Buzz
Claus Freudenstein Introduces US Made Minibass
Claus Freudenstein has unveiled the US version of his Freudenstein Minibass, a miniature contrabass designed for teaching children as young as five years old. It has a 70cm string length and comes in multiple colors. The bass is made of plywood and is braced inside. Freudenstein also has an accompanying book, entitled “Mini Bass”, for getting youngsters started. The Freudenstein...
Victor Wooten and Jeff Coffin Live
The first time I saw Victor Wooten perform live, it was with this line up of Béla Fleck and the Flecktones. So it was cool to find this clip from the 2006 Heineken Jazzaldia festival. Here’s a great showcase of Victor and saxophonist Jeff Coffin from that show.
U2 Releases Tour Concert Film with Bonus Material
U2 concluded its Innocence and Experience tour with an epic performance in Paris, captured in the 2.5-hour concert film, iNNOCENCE + eXPERIENCE Live in Paris, available on Blu-ray and DVD. The Blu-ray set includes the film, with guest performances by Eagles of Death Metal and Patti Smith, as well behind-the-scenes footage, additional music videos and live tracks. As he has...
Rock Stock Pedals Introduces the Dark Horse Fuzz
Rock Stock Pedals have introduced the Dark Horse, a new silicon fuzz pedal for bass and guitar. With wide fuzz and gain ranges, the company says it has a wide palette from “cool lo-fi tones to all out saturated, high-gain fuzz.” The Pedal has three controls – Volume, Treble, and Sustain – for dialing in your tone. Rock Stock points...
Could I Work as a Transcriptionist?
Q: I have a question and was wondering if you could point me in the right direction. Lately I’ve been thinking about a career change. Quick background: I graduated from Missouri State University two and a half years ago with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing. I’m not happy at my current job, and a part of me has always regretted...
Nutopia: Antares
Since Nenad Vasilic began sending his Balkan bass videos, I’ve taken more interest in the music from that region. That’s why I was excited to get an email from bassist Audun Ramo with the title “Balkan Slap”. “I’ve been working on slap techniques for the double bass related to world music – and more specific the music from Balkan –...
In Memoriam: Brian Rading
Brian Rading, who laid down the low end for Canada’s Five Man Electrical Band, has passed away after fighting throat cancer. He was 69 years old. Rading co-founded the band in 1963 in Ottawa. Originally called The Staccatos, the group changed their name after a handful of albums on Capitol Records of Canada. Rading was instrumental in choosing the name...
Reader Spotlight: Janette Kidd
Meet Janette Kidd, a bassist from Scotland who has had an interesting career – in and out of music. One of my favorite parts of her story is how she turned a guitar into a bass (way before our how-to video), which set her on a path for life. Janette is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s...
Cody Wright: Funk Funko Potamus
Cody Wright a real funkmeister, which is why it’s perfect that he’s helping to create the soundtrack to the new Toejam and Earl video game. Here’s a clip of the bassist getting down on the quacky “Funk Funko Potamus”.
The Misfits Release Four-Song EP
The Misfits’ new EP, Friday the 13th, is inspired by 1980s horror movies, as befits a horror-punk band. The band’s founding bassist and continued heartbeat, Jerry Only, tells Kerrang! magazine that he loved 80’s horror because of movies like John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” Even so, he pulls a bit of his 1960s childhood into the mix, too, on the closing...
Bass of the Week: AJR Guitars Singlecut Bass
Our