Inside Geezer Butler’s Rig and Les Claypool’s Rare Bass: This Week in Bass
Welcome to No Treble’s top ten bass stories of the week.
The enormity of Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell concert, “Back to the Beginning,” weighed heavily in this week’s top bass stories. Two of our top stories were footage from the event that has since been stripped from YouTube. However, we did get an amazing inside look at Geezer Butler’s mighty bass rig for the event. The 2,400-watt Ashdown rig had four Head of Doom units, four 2×15″ cabinets, and four 2×12″ cabinets. Butler’s bass tech, Terry Welty, and Ashdown’s Dan Gooday gave a detailed look at his amp and basses for the event. It’s a must-watch.
Readers were also drooling over our bass of the week feature, where we examined Les Claypool’s personal Pachyderm Instruments Wally-Nut #1. The bass, which he now has up for sale, is built with a variety of fine woods, 29 frets, and the Primus bassist’s signature EMG Pachyderm Gold pickups. In the gear department, we also got to check out the Markbass Andrew Gouché “Godfather of Gospel” basses, Thomastik’s new Peter Infeld strings, and Ernie Ball Music Man’s Pino Palladino Signature StingRays.
The grooves that got us through the week came from The Ominific, Justin Raines, Thundercat, and Jack Black with Revel Young Ian on bass. Scroll on for all the best of bass.
1. Les Claypool’s Wally-Nut #1: Exotic Woods, 29 Frets, and a Bass Road-Tested with Primus
2. Inside Geezer Butler’s Thunderous Bass Rig at Black Sabbath’s “Back to the Beginning”
3. The Omnific (Two Bassists and a Drummer) Drop “Bass” Featuring Tim Waurick and Luke Taylor
4. Andrew Gouché and Markbass Unveil “Godfather of Gospel” Basses with Noiseless Pickups
5. King Crimson Return: New Studio Album Underway with Latest Lineup
6. New Thomastik Peter Infeld Bass Strings Blend Jazz Growl with Orchestral Projection
7. Ernie Ball Music Man Releases Pino Palladino Series, Including a Museum-Grade Replica of His Iconic StingRay
8. Justin Raines Showcases MTD Signature Tone on Herbie Hancock’s “Actual Proof” Live at TEN ATL with Gallien-Krueger Amp
9. Bass Wizardry and Falsetto Funk: Thundercat’s Genre-Bending Bonnaroo 2024 Set
10. Jack Black Joins Young Musicians for Powerful “Mr. Crowley” Tribute to Ozzy
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
