Archive for February 2016 - Page 7

Q: Since I don’t own a car anymore, I was thinking about changing my gear to better fit my new way of moving around (public transportation). Do you have any suggestion about ways to reduce the amount of stock I need to move around while keeping a good sound on stage? A: I think that even those of us with...

Rich Brown sent me his latest video, with his performance of “_our Hero”. Rich gets such a sweet, synth-like tone on this one.

The self-titled debut album from British band Nothing But Thieves has been released in the United States. The group, with Philip Blake on bass, draws inspiration from bands like Muse and Arcade Fire. According to Musical Merchandise Review, Blake uses Rotosound’s classic Swing Bass 66 strings in 45, 65, 80 and 110 gauges. The band also has almost 2 million...

Meet Miguel Trapezaris, a bassist who lives quite the diverse musical life. Miguel is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Check out his story and you’ll see what I mean… Bio: I’ve been a heavy metal fan since I was about 11. I’m not quite sure how that happened, but I always liked loud music. I started listening...

Time to celebrate some bass greatness. Here are the top 10 most watched videos on No Treble for the first month of 2016. Thanks for watching, commenting and sharing! 1. Brian Wilson and Carol Kaye: Good Vibrations Carol Kaye is a living legend of the bass who played on countless recordings with memorable bass lines. One of those is “Good...

Happy Mardi Gras! We’re celebrating with the grooves of the one and only George Porter, Jr. Here’s a great clip of Porter with the Funky Meters, including fellow original Meters member Art Neville, guitarist Brian Stoltz, and drummer David Russell Batiste, Jr. The quartet sets a slow burn on the Meters classic “Hey Pocky A-Way”, which has become a standard...

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start, especially if you’re new to playing bass. Hal Leonard Corp.’s First 50 Songs You Should Play On Bass aims to help. The book features easy arrangements (tab) of songs bassists often want to play. Check out the song list: American Girl Billie Jean Black Dog Blister In The Sun Blitzkrieg Bop Born...

Today we’re checking out another iconic bass with the Gibson SG Standard. Originally introduced in the 1961 as the EB3, the current incarnation of the bass carries many of the same attributes including the instantly recognizable body shape. Nowadays, the SG Standard is built as a dual pickup model with a vintage-style TB Plus humbucker in the neck position and...

Most people are aware of the importance of warming up before we practice or perform. A slow warmup can protect against injury and help to ensure we are performing at our optimum level. In situations where time is short, however, it can be tempting to forgo the warmup portion of the day. When I am pressed for time, I sometimes...

Esperanza Spalding may be leaning towards jazz-rock fusion for her upcoming album, but she can still perform jazz standards with the best of them. Get an earful as Spalding performs “On the Sunny Side of the Street” for President Obama and guests at the White House during the “Celebration of American Creativity 2016”.

Jazz bassist Janek Gwizdala released his latest solo bass album, American Elm, less than a month after recording it. Gwizdala, featured on the latest Peter Erskine release Dr. Um, recorded American Elm in one day – Dec. 27, 2015 – at Los Feliz Sound in Los Angeles, California. He uses his Fodera Signature 5-string bass, Aguilar SL-212’s and a single...

We love the top 10 reader favorite lists, but we’re not sure we’ve seen one quite so packed with so much from just one week. Here are the top 10 most read stories and most watched videos for the week. Thanks as always for reading, watching, listening, commenting and sharing. 1. Tech 21 Unveils Bass Fly Rig at NAMM 2016...