Weekly Top Ten: The Best in Bass for the Week of January 27

Our top ten bass stories and videos included plenty from the 2013 NAMM Show – including a couple of cool videos. There’s more NAMM news, photos and videos to come over the next couple of weeks, so we expect the trend to continue.

Here are the most read stories and most watched videos on No Treble for the week of January 27 – February 2, 2013. Thanks as always for reading, sharing and commenting!

Tower of Power: “What Is Hip?” at 2013 NAMM Show

1. Tower of Power: “What Is Hip?” at 2013 NAMM Show

Tower of Power rocked the 2013 NAMM Show with an incredible performance on Thursday, January 24th. It was so good to see Rocco Prestia moving and grooving with the band, which was tight, tight, tight.

Ampeg Introduces PF-800 Bass Amp

2. Ampeg Introduces PF-800 Bass Amp

Ampeg has expanded their Portaflex Series with the PF-800. At 800-watts the bass head is the strongest in the line while only weighing 11.8 pounds. Similar to the rest of the line, its compact design allows it to be stowed inside the Portaflex PF flip-top cabinets…

Basses and Skill: Stick to One or Diversify?

3. Basses and Skill: Stick to One or Diversify?

Damian answers a reader’s question about mastering more than one types of basses in this week’s Ask Damian column…

Left Hand Flexibility for Bassists

4. Left Hand Flexibility for Bassists

When playing the bass, flexibility is far more important than strength. In fact, if body mechanics and gravity are used intelligently it takes surprisingly little strength to play our instrument. Flexibility, however, is paramount to many of the things we must do well. Dr. D shares the lowdown on left hand flexibility…

Dean Unveils John Entwistle Hybrid 5-String Bass

5. Dean Unveils John Entwistle Hybrid 5-String Bass

Dean unveiled several new basses at NAMM this year including a 5-string version of the John Entwistle Hybrid bass. Sharing many of the features of the 4-string Hybrid, The Ox’s new signature model sports bolt-on construction with an alder body and a maple “C”-shaped neck…

James LoMenzo and Mike Portnoy: Led Zep NAMM Jam

6. James LoMenzo and Mike Portnoy: Led Zep NAMM Jam

James LoMenzo teamed up with drummer Mike Portnoy this week during the Bonzo Bash NAMM Jam, which celebrates the life and work of the late John Bonham. The duo jammed out “How Many More Times” from Led Zeppelin’s self-titled album, locking in perfectly to the groove.

Johan Hansén-Larson: Joy Spring

7. Johan Hansén-Larson: Joy Spring

Sometimes some really great musical moments can come out of just jamming along to a backing track. Here’s Johan Hansén-Larson having some fun with an Aebersold recording of the classic Clifford Brown tune “Joy Spring.”

ESP Unveils LTD Elite Basses

8. ESP Unveils LTD Elite Basses

ESP has introduced a new line in their products called the LTD Elite series, which splits the difference price and quality between ESP’s high-end instruments and their more affordable LTD line. The new line is built in Japan and are based on the company’s most popular ESP models, including two basses: the J-4 and J-5….

Bass of the Week: Carvin SB4000

9. Bass of the Week: Carvin SB4000

In 2009, Carvin teamed up with Sekou Bunch to create the SB4000, a bass the company says was designed with “vintage vibe.” The U.S.-made bass is a 4-string, though a 5-string SB5000 is available with many of the same specs. Check out the bass of the week…

Alfons Åberg Fusion: Swedish TV Theme Song Cover

10. Alfons Åberg Fusion: Swedish TV Theme Song Cover

This is cool. Dirty Loops, anchored by bassist Henrik Linder, is already inspiring other bands to take on tunes and make them their own. Here’s Alfons Åberg Fusion, a trio featuring bassist Oskar Alex, keyboardist/vocalist Andreas Eklundh Pejler and drummer Oscar Lundström, performing their arrangement of a Swedish kid’s TV show theme song. Tight!

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