Archive for 2014 - Page 72

This week we take a look at the Klangkraft “Tiefdruck” IV EMG, a bass the company designed with modern rock and metal players in mind. The body features nice 3D body shaping for comfort with a matte black finish for aesthetic appeal. The European-made bass is created with an ash body, hard rock maple neck, and an ebony fretboard that...

Few bassists have a style that is as instantly recognizable as Francis “Rocco” Prestia’s funky, bubbly ghost and 16th-note playing. His work with Tower of Power has shaped what is expected of a funk bassist in terms of playing in the pocket and has subsequently inspired countless bass players. Prestia himself is humble about his contributions, citing James Jamerson and...

Herbie Hancock took the stage at the Tokyo Jazz Festival in 2005 with a version of the Headhunters which included bassist Marcus Miller. Here the group performs “Butterfly”, which appeared on Hancock’s 1974 album Thrust. Marcus starts things off on bass clarinet before picking up his bass. And at that point, things get extra groovy. This lineup also includes Roy...

Atlanta Rhythm Section bassist Paul Goddard has passed away, according to news reports and confirmed by the band on their Facebook page. He was 68. Goddard was among the founding members of the band in 1970 when the former members of the Candymen and the Classics IV became the session band for Studio One in Doraville, Georgia. Goddard retired from...

La Bella Strings is introducing a new take on their flatwound strings with the Low Tension Flexible Flats series. Made with the same techniques as their Deep Talkin’ Bass sets, the new strings have a slightly adjusted construction for a lighter and more flexible feel to their heavier counterparts. The company says that the Low Tension Flexible Flats offer the...

Q: As you may know, many bassists who play Urban Gospel music will detune their basses to a low B? or lower to achieve that extra low range. About a year ago, I decided to give detuning a try and detuned my 5-string bass to B?. It was strange at first, because I had to get used to the half-step...

We’ve typically seen Miles Mosley in solo settings, and he’s always knocked us out. But as we learned in our interview with Miles, he’s an incredibly versatile bassist, and one who studied with some true bass giants including John Clayton, Ray Brown and Al McKibbon. Here’s Miles with his trio performing “Planetary Princess”. The trio includes Tony Austin on drums...

On March 26, 2009, 40 years to the day that the original Allman Brothers Band played together, the revitalized version of the group — original members Gregg Allman (vocals and keyboards), Jaimoe (drums), and Butch Trucks (drums, tympani) along with Marc Quinones (congas, percussion), Warren Haynes (vocals, lead and slide guitar), Derek Trucks (slide and lead guitar) and Oteil Burbridge...

Meet Jason Raso, a bassist and instructor from Ontario who says he has “zero control over [his] face muscles when [he] plays.” In other words, he’s a bass player. He’s also the No Treble reader in the spotlight for the week of April 28, 2014. Bio: Jason Raso has a funk heart and a jazz head. They are hard wired...

Here’s a cool new bass groove for you to try out and add to your bag of tricks. This is an A Dominant 7 lick, complete with harmonics and double stop chords. Follow along with the video below and this transcription. For the gear heads: the bass this time around is my 1977 Music Man Stingray strung with Dunlop nickel...

Jon Cleary & The Absolute Monster Gentlemen know how to groove, thanks to a stellar cast of musicians which includes bassist Cornell C. Williams, guitarist Derwin “BigD” Perkins and drummer Eddie Christmas. Here’s the quartet performing “When You Get Back” live at the The Basement night club in Sydney, Australia. This one offers a lot, and grooves all the way...

So, you always wanted to own a vinyl copy of the first Rush record. Now you can get the record that kicked of a 40-year band career that’s still going strong, through the good graces of Universal’s reDISCovered vinyl series, which is reissuing that (released in 1974 in Canada on the band’s first independent imprint, Moon Records.) But this reissue...