Rewind: TC Electronic Contest, Marcus Miller Contest, 18 Year Old Bootsy Collins, Top Bass Gear and Columns
Here are the most read, most popular stories and features on No Treble for the week of January 30 – February 5, 2011.
Don’t Miss Out: TC Electronic and No Treble are teaming up for an ultimate gear contest! One lucky Grand Prize winner will receive a TC Electronic BG500…
Marcus Miller’s latest album, A Night in Monte-Carlo makes its U.S. debut today. In celebration of the release, Concord Music Group and DR Strings have teamed up with No Treble to offer No Treble readers a chance to win some cool Marcus Miller prizes. A Night in Monte-Carlo, recorded in 2008, showcases Miller being backed…
3. Bootsy Collins with James Brown Live (1971)
Bootsy Collins sent us this video, saying “see 18 yr old Bootsy with James Brown”. The video was shot in April 1971, live in Bologna, Italy.
4. Player Spotlight: Leslie Dirksen
Meet Leslie Dirksen, a bassist from Plymouth, Massachusetts, and our player in the spotlight for February 1, 2011. Bio: I started playing bass at age 17, being snuck into bars for blues jams. I attended B.I.T. Summer Session and then enrolled at Berklee in Boston. I played bass for Boston’s all female heavy metal group…
Q: I tend to get very nervous before any live performance. How do you deal with performance anxiety? A: Everyone, at some point in their development, gets nervous before a gig or feels inadequate to the task at hand. It’s natural. The best thing you can do is over prepare! Still, the nerves are there….
6. Veillette Introduces the Concorde Semi-Hollow Bass
Veillette Guitars has unveiled their new Concorde Semi-Hollow Bass, being the company’s “most acoustic” bass yet. Designed to mimic vintage and classic semi-hollowbody basses, the body is 14” wide and heavily chambered with dual soundholes and a radiused spruce top. The curved face gives the body more depth in the center while keeping the edges…
7. Gear Watch: Von Saint Guitar Grips
While making the rounds at NAMM, we came upon the Von Saint booth, where the company was displaying its innovative bass guitar grips. The concept is that bass stands are awkward and take up floor space, which is important, especially on stage. The Crewsader Grip, Rogue Grip, and Renegade Grips are designed to hook onto…
8. Victor Wooten Offers Remastered “Me & My Bass Guitar” as Free Download
As we reported a couple of weeks ago, Victor Wooten has launched his own record label, VIX Records. His first release is A Show of Hands-15, a remastered version of his solo debut album from 15 years ago. Vic has just announced his iconic track, “Me & My Bass Guitar” is being offered in its…
9. Tal Wilkenfeld and Jeff Beck: Freeway Jam
Here’s a great fan shot video of Tal Wilkenfeld taking a solo during a Jeff Beck concert. Eventually, Beck joins in to help out with the low end… on the same bass. Pretty cool. Tal Wilkenfeld
10. Technique Series: Pizzicato (Plucking) Exercises
The simple, straightforward exercises below are the best I have seen to develop and maintain right hand pizzicato (plucking) on the upright bass. They isolate the technique to focus one just one thing: your right hand technique. There is certainly room in a practice routine to work on right hand/left hand coordination, or tricky patterns,…
