Archive for June 2016 - Page 2

This week we’re checking out the AC Guitars Über ART Recurve 4. Built in Scotland by luthier Alan Cringean, the bass features a proprietary finishing process called Acrylic Resin Treated (ART). “The process makes use of acrylic monomers and dyes in order to infuse the wood,” he writes. “This takes place in a vacuum oven and produces woods which have...

At some point, someone at the gig is going to call a tune at breakneck speed. Trying to keep solid time at a blistering pace can be physically and mentally exhausting for a bassist. We might drag, or miss a change. We can help mitigate these issues by applying a few ideas when playing an exceptionally upbeat tune. Breathe We...

Clear your schedule for the afternoon, because this is one of the longer videos we’ve featured. Vulfpeck made an appearance at Bonnaroo back in June. Thankfully the performance was filmed. Here’s the band’s entire show, anchored as always by the fantastic Joe Dart. Here’s the set list: 5:30: Christmas in LA 10:32: Fugue State 13:01: Back Pocket Crowd Vocal Prep...

Michael Franti & Spearhead has released its ninth studio album, Soulrocker. The band is most well known for the 2009 hit “Say Hey (I Love You),” co-written by bassist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Carl Young, who has been an integral member of the band since its beginning in 1994. This time out, Franti produced in collaboration with two Jamaican producers, and...

Time to celebrate the best of the best from the world of bass… AKA the top 10 No Treble reader favorites of the week. Thanks for reading, watching, commenting and sharing. 1. Fender Introduces The Mod Shop If you’ve been wanting to get a customized Fender, the company has got you covered with the Mod Shop. The online “immersive digital...

Ernie Ball introduced a pair of expression pedals for bassists and guitarists at the Summer NAMM show this year. The Expression Overdrive and Ambient Delay pedals, which will be available later this year, offer dynamic foot control for on-the-fly tweaking. The Expression Overdrive is described as tonally versatile, delivering “everything from a hint of natural tube-amp-like overdrive and rhythm crunch...

Olivier Babaz has done it again. The bass and kalimba king has transformed another rock gem onto the two instruments simultaneously. This time Babaz tackles Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android”, trading the song’s focus between each instrument while nimbly navigating them with his right hand. The result is an ethereal and intimate take on an already epic piece of music.

You can learn to play bass lines created by one of rock’s best-ever bassists, the late Jack Bruce, with the help of a new play-along book. Hal Leonard Corp. has published “Cream – Bass Play-Along Vol. 52” includes tab and companion audio to help you learn some of the power trio’s most well-known songs: “Badge,” “Cross Road Blues (Crossroads),” “Politician,”...

Genzler Amplification’s Bass Array cabinet series has gotten a little bigger. Building on the 12-3 design, the BA210-3 features two 10-inch neodymium drivers in a vented bass reflex enclosure and four 3-inch neodymium drivers in a line array element. The company says the combo of drivers helps deliver full, deep, low frequency response from the woofers while a selective crossover...

We were saddened by the news of the passing of Parliament-Funkadelic founding member Bernie Worrell. In honor of his music and life, here’s Parliament-Funkadelic performing “Give Up The Funk” and “Night Of The Thumpasorus Peoples” live at Capitol Theatre in Passaic, NJ in November, 1978. Cordell “Boogie” Mosson Jr. and William “Billy Bass” Nelson Jr. laid down the low end...

Bassist Jonathan Moody drew on his classical background for his seven-song EP, Music for Our Hands. Moody, also known in the music industry as GHS Strings’ social media manager and a bow tie aficionado (which he nods to on the EP’s cover), also taps twenty years of gigging in the southwest Michigan music scene for the record and pays homage...

Providence has expanded their line of bass preamp pedals with the Brick Drive BDI-1. The comprehensive unit brings together a 3-band EQ with sweepable mids and Presence control, an overdrive, and a DI featuring their Vitalizer B circuit. The overdrive is engaged via footswitch and is blended with the clean signal with a mix knob. “By mixing the drive sound...