Weekly Top 10: NAMM Gear Preview, Relative vs. Parallel Minor Scales, Moto Fukushima Interview, Top Videos and More

We’re getting ready for the Winter NAMM show, and have already started our coverage on some of the new gear being announced.

Add to that our interview with House of Waters bassist, Moto Fukushima, a great column by Damian Erskine, some top bass videos and more, and you have this week’s top 10 reader favorites on No Treble.

Thanks for reading, watching, commenting and sharing!

Fodera Unveils Monarch-P and Emperor-J Standard Classic Basses

1. Fodera Unveils Monarch-P and Emperor-J Standard Classic Basses

Fodera is gearing up for NAMM by introducing two new Standard models with the Fodera Emperor-J Classic and Monarch-P Classic. The retro-styled basses are built in Fodera’s Brooklyn shop alongside their custom instruments but are built in batch with limited options to keep costs and wait time to a minimum…

Top 10: The Most Watched Bass Videos (December 2016)

2. Top 10: The Most Watched Bass Videos (December 2016)

We closed out 2016 with a month’s worth of great bass videos. Here are the top 10 most watched by No Treble readers in December, 2016…

Bass of the Week: Kanzian & Traunsteiner Viennese Five-String Bass

3. Bass of the Week: Kanzian & Traunsteiner Viennese Five-String Bass

As a double bass player, I love seeing old basses and wondering what stories they could tell. But I also love seeing the creation of new masterpieces, including this Kanzian & Traunsteiner five-string bass. Alex Kanzian and Fabian Traunsteiner are luthiers based in Vienna, Austria that opened their own shop about five years ago…

Woolly Mammals: Cheap Talk

4. Woolly Mammals: Cheap Talk

Today we’re featuring the debut video from Woolly Mammals, a Brooklyn-based alternative group that brings the heat. The band, which is fronted by bassist Will Sacks, is described as “the lovechild of Frank Ocean and an N64, infusing electronic soul with strong acid-jazz undercurrents…”

Relative vs. Parallel Minor Scales

5. Relative vs. Parallel Minor Scales

A reader asked Damian to break (and compare) down “relative” and “parallel” minor scales. In this week’s column, Damian does just that, with some additional reading on the subject…

The Lemon Twigs: These Words

6. The Lemon Twigs: These Words

Seattle’s KEXP is a great source of music, and when I discovered a recent session by The Lemon Twigs, I was knocked out. The band was started by brothers (and multi-instrumentalists) Brian and Michael D’Addario, with Megan Zeankowski on bass. Here’s their tune, “These Words,” which is a catchy one you’ll probably be humming all day…

La Bella Strings Introduces Gold Flats

7. La Bella Strings Introduces Gold Flats

La Bella Strings has added to their Deep Talkin’ Bass series with the Gold Flats. Available in four, five, and six-string sets, the flat wound strings use a golden alloy ribbon wire for the exterior wrap that the company says adds a unique tonal mid-range…

Karl Clews: Careless Whisper

8. Karl Clews: Careless Whisper

Karl Clews sent us this tribute video and solo bass arrangement he made following the passing of George Michael. Karl takes on Michael’s 80’s pop classic, “Careless Whisper,” performed on his 2003 Status Graphite Kingbass Artist…

House of Waters: An Interview with Moto Fukushima

9. House of Waters: An Interview with Moto Fukushima

Typically we think of a power trio as guitar, bass, and drums, but House of Waters isn’t your typical power trio. They mix things up with hammered dulcimer, percussion, and bass. We caught up with HOW bassist Moto Fukushima to get the scoop…

Dominic “Forest” Lapointe: Teramobil’s “Magnitude of Thoughts” Playthrough

10. Dominic “Forest” Lapointe: Teramobil’s “Magnitude of Thoughts” Playthrough

Bass monster Dominic “Forest” Lapointe is one of my favorite metal bassists, so I was pumped to see his latest playthrough. This time he tears through the title track to Teramobil’s latest album, Magnitude of Thoughts. Lapointe utilizes his awesome fingerstyle playing with some gnarly chordal work, bends and tapping thrown in for good measure…

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