Weekly Top Ten: The Best in Bass for the Week of June 2
This week’s top 10 includes a healthy dose of incredible old and new school bass videos, some excellent how to columns, and the always GAS-inducing bass gear stories.
Here are the top 10 by reader views for the week of June 2-8, 2013.
Thanks for reading, watching, sharing and commenting!
1. Expanding Hands Music Now Offering Funk Fingers
Funk Fingers are available once again thanks to a licensing agreement between Tony Levin and Expanding Hands Music. Levin invented the Funk Fingers after mimicking his intro to Peter Gabriel’s “Big Time,” in which drummer Jerry Marotta played Levin’s bass strings with his drumsticks while the bassist fingered the notes with his left hand…
2. Les Claypool’s Duo De Twang: Jerry Was a Racecar Driver
This is “Jerry Was a Racecar Driver” like you’ve never heard it. Filmed at the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival in October 2012, Les Claypool and guitarist Marc “Mirv” Haggard tackle the Primus song in a bluegrass fashion, but that doesn’t stop the bassist from unleashing his signature style…
3. Iron Ether Introduces Subterranea Synth/Octave Pedal
Iron Ether’s newest pedal is a multi-timbral analog synthesizer and octave pedal. The handmade “Subterranea” pedal features three synthesized voices that track the input pitch, two of which have selectable waveforms and a third that has its own unique sound and lowpass filter…
4. Booker T. and the MG’s: “Time is Tight”, Live 1970
Here’s a groove that’ll make you feel good. Donald “Duck” Dunn locks in on this jam with Booker T. and the MG’s during a show at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, California on January 31, 1970.
5. Getting Noticed â?? Part 3: Working Your Local Music Scene
Damian wraps up his series on Getting Noticed Out There with some advice on connecting with your local music scene. Be sure to also heck out Part 1: Your Demo and Part 2: Social Media…
6. Left Hand Technique: Pivoting
Although I advocate a traditional left hand foundation (i.e. 1-2-4 fingering system), any bassist who plays long enough will come across passages that don’t lie well using this fingering system. “Pivoting” can be an attractive solution for such passages. Dr. D shows us the way…
7. Bass Orchestra: All Bass Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg Medley
Bass Orchestra, AKA Ran Mussman, put together this awesome all bass mashup of the Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg songs “Still D.R.E.” and “The Next Episode.” All of the sounds he plays are made on his bass…
8. Bass of the Week: Bajos Colmenares #22
Bajos Colmenares of Venezuela has some pretty beautiful designs, including their model #22. The 5-string bass features neck-through construction with a slender body of cedar and apamate. Check out our Bass of the Week…
9. Moe with Victor Wooten: “Kyle’s Song”
A couple of weeks ago, the Summer Camp Music Festival took place in Chillicothe, IL. Thanks to a guy named Kyle Hess, we have some pretty cool footage to watch. Kyle recorded this private set of moe. and Victor Wooten playing the moe. tune “Kyle’s Song” (a happy coincidence for the lucky videographer)…
10. Weather Report: Finale At Reading (1978)
Over the years, we’ve been treated to some videos of Weather Report’s 1978 performance in Reading and Washington, Pennsylvania. These videos, shared by Rick Suchow, were filmed by Dr. Fred Erskine, the father of drummer Peter Erskine. Here is the show’s finale…
