No Treble Archive for May 30th

Spector’s Doug Wimbish Euro 4 Signature combines a slim neck, custom EMGs, and design cues from his classic 1987 NS-2 bass.

Watch Janek Gwizdala, Steve Smith, and Manuel Valera build a jazz fusion version of Soundgarden’s “Black Hole Sun” in a creative live writing session.

The Aristocrats return to Europe in 2026 for a full tour performing music from their latest album, DUCK, plus highlights from their full catalog.

Here’s part two of our “Wonder Women: Stories From the Women Who Play Bass,” interview with Becky Baldwin.

Scott Mulvahill is one of my favorite upright bass players, so when he announced he had a new group called Slap Dragon, I was all in. However, Mulvahill went the opposite direction for the project and picked up a U-Bass to dish out some acoustic funk.

Music history professor and bassist Brian F. Wright has written “The Bastard Instrument: A Cultural History of the Electric Bass,” exploring the importance of the electric bass throughout the years.

Death By Audio has unveiled a new pedal called the Disturbance that combines an “extreme filter, flanger, and fazer” into one unit.

The always versatile Tim Lefebvre recorded with Scott Fisher at Sonic Ranch recently, and they’ve just released an official video for one of the tracks.

Napalm Death bassist Shane Embury revealed he has a new autobiography coming this fall. “Life?… & Napalm Death” covers his life and his 36 years in the iconic grindcore band, which influenced the shape of extreme metal.

This week we’re checking out the new Mighty Magma from Maurizio Über Basses, which is a medium-scale headless five-string. Built with a padauk body and thick pistachio top, the bass gets a big tone from a pair of Nordstrand BigMan pickups.

Berklee recently shared another fantastic “Two Track” video. In this clip, bassist Nikos Chatzitsakos is joined by saxophonist Salim Charvet and vocalist Alexandria DeWalt on two tunes.

Rammstein bassist Oliver Riedel has announced that he is selling off two of his signature Sandberg basses as part of the Gear For Hope music auction. Proceeds from the fundraiser will be donated to aid organizations in Ukraine.

TC Electronic has unveiled the Zeus Drive, an overdrive boost circuit in the style of the classic Klon pedal. The compact pedal is described as having a luxurious warm tone and an astonishing dynamic response.

10-year-old bassist Áron Hodek continues to amaze. In this clip, Áron plays along with Majid Jordan’s “Waves of Blue”. The way he adds to these songs is so cool.

Back in January, Marko Hietala parted ways with Nightwish after two decades in the band. The announcement came ahead of their world tour, and now the pioneering symphonic metal outfit has revealed who will be holding down the bottom for the trek.

Suncoast has unveiled a new pedal called the LM-1 Dynamic Limiter. Designed for both bass and guitar, the unit is described as a “classic true RMS Limiter design with variable threshold.”

Humble Heroes recently shared this phenomenal video of pianist Karel Boehlee and bassist Theo de Jong recorded during a September 2019 session. The duo performs “Passage of Jaco”, which showcases some beautiful, smooth fretless lines.

Three years after his passing, a new live album from guitarist Allan Holdsworth is available to the public. “Frankfurt ’86” features the incredible lineup of Gary Husband, Kei Akagi, and Jimmy Johnson.

The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) has announced the 2020 class of NEA Jazz Masters, which is described as the “highest honor that our nation bestows on jazz artists.” The 2020 recipients include bassist Reggie Workman.

Tritonlab has expanded their line of effects pedals with the Equinox, a bass preamp/overdrive that emulates a tube preamp with JFET technology. The circuity achieves a “warm tube sound with soft clipping and low noise level,” they write.

MonoNeon shared this epic clip on Facebook, with a performance he did with drummer Larnell Lewis and Ghost-Note for Zildjian LIVE! “Change Your Mind” is a funky tune, and MonoNeon causes the sax player to have bass face in this one!

Mavis Staples is back with a new album with a little help from a friend. “We Get By” is co-produced and written by Ben Harper, who also appears on the title track. Longtime Staples bassist Jeff Turmes delivers that old school soul groove to tie the album together.

Q: I have a question about… mindset, I guess. I feel like I make a lot of unnecessary mistakes during gigs. I mean that it’s not a technical deficiency, and it’s not that I don’t know what needs to happen but I just seem to goof it up. Kind of a lot. Any advice? A: This reminds me of a...

