Archive for January 2014 - Page 7

Schecter has introduced the Session series of basses, which they describe as combining “no frills looks with high end electronics.” The series includes four and five string basses in the company’s Stiletto and Riot body styles. Each of the models features a contoured swamp ash body and 6-bolt Canadian Maple neck. The 24-fret maple fingerboard is accented with ebony offset...

I don’t know what to say, other than “Watch this and hold on to your hats!”

The Aristocrats are back for another round of world touring in support of their second release, Culture Clash. The supertrio of guitarist Guthrie Govan, drummer Marco Minneman and bassist Bryan Beller will start things off with a string of dates in the West Coast and Mexico before heading to Europe for an extensive 10-week tour. “These will be first-ever live...

This week we check out the Classic 5 String Bass from Zoov Guitars, a custom shop based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While each bass is made to order by luthier Nicholas Lacroix, this particular fretless version really stands out for its beauty and attention to detail. The bass has a beautiful assortment of woods. Its neck is tigerwood is topped...

Aguilar has expanded their pickup line with the AG 4M and AG 5M Music Man-Style bass pickups. The humbuckers were designed to recreate the classic Stingray tone while enhancing string-to-string balance, consistency, and harmonic content. They fit as a direct replacement for basses with this style pickup. The company says the pickups are wired in parallel to give players “crisp...

Our Twitter friend Valeria Lecko sent this video to us, and it looks like Jim Bennett is inspiring bassists out there with his all-bass Daft Punk covers. This is Nico Aranda showing off some excellent technique – and some cool videography – in his performance of “Get Lucky”.

Gov’t Mule will be heading out next month in support of their latest album, Shout, which came out in October. The trek kicks of February 6th at Columbia, South Carolina’s Township Auditorium and will snake its way around the South and Midwest U.S. Anchored by bassist Jorgen Carlsson, the legendary southern-fried jam band will also be touring Japan in April...

Swiss luthier Tino Tedesco has unveiled The Primal series of basses, including the 4/21 and 5/21. The new line aims to reduce the amount of options to be able to offer a professional instrument on a budget. “We have retained a lot of important features also present on our other models like the graphite reinforced necks, the 2-way trussrods and...

Q: My question is about timing. I realize that the choice of notes make a line hip, but the rhythm and the timing make the groove! How do you practice timing, Damian? A: Truer words have never been spoken! It’s all about the groove and time-feel (fancy words for “pocket”). Here are some goals for developing your timing and groove:...

Prepare to have your face melted. Steve Jenkins just released this video for the track “Sphere” from his latest album, Steve Jenkins and the Coaxial Flutter. Using some gnarly overdrive, the bassist wastes no time in ripping it up with a heavily syncopated slap riff. The song takes a chilled out intermission before coming back with even heavier riffs.

Meet Kenny Butcher, a multi-instrumentalist who made bass his primary instrument. Kenny impressed us with his wide range of music he performs, from prog metal to gospel. He also has one of the longest gear lists we’ve seen in a while. Kenny is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of January 6, 2014. Bio: I’m Kenny Butcher...

Today we’re going to dive in to the topic of using vibrato in your playing in this beginner/intermediate-level bass lesson. Vibrato is key to expression and better phrasing, making it a vital tool of the trade. In the first example in the video below, we’ll play a rock groove in C. Our line is a simple one, with 4 bars...