Korg Announces PitchBlack Poly Polyphonic Pedal Tuner
Korg has just announced the PitchBlack Poly, a new product in their line of tuners. The Poly, which is designed for both bass and guitar, offers many upgrades to typical tuners. The PitchBlack Poly’s display offers a large, high visibility meter with a row of bright white and blue LEDs to determine each string’s tuning, even from a distance. The...
Etta James with the Grateful Dead and the Tower of Power Horns: Live Performance (1982)
Two days ago I was sitting in the hotel lobby before heading out to the NAMM show and saw a news alert that singer Etta James had passed away. She would have been 74 on Wednesday. Facebook friend Crystal Gloistein shared this video from New Years Eve 1982 featuring one incredible line up: Etta James on vocals, the Grateful Dead...
Elixir Strings Announces New Changes to String Lines
Elixir Strings has announced some new changes to their popular line of coated bass strings, including a new coated stainless steel set. The stainless steel strings are designed to offer the bright and clear tone of stainless bass strings, but easier on the fingers and longer tone life. The company’s original nickel-plated bass strings have been tweaked to offer improved...
No Treble’s 2012 Winter NAMM Coverage
The No Treble crew has you covered for all the latest bass gear, bassist news, videos and stories. We’ll be at the show all four days, so keep it lock on this page for our ongoing coverage
Johan Hansén-Larson: Note-for-Note Bass Performance of Cannonball Adderley’s Solo on “Minority”
Bassist Johan Hansén-Larson sent in this video of him playing along on Cannonball Adderley’s sax solo on the tune “Minority”. On bass. Johan writes, “…some mistakes, but playing Cannonball solos on bass is sort of like trying perform brain surgery with a tractor.” Well, whatever it is, we’re stunned.
WesFest 7 Concert and Scholarship Fundraiser Announced
The annual WesFest concert and scholarship event, held in honor of bassist Wes Wehmiller, has been announced. This is the seventh year for the event, following Wehmiller’s passing in 2005. The event is organized by Wehmiller’s friends and fellow Berklee alum, including Kira Small and bassist Bryan Beller, and is designed to be both a celebration of the bassist, as...
Meshell Ndegeocello: “Dead End” Live in Studio (KCRW)
Meshell Ndegeocello and her band recently stopped by Santa Monica, California’s NPR affiliate, KCRW, for the Morning Becomes Eclectic show. The group performed material from Ndegeocello’s latest album, , released in November. This tune, “Dead End”, is one of those tracks, and showcases Ndegeocello’s unique way of making everything groove. KCRW has the full sesson available on their website.
Reader Spotlight: Pete Sams
Meet bassist Pete Sams, a full-time working bassist who was very busy in 2011 (he played 225+ shows), including many with a live karaoke band. Pete is our player in the spotlight for the week of January 17, 2012. Bio: I’m the bassist and bandleader for Rock-bot, a live band karaoke group (500+ songs, words on the screen, etc.), an...
Top 10: The Most Watched Bass Videos (December 2011)
Our featured bass videos in December broke all kinds of records for views on No Treble in a single month. The top 10 featured many familiar faces, plus some newcomers to No Treble HQ and readers. Bassist Nick Mason (no, not the drummer), took the #1 slot with his solo bass arrangement of Randy Newman’s Toy Story classic, “You’ve Got...
Adam Ben Ezra: The Busker
Time for some more musical goodness from bassist Adam Ben Ezra. This tune, “The Busker” is one of Adam’s original compositions. Is there anything he can’t do with a bass?
Jack DeJohnette Releases “Sound Travels”, Featuring Esperanza Spalding
Drummer Jack DeJohnette, widely regarded as one of the great jazz drummers in history, is about to have a pretty remarkable year. DeJohnette, who will celebrate his 70th birthday this year, is set to receive a National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Fellowship, which is the highest U.S. honor for jazz musicians. Today, DeJohnette releases his latest effort, Sound...
Samuel Haynes: “Rapture” Solo Bass Tap Performance
Our Facebook friend Charles Hoernemann shared this video with us, with a word one comment: “Awesome!” This is bassist Samuel Haynes, who wrote this tune named “Rapture”, for solo bass and programmed drum accompaniment. Samuel’s bass is strung with piccolo strings.