Archive for 2012 - Page 92

Bassist Karl Clews sent us this video of him performing his solo bass arrangement of the Beatles’ “Come Together”. Funky! Oh, and nice Alembic (’93 Alembic Stanley Clarke Deluxe)!

Last week was a week of more gear, old and new. In the new category, No Treble readers enjoyed the news about the Ultra-Light Bass from Traveler Guitar, the new Demonator 4 “Chaos” Bass from Dean, and the unique DevilWing Bass from Oktober. In Old School, we took a look at Jay Fortier‘s 1963 Fender Jazz bass, including the great...

Alan Cringean of AC Guitars has unveiled the J-Type series, a line of basses that gives a nod to classic bass design. “This range of basses offers a more traditional body shape but still has features that are typical of the ACG ethos,” the luthier explained. Available in 4- and 5-string versions, the J-Type is built to order and therefore...

Fuzzhugger FX has released the Bass Bloom, a bass-oriented version of their Algal Bloom fuzz. The new adaptation accounts for bass lovers by adding more low-end response and a clean blend to retain their original tone. The Bass Bloom has five controls: Gain, Bloom, Starve, Fuzz Level, and Clean Level. The Bloom knob controls the amount of fuzz added, while...

Here’s one of those rare videos that stands the test of time… twenty years later. This is the Brecker Brothers, consisting of the late Michael Brecker on sax and Randy Brecker on trumpet and surrounded by the all-star cast of bassist James Genus, drummer Dennis Chambers, guitarist Mike Stern and keyboardist George Whitty. The group is performing the brothers’ tune,...

Primus is gearing up for a tour of the U.S., beginning in May and continuing on through June. The band, which includes bassist Les Claypool, is touring in support of the album Green Naugahyde, released in September of last year. The album was the first full studio album by the band since the 1999 release, Antipop. The 26-stop tour includes...

Whirlwind kicked off the year right by debuting the OC Bass Optical Compressor at NAMM. Voiced specifically for bass, the pedal switches between a compressor and a limiter and features three pre-programmable attack speeds: Fast, Slow, and Medium. Input and Output knobs control the level and gain to help you hone in on the amount of punch and sustain you...

Rush may be overlooked in the U.S. by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, but their home country isn’t making the same mistake. The long-time power trio has won a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award, the most prestigious award in Canada, awarded for outstanding work within the arts for 20 years or more. Each award winner receives $25,000 from...

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...