Weekly Top Ten: The Best in Bass for the Week of November 17th

Ah, the weekly top 10… the best in bass, determined by No Treble readers.

Last week, four how-to/expert columns made the list, making a great week for inspiration and insight.

We also had some pretty epic videos, some new gear and the Bass of the Week.

Here is your Top 10 for the week of November 17-23, 2013. Thanks as always for reading, commenting and sharing.

Studio Jams with Leland Sklar: Cissy Strut

1. Studio Jams with Leland Sklar: Cissy Strut

Leland Sklar recently took part in an episode of Studio Jams, joined by saxophonist Najee, guitarist Joe Jewell, drummer Rayford Griffin and David Garfield on keyboards. The group decided to jam the Meters classic, “Cissy Strut”…

Overcoming Tone Loss When Switching from Finger-Style to Slap Bass

2. Overcoming Tone Loss When Switching from Finger-Style to Slap Bass

This week’s Ask Damian Erskine question is about slap bass. He doesn’t slap. But instead of ignoring it, he asked Steve Jenkins if he’d be up to write a guest column. Luckily for all of us, he agreed. Check out this guest “Ask” column…

Steely Dan: “Babylon Sisters” (Live)

3. Steely Dan: “Babylon Sisters” (Live)

To me, there are very few bands as timeless as Steely Dan. Here’s the band in 2000, performing live in New York around the time of Two Against Nature. Bassist Tom Barney makes the slow groove go on “Babylon Sisters”…

Dingwall Guitars Debuts Alberto Rigoni AR5 Signature Bass Model

4. Dingwall Guitars Debuts Alberto Rigoni AR5 Signature Bass Model

Two years ago, luthier Sheldon Dingwall and bassist Alberto Rigoni began working on a new bass. The goal was to create a versatile bass with a lot of punch and blending Dingwall’s ABZ and Z3 series basses. The duo has just unveiled the creation, the Dingwall AR5…

Vulfpeck: “Outro” Live at Rockwood Music Hall

5. Vulfpeck: “Outro” Live at Rockwood Music Hall

One of my favorite Vulfpeck tunes is “Outro”, from the EP Vollmilch, released earlier this year. Here’s the band performing it as the closer of their set at Rockwood Music Hall in October. As usual, Joe Dart is laying it down, and the whole band is just cooking…

Exercises and Schedules for Building Stamina on Bass

6. Exercises and Schedules for Building Stamina on Bass

Dr. D’s experience has been that when musicians work, they really work. It is completely feasible that we can play gigs morning, afternoon and evening. When times are good, we can find ourselves playing nine hours a day, or more, many days in a row. That’s where stamina comes in…

Sitting In: Just Say Yes

7. Sitting In: Just Say Yes

There are certain things in life that require a great deal of courage… bungee jumping off a bridge, rafting through class five white water, snowboarding., etc. You may, however, find yourself in a more realistic, yet equally terrifying scenario: sitting in. Ryan shares her thoughts on overcoming that fear…

Darryl Jones: Rolling Stones Have Lots of Unreleased Material

8. Darryl Jones: Rolling Stones Have Lots of Unreleased Material

When a band has been active for five decades, there’s bound to be some songs that fall through the cracks. That’s certainly the case with The Rolling Stones, according to bassist Daryl Jones. Jones said there’s a wealth of unreleased tracks from the band’s recording sessions over the years…

Bass of the Week: Becker/Martian Basses Mantis 4-String

9. Bass of the Week: Becker/Martian Basses Mantis 4-String

My Facebook friend Dusty Mulholland shared a picture of a Becker/Martian Bass a couple weeks ago, and I’m glad he did. It led me to find this fine specimen of a bass, known as the Mantis – a bass with a body shape that you might expect from an other-worldly bass company. Check out the Bass of the Week…

Nufutic, Featuring Jeroen Paul Thesseling, Releases Debut Track

10. Nufutic, Featuring Jeroen Paul Thesseling, Releases Debut Track

Seven-string fretless bassist Jeroen Paul Thesseling has released the first track from his new band Nufutic entitled “Dark Full Moon.” The band, formed by Thesseling and Sadist guitarist Tommy Talamanca, blends metal and fusion with plenty of awesome bass lines…

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