Archive for April 2016 - Page 6

Levy’s Leathers has introduced the M317HPR Harper Designer strap, a deluxe pull-up leather strap decorated with a ridge down the center to accent its pull-up nature. Available in Rust coloring, the strap is 2½ inches wide with a soft suede backing. It’s adjustable from 37 inches to 51 inches. It will be available with a suggested retail price $122.26. Levy’s...

Often as bassists, we become so concerned with notes, rhythm, and locking in with our drummer that we forget the other important aspects of groove that can impact the listener equally as much. Articulation contributes greatly to groove and expression and can be employed to create contrast, add texture, and propel a song forward. I chose the example of Scotty...

One of the best concerts I saw in 2015 was the duo of double bass virtuosos Christian McBride and Edgar Meyer. Besides being unbelievable technicians, their musicality and rapport was astounding. This year they took the show on the road to the UK. Here’s a smoking clip of McBride and Meyer tearing through the jazz standard “Solar”. McBride kicks things...

If you’re in the market for an app to help you transcribe the songs you want to learn, Transcribe+ aims to help. The app, designed for iPhone and iPad, allows you to import a song from your music library, change the speed and key, create loops, see the music’s waveform and even take notes. A version of the app, with...

After introducing the Custom Shop Series of tuners this year, Korg has added to the lineup with the Sledgehammer Custom 100 clip-on tuner. The tuner offers tuning accuracy of ±0.1 cents and works with both bass and guitar. It’s powered by a single AAA battery, which provides about 100 hours of use before needing replacement. The Sledgehammer clips on and...

Q: I’ve recently made a switch from fretted to fretless bass, and so far it’s been awesome, but here’s the thing… A couple of the fretted basses I’ve played so far were all 34-inch scale, and the fretless I now play is a 35-inch scale six-string – and it’s unlined. So stretching my fingers that wide is becoming a pain...

We’ve featured a couple of impressive videos by the virtual band known as YYNOT. Here’s another. In this video, the group covers one of the greatest sides of a rock album ever – Rush’s “Cygnus X-1, Book II” – in its entirety. And once again, Tim Starace nails Geddy’s lines. The rest of the band includes Billy Alexander on guitars,...

You’re a musician and you love LP records. You’d love to press your music to vinyl to enjoy and for the world at large to hear. But even with the resurgence of vinyl, how do you begin pressing your music to vinyl discs, particularly on a small scale? The platform QRATES aims to answer that question. QRATES is a service...

Meet Miles Burger, who might be the busiest gigging bassist in high school we’ve ever seen. He’s also a “doubler” – performing on both upright and bass guitar. Miles is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story… Bio: I’m an 18 year old high school senior living in Philadelphia. As my friends and family like to...

It’s that time… time to celebrate the top 10 reader favorite videos of the month. Which is also our excuse to watch them all again. Thanks for watching, commenting and sharing. 1. Dirty Loops: Over the Horizon It has been a while since we’ve seen a video by Dirty Loops. The wait is over. Here’s the band – anchored by...

George Porter, Jr. sat down with NYC Radio Live’s David Ellenbogen for their podcast. During the session, Porter discusses how most bassists play The Meters’ “Cissy Strut” incorrectly (and shows how it is really done). He also covers other lines and shares his thoughts on music, life and more.

Alternative metal band Deftones has released its eighth album, Gore. The record – the band’s first in four years – is the third to feature the work of bassist Sergio Vega (Quicksand). Vega tells Rolling Stone in a recent interview that any reports of tension in the band, or of a battle between melody and metal, are untrue. He also...