No Treble Archive for May 8th

Jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington has returned with his fifth studio album, “Fearless Movement,” with Thundercat, Miles Mosley, and Ben Williams on bass.

This week, we’re checking out the Lobster bass from Greece’s Hamor Guitars. The model is their take on a modern design double-cut.

We can always count on Clive H Jones to send us cool videos. He sent us this all-bass cover of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” and it came together beautifully.

Get ready to bang your head. Lamb of God has unveiled a new 2023 headlining tour with support from Ice Nine Kills, Suicide Silence, The Acacia Strain, Frozen Soul, and more.

Source Audio has rolled out another pedal with the Atlas Compressor, a flexible circuit that utilizes their Neuro Desktop Editor and mobile app to offer an array of compression designs.

This is a longer video than normal, but it is worth it. Avishai Cohen performed at the Maillon theatre in Strasbourg with drummer Roni Kaspi and pianist Elchin Shirinov. The trio performed music from their upcoming album, “Shifting Sands”.

A new mobile app called GuitarApp has recently launched, and it’s not just for guitarists. The handy tool combines curated YouTube playlists and lessons as well as a tuner, chord charts, a metronome, and a drum machine into one application.

Nux has unveiled the Mighty Bass 50BT, a bass amp they say is perfect for practice, rehearsing, and recording. The 50-watt combo features a 6.5-inch speaker and a Class-D power section.

Cory Wong dropped a new video yesterday, with a preview of a new album he did with Dave Koz. Here’s the tune, “Today”, which features Koz on soprano sax and Yohannes Tona laying down the low end.

Teymur Phell and Jim Kalbach published “Killer Walking Bass” back in 2018, and now they’re pushing things even further with Killer Walking Bass Volume 2. Volume 2 includes melodic lines for eight songs with more challenging chord changes

Sonic Nuance has once again updated its flagship direct box. The third version of the TDI (tuner DI) is 30 percent smaller, lighter, more durable, and quieter, the company says.

Vulfpeck is back with a new video, and once again, they got us moving. In this clip, Joe Dart and the band perform the instrumental, “Test Drive.” So good to see these guys again!

Last month, we shared an awesome video for “Got Groove? Pt. 2” by bassist Christian Fabian, organist Ron Oswanski, and drum legend Bernard Purdie. Now the trio has released a full album, entitled “Move On!”

Steely Dan has announced a new tour that will include several residencies in which they will play their albums in full. The group, now fronted by Donald Fagen after Walter Becker’s passing, will include Freddie Washington on bass.

This week a reader asks Damian for advice on how to “organize material and approach a solo without sounding scholastic or predictable.” Check out what Damian has to say on the subject.

Our friends at Bass The World have shared another great clip by bassist Zlatoyar, this time joined by drummer Alexander Kasiarum. The duo takes on Rag’n’Bone Man’s “Human,” with some excellent bass work by Zlatoyar.

Little Steven and the Disciples of Soul have released a new album called “Summer of Sorcery.” The release marks bandleader Steven Van Zandt’s first album of new material in 20 years and pays tribute to the feeling of the ’60s and features bassist Jack Daley.

Accugroove has announced the Inception, a tube bass preamp that offers a wide range of tones. “Traditional bass preamps use a single dual-triode tube – and even then the signal might only pass through a single triode in most modes of the preamp,” they write. “Our design implements two balanced 12AX7 tubes that deliver four triode stages for maximum flexibility.”...

Our friend Ted “Blyss” Gould put together a stunning video of his bass and vocals cover of the Elvis Costello tune, “Alison.” Blyss tells the story: “I remember the first time I heard ‘Alison’ in the second to last room the shotgun house that I grew up in. The haunting guitar intro, the laid back groove, Elvis’ raw vocals. It’s...

Original Meshuggah bassist Peter Nordin has come out of musical retirement to join PDP for their upcoming album. PDP, whose last release was 2011’s Mass Delusions, made the announcement on Metal Injection. “It’s truly amazing! Those guys [Meshuggah] have been our heroes since we were kids. It’s a dream come true situation,” they wrote. “Peter messaged me several months ago...

Bass builder Stephan Mongeon sent me some photos of his latest build and I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. The Stellart Guitars Nemesis is a six-string neck-through semi-hollow fretless bass. Judging by these pictures, it’s a work of art, too. Mongeon builds basses with his wife, Ella, in Quebec where they’ve been honing their craft for...

