Weekly Top 10: More NAMM Bass News, Isolated Bass Week 5, “Speed Demon” Transcribed, Top 10 Bass Videos & More

This week’s top 10 packs a real punch: all 7 of the tracks from our Isolated Bass Week #5 (wrapped into one), a top 10 list inside the top 10 (most popular bass videos of the month), plus more NAMM bass news, and more.

Thanks as always for reading, watching, commenting and sharing.

Isolated Bass Week 5

1. Isolated Bass Week 5

Isolated Bass Week #5 generated a ton of listens, as Isolated Bass Weeks always seem to do. But not without a little bit of controversy (as Isolated Bass Weeks seem to generate)…

Bass Transcription: Federico Malaman’s “Speed Demon”

2. Bass Transcription: Federico Malaman’s “Speed Demon”

Stuart Clayton decided to transcribe Federico Malaman’s arrangement of “Speed Demon” from Michael Jackson’s Bad this month. Stuart calls it “a hyperactive little number with a bass part [programmed synth track] that was just too ridiculous to be real…”

Ernie Ball Announces Music Man Neck Through Basses

3. Ernie Ball Announces Music Man Neck Through Basses

Ernie Ball’s booth at NAMM this year was buzzing with a new neck-through version of their flagship StingRay Bass. Available in four and five-string versions, the StingRay Neck Through is built with a 3-piece maple neck the runs the entire length of its ash body…

Top 10: The Most Watched Bass Videos (January 2015)

4. Top 10: The Most Watched Bass Videos (January 2015)

Fear not… that rumbling sound you hear isn’t anything to be concerned about. It just means it is time for another Top 10 Bass Video list. Here are the most watched videos on No Treble for the month of January, 2015. And what a beautifully diverse list of videos it is…

Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Special” is a Bass-Heavy Affair

5. Mark Ronson’s “Uptown Special” is a Bass-Heavy Affair

Producer Mark Ronson knows his bass. Just listen to the name check on these lines from “Heavy and Rolling” a track of his chart-scaling fourth studio album, Uptown Special: “Smooth as glass/Smooth as Marcus Miller.” While Miller doesn’t appear on the album, bassists are everywhere on the album…

Ritter Instruments Unveils Okon Concept at NAMM 2015

6. Ritter Instruments Unveils Okon Concept at NAMM 2015

Boutique bass builder Jens Ritter unveiled a new bass at the NAMM Show this year called the Okon Concept. The new model matches the luthier’s distinctive Okon body shape with his BA Tuning System, which mounts the tuners on the back of the bass’s body…

Seasick Steve with John Paul Jones: Live on Later

7. Seasick Steve with John Paul Jones: Live on Later

I’ve been on a John Paul Jones kick lately, which got me on a Seasick Steve kick too. Here they are performing a couple of tunes on Later… with Jools Holland. The first tune is “You Can’t Teach An Old Dog New Tricks” and the second is “Don’t Know Why She Love Me But She Do”…

Bass of the Week: James Trussart SteelCaster Bass

8. Bass of the Week: James Trussart SteelCaster Bass

One of the most interesting booths we visited at the NAMM Show this year was James Trussart Custom Guitars. The L.A.-based luthier takes a different approach to building instruments and uses steel for his bodies, often giving them a rusted finish. This week we take a look at his Rust O Matic Roses SteelCaster bass, our bass of the week…

Eden Introduces Californiwah Bass Filter Pedal

9. Eden Introduces Californiwah Bass Filter Pedal

Eden Amplification was showing off its new CaliforniWAH bass filter pedal at the Winter NAMM Show this year. The new pedal is designed for versatility with two different voicing settings and four effect parameters…

Rickenbacker Introduces 4003S and 4003SW Basses

10. Rickenbacker Introduces 4003S and 4003SW Basses

Rickenbacker launched a pair of new takes on their classic 4003 bass this year with the 4003S and 4003SW. The new models take the current 4003 and 4003W basses and give them a vintage aesthetic made popular by the ’60s 4001S bass…

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