We’re big fans of Scary Pockets and how they remake tunes in their own funky style. Here’s the band with vocalist George Krikes performing The Beatles’ “Rocky Raccoon.” Bassist Nick Campbell really lays it down on this one.

Japan’s Pudding Broadcast is working to release a new live Michael Manring video on Blu-ray, and they need our help. Manring toured Japan back in 2016 when Pudding, a film, and audio production company, recorded his performances. “In October 2016, we invited Michael Manring for his first solo live tour in Japan,” they write. “Thanks to many individuals and companies,...

After announcing the amp at NAMM this year, Trickfish Amplification is now shipping the Bullhead .5K bass amp. The straight-ahead unit features a Mike Pope low noise preamp matched to a Class D power amplifier that dishes out 500 watts at 8 ohms or 700 watts at 4 ohms. Its EQ section is flush with four bands with two selectable...

Richard Bona is a captivating musician on his own. Add the Metropole Orkest and you’ve got some glorious music for your ears. Here’s Bona and the orchestra performing last year honoring Quincy Jones for the BBC Proms. Bona fronts the massive group with his bass and a microphone, whipping the group into a frenzy. Be sure to check out his...

This week we’re checking out a Goose bass by Jersey Girls Homemade Guitars. This particular bass – built by the team of luthiers Kaz G, Akiko Oda and Eiko Goto – is called the Bordeaux for the lovely wine colored finish over its light ash body. Its hard maple neck is topped by a fingerboard made from Karin, also known...

Studying transcriptions of masterful performances can provide a wealth of learning material for a musician. Musically speaking, we will gain the most by completing our own transcriptions, entirely by ear, of course. However, there is still a great deal to be gained by working from published transcriptions by other musicians, provided we approach them in the right way. Certainly there...

Bassist Ben Titus sent in this awesome looping arrangement of the Imagine Dragons hit “Radioactive”, and I’m glad he did. He gets a gorgeous tone from his six-string and creates a perfect pad with his chord voicings.

Sad news to report today: Ohio Players bassist Marshall “Rock” Jones has passed away after battling cancer and recently suffering a stroke. He was 75 years old. Jones was a founding member of the Ohio Players precursor band The Ohio Untouchables in 1959, though he left after getting in a fistfight 1964. Another shakeup led to Jones rejoining in 1970....

Five years after his first signature bass with the company, Adam Clayton has once again teamed up with Warwick to collaborate on a new version of their Streamer CV bass. The Warwick Adam Clayton Streamer CV Signature bass is built in the Warwick Custom Shop in Markneukirchen, Germany. The bass is built with an extra light swamp ash body finished...

I’m not sure there’s a more exciting band out there today than Snarky Puppy. The band has just released their new album, Sylva, along with Metropole Orkest. Here they are performing “The Curtain” from that album, with bassist and band leader Michael League playing both electric bass and Moog keybass on the tune. And does anyone have more (or better)...

Early 1970s Yes is in all of its glory on the 14-CD box set Progeny — Seven Shows from Seventy-Two. The set features recently unearthed recordings from seven full concerts performed in North America between Oct. 31 and Nov. 20, 1972, back when Close to the Edge was a new album. Live material from that year’s tour is also well-known...

Rotosound has upgraded their Tru Bass RS88LD Black Nylon bass strings with a new computer controlled engineering process in their UK factory. The company says that the process, along with finishing by their craftsmen, add to the strings’ lifespan and playability. Rotosound describes the tone as “double bass-like.” The Tru Bass 88 was originally designed by James How for Jim...

Time for a new video by the guys we like to call The Dynamic Duo. This time around, bassist Evan Marien and drummer Dana Hawkins are doing their thing the tune “Encore”, a bonus track on the duo’s . Amazing, as always.

Sludge metal band Crowbar has released its 10th studio album, . It’s the New Orleans-based group’s first since 2011’s Sever the Wicked Hand and its first with bassist Jeff Golden, who replaced longtime bassist Pat Bruders after Bruders left to concentrate on work with Down. The album also comes during Crowbar’s 25th anniversary year. But although the guys are older,...

This week we take a look at the Fclef Custom Series II Bass. Introduced as part of their 10th anniversary, the Custom Series II model builds upon their Custom Series and is handcrafted in the United States. The company also boasts that each member of the crew is a bass player, which gets a big thumbs up in our book....

