, Lorenzo Feliciati, and Shanir Ezra Blumenkranz. Described as “art by committee,” the project takes on shades of King Crimson, Yes and Gentle...
Eddie Gomez, John Patitucci & Steve Bailey: Emmanuel
Steve Bailey shared this amazing bass and percussion arrangement of “Emmanuel” so we could share it with you this holiday season. This arrangement features Eddie Gomez, John Patitucci and Bailey, along with Patrick Simard on percussion. Here’s the note from this Steve: From Eddie, John, and Steve, to our esteemed colleagues! John Patitucci brought the melody and orchestral bass choir,...
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2014 Inductees Announced
Cleveland’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has officially announced the 2014 inductees. The artists that will be joining the Hall next year include Nirvana, KISS, Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Cat Stevens, and Linda Ronstadt. The E Street Band will be given the Award for Musical Excellence. Among the artists are bassists Krist Novoselic (Nirvana), Gene Simmons (KISS), and...
Holiday Gigging: A Moveable Feast
Hear ye, hear ye, it’s holiday time again. Time to gear up for big dinners, excessive shopping, family gatherings – and yes – holiday gigs. It’s time for celebration, relaxation, days off from work, and days in cleaning and preparing for company. As a professional musician, the holidays have quite an impact, both on the music that is played and...
Bobby Vega: “Silent Night” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”
Grab your egg nog and have a seat by the fire, because Bobby Vega is about to put you in the Christmas mood. Vega plays two beautiful solo bass versions of the carols “Silent Night” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” on his Ribbecke bass and his 1966 Fender Jazz, affectionately named “Gumby.”
Bass of the Week: Spear Guitars Flextool
Can’t decide between a P, J, or MM bass? Spear has you covered with the Flextool, a bass that’s loaded with all three pickup types. The Flextool is built with an alder body, Canadian Hard Maple neck and Indian Rosewood fingerboard. Its pickups and hardware are all Spear’s own brand. The pickups include a single coil in the neck position,...
Old School: 1963 Fender Precision Bass
The 1963 Fender Precision Bass marked some changes to the long-running standard in electric basses. Earlier this year, Fender reintroduced the ’63 Precision Bass as part of their American Vintage line. At that time, the company shared some of this instrument’s unique history: “The year 1963 marks an important moment in Precision Bass history, because that’s when a comfortable new...
Alberto Rigoni and Enrico Buttol: Jingle Bells
We’re kicking off the holiday season as we do every year: bass style. Bassist Alberto Rigoni and beatboxer Enrico Buttol help us do just that with this lighthearted version of “Jingle Bells.” Happy holidays!
Mooer Introduces Noise Killer Micro Pedal
Mooer has introduced the Noise Killer, a noise gate fitted into a micro pedal configuration. The Noise Killer eliminates noise and feedback in signal chains. It has a simplistic control layout with a single rotary knob to set the threshold and a two-position switch to toggle between a hard or soft knee. The threshold can be set from -70dB to...
Adjusting to the Upper Register on a 6-String Bass
Q: I have an issue with playing my 6-string bass so I searched the No Treble archives and found that you once wrote tips for making the shift from 4- to 6-string bass. I followed your advice there, but when playing a two octave scale past 12th fret (lets say F-Ionian), beginning on the B string, its hard (for me...
Lianne La Havas: Bass/Voice Duet of Little Dragon’s “Twice”
There’s something beautiful about stripping a song down to just bass and voice, especially when that voice comes from Lianne La Havas. In this gorgeous rendition of Little Dragon’s “Twice,” bassist Chris Dagger lays down the song’s hypnotic bass line and harmonics.