Weekly Top 10: Talking Technique, Approaching Composing, New Bass Gear, Top Videos, Bowie for Solo Bass Transcription and More
Happy Sunday! Here’s the latest and greatest from the world of bass – aka the top 10 reader favorites for the week.
Thanks for reading, watching, commenting and sharing.
1. Talking Technique: Pedalling
There are only so many hours in the day, so it’s always great to figure out ways to make the best use of your practice time. One way to get the biggest use of your practice is to combine different topics to bolster your understanding. Ariane Cap shows us how in her new edition of Talking Technique…
2. How To Approach Composing: A Discussion for Bass Players
A reader asked Damian for advice on how to tackle writing songs for his band. As a bassist, he feels at a disadvantage over others who play chordal instruments. Damian describes his own path and offers up some great suggestions…
3. Hofner Celebrates With 60th Anniversary 500/1 Violin Bass
An icon was born 60 years ago with the Hofner 500/1 Violin Bass, and now the company is celebrating with a special anniversary edition of the instrument. Limited to 60 instruments, the 60th Anniversary 500/1 Violin Bass stands out among its peers with original graphics by a bass legend…
Esperanza Spalding released her fifth album, Emily’s D+Evolution, earlier this month. Here’s the official video for “One” from the new album. Love that bass tone and the vocals – as always…
5. Richard Bona: Live Bass Solo
Here’s a great clip of Richard Bona performing a live bass solo. So tasty. I love saxophonist Stefano di Battista’s reaction to his playing throughout…
6. Providence Introduces Vitalizer BF VZF-1 Bass Pedal
Providence has unveiled the Vitalizer BF VZF-1, an active impedance converter designed specifically for bass guitars. The compact pedal acts as a buffer to convert high impedance signal, which the company says is more likely to degrade the sound quality by picking up noise…
7. Bass of the Week: Enfield Guitars Lionheart English Rose
This week we’re checking out the Enfield Guitars Lionheart English Rose, a rosewood-themed bass with tons of tonal flexibility. The UK-made bass takes the company’s Lionheart design and upgrades it with a solid rosewood neck and fingerboard for feel as well as tone…
8. Ibanez Introduces Adam Nitti Signature ANB306 Bass
After launching the Adam Nitti Signature series last year, Ibanez introduced the ANB306 model. The bass is a production model of the ANB1006, carrying many of the same features at a lower price point…
9. Bass Transcription: Mattia La Maida’s Solo Bass Arrangement on David Bowie’s â??Ziggy Stardustâ?
Welcome guest contributor Mattia La Maida, who wowed us with his solo bass performance of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” back in February. Here’s Mat’s transcription and notes of that performance…
10. Eric Clapton, Marcus Miller, David Sanborn, Steve Gadd and Joe Sample: Suggestions
Mark Egan recently shared a clip of Eric Clapton, Marcus Miller, David Sanborn, Steve Gadd and Joe Sample in a live performance at Montreux in 1997. That got me digging, and I found this gem from the performance. Marcus is laying down some sweet lines on fretless and trading licks with Clapton…
