Archive for June 2014 - Page 2

Vulfpeck’s Jack Stratton sent me another one of his cool visualization videos highlighting another impressive bass line by the one and only James Jamerson. This time around, the tune is the performance of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell. The song, written by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson and recorded on the Tamla Motown label...

You just have to smile when you watch this: It’s for the restored version of A Hard Day’s Night that’s hitting U.S. theaters on 4th of July weekend, in honor of the film’s 50th anniversary. But you can see the print, and a whole bunch more in the Criterion Collection’s of the film that helped define The Beatles’ image, including...

The best basses come together through a mixture of inspiration, art, and technology. This week we check out a one-of-a-kind instrument that was born of all three ingredients: the Diana Bass by Ribbecke Guitars. In late 2012, bass legend Jack Casady lost his wife Diana after a hard-fought battle with cancer. Casady pondered ways he could honor her memory before...

Think of your favorite reggae song and chances are what comes to you is actually the bass line. That’s because the bass line is often the actual musical hook of the song, which leaves people humming for days. No reggae music has reached as many people as the songs of Bob Marley, and no reggae bass lines have been as...

Aaron Gibson is back with another single in his “Demos” series, “See The World.” Aaron said his “Demos” series “are solo bass renditions of songs in preparation for my next produced album.” The video work is terrific as usual, and Aaron shared a note about that too: “I wanted to do more with this video in the way of art,...

Legendary drummer Ginger Baker has returned with the release of , his first album in 16 years. The record showcases his new bandmates in his group, Jazz Confusion, including jazz bassist/composer Alec Dankworth (Van Morrison, Stephane Grappelli, Alan Barnes, Million Dollar Band.) Check out the title song “Why?” performed live: Why? is available on and digital download ( and ....

Apparently when traveling, no one is safe from the TSA. Jazz bass superstar Christian McBride took to Facebook to express his outrage after his bow was taken from his case on the way to a gig in Canada. “Now that it’s confirmed, I can tell you that good ol’ TSA confiscated (aka STOLE) my brand new bow right out of...

Q: I regularly gig in a blues-rock power trio, and I have to solo over one or two tunes. Every time, the lead guitarist asks me to crank up the volume because he plays at a really high volume… too loud in my humble opinion. I don’t want to crank up the volume because I think it kills everything from...

Our Facebook friend Mark Francis Tully shared this video on our page, and I’m glad he did. The video features bassist Jimmy Lea shining with English rock band Slade at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in 1975. The song, “Let the Good Times Roll,” features an aggressive, recurring bass line that builds up tension and excitement that the rest of the...

Mastodon’s latest album, , is a progression from its last, bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders said in an interview earlier this year with Paste. “A lot of people ask us if it kicks off where The Hunter left off,” he said. “And to a large degree, I suppose yes.” The record also focuses on cycles, like those of loss and rebirth, all...

Meet Steve Earnhart, a bassist otherwise known as “Bald Steve”. Steve started out on bass on a whim, but when he heard Jaco Pastorius and Marcus Miller, he had that aha moment and knew what he wanted to do in life. And he’s been doing it ever since. Steve is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of...

Netherlands-based luthier Lingsma has announced the availability of their new Electric Upright Bass model, or EUB for short. The bass’s design centers around a compact wooden resonator block, which the company says is designed to vibrate at the same resonances as the body of an acoustic upright bass and create a warm, rich sound. Lingsma’s EUB is balanced on a...