Weekly Top 10: The Best in Bass for the Week of April 20th

1. Bass Players You Need To Know: Donald “Duck” Dunn

For the official launch of our Bass Players to Know series, we’re starting with the man, the legend, the ’fro: Donald “Duck” Dunn. Lets cover some of the need-to-know facts, an examination of his style, and a few key listening examples…

2. Robert Trujillo Talks Jaco Projects

Metallica’s Robert Trujillo never met Jaco Pastorius, but like many bassists, Trujillo is a lifelong fan. Trujillo’s ties to Jaco have been growing over the last four years, starting with obtaining Jaco’s famed Bass of Doom back in 2010, followed by working on a movie, helping get early years material released and more…

3. John Mayer Trio with Pino Palladino: Chicken Grease/Cissy Strut Jam

I’ve said it before… by far, my favorite work by John Mayer is with his trio, thanks to Pino Palladino and Steve Jordan backing him up. Here’s the trio in 2005 performing a bonus jam at the end of a concert, including “Chicken Grease” and “Cissy Strut”…

4. Doug Johns: The Dougumentary

Doug Johns is one of the funkiest bassists alive. The Terra State Video Club caught some of the funk with this 45-minute look into his style, his outlook, and his personality. Now there’s a documentary (or “Dougumentary”). Check this out…

5. Alusonic Announces the Alberto Rigoni Hybrid Signature Bass

Alusonic Aluminum Instruments has teamed up with Italian bassist Alberto Rigoni to present the Alusonic Alberto Rigoni Hybrid signature bass. The bass is a take on the company’s hybrid blend of aluminum and wood construction and features an alder body topped with aluminum…

6. Zander Zon: Braveheart Theme for Solo Bass

For Zander Zon’s 50th solo bass video, he went back to one of his favorite movies for inspiration. Zander found the soundtrack for Braveheart to be “amazingly beautiful music”, and arranged the main theme for solo bass…

7. Choosing the Right Path for Your Music Career

In this week’s column, Damian answers a reader’s question about continuing to gig as a sideman vs. starting his own band, and more…

8. Source Audio Releases The Soundblox Hub

Source Audio has released the Soundblox Hub, a box that allows for linking up five of the company’s Soundblox 2 pedals and saving the settings on each. It utilizes MIDI Program Change and Control Change messages to save and recall up to 128 pedal “scenes” to be recalled later…

9. Viktor Lörincz: Return of the Boomerang

One of the most popular videos we’ve ever shared is Viktor Lörincz’s “Boomerang,” back in 2011. Now Lörincz is back with “Return of the Boomerang,” a bass solo that builds on his previous and most popular video…

10. Adam Ben Ezra: Balagusto for Solo Double Bass

Any time Adam Ben Ezra shares a new video, I know we’re all in for a treat. This time around, Adam is performing the song “Balagusto” on his 5-string upright. It is simply remarkable how he can make it sound so much bigger than one person playing live…