Archive for 2014 - Page 90

Grammy-winning instrumental fusion band Snarky Puppy, led by bassist/composer/producer Michael League is hot right now. And if you want to hear what the group sounded like pre-Grammy (Best R&B Performance for its work with Lalah Hathaway) the DVD/CD set We Like It Here might just be the place to start. Recorded live in Kytopia Studios in Utrecht, Holland from Oct....

Bartolini Pickups and Electronics has introduced the NTMB+ 3-band preamp module. The new model takes the place of the NTMB/918, which was comprised of two modules. The new preamp module is also 30% smaller than its predecessor. “The NTMB+ reduces the pre-amp size by 30%, which will better fit guitars and basses that have small cavities,” says Bartolini president Clyde...

Q: I play on a weekly gig and I use in-ear monitors. Things sound fine during sound check, but I don’t realize I need something until I’m lost in the middle of a song and find myself unable to find the keys or guitar in my monitor. This happens fairly regularly. I’ve even had most of my bass taken out...

You know, I’m really missing the NAMM Show (and the Bass Bash events that go with it). So here’s something to ease the pain… Uriah Duffy’s performance at the best event happening in Anaheim during the annual Winter NAMM Show. Uriah kicks things off with a killer solo bass version of Lorde’s “Royals“ before the whole band kicks in… and...

Fans of Beck’s 2002 classic album Sea Change will feel right at home with the intimate psychedelia of , which reunites the singer/songwriter with the band that backed him in the studio and on the road from 1996-2000 and 2003-2003. The players on Beck’s 12th studio album include bassist Justin Meldal-Johnsen (also known for work with Nine Inch Nails, Air,...

Meet Bambo Kino, a musician from Ohio who was bitten by the bass bug in 1970 and never looked back. He also has one of the coolest stage names I can recall, and an interesting list in response to the “influences” question. Bambo is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of February 24, 2014. Bio: The music...

Hartke’s new HD Series of bass combos loads the company’s HyDrive speakers into four models aimed at the beginning or intermediate player. Starting with the 25-watt HD25, each model steps up in speaker size, wattage, and features. Common features to the series include a built-in limiter, an 1/8″ auxiliary input, and a 1/4″ headphone output. The HD25 is built with...

I was the oldest guy in the No Treble crew, and Snarky Puppy went on really late at the 2014 NAMM Bass Bash this year. So I missed their performance in favor of some much needed sleep. Thanks to the guys at Gospel Chops, we have this video of Michael League and the gang to enjoy.

“You just didn’t expect them to be as funky, or as greasy as they were.” That’s how Aretha Franklin describes The Swampers, the legendary house band at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in the star-studded documentary . The band, including bassist David Hood, then went on to co-found the iconic Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in 1969, solidifying the tiny...

Two years ago, Warwick presented Bootsy Collins with a one-of-a-kind “Space Bass” made in the company’s custom shop. The star-shaped instrument garnered so much attention that Warwick has now introduced a similar model to their more affordable RockBass Artist Line. The Warwick RockBass Artist Line Bootsy Collins Space Bass is built with a mahogany body, maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard....

Single string shifting exercises are great for teaching us the geography of the fingerboard. Not to mention the help they provide in solidifying pitch accuracy and bow control. As a result, variations of the exercise given below have likely been in existence since the first human put first put bow to string. Edouard Nanny has a version at the end...

This video was filmed over three years ago I believe, but somehow I’ve missed it all this time. Victor Wooten with his brother, guitarist Regi Wooten, and drummer Steve Smith decided to jam in the studio. The result was the trio’s unique version Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon”.