Rewind: Bass of the Week, The Best Jaco Covers, Les Claypool Interview and the Best Bass Gear and Videos

1. Bass of the Week: Rickenbacker Limited Edition Lemmy Kilmister Signature 4004LK

Rickenbacker paid tribute to metal icon and Motorhead frontman Lemmy Kilmister with the introduction of the 4004LK, a signature bass limited to 60 pieces that was first spotted in 1995, though production started around 2000. The bass is half instrument, half art, as each piece’s walnut body features a hand-carved relief of oak leaves and…

2. Top 10: The Best Jaco Pastorius Covers and Play-Along Videos

This month marks the 35th anniversary of the debut of Jaco Pastorius‘ first album, the self-titled Jaco Pastorius. Do a quick search on Youtube, and you’ll find Jaco’s influence is as strong as ever. In celebration, we’ve taken a look back at all of the Jaco covers and playalongs we’ve posted here on No Treble….

3. Aram Bedrosian: Fly

Here’s another impressive solo bass performance by Aram Bedrosian, performing his original tune “Fly”. This tune is available on Bedrosian’s 2007 debut album.

4. Still Fishin’: An Exclusive Interview with Les Claypool

Les Claypool is a man that defies genres and labels. Since picking up bass at an early age, his influences of funk, prog rock and everything in between have melded to create his unique sound, which the bassist admits even he has trouble labeling. Of course, his creativity doesn’t stop at bass playing – Claypool…

5. Player Spotlight: Jon Willis

Meet Jon Willis, a bassist from Savannah, Georgia who got his start studying with Beaver Felton, and has more than 20 years experience as a bassist. Jon is our player in the spotlight for August 30, 2011. Bio: Began playing bass in early 90′s. I bought a Hot Licks VHS featuring Beaver Felton and soon…

6. Jackson Introduces JS Series Basses

Jackson Guitars has released the JS-series of Concert basses, consisting of three models: the JS2, JS3, and JS3V. The entry-level basses each feature 35″ scales, Indian cedro bodies, maple necks and Indian rosewood fingerboards that have 12″- 16″ compound radiuses for smooth playability. The three basses are tiered in features – the JS2 is a…

7. Understanding Blues Forms and Common Substitutions

In this lesson, we’re going to examine a couple of different blues forms, specifically the 12 bar, 8 bar, and 16 bar blues. Additionally, we’ll go over a few different approaches to playing through the form and knowing when it would be appropriate to substitute chords or when to adhere to the traditional changes. Here…

8. Chickenfoot: Big Foot Music Video

Chickenfoot has released a music video for “Bigfoot,” the first single from their upcoming album III, due out September 27th. The group includes Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Kenny Arnoff, and ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, who supplies his rock solid playing and signature falsetto background vocals to the tune. Besides featuring the new song, the…

9. Balancing Music School and Practicing

Q: I am a music student at a music conservatory, and I just had a year off for practice and teaching. Now I’m back to finish the last two years of my music education, and I’ve just received my lesson plan for the next 12 months. I have four lessons a day Monday and Wednesday….

10. Vanderkley Amplification Unveils 212MNT NeoLite Cabinet

Vanderkley Amplification has announced a new addition to their NeoLite series of bass cabinets: The 212MNT. Loaded with two 12″ Neodymium drivers and 1″ compression tweeter, the cab pumps out 600W RMS at 4 ohms. As with the other NeoLite enclosures, the 212MNT is built with void free birch and poplar plywood with dowelled joint…