Archive for 2015 - Page 98

Longtime grindcore purveyors Napalm Death are back — this time with the band’s 15th studio album, Apex Predator — Easy Meat. The record includes “How the Years Condemn,” written by bassist Shane Embury, who has been with the band since 1987. “Musically I wanted this track to encompass lots of different rhythms and nuances in the short space of time...

This week was mostly about NAMM, but that doesn’t mean this week’s top 10 is all about gear. No Treble readers enjoyed columns by Dr. D and Damian Erskine – big time – as well as a couple of great bass videos. Thanks as always for reading, commenting and sharing. 1. Marcus Miller Teams with Sire Guitars for New Signature...

Dream Studios announced their Majestic Bass at NAMM – one they describe as simple, but with quality. The bass is built with a one-piece alder body that is heavily contoured for comfort and playability. The instrument’s hard maple neck can be topped with either a rosewood or Torray Carbon Fiber fretboard. Each option holds 22 frets and mother of pearl...

Light some incense and get ready for a trip. Kike Mora sent us this video for his solo bass song “Dhy?na,” in which he uses a drone and effects to create a four-minute meditative experience.

Kim Gordon, best known as Sonic Youth’s bassist, is heading out on a tour of a different kind in February — a book tour. The noise rock queen now recording in Body/Head has penned a memoir, called Girl in a Band, which she’ll discuss in an 11-stop book tour featuring Q&A sessions with literary, music, and art professionals, according to...

Rush’s Geddy Lee and Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris are having their Fender signature models spruced up for 2015. Each of the signature models have been around for years but will be getting new specs and features. The USA Geddy Lee Jazz Bass is getting more of an update between the two. “[It] is a new version that combines the specs...

Former Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave bassist Tim Commerford is back with his own band called Future User. The band’s electronic sound may be a departure from the bassist’s former bands, but his massive sound is still the musical centerpiece. Commerford, who also handles vocals, hasn’t lost his political edge, either. The song “Mountain Lion” is about pushing the...

King Crimson’s latest iteration features not only three drummers, but also stalwart bassist Tony Levin and founding guitarist Robert Fripp. King Crimson, although established in 1969, is no relic of a past musical age and the prog-rock band’s fall 2014 tour garnered accolades. That tour’s sound was captured live at Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 2014 concerts at the Orpheum...

G&L Guitars has introduced a 5-string version of their MJ-4 called the MJ-5 Bass Guitar. The new model retains all the features of the four-string model with re-engineered bi-coil Alnico V pickups. Each pickup features two side-by-side coils configured in a series-humbucking mode to offer a range of single-coil tones without the classic hum. The pickups are matched to a...

Hold the phone… we have a brand new Aaron Gibson video. And once again, the talented bassist shows his creativity not only with music, but also with his video skills. This song has an even bigger purpose. “My friend, Andy Irvine, asked me to do a cover of his song. He has a passion for the plight of the rhinoceros...

This promises to be a good year for vinyl-record loving and/or audiophile Rush fans. Universal Music Enterprises is reissuing the majority — 14 albums — of the trio’s Mercury releases throughout the year, beginning this month with 1975’s Fly By Night, which was the first record to feature Neil Peart on drums. Bassist/vocalist Geddy Lee and guitarist Alex Lifeson founded...

Morley debuted the Cliff Burton Tribute Series Power Fuzz Wah at the Winter NAMM Show this year. Introduced in part with the bassist’s father Ray Burton, the pedal is a tribute that blends aspects of the 70’s model used by Burton on the early Metallica recordings and the company’s modern models. The Power Fuzz Wah’s fuzz and wah effects can...