Archive for January 2017 - Page 5

Hartke is expanding their HD series this year with the HD500 Bass Combo. The 500-watt Class D amp weighs in at just 35 pounds and is fitted with a pair of the company’s 10-inch HyDrive speakers. The drivers blend paper and aluminum materials into their speaker cones that add warmth and attack. Its controls include a 3-band EQ plus Hartke’s...

Q: I gig about 10-16 times a month on double bass and electric and live in a rural part of the UK. Some gigs involve a drive of 50-100 miles for about ?50-75. Do you have a minimum fee for local work, and a max distance you will drive for small bar type gigs? I am trying to find my...

Nenad Vasilic doesn’t need a whole band to fill out a song. He uses his upright as a bass and as drums in his latest video, “For Luis.” The bassist starts the groove with a syncopated rhythm tapped out on the body of his bass before digging into the bass line and melody. “This piece is inspired by ‘Ne kuni...

Jan-Olof Strandberg has a great tradition of collaborating with fellow bassists, including Paul Jackson, Dominque DiPiazza, Michael Manring, and more. Now he’s teaming up with funk powerhouse Ida Nielsen for a new project. “The group will be in the studio to record new material and performing a few live shows in Finland between March 7th and 12th!” Strandberg writes. “The...

I first discovered Brian Wroten thanks to his excellent bass transcriptions and videos. We connected over email, and he became a guest contributor here, offering up some terrific analysis and transcriptions. Now we get to hear about his life and background. Brian is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story… Bio: I’m an American-born acoustic bass...

German bass building artist Jens Ritter has revealed two new bass models for 2017, which will debut at the Winter NAMM show in Anaheim, California. The Princess Isabella Bass and Cora Concept are riffs on previous instruments with a fresh take that have been introduced as part of the Royal Family due to their uniqueness. The Princess Isabella Bass is...

Vulfpeck has released another video from their latest album, . “Aunt Leslie” features guests Antwaun Stanley on vocals, Bethanni Grecynski on trombone, and Cory Wong on guitar. And as always, Joe Dart lays down the groove.

Bassist and luthier Jim Mouradian has passed away after a massive heart attack following a performance with Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters in Connecticut. Mouradian grew up in a family of musicians, picking up the bass in junior high school. His family owned a rug business, which he worked at around college. He created a rug with his favorite band...

Jake Serek of Serek Basses has a unique way of blending old school and new school to create a fresh looking bass that remains rooted in the instrument’s history. This week we’re checking out the Midwestern, which blends aspects of Fender and Gibson basses. “The Midwestern is a short-scale powerhouse that is compact in size, but does not lack in...

Are you (like me) always on the hunt for the latest and most efficient practice “hacks”? Today I am starting a series here on Talking Technique introducing you to my personal favorites. Some of them are quite unexpected, and I encourage you to try them and see the results for yourself. Some go back to ancient wisdom, and science has...

Fernando Molinari has released another video for a track from his album, , and it’s heavy. “Tropical Rain” blends jazz and metal elements for a song that teeters between introspective and in-your-face.

Bill Laswell has always been about mixing different cultures in his music, and his latest release is a stellar example of why it works so well. The bassist/producer teamed up with Maâlem Mokhtar Gania to create TAGNAWWIT – Holy Black Gnawa Trance, an album that fuses Gnawa from Africa with Western music. “GNAWA (or Gnaoua) MUSIC is a rich North...