HAVOK: Intention To Deceive
Nick Schendzielos is one of my favorite metal players. His innovative style never fails to get me headbanging. A great example of that is this video from his band Havok for the song “Intention to Deceive”. The bassist rips it up, alternating between laying on the groove and adding tasty fills. Havok will be on tour with Darkest Hour for...
Bass of the Week: Rikkers Guitars Treeline
This week we’re checking out a unique instrument made by Rikkers Guitars. Made in the Netherlands, the Treeline is a lightweight single-cut design derived from their Powerline model. “The Treeline is a tribute to wood as a natural product. No trees no life – let alone custom basses,” Rikkers writes. “The single-cut construction allows for optimal energetic transmission of the...
New York Gypsy All Stars: Cloud Nine
I love genre-bending music, and the New York Gypsy All Stars are kings of blending styles from around the world. It also helps that Panagiotis Andreou is a monster bass player. Besides an unshakeable groove, Andreou has a way of finding some of the nastiest effects to propel a song. Here’s a live clip of the band playing “Cloud Nine”...
Q-Tuner Expands Transparent Q2.0 Bass Pickups
Q-Tuner has expanded their bass offerings with new transparent, red-coiled pickups. Available now in 4, 5, and 6-string versions, the pickups are described as producing a “tight, clean and life-like bass sound loaded with harmonics.” They are created with neodymium magnets in a unique alignment for dynamic range. “There are many steps in making these pickups and we are actually...
Original Dixie Dregs Announce Reunion
It’s official: the original lineup of the Dixie Dregs will be reuniting for a tour in 2018. Rumors of the legendary band’s reunion have been swirling since 2015, but it was made official in a video that Rod Morgenstein made for Rock, Roots, & Blues – Live. Original Dregs bassist Andy West will be taking part in the reunion and...
Ibanez Updates BTB Premium Basses
After revamping their standard BTB line earlier this year, Ibanez has now announced an updated version of their BTB Premium basses for 2017. The new 1805E and 1806E BTB Premium basses feature the combination of a rosewood and ash body with a nine-piece wenge/bubinga/maple neck-through design. The neck is also reinforced with graphite rods. They’ve also changed the pickups to...
Ariane Cap: Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot
We’re lucky at No Treble to have some extremely talented contributors. Talking Technique’s Ariane Cap sent us this new all bass arrangement of Sting’s “Let Your Soul Be Your Pilot”, and it’s gorgeous. Ariane lays down the bass, harmony, and melody with a beautiful tone and feel. “I made it for a dear friend who is dealing with a frightening...
Electro-Harmonix Introduces The Platform
Electro-Harmonix has released The Platform, a stereo compressor/limiter that includes an overdrive section as well as a volume swell function. Suited for guitar or bass, the stereo pedal has a full compressor control set including Volume, Attack, Release, Sustain, and Hard or Soft Knee buttons. A set of colored LEDs show your compression settings as well as a pair of...
Marcone and Philp Publish Updated Edition of “Managing Your Band”
If you’ve ever been in a band, you know the hardest part is managing it. If that’s something you’ve been struggling with, Stephen Marcone and David Philp have some advice in the new sixth edition of their book, Managing Your Band – Artist Management: The Ultimate Responsibility. The 344-page book is aimed at helping DIY musicians and personal managers to...
Tool: The Pot, Live (2017)
Like just about everyone else on the planet, I’m eagerly anticipating the new Tool album. Luckily there are plenty of great live videos coming out to keep me going. Here’s a clip of the band playing “The Pot” on June 7th, 2017 in Clarkson, Michigan. It was their first time playing the song live in over five years, but you...
Donald “Duck” Dunn Biography and Transcription Book Coming Soon
It’s hard to talk about the giants of bass without bringing up Donald “Duck” Dunn. As a session bassist for Stax-Volt, he laid down the groove to hits by Booker T. & the MGs, Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Wilson Pickett, Eddie Floyd, Elvis Presley, Isaac Hayes, and more. Many will also remember him as the bassist for the Blues...
Emma Electronic Updates the DiscomBOBulator Envelope Filter
Emma Electronic has updated their flagship envelope filter for 2017. The DB-2 DiscumBOBulator builds on its predecessor, which was released nearly 20 years ago, with new features for increased versatility. Specifically, it has an increased frequency range, improved tracking, increased headroom, and a new dedicated clean boost that can run with or independent of the filter. The pedal ranges from...