Archive for 2016 - Page 13

Welcome back to the third installment of Creative Bass Lines. Before we start, I’d like to take a moment to say a fond farewell to the amazing Victor Bailey who sadly left us way too soon a few days ago. Victor was an enormous influence on me, and his highly melodic yet super funky playing made an indelible impression on...

Fans of Zander Zon have been asking for him to take on music from “Harry Potter” and to make it into one of his solo bass arrangements. He just released a terrific medley from the films. “I’m actually a very big fan of the books and the films, and I think the music is just fantastic,” he shared. “And not...

Jamaica-born, Australia-based luthier Dwight Cunningham creates some stunning basses, including this gorgeous RLJ-5 Splendour Jazz Bass. The semi-hollow bass features a myrtle and alder body loaded with a Nordstrand Bigman pickup in the bridge position with a split coil in the neck position. Its seven-piece neck is crafted from Myrtle, Indian Rosewood, Maple and Mahogany. The lined fretless fingerboard is...

A little while ago, I finished the creation of a 20-week course which includes an extensive technique practice section. Students had requested videos similar to what you see in fitness videos – a way to just follow along with the video. And this became one consistent part of each week’s program: I recorded “Practice With Me” videos featuring a variety...

I stumbled upon this video a while back and then re-discovered it later. Planet MicroJam is an interesting band with an equally interesting sound. Featuring Artie Sadtler on fretless bass, the band also includes David Fiuczynski on fretted and fretless guitar, Yazhi Guo on percussion, Freyja Garbett on microtonal keyboards, and Ayinde Webb on drums. Here’s their tune “Drunken Longing”.

Time to celebrate the reader favorites of the week on No Treble, including two great columns by Damian Erskine and Dr. D, some new bass gear, popular videos and more. Thanks for reading, watching, commenting and sharing. 1. Epiphone Unveils Limited Edition Korina Explorer Bass Epiphone has released a line of limited edition instruments featuring korina wood, including the Limited...

Iron Ether Electronics is continuing to redesign their pedals for 2016 with an updated version of the Xerograph Deluxe. The synthesizer-inspired stompbox now includes an expression attenuator knob for setting the sweep, top-mounted jacks, and a second footswitch dedicated to the envelope filter. “[The new] stomp switch activates/deactivates the envelope follower, allowing you to seamlessly move from envelope filter sounds...

We were saddened to learn of Sharon Jones passing on Friday. Here’s the powerhouse soul singer with her Dap-Kings performing Bobby “Blue” Bland’s “Road of Broken Hearted Men” live in Austin during NPR’s SXSW Showcase. Gabriel Roth, aka Bosco Mann lays down the low end in this 2010 performance. RIP, Ms. Jones.

Alter Bridge will be bringing “The Last Hero” tour back to North America in 2017 after they wrap up their European trek this winter. The band will be starting in Mobile, Alabama on January 21st and working their way between the U.S. and Canada for a solid month. The Last Hero is the band’s fifth studio album. In our recent...

Eastwood will be introducing a five-string version of their Classic hollow body bass as part of their crowdfunding platform. The Classic 5 Bass will be built with a bound laminated maple body, maple top, and bound f-holes. Similar to the four-string, the fiver is fitted with a pair of EW-Retro humbuckers controlled with a 3-way switch. Its knobs are set...

Hold on tight: Beyond Creation’s Hugo Doyon-Karout sent us this playthrough for Beyond Creation’s “Neurotical Transmissions”, and it’s a killer. The bassist tears through the track on his six-string fretless with blistering tapping lines. Check that right-hand technique, too!

Sting has returned with his first rock-oriented album in thirteen years. 57th and 9th came together in an impulsively over a few weeks earlier this year and ranges in topic from Syrian refugees (“Inshallah”) to climate change (“One Fine Day”) to the loss of musical heroes (“50,000”). “There’s a child in all of us that looks at cultural icons and...