Among the great tunes on Jaco Pastorius’ self-titled solo debut was “(Used to Be A) Cha-Cha”. His solo is a tricky one, at an upbeat tempo and with Jaco’s trademark melodic and syncopated lines. Here is Jukka Haavisto’s take on his wonderful solo on this track.

Back in 2004, Red Hot Chili Peppers bandmates Flea and John Frusciante got together with The Mars Volta’s Omar Rodríguez-López in Los Angeles for a jam session. Here’s 20 or so minutes worth…

Hot Tuna is gearing up a summer tour of the US, featuring both their electric and acoustic lineups. Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen will be joined by Barry Mitterhoff for the acoustic sets, with Skoota Warner joining in for the electric shows. Casady and Kaukonen have now played together for over 50 years, including their time with Jefferson Airplane. This...

In early December, 2010, Hot Tuna took the stage at New York City’s Beacon Theater to celebrate the 70th birthday of guitarist and Hot Tuna co-founder Jorma Kaukonen. The two night event featured an all-star cast, anchored of course by the other co-founder of the group, bassist Jack Casady. The band was in their “electric” format, with mandolinist Barry Mitterhoff...

Q: How do you decide what tone to use for different songs? A: This is a great question. And it is one that is very subjective. This will be different for everyone, but I’m happy to share my personal take on it. This is also something that may be very different live than it is in the studio. Quite often,...

Recorded live at the Java Jazz Festival in 2007, here’s Marcus Miller and his band performing a groovy take on “Run for Cover”. Love the bass tone on this one. Love the solo. Love the bass face. This is not the first time we’ve shared a video of Marcus playing this tune… the other time featured a performance with the...

Take two musicians who love to push the boundaries of their respective instruments, put them together, and they still probably won’t sound like the pairing of bassist Michael Manring and guitarist Kevin Kastning. The duo have just released In Winter, a twenty track album offering what Manring describes as “avant garde, improvised music with a mysterious, atmospheric quality.” The album...

I have tried every metronome on the market (app store market that is) and, while “Metronome Plus” is my favorite when all I need is a quick, clean way to keep time, Dr. Betotte is hands down the best metronome for odd meters, trickier functions and as a practice tool. I believe that this is actually based off of the...

Today is a day to remember those who have served our country in the U.S. In honor of our fallen service men and women, here’s a great clip of Stu Hamm playing a solo bass rendition of the National Anthem. Happy Memorial Day, and thanks to all who have served.

Here are the most read, most popular stories and features on No Treble for the week of May 22-28, 2011. 1. Interview With Ryan Madora: Thoughts on Playing without a Drummer Last week, while enjoying a video from a television show featuring the duo of Ryan Madora on bass and Don Evans on guitar (see below), it reminded me of...

The following video was brought to my attention by a friend of mine, Linda Palmer. The Lars Danielsson Trio features Leszek Mo?d?er on the piano, Xavier Desandre Navarre on drums and Lars Danielsson on the double bass. In this video they’re performing their tune “Pasodoble”.

TC Electronic has announced that they will soon be releasing the iPhone version of their revolutionary PolyTune pedal tuner. The new app, which is a 1:1 port of the original, will be available for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. The PolyTune allows players to tune all strings simultaneously by strumming on your bass (or other instrument), even down to...

There are plenty of bass events taking place this summer. Here’s a list of the ones hitting our radar so far. NH Bass Fest 2010 The New Hampshire Bass Fest is a four day event including ensembles, master classes, labs, guest artists, concerts and luthier displays. The event takes place June 16-19, 2010 at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester,...

Jaco Pastorius, the “World’s Greatest Bass Player,” is being honored by another grass-roots effort to continue the preservation of his memory, influence and music, in the form of a Jaco Pastorius commemorative stamp. The online petition can be found here for showing your support and approval. Be sure to check out the grass-roots Oakland Park MySpace page. Other great jazz...

In celebration of their newest album, Uplifter, 311 will tour once again. The tour dates are as follows: 6/3: Majestic Fox Theatre, Bakersfield, CA 6/4: Jimmy Kimmel Live, Hollywood, CA 6/5: Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA 6/6: Live 105 BFD Radio Festival, San Francisco, CA 6/7: Cuthbert Amphitheater, Eugene, OR 6/8: WaMu Theatre, Seattle, WA 6/11: Usana Amphitheatre, Salt...