Archive for February 2017 - Page 6

Halo Orbit’s new self-titled debut album is available now. The trio is anchored by bass heavyweight Juan Alderete (Mars Volta, Deltron 3030), with drummer Mark Guiliana (David Bowie’s Blackstar, Beat Music) and guitarist suGar Yoshinaga (Buffalo Daughter). Each member’s unique voice blends to create incredible sonic explorations that range from atmospheric improvisations to trance to hip hop to grunge. “Back...

Ibanez shocked many bassists again this year by introducing a new Ashula bass. The SRAS7 is a seven-string model that has a unique hybrid fretted/fretless design with three strings over a fretless purpleheart fingerboard and four strings over a fretted rosewood fretboard. The fretted portion is tuned to a standard E-A-D-G, while the fretless section is tuned A-D-G. Each section...

Q: It seems like you are a pretty busy guy and travel a lot (I follow your social media feeds). I feel like I’m not half as busy but somehow still can’t seem to find the time to work on stuff like I should. Any tips? A: I got asked a similar question at a clinic once, actually about writing...

Evan Marien has wowed us many times with his playing – and teaming up with a stellar drummer. Today’s video features Evan with drummer Justin Brown on the tune “Heart,” which appears on the bassist’s 4-track EP, EP2.

English alt-rock band Elbow has returned with their seventh studio album, Little Fictions. Inspired by topics ranging from love to Britain’s pending exit from the European Union, the entire album is rooted by Pete Turner, who dishes out melodic bass lines to punctuate dreamy songs. Little Fictions is available now on , and as a digital download ( and )....

Meet Corin Ashley, a bassist with one of the more remarkable stories we’ve seen. Corin suffered a stroke a year ago and used his bass as a tool for rehabilitation. He’s this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight, and here’s his story… Bio: After suffering a stroke in January, 2016, which left me with the fingers on my left...

The new year started out with a bang with some terrific bass videos shared during the first month of 2017. Of the 31 videos we shared over the course of January, here are the top 10 No Treble reader favorites. Thanks for watching, and enjoy. 1. Video Premiere: House of Waters “Black Mallard” (Live at Rubbertracks) Last August, I discovered...

I’ve seen more than a few Facebook friends share this video, and I immediately saw why. Nate Wood has a new project called fOUR, which shows off not only some impressive chops but also some remarkable independence. Nate describes fOUR as “a project recorded in 1 pass with no overdubs, and/or pre-recorded backing tracks.” In this tune, he plays keyboards,...

Steve Lang, who played bass for the Canadian classic rock outfit April Wine, has died at the age of 67. No cause of death has been announced, though he had suffered from Parkinson’s Disease. The news of Lang’s passing was shared by April Wine bandleader Myles Goodwyn. “My dear friend Steve Lang passed away this weekend,” Goodwyn wrote on Facebook....

This week we’re checking out the Manne Guitars Moab, which they describe as their flagship luxury bass model. The bass comes in four, five, and six-string versions with a korina body topped by walnut, Italian Yew, or poplar. Its multi-laminated neck is fitted with a thin “F resin” fretboard, which Manne says allows for precise attack without dead notes. Its...

If you are an electric bassist looking to learn upright, getting your double bass skills up to snuff can be daunting. When deciding to become a “switcher,” most of us coming from the electric bass side of things approach the new, bigger instrument with some amount of trepidation. The usual feeling seems to be that while it’s by no means...

By the looks of things, NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts could have some nice representation from the world of bass. Scott Varney sent us his latest video, which serves as his submission to the program. The tune is “Some Will Say,” which was written by Scott. We’re pulling for him and the other great bassists who have submitted their entries!