This episode is part one of a three-part challenge. Those time tested permutation exercises (you are doing them, right?) are getting two fresh twists in this episode: descending by their mirror image for an additional right-hand alternating challenge, and what I call the wicked “Pivot Permutations” – a great fun way to spice up that vital practice. I have a...

Bassist Gustaf Fjelstrom has a new album coming out called The Peripheral Arc: Volume 1. The 8-song instrumental release will feature the bass with an ambient, postrock, electronic twist. He’s just shared the first single from the album, called “Revenant,” which is built around a gritty Rickenbacker tone. The track also has some thick synth bass in the mix. For...

The week always ends on a positive note around here, because we get to celebrate the best of the best from the world of bass. Here are the top 10 reader favorite stories, columns, videos and more. Thanks as always for reading, watching, commenting and sharing. 1. Prince with Larry Graham: Motherless Child Like countless others, we were devastated to...

Fodera and Matthew Garrison have teamed up once again to introduce the Imperial Mini-MG. The headless and compact design was created with portability and playability in mind. “With the recent change in instrument travel regulations, there has been an increasing need for a bass guitar that combines portability without sacrificing tone or playability,” Fodera shares. “With these needs in mind,...

David Piggott teaches music at his studio, Piggott Music. One of his students is Kayla Malik. They recently recorded their own bass and vocals arrangement of Coldplay’s “Fix You”. David said this was the first time he heard Kayla sing. “Because everyone has lost something in their life… I hope you enjoy this [arrangement],” David shared.

Three years after releasing his first solo record in three decades, Back in the Room, former bassist for The Jam and Stiff Little Fingers Bruce Foxton has released Smash the Clock. Smash the Clock was recorded at the studio owned by his former bandmate in The Jam, Paul Weller, who contributes guitar and piano parts to the album (Weller also...

Paul McCartney has plotted more U.S. Tour Dates as part of his continuing “Out There” trek, including two festival appearances. The former Beatles bassist, who is currently making his way through Japan and South Korea, will be heading back to the States starting June 19th at the Firefly Music Festival in Dover, Delaware. He then heads to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before...

New for 2015, Schecter has built upon their Diamond Series of basses with the Diamond Plus Series. The new lineup includes the Diamond-J Plus and Diamond-P Plus in a variety of finishes. Both models are built with a choice of swamp ash or alder for the body, a 6-bolt maple with carbon fiber reinforcements, and either a maple or rosewood...

The Winery Dogs released their debut album back in 2013 and followed it with a tour. During that tour, they recorded a show for a live DVD, Unleashed in Japan. Here’s the band performing “You Saved Me”, with one very cool intro – and outro – by Billy Sheehan.

Jeffrey Hammond’s last album as a bassist, Jethro Tull’s Minstrel in the Gallery, has been reissued in a 40th anniversary edition. The two-CD/two-DVD 40th Anniversary La Grande Edition includes the original 1975 album, expanded to feature the b-side “Summerday Sands,” outtakes and alternate session material on one disc. The second disc is a live recording of a show at the...

Most No Treble readers will recognize MonoNeon as a forward thinking bassist with a unique style that blends R&B with modern experimental music. He often plays with microtonality, meaning he uses quarter tones in addition to semi-tones that are created on fretted instruments. “My fascination with microtonality is ‘casual’, similar to my fascination with Dadaism, Color Field, and other visual...

Holy smokes… No Treble’s servers were sweating in April thanks to record traffic. These top 10 videos in April most certainly helped. Thanks for watching, sharing and commenting. Enjoy! 1. Alissia Benveniste: Holdin’ On The first time we featured Alissia Benveniste, her video was the most watched (in February). Alissia once again takes the top spot in April. Check out...

We’ve featured the trio of bassist Michael League, organist Cory Henry and drummer Nathaniel Townsley before (see their performance of “Continuum” after you watch this one). Here they are performing a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “Creepin’”. Oh yeah.

“There’s a reason why a singular artistic vision has a value to it,” says Randall Wyn Fullmer of Wyn Guitars, in the trailer for Restrung, a documentary about Fullmer, whose hand-crafted electric basses are beloved by some of music’s top players. The film by Mike Enns (who also plays bass) tells the story of Fullmer, who walked away from an...

DBZ Guitars has introduced the Barchetta Bass, a model based on DBZ’s flagship guitar. The bass follows the company’s trend of blending modern and traditional styles for unique instruments. The Barchetta Bass comes in three versions based on their tops: Standard (ST), Flame Maple (FM), and Spalt Maple (SM). Common features include a maple neck, rosewood fingerboard, and a matching...

