Weekly Top 10: New Basses, Awesome Bass Videos, Getting to Know Your Bass, and More Bass Awesomeness

Another week, another top 10 list of bass goodness. Things kick off with a few new basses from Fender, and then there’s the handful of terrific bass-focused videos to follow.

Readers also enjoyed checking out the news of Mars Volta/Big Sir bassist Juan Alderete’s new Pedals and Effects website.

And we wouldn’t be No Treble without our expert columnists… Ryan Madora kicked off a brand-new column series, “Getting to Know Your Bass”, and Dr. D. brought his lowdown wisdom with his latest column, “Strategies for Better Intonation” – both reader favorites last week.

Here’s your top ten most viewed articles and videos for the week of June 3-9, 2012. Thanks for reading and for commenting and adding your voice to this online mag!

Fender Introduces Factory Special Run Antigua Jazz and Precision Basses

1. Fender Introduces Factory Special Run Antigua Jazz and Precision Basses

Fender continues to bring old school to the forefront with the announcement of a “Factory Special Run” of instruments with their retro Antigua finish. Introduced in the late 1960’s, the distinct color scheme was revisited in 1977 with more of a greenish shade. The new limited edition line includes both Jazz and Precision bass models…

Fender Custom Shop Introduces Dusty Hill Signature Precision Bass

2. Fender Custom Shop Introduces Dusty Hill Signature Precision Bass

The Fender Custom Shop has expanded its Artist Series instruments with the Dusty Hill Signature Precision Bass. Available in Black and Nocaster Blonde, the bass oozes old school with a road worn finish and reverse headstock. The ZZ Top bassist helped tweak the bass…

Rebecca Johnson: QW Brewery Live Bass Solo

3. Rebecca Johnson: QW Brewery Live Bass Solo

It has been about a year since we first featured bassist Rebecca Johnson and her awesome live bass video. Rebecca just sent over a new one, saying “You guys have really helped my band get a lot of fans from all over the world :)” We think Rebecca had more to do with that than us…

Juan Alderete Launches New Pedals and Effects Resource

4. Juan Alderete Launches New Pedals and Effects Resource

Mars Volta/Big Sir bassist Juan Alderete has launched PedalsAndEffects.com, a new website with which the bassist hopes to spread his knowledge of using effects. Alderete, whose genre-bending career spans over two decades, is known for making some of the most incredible sounds with his extensive pedal collection…

Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Stanley Clarke & Omar Hakim: Cantelope Island, Live (1991)

5. Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter, Stanley Clarke & Omar Hakim: Cantelope Island, Live (1991)

Live Under the Sky 1991 featured a great line-up of Herbie Hancock with Wayne Shorter, Stanley Clarke and Omar Hakim. Here’s the quartet playing Herbie’s “Cantelope Island” and ripping it up. Stanley plays a solo after the half-way mark, and really locks in with Omar. Stanley even quotes MC Hammer’s “Can’t Touch This”. Ha. Awesomeness.

Eve Guitars Introduces Elite Line Fretted 4 Bass

6. Eve Guitars Introduces Elite Line Fretted 4 Bass

Eve Guitars, run by luthier Douglass Mullen, has introduced a new line of custom basses following a successful debut at the London Guitar Show in March of this year. The basses are constructed with hand-selected, sustainable materials from the east coast of Scotland…

Getting to Know Your Bass: Part 1 – Tone Controls

7. Getting to Know Your Bass: Part 1 – Tone Controls

In this column series, we’ll examine a few different things that all fall under the heading of “knowing the capabilities” of your bass. First, we’ll focus specifically on the importance of tone knobs and learning what they do…

The Book of Jaco – the Ultimate Compendium of the Genius of Jaco Pastorius

8. The Book of Jaco – the Ultimate Compendium of the Genius of Jaco Pastorius

Bassist Mike Cornelison spent years of intense study on the work of Jaco Pastorius while studying at Musicians Institute. After graduating MI with honors, Cornelison began compiling his studies and ultimately put together a book including 26 of the late bassist’s lines from various albums and acts over his career…

Bass of the Week: GMR Bassforce NT

9. Bass of the Week: GMR Bassforce NT

While checking out different luthiers’ websites, Kevin came across the GMR Bassforce NT: a neck-through version of their flagship model. Based out of the UK, GMR’s Bassforce is proof of their constant work. And then it was the Bass of the Week…

Strategies for Better Intonation

10. Strategies for Better Intonation

If you are an upright bassist, then intonation is on your mind. I’ve talked in the past about using drones to help solidify intonation, but this is just one of seemingly innumerable strategies to improve pitch. Today we’ll touch on a few other approaches…

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