Archive for May 2017 - Page 5

Bassist Ayal Tsubery sent in this killer cover of the famous Beatles tune, “Blackbird”. The trio decided to create their own arrangement by mixing up some of their favorite cover versions of it. “The arrangement is sort of a hybrid between the Jaco solo version that I love so much, utilizing chords in the upper register of the bass, and...

Iron Ether’s Polytope Detuner/Chorus/Vibrato pedal has gotten an update for 2017. The new version of the flexible pedal has an expression jack input for detune amount or chorus/vibrato depth while the filter is now switchable between high-pass and low-pass. Further, its smaller detuning range is even smaller now, which the company says makes it easier to dial in subtle, musical...

Evan Marien teams up with some excellent drummers. This time around, he’s joined with Virgil Donati on the tune “Renaissance,” which appears on his album of the same name. Not only does Evan handle the bass, he’s also featured on guitar on this track.

Vanderkley Amps has unveiled two new products: the Spartan bass amp and the 210LNT cabinet. Unveiled at the London Bass Guitar Show, the Spartan was designed for “tone, power, and simplicity.” “The Spartan is the perfect match for my Neolite bass cabinets, which offer effortless power handling and are able to very clearly project the entire delivered range of frequencies...

Back in the late ’80s, I got a chance to see the Chick Corea Elektric Band live. It was one of those jaw-dropping experiences, to say the least. Here’s a clip of the band shared by drummer Dave Weckl, with Corea, Frank Gambale, Eric Marianthal, and John Patitucci performing “Got a Match?” in Bangkok in March 2017.

Chowny Bass has gotten into the pedal world with their new Fuzzster bass fuzz. The stompbox offers Fuzz, Tone, Sustain, and Clean controls for dialing in your tone. It runs on a 9-volt power adapter and features a blue LED ring around the footswitch to indicate when it is active. Blue dot lights on each knob also visualize how the...

This year’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony was pretty epic. Besides Geddy Lee joining Yes for “Roundabout”, Lenny Kravitz performed a killer tribute to Prince accompanied by a full choir. With bassist Gail Ann Dorsey laying down a thick groove, Kravitz and company performed the Purple One’s “When Doves Cry” and “The Cross.” Get a load of...

More sad news to report today: latin bass legend Salvador “Sal” Cuevas has passed away. He was 61 years old. Cuevas was born and raised in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, as such identifying himself as a “Newyorican”. The city’s musical and cultural blend was a big influence on his musical start in middle school. “Being from New...

After introducing the Kiloton bass late last year, G&L Guitars has now unveiled a five-string version of the model. The Kiloton 5 adds a low B-string while retaining features of the four-string. Its body comes in alder or swamp ash and is based on the company’s SB-2, which was designed by Leo Fender. The neck is built with hard rock...

It is always great to see a new video from Zander Zon. In this clip, Zander plays an arrangement of Beyoncé’s “Halo.” “It’s dedicated to my girlfriend, as she just had a birthday. Her favourite artist is Beyoncé and Halo is a beautiful song, so I’m hoping she likes it (TBH this video is not a surprise as she’s heard...

As so often happens, I was recently having a conversation with a musician before a gig and we both commented on how that conversation would make a great No Treble column. First a little background: This guy is a great guitarist that I know and play with relatively often. He’s been actively trying to make a mark in the music...

Miki Santamaria joined his friend and vocalist for this bass and vocals cover of Ariana Grande’s “Into You.” So great to see Miki again.