Archive for May 2015 - Page 6

After getting feedback from over a thousand bass players, Elixir Strings has announced they’ve revamped their Nanoweb coated bass strings. “We recently decided to broaden our range in both Nickel Plated and Stainless Steel Strings,” says application engineer Justin Fogelman. “New and refined gauges and single strings give bassists a tool to find what really works well for them.” The...

Q: I play at a semi-professional level. I work a regular 9-to 5-job and play in the evenings. I am lucky enough that I get a few hours every evening to just shed and work on my playing and lately I’ve been doing a lot of classical etudes to work on technique and maintain my reading chops. My question is...

Reader Tom Tartarin sent this video to us of him playing along to the Dizzy Gillespie “Matrix”. (I believe Phil Upchurch was the bassist on the recording.) I wanted to feature this for two reasons: the bass line is killer, and Tom is feeling it!

Post-punk trio METZ has released its second effort, II, which the band describes as a “heavier, darker, and sloppier” album than its debut. The band, with Chris Slorach on bass, wrote the record over the course of about six months and recorded II in three different Canadian studios. The trio have created a loud, intense sound. Check it out on...

Sometimes we get a submission on the Reader Spotlight, and I recognize the person. This was the case when I saw LeRoy Patterson’s story come through. I met LeRoy more than once – at Gerald Veasley’s annual Bass Bootcamp. But I didn’t know the complete story until now – and this bass player has a story to tell. LeRoy is...

Have a few minutes? You’ll want them once you see this list of the top 10 most watched bass videos last month on No Treble. Thanks for watching, commenting and sharing! 1. Inside Geddy Lee’s Bass Guitar Collection Geddy Lee may be known for his association with two types of basses, but this clip from a recent episode of That...

John Mustachio sent us the latest video from his band, and it’s another great example of how much music you can make with just three people. Boxwave is a funk/rock/go-go influenced bass and cajon group that’s rounded out by percussionist Brad Ellsworth. Their latest track, “Ain’t No Stopping Me,” features hip hop artist Moses Barrymore rapping overtop of the duo’s...

Australian band Hiatus Kaiyote’s latest album Choose Your Weapon, is a 70-minute monster. Bassist Paul Bender calls it “huge, massive, complex puzzle,” according to The Guardian. The band’s sound has been described as “future soul” and progressive. It’s pretty singular. Check out “Breathing Underwater” from Choose Your Weapon: Choose Your Weapon is , and as a digital download ( and...

We’ve featured some clips from “Guitar Wars” in the past, with John Paul Jones on bass. Here’s another lineup from that performance, anchored by Mike Szuter. This group, which includes Nuno Bettencourt and Paul Gilbert, performed “Cupid’s Dead” as part of the show, complete with some nice grooves and some great unison lines thrown in too.

Joe Kruse has spent the past eight years working with Carl Thompson and two more years in Roger Sadowsky’s shop. Now he’s striking out on his own with MBJ Guitars, which focuses on unique short-scale designs and killer wood combinations. The luthier gave us the rundown on his Nutsy bass, which is our bass of the week. “I used mahogany...

Jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington pulled in not one, but two top-notch bassists for his latest, The Epic. Miles Mosley (Jeff Beck, Joni Mitchell, Common) handles acoustic bass on the record and Stephen “Thundercat” Bruner (Kendrick Lamar, Flying Lotus, ex-Suicidal Tendencies) is on electric in the 10-piece-jazz band assembled by Washington. The album lives up to its name, too: the music...

Another great week comes to a close, but not before we share the best from the world of bass. Here is your top 10 for the week of May 2-8, 2015. Thanks as always for reading, watching, listening, commenting and sharing. 1. Miki Santamaria & Casey Cooper: Bass vs Drums Miki Santamaria just sent me his latest video, which he...