Archive for March 2012 - Page 8

Drummer Stewart Copeland has a great habit of putting together random jam sessions and recording them. (Check out this one with Les Claypool, Neil Peart, and Danny Carey). This time he posted a jam with bass legend Stanley Clarke and guitarist/vocalist Ben Harper playing the tune “So Fool for Love.” As if the bass/guitar unison groove isn’t cool enough, it...

Jazz bassist Joe Byrd has passed away at the age of 78, following injuries from a car accident. Byrd was best known as the bassist for his brother Charlie Byrd’s trio and was featured on the album Jazz Samba with Stan Getz, which is credited as the first major bossa nova album on the American jazz scene. Born in Chuckatuck,...

After first introducing it a year and a half ago, Oktober Guitars is now making a production model of their DevilWing bass guitar in addition to the U.S. Custom Shop version. The bass was designed by Misfits guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein and is aptly part of the company’s Von Frankenstein line. The DevilWing features set neck construction with a...

Armin Metz really caught some attention when we posted the video for his solo bass composition “Sanskar Valley” (see below). As bassist for Imogen Heap, Metz has done his share of playing stages as a sideman, but the spotlight has been moving to him with his expansion into the realm of solo bass. How did you discover your new school...

Brian Bromberg pays tribute to Jimi Hendrix in this clip, playing both standard and piccolo bass, and taking a few tasty solos along the way. We love it when bassists cover Hendrix. So much so, we made a top 10 list last year.

Since we started No Treble in 2009, we’ve always kept our focus on sharing the great bass players we’ve met through this online magazine. We love discovering new bassists via Youtube, our Facebook page and Twitter friends, and we love when readers submit their stories. So we decided it was time to let you know all the ways No Treble...

German builder Andreas Kristall makes a host of impressive basses, including this week’s bass of the week: The Kristall Solid. Available in 4, 5, and 6-string models, the Solid sports a singlecut design with bolt on construction. Kristall says the bass was built for “Rock character, sound, look, and feel.” As each piece is made to order, options vary from...

Ever wonder how a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer writes bass lines? How can somebody stay in the industry for over 50 years and still stay fresh? What’s the key to musical growth? In part 1 of our interview with Jack Casady, we talked with the legendary bassist about his influences, his achievements, and some of his views on...

Iuliu-Bogdan Diaconeasa, aka Bass Battle, sent us this cool bass looping video. We thought it was an awesome, chill song, and his note explains it. “The song is still in progress and this is a looping version that I made on a beautiful Sunday morning at home,” he said. “I [think of] this as a love song [though] I didn’t...

Bassist John Moyer has teamed up with Hal Leonard and Rock House to release Modern Metal Bass, a 2-DVD instructional set for constructing bass lines. Moyer, the bassist for the multi-platinum selling band Disturbed, shares the techniques he employs with the band, including using a pick to attack the strings and create a more aggressive sound, using octaves and fifths,...

In addition to the AL Series, Epifani has introduced the next incarnation of their flagship UL series cabinets with the UL3 line. The UL3’s differ from the previous generation in that they have ceramic drivers, lighter weight enclosures, and textured paint finishes. The series includes 4×10, 3×10, 2×10, and 1×12 models, as well as a DIST 112 model, which features...

This question came from a student the other day… Q: Was there a time when you knew that you had “arrived” with your playing, in some way? Is there a definitive moment or is it just a slow gradual process with no big leaps? Photo illustration by AlicePopkorn A: The answer to this question is both complicated and likely different...