Q: I’m not a professional musician, but lately I’ve been performing a lot more often. I play both upright bass and bass guitar, and I like to play just about any style of music: pop, funk, folk, jazz. These two things have made me somewhat “in demand” in part-timers’ circles and has led me to get involved in two or...

Brian Blade and The Fellowship visited the Chicago Music Exchange in March and performed three songs. One of those was the band’s own tune, “King’s Highway”. The video is a little long, so if you want to skip forward to bassist Chris Thomas taking a pretty cool bass solo, it’s around the 7:50 mark. (I don’t recommend that you do...

Hal Leonard’s new At a Glance for bassists gets its latest edition with the release of Funk and R&B Bass. As with all the titles in the series, Funk and R&B Bass pairs instructional DVD lessons with a supplemental book with TAB notation and details. Funk and R&B Bass includes individualized study on topics including soul bass, basic slap and...

Meet the bassist known as Punk Pappa, who also works as a producer, songwriter, arranger and (gulp) sometimes guitarist and says he’s from Funkville, UK. Punk is our player in the spotlight for the week of May 8, 2012. Bio: I’m a Session Bass Player, Guitarist, Songwriter, MOBO Award Winner and Artist, with a variety of musical credits. A few...

As part of their new line this year, Warwick has introduced the Artist Series Steve Bailey bass. Available in 4-, 5- and 6-string versions, the bass shares many of the specs of his Signature Series bass and is based on Warwick’s Streamer bass, with modifications to improve access to the upper register of the neck. The bass is built with...

So often at NAMM, the demos are all about chops… pure chops. But when Tal Wilkenfeld and Steve Ferrone took the stage at the EBS booth during the Winter 2012 NAMM show, it was clearly all about the music.

After working together for nearly 50 years, pianist Steve Kuhn and bassist Steve Swallow have teamed up once again for Wisteria, an 11-track collection, rounded out by drummer Joey Baron. The album’s title is taken from the name of a song by Art Farmer, whom Kuhn and Swallow both worked for in the ’60s. On Wisteria, Swallow’s rich electric bass...

Carl Martin has released a new stompbox tuner, designed to offer high visibility on stage. Housed in a die-cast black chassis, the chromatic tuner can be calibrated from 437Hz to 443Hz. It can switch between standard readout and strobe functions for easy visibility, and also includes a mute switch for silent tuning. True Bypass is included to keep a clean...

Filmed from the audience two days ago, here’s Victor Wooten and JD Blair playing the tune, “U Can’t Hold No Groove…” as their finale. The tune is from the album , recently re-released.

JaMuzic New York is presenting BassBreak Live! this year on May 14th in Falls Church, Virginia. The event is a day of bass-centric activities including performances, clinics and giveaways. Instructors include Adam Nitti, Ace Livingston, Bryan Beller, Terrance Palmer, and David Dyson, who will all give lectures between one and two hours. Pavel de la Fuente of Pavel Musical Instruments...

Brazilian bass player Davi Motta released his first solo CD, Simples Assim, in 2009 which he is promoting with a series of youtube videos performing tunes from the CD. This one is called “Do Meu Jeito”. For more, check out Davi’s Myspace.

When Amptweaker introduced the guitar version of the TightDrive overdrive pedal at January NAMM 2010, a lot of bassists asked if it would work for them too. Bassist Greg Weeks (The Red Chord) gave the guitar version a test drive, and after a few tweaks to the range of the Tone and Tight controls, the Bass TightDrive was born. “The...

The Dave Holland Quintet will be touring Europe this May. Dave Holland will be performing with other acts and in numerous jazz festivals this summer as well. Dave Holland Quintet May 10: Bahnhof in Friedrichshafen, Germany May 12: Auditorium Canneti in Venice, Italy May 14: Center Cuulturel Bergerac in Bergerac, France May 15: Pole Culturel d’Alfortville in Alfortville, France May...

Ean Evans, bassist for Lynyrd Skynyrd, passed away earlier this week after a long battle with cancer. He was 48. The announcement was made on Lynyrd Skynyrd’s web site, and read: “It is with profound sadness that we announce the passing of longtime Lynyrd Skynyrd bassist Ean Evans. Ean put up a valiant battle with an aggressive form of cancer...