Archive for 2011 - Page 53

We first heard about Darkglass Electronics by way of the company’s flagship distortion pedal, the Microtubes B3K [check out our review here], and soon met proprietor Douglas Castro. Castro, who hails from Chile but is now based out of Finland, builds all of the pedals by hand. A bass player himself, Castro couldn’t get the sound he wanted from all...

Here’s a new reader-submitted video, from bassist Rebecca Johnson. Rebecca is an Australian bass player and singer with her own band, a 3-piece funk/R&B band she says has “real musicians (no machines).” In this video, Rebecca lays down a nice, groovy bass solo. Gotta love the interplay between the bass and drums! Have a video to share? Send it to...

311, anchored by bassist Aaron “P-Nut” Willis, has released Universal Pulse, the group’s tenth album. Produced by Bob Rock, the album brings the band back to a more live and energetic sound. At eight songs, the CD is also their shortest to date. P-Nut says quality is better than quantity. “Universal Pulse is a continuation of this musical experiment called...

Pigtronix has released the Class A Boost, designed to fatten any signal, from instruments to line level devices. The pedal includes discreet transistor topology to boost signals up to 20db without clipping. A flat frequency response from 20Hz to 20kHz ensures your bass’s sound is preserved. The company explains that the pedal’s design allows for noise free performance, and has...

Q: I’m working on being a more fluent sight-reader. I can read notes and their values but it takes me a while to transfer that to the instrument. Any advice on how to most effectively improve? A: Good for you for devoting time to this worthwhile endeavor! Learning to read music is much like learning to read a spoken language....

A few days ago, we asked readers to submit videos of themselves playing bass. Our email box exploded with some really great videos. Today, we kick off featuring those videos with a solo bass performance by bassist, singer, songwriter Scott Varney. Scott is performing his original tune, “Groove of a Child”. This tune is from his debut CD, The Child’s...

Record label Abstract Logix held a music festival last November, featuring a wide array of musical acts over a two-day event. That concert is now available on a 2-CD release, entitled Abstract Logix Live! The New Universe Music Festival 2010. John McLaughlin and his 4th Dimension band, headlined the event, featuring bassist Etienne Mbappe. Other bassists on the release include...

Meet Lonnie Trevino Jr, a bassist from Austin, Texas who works as a full-time bassist. Lonnie is the No Treble player in the spotlight for July 19, 2011. Bio: I am a working bassist of 28 years from Austin Texas. I’ve Toured world wide with the likes of Monte Montgomery, Mike Zito, Tommy Shane Steiner, Papa Mali, Deadman among others....

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have released the first single from their upcoming album, I’m With You. “The Adventures of Raindance Maggie” is available now for streaming on their website and for download through iTunes. Bassist Flea expressed his excitement through his Twitter account. “Thanks all for the kind words, I hope we can touch hearts and bootys around the...

For the next several Q&A’s, we’re going to ask a single question from our Player Spotlight questionnaire (open to all bassists, by the way). The question this week: Where are you from? No Treble is read by bassists all over the world. Who knows, maybe we’ll start some bass meet ups thanks to this. Answer below in the comments, or...

Alain Caron‘s slap technique is really quite amazing, and this video showcases it as well as any we’ve seen. I especially love the opening with just bass and drums.

Phil Lesh’s “Eye of Horus” bass, built by Jens Ritter, has been acquired by the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. The modern-styled bass will be added to the museum’s extensive instrument collection, which also includes Prince’s and Eddie Van Halen’s guitars. Featuring Ritter’s Jupiter design with a solid silver “Eye of Horus” inlay at the 12th fret, the former...