Archive for 2012 - Page 106

As someone who has taught at the University/Conservatory level for a number of years, I get many questions regarding undergraduate music school auditions. Some questions are specific to my school, but many are general requests for advice. As I am currently deep into audition season, I thought I would summarize some of my more common suggestions. Although much applies to...

Henry E. Davis, bassist for the ’70s R&B group L.T.D., passed away at the age of 63. A mainstay of the West Coast disco scene, he also played on the Diana Ross hit “Love Hangover.” Davis started his career in the ’60s with Friends of Distinction before hooking up with L.T.D. in the early ’70s. The band eventually split up...

Viaceslav Svedov typically offers super high energy takes on a variety of all-bass cover tunes. Here, he shows a more laid back style with one terrific cover of Bob Marley’s beautiful “No Woman, No Cry”. Is there anything Viaceslav can’t do? Editor’s note: We loved this so much, we decided to transcribe it. Check it out.

Last week proved two things: the No Treble readers are as diverse as they come, and the No Treble crew is having a harder and harder time recovering from NAMM as the years roll on (not that we’re complaining. At all.) Our NAMM coverage continued to generate lots of readership and comments last week, with new gear announcements making up...

Parker Guitars announced their newest bass, the Maxx Fly Bass at the NAMM show earlier this month, one the company says is the “culmination of Parker Guitars’ finest work in a bass.” The new Maxx Fly sports a swamp ash body with Parker’s trademark carbon glass epoxy wrap. Electronics include an EMG P-style split-neck pickup with an EMG MMCS bridge...

Peavey debuted their new MAX Series of bass amplifiers during the Winter NAMM Show earlier this month. This is a redesigned lineup of amps from the company, with power ratings of up to 300 watts and Peavey’s DDT speaker protection and exclusive tone enhancements. The Peavey MAX 115, MAX 112 and MAX 110 bass combo amps offer the company’s “psycho-acoustic...

Recorded live at Musicians Institute just five days ago, here’s The Aristocrats tearing it up during a private concert for students. Bryan Beller lays down the low end for the group, with Guthrie Govan on guitar and Marco Minnemann on drums. Now that’s a power trio! Be sure to stick around for the 2:13 mark, where the band incorporates smart...

Jeff Berlin will be following up his 2010 release, High Standards with the ironically titled album, Low Standards. Besides the pun, the moniker comes as the group will feature Richard Drexler on upright bass as well as piano. Rounding out the trio is drummer Mike Clark, who spent time playing for Herbie Hancock in the Headhunters. “I prepared for it...

Last year, Ampeg paid their respects to their legendary B-15 flip-top combo with a special run of 50 hand-built and hand-wired units. This year, they’ve announced a second run of 100 units. The new Heritage B-15 features the circuit paths of both the 1964 and 1966 models, including the classic Baxandall EQ controls. That, matched with premium 6SL7 octal preamp...

Source Audio debuted their new Soundblox 2 line of pedals at NAMM last week, including the Multiwave Bass Distortion and the brand new Dimension Reverb, designed by Bob “The Chid” Chidlaw. Described as “boldly anti-retro,” the new pedals are housed in compact cast-aluminum housings and have multi-function inputs to support MIDI, an expression pedal, or the company’s Hot Hand control....

The Bass Bash is an annual concert coinciding with NAMM, and it’s a great hang to meet bassists and listen to some killing music. Here’s a great clip from the first night of the event of Anthony Crawford’s solo while his band played “Whatever It Is” by Soulive. His band is rounded out by Ron Allen on drums, Kamasi Washington...

Longtime Peter, Paul and Mary bassist Richard “Dick” Kniss has passed away from pulmonary disease at the age of 74. The bassist was referred to as the fourth member of the trio and performed with the folk outfit for nearly 50 years. He also made waves as John Denver’s bassist and co-writer of the hit “Sunshine on My Shoulders.” Born...