Archive for August 2014 - Page 2

Royal Blood, which has been generating buzz in the music press and online for almost a year, now has its . The U.K duo creates a massive rock vibe, even though the only instrumentation comes from vocalist Mike Kerr’s bass and Ben Thatcher’s drums. In our interview with Kerr, he said the group’s epic sound came “more [from] curiosity than...

For bassists looking to record, Focusrite has just announced the Scarlett Solo, a USB interface with dual inputs and outputs. The device is a continuation of the Scarlett series and retains the recording capabilities in a smaller package. The Scarlett Solo has a mic pre and high headroom instrument input for flexibility. Other features include direct latency-free monitoring, 24-bit audio...

Q: As I’m getting pretty deeply into a right hand technique using a ramp, light touch, etc… I’d like to hear your thoughts on fingernail care, particularly for your plucking hand. I keep mine pretty short (it’s hard to open canned drinks), and I’m guessing yours might be similar. Also wondering if you so anything to keep up your nail...

Tim “Rawbiz” Williams, who played with artists from Toni Braxton to Suicidal Tendencies, has passed away. Suicidal Tendencies announced the new on their Facebook page. “It’s with complete sadness that we have to announce the passing of bassists Tim “Rawbiz” Williams,” the band wrote. “Tim played bass for Suicidal Tendencies for almost four years until recently. Tim was a monster...

Vulfpeck is back with a brand new album, Fugue State – and it is killer. This video features the second track on the album, “1612”. Joe Dart is laying down the killer groove as usual, and singer Antwaun Stanley makes a return appearance. Jack Stratton is on guitar (and composed the tune), Theo Katzman is on drums and Woody Goss...

The Bad Plus, on the heels of releasing its take on The Rite of Spring earlier this year, has now released its first album of original music since 2012’s Made Possible. is an album “rich with mystery,” according to the website for the leaderless avant-jazz piano-bass-drums trio. The group is devoted to exploring musical forms birthed from jazz, and those...

Meet Luke “JaFFer” Ferguson, a bassist from Australia who followed in his father’s footsteps as a bassist, but it was a different sort of beginning for him than you might imagine. We love JaFFer’s story – he’s living the dream. JaFFer is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of August 25, 2014. Bio: I grew up in...

As bassists, it is important that we know our chords and arpeggios. Coupled with that is the importance of knowing the entire fretboard. In this exercise, we’ll play only three notes – the C Major triad. To make it fun, I’ve set it up as a reggae-style groove. As you’ll see in the video below, I cover the entire fretboard...

Nik West lays it down in this live performance of her song “Forbidden Fruit.” Drawing from R&B and funk, West leads the band on bass and vocals complete with a tasty solo at the three-minute mark.

Motörhead has added something extra to its 2013 Aftershock album — a live CD. The package, called , features not only the original album, but also the bonus material, culled from the band’s mini Best of the West Coast Tour earlier this year. The live recording features Aftershock tunes and Motörhead classics, like “Ace of Spades.” Fronted by bassist, singer...

This week we check out the SB-2 by Scott Guitar Works of Louisville, Kentucky. The bass is built to order and has a plethora of options, but its central point is its unique body shape. Scott shaves down to a minimalist design with a short lower horn and thinner, longer upper horn while keeping it curvy in the lower half...

This is a question I get often from both serious students and amateurs alike. Since the answer depends on a person’s goals, and every person is unique, there is no single answer for everyone. However, I can make some general suggestions. My suggestions will presuppose a few things: You practice on a regular basis Daily, 6-7 days a week. This...