Archive for 2013 - Page 27

Q: I’m an intermediate level hearing-impaired bassist who cannot identify notes or pitch or key by ear. I play songs by memory. How would I go about breaking through to the next level? A: Wow, this may be the hardest question I’ve ever had to attempt to answer. The impression that I have is that with something so outside of...

Nathan Navarro is a total beast of a bassist who really knows how to make effects sound good. Here’s a demo he made to show some of what he can do. Things start out pretty ambient and serene up until the 1:30 mark when all hell breaks loose. Check out those sweeps at 2:00! For the brave, Nathan has the...

Last year, Megadeth celebrated the 20th anniversary of their iconic album Countdown to Extinction with a reissue and tour during which the band played the the whole thing in order. One year later, the group has released Countdown To Extinction: Live, a snapshot of the anniversary tour that was captured at the Fox Theatre in Los Angeles in December 2012....

Meet the bassist known as Boogie Cindy. Cindy anchors the Boogie Wonder Band, a band she founded and has since gone on to play over 2,500 shows in 450 cities around the world. The band is a well-choreographed 1970s Disco cover band. Cindy is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of September 23, 2013. Bio I am...

Osiamo has launched the Dr. J line of effects pedals, which the company describes as bringing reasonable prices to the “boutique” market. The series includes three stompboxes aimed at bassists: the D-55 Aerolite Comp, the D-53 Sparrow Driver & DI, and the D-52 Soloman Bass Overdrive. All of the pedals feature true bypass switching, a metal housing, and DC power....

Thanks to the new iTunes Radio, I got on a Dumpstaphunk kick, which extended to videos of the band. This is one funky band, started by Ivan Neville (son of Aaron Neville) and including two bassists (Nick Daniels and Tony Hall), and one incredible drummer (Nikki Glaspie). Here they are in their return home to New Orleans for this year’s...

Three years ago, bassist Percy Jones, guitarist/engineer/producer Neil Citron and drummer Walter Garces released their debut as the band known as BangTower. The trio is back with a new release, coming later this year. BangTower has released the first track, “This is My Town”, which features a first for the band: Citron’s vocals. Jones, a fretless bass pioneer, made his...

One of the most important things we do as bass players is to create and lock into a groove. When I practice this I prefer a drum machine to a metronome. Here’s a guide to working with a drum machine to master the groove: 1. Set the tempo and style. Choose all the styles you are trying to be competent...

Alun Vaughan shared this video with us featuring bassist Jose Castillo performing his take on the Bela Fleck & The Flecktones tune “The Sinister Minister”. Jose is covering more than just the bass, as you’ll soon see. Wow!

Stuart Bahn has just released the second in his Music Theory Toolkit Series of apps for Android devices, entitled Music Theory – Chords in Minor Keys. The app trains you to learn all the minor, major, and diminished chords found in all 12 minor keys. Your theory is tested as the app displays a minor key and a roman numeral,...

Last week was dominated by popular new bass gear stories and awesome bass videos. That, plus Damian’s latest column and a “How to Groove” lesson by MarloweDK make up the top 10 most popular stories, how-to’s and videos on No Treble for the week of September 15-21, 2013. Thanks for reading, commenting and sharing! Keep it low. 1. Vulfpeck: My...

Last month we featured a burning track by the Jonathan Scales Fourchestra entitled “TNFJ“. The song really caught readers’ attention with sick drumming, other-worldly steel drums, and of course, the extra funky bass line by Cody Wright. Wright, who uses a pick to play, also wowed us with a driving and percussive solo. Here is his new video tutorial on...