Archive for February 2015 - Page 2

If you lean more to the old school then you’ll see Jay Yaws is a bass player’s bass player. Just take some of the phrases from his story and you’ll see: “providing a solid foundation”, “serve the song”, and “that endless search for the perfect tone”. We dig all those things, and so Jay was a great choice for this...

Ibanez is taking a page out of the old school with their new Talman Bass Series, consisting of the TMB300 and TMB100. The basses, which feature a retro aesthetic, share many of the same features with the 300 having an edge in features. Both models are built with a mahogany body, maple neck, and rosewood fingerboard. The TMB300’s fingerboard is...

Bass legend Francis “Rocco” Prestia shared this video on his Facebook page the other day, and I can only imagine that thousands of people around the world started moving in their seats. This clip of “Soul With a Capital S” is taken from the band’s 40th Anniversary at the Fillmore West. Most bass players dream of being able to play...

JJ Grey and Mofro’s latest, Ol’ Glory, shows off the Southern band’s mix blues, rock, folk, funk, gospel, and R&B. Featuring Todd Smallie on bass, the band churns out a phenomenal groove. The 12-song set, recorded at Retrophonics Studio in St. Augustine, Florida, also includes work from guests Luther Dickinson (North Mississippi Allstars) on dobro and electric slide guitar and...

I love checking out fledgling bass builders and self-starters, so when Alain Guiraud sent a note about his new bass, I got just as excited as he did. His friend and guitarist Bruno Régis created an axe that mixes and matches features from a handful of basses. Guiraud says it is his friend’s first order, and I have to say...

Being a musician requires a great number of skills. However, the aural component is by far the most prevalent. So, to perform at the highest levels, we must have good listening skills. Ultimately we need to hear, and understand, exactly what is happening around us. Only when we can do this can we respond in our most communicative and artistic...

Mitch (host of Groove here on NT) sent me this video of Royal Blood performing a cover of The Police’s “Roxanne”. It has been a while since we’ve shared a Royal Blood video, so it was great timing. After the video, be sure to check out our interview with Mike Kerr – the bassist/vocalist in the band who handles everything...

Imagine Dragons’s sophomore effort, Smoke + Mirrors is already generating heat with the single “I Bet My Life.” Britain’s Q Magazine has already given the album high marks — four stars — and compared the Las Vegas band’s vibe to that of “Songs From the Big Chair”-era Tears for Fears. It says the album is a “modern pop-rock gem.” Other...

Time for our weekly celebration of the best in bass… or in other words: this week’s top 10 most popular stories and videos on No Treble. Thanks as always for reading, commenting and sharing! 1. Ibanez Adds Fanned Fret SR Models to Bass Workshop Series One of the many new basses at Ibanez’s booth this year was the SRFF, a...

Laney Amplification has expanded their Nexus series of bass amps with the Nexus Studio Live, a hybrid tube bass amp designed for use on stage or in a session. The core of the amp includes a ECC83 tube in the preamp and a class D amps for a total output of 1,000 watts, but that’s just the beginning of this...

Here’s another great metal playthrough featuring bassist Mike Poggione and guitarist Tyler McDaniel of Serocs demonstrating the song “And When The Sky Was Opened.” The clip comes from the Blakhart Guitar booth at the 2015 Winter NAMM show. Poggione is rocking a 7-string bass and some wicked right hand technique to tear through the 7-minute song.

After introducing the EX-Bass two years ago, D’Angelico announced the solidbody EX-SD Bass at this year’s NAMM Show. The four-string bass features a chambered mahogany body topped with flame maple and a mahogany neck. Its rosewood fingerboard holds 21 frets and is adorned with mother of pearl block inlays as position markers. The EX-SD is loaded with a pair of...