Alissia Benveniste: Holdin’ On
Alissia Benveniste floored everyone at No Treble with her first music video, “Let It Out“. Readers agreed – it was the most watched video for the whole month of February. Alissia is back with an equally funky original song called “Holdin’ On,” complete with a big horn section and even bigger groove.
Wounded Paw Effects Announces Black Sheep Bass Preamp
Wounded Paw Effects has released the Black Sheep Bass Preamp, a rackmountable pre designed for tonal flexibility. Its sound is based around six parallel overdrives focusing on six different frequency bands, giving you control to drive different frequencies of your signal in varying amounts. The Black Sheep also has a fully buffered effects loop that can be run in parallel...
Bruno Tauzin: Fender Jazz Bass Solo and Precision Groove
The Fender Jazz and Precision basses are iconic in their tonal qualities. Bruno Tauzin created a couple videos to showcase each with a groove on his Precision and a tasty solo on his Jazz. Which one do you prefer? Tell us in the comments. Fender Jazz Bass Solo Fender Precision Bass Groove
Bass of the Week: Bee Basses Worker Bee 5
This week we check out a cool collaboration between Bee Basses luthier Fred Bolton and Dan Lenard of the boutique bass website Luthiers Access Group. While many Bee Basses instruments are ordered as extended range instruments, Bolton and Lenard decided to create a “normal” bass in the form of a 5-string. The resulting Worker Bee 5 is still beyond normal....
Bass Artistry: An Interview with Michael Manring
The art of solo bass has been steadily growing for the past couple of decades, but one bassist has always been a leading figure in the field. That bassist is Michael Manring. It’s not just his use of extended techniques, his unusual tunings, or his unique gear that sets him apart. Manring consistently presents a level of artistry that touches...
MTD Releases Norm Stockton Artist Edition Bass
After two years of tweaking, MTD has released the Norm Stockton Artist Edition Bass. The bass is based on the company’s Saratoga model while combining features of Stockton’s previous MTD basses, including a more rounded arm contour and a strap button position that’s moved up like a 535. Key to the instrument’s design is its electronics, which are set up...
(718): El Sombrero, Live at Blue Note
Many bassists will know Phil Palombi as a jazz bass guru and Scott Lafaro aficionado, but he’s got a funky electric side too. Here’s a video of his spacey jam trio (718) performing “El Sombrero” during their CD release party at the Blue Note in New York City. The group also includes keyboardist Matthew Fries and drummer Eric Halvorson. Their...
Höfner Renames “Beatle Bass” Reissue Line of Basses
Höfner has announced that their line of 500/1 Violin “Beatle Basses” are getting new names to more accurately represent their time. The construction and fittings will remain unchanged. “Due to the sequence that re-issue models were released in, more than 10 years ago, the [Paul] McCartney spec bass became the Vintage ’62 Re-issue despite the fact that his bass was...
Deep Purple: Pictures of Home, Live at Montreux
Our Facebook friend Keith Devereux wrote to us saying, “How about some videos of Roger Glover? A very much overlooked but very talented Bass player.” It reminded me of one of my favorite Deep Purple tunes, “Pictures of Home,” which first appeared on their iconic Machine Head album. Here’s Glover with Deep Purple performing the song at in Montreux in...
Barefaced Bass Cabinets Unleashes Generation 3 Cabinets
English bass amplification company Barefaced Audio has announced their new Generation 3 series of cabinets including revamps of their flagship Big Baby II and Big Twin II cabinets. Both models have been updated with new drivers, hardware and construction. “The key is our new custom 12XN550 speaker driver, which has taken over two years to develop,” says designer Alex Claber....
Bass of the Week: Fibenare Guitars Globe Bass
This week we check out the Globe Bass from the bass builders at Fibernare. The Hungarian company was created by brothers Attila, Csaba, and Arpad Benedek who didn’t have access to the guitars they wanted when they were younger and Hungary was behind the iron curtain. The brothers decided to build their own, and continually working to improve their own...
Custom Shop: Nordstrand Guitars
Following your dreams isn’t always an easy path, but it’s an honest and rewarding one. It’s also one that Carey Nordstrand has followed to create his bass business. After finding his passion for bass, Carey took opportunities to get into the business and expand his knowledge. His bass company, Nordstrand Guitars, has grown from a one-man shop to a group...