Top 10: The 6-String Debate, The Best Bass Gear and Videos, Reader Spotlight and Interview with Alex Webster

Last week, No Treble readers really dug Davie504‘s FleaBass Funk video which took the top slot overall, and Magnus Sjoquist‘s big sounding uBass video made the top 10 as well.

Our interview with extreme metal bassist Alex Webster was a happy addition for many of our readers, who responded with their clicks and positive comments about putting extreme metal in the spotlight.

In gear, our bass of the week is the unique vViper bass by Spalt Instruments, we looked back at the most popular bass gear in October, and introduced some new gear.

Damian Erskine fielded a reader’s question about 6-string basses – always a hotly debated issue. We loved the reader comments on this discussion, and we think Damian finally brought a respectful discussion to this debate (with help from the reader who submitted the question). Check it out and add your voice to the mix.

Check out all this and the rest of our top 10 articles on No Treble for October 30 – November 5, 2011.

Davie504: Simple FleaBass Funk

1. Davie504: Simple FleaBass Funk

Bassist “Davie504” gets funky with his modified FleaBass, and offers some instruction along the way. Enjoy the tune, or play along with the tabs.

Extreme Metal Bassist: An Interview with Alex Webster

2. Extreme Metal Bassist: An Interview with Alex Webster

The evolution of heavy metal has presented a plethora of extreme subgenres: thrash metal, death metal, tech metal… the list goes on and on. But while the term extreme metal covers lots of territory, you can’t talk about extreme metal bass playing without talking about Alex Webster. As a founding member of the iconic band…

Fender Introduces New Gig Stand

3. Fender Introduces New Gig Stand

Fender has introduced a new instrument stand designed to end the bulkiness of traditional instrument stands. The compact stand was created to be as unobtrusive as possible by folding up in two steps and weighing just a little more than the average instrument cable. The stand’s slim design fits most basses and guitars, while rubber…

Bass vs. Guitar: The 6-String Debate

4. Bass vs. Guitar: The 6-String Debate

Q: I mean this in the most respectful of ways but, when I listen to six string bassists who play a lot of chords and solo. I can’t help but wonder why they don’t just play guitar. A: I’ve heard this question before, and thanks for being respectful. I’m a 6-string player, so I’ll share…

Top 10: The Best New Bass Gear (October 2011)

5. Top 10: The Best New Bass Gear (October 2011)

We love covering bass gear, and we covered a lot of it in October. Here are the top 10 most popular gear stories on No Treble for October, 2011. 1. Fender Introduces Modern Player Series Bass Guitars Fender has unveiled the Modern Player Series, including three new basses. The Modern Player versions of the company’s…

Bass of the Week: Spalt Instruments vViper

6. Bass of the Week: Spalt Instruments vViper

This week we look at the Spalt Instruments vViper, a custom built bass with a unique pickup design that pivots. The idea for the “wiper” arm pickup is the brainchild of proprietor Michael Spalt, a luthier who started building after studying film, photography and painting in San Francisco. After consulting on it with Bill Bartolini,…

Happy Halloween, Bass-Style: The Munsters Theme Song

7. Happy Halloween, Bass-Style: The Munsters Theme Song

In honor of Halloween, here’s bassist BumDog2112 (aka Shawn) performing The Munsters theme song, the way we like it. Shawn says, “One of my favorite things to goof around with. Always gets a laugh out of anyone I play it for.” We dig it. Happy Halloween!

Player Spotlight: Ollie Pietruch

8. Player Spotlight: Ollie Pietruch

Meet Ollie Pietruch, a bassist, session musician and teacher from the UK who some liken to the late Cliff Burton. Ollie is our player in the spotlight for November 1, 2011. Bio: I started playing bass at the age of 15, and now five years down the line I have achieved distinctions for both years…

Magnus Sjoquist: Jammin’ with My Kala UBass

9. Magnus Sjoquist: Jammin’ with My Kala UBass

Magnus Sjoquist sent us these impressive jams featuring his UBass. Hard to believe that little bass could produce that sound! Magnus, who is joined by Johan Edin on Hammond B3 and Daniel Björnmo on guitar in this recording, offers video lessons for UBass/bass players on his website. Have a video to share? Send it to…

AC Guitars Introduces Tefano SS Short Scale Bass

10. AC Guitars Introduces Tefano SS Short Scale Bass

AC Guitars has introduced the ACG Tefano SS, a new short scale bass with a single-cut design. The new model has a 31.5” scale with features modified to suit to the smaller size. As with other models in the ACG line, the bass is handcrafted by Scottish luthier Alan Cringean with a variety of options…

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  1. M Cooke Harvey

    ” Learning chords, voice-leading and different ways of navigating changes can really help you see how different chords relate to each other, and helps one to not treat each chord as a new tonality but, rather, a variation of the current tonality.” That quote from damien esrkine is one of the smartest things I have heard in a long time. Bravo…