Archive for April 2015 - Page 5

TC Electronic has added to their lineup of looper pedals with the Ditto Stereo Looper. Continuing the simplified design of the original Ditto, the new pedal adds three features: stereo input and output functionality, nine-volt battery power, and loop importing and exporting. The Ditto Stereo Looper features a compact design with a single level knob and a single footswitch to...

Instrumental power trio Points North is releasing their sophomore self-titled album this month, and if this video of “Ignition” is any indication, it’s going to be a great one. The band is anchored by bassist Uriah Duffy, who brings the fire with rock solid groove and interesting countermelodies. He gets some time to shine at the 2:47 mark with some...

Sonic Youth’s second full-length LP, 1985’s Bad Moon Rising, has been re-released. The new release features bonus tracks— “Flower,” “Halloween,” “Echo Canyon,” and “Satan is Boring.” The trio of songs are available via download card with the LP. With Kim Gordon on bass, the album’s American gothic sound, inspired by dissolution of hippie ideals in late 1960s Southern California, is...

Q: Why does my bass hum when I touch the strings and play in the rehearsal studio? I use SVT, Digitech multi-effects pedal and a Ibanez Roadstar II with big humbucking pickups. A: There is some confusion out there between what happens when you have a grounding issue vs. when you have a shielding issue. You have a grounding issue....

Geddy Lee may be known for his association with two types of basses, but this clip from a recent episode of That Metal Show proves that they aren’t his only axes. The Rush bassist took the TMS crew into his bass lair to show some of collection and talk about the instrument’s evolution. “I’ve tried to recreate the history of...

Former Joy Division/New Order bassist Peter Hook and his band, The Light, will conclude its short spring touring schedule with a May 18 performance of every track ever recorded by Joy Division. The date is significant in Joy Division history — it’s when, in 1980, lead singer Ian Curtis took his own life. The remainder of the band eventually became...

While in the earlier part of his life, Sean Geist knew his dad was a bass player, but he didn’t exactly know what that meant. Fast forward to middle school, a band was formed without a bass player. Sean decided to follow in his dad’s footsteps, and the rest is history. Sean is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for...

The double bass and electric bass are two quite different instruments, but bass builders Thomas and George Martin are bringing their 30 plus years of double bass making into a new electric bass company called Williamscot. The company, which was launched in January, builds each bass by hand in the UK without the use of CNC machines or PIN routers....

Seven-time Grammy winning bassist Kevin “Brandino” Brandon has worked with artists ranging like Outkast and Justin Timberlake, but his first break was in jazz with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. Here’s a clip of Brandino showing his musical roots on a five-string double bass performing the original tune “Where is the World Going” with pianist Andy Langham.

Melodic death metal band Soilwork has released a 2 CD/1 Blu-ray set documenting a March 21, 2014 show at Circus Club in Helsinki, Finland. Live in the Heart of Helsinki features bass work from Ola Flink, which, according to a review in Ghost Cult, is clearly heard in the mix. The show also hits on all the stages of the...

Prometeus Guitars has a way with creating interesting body shapes that still function well. They also have a knack for extended range basses. Both of those features are showcased on their Kirlian 8, a multi-scale eight-string bass that will stop you in your tracks. The Prometeus is built around a padouk neck and wenge fingerboard with fanned frets. The strings,...

Time to add another lick lesson to the series. This time around, our focus is on this funky fingerstyle bass groove, which is in the key of Dm or D7, using mostly the D minor Dorian scale with chromatic connecting notes. This lick also relies heavily on open strings, for fast note doubling (D on open string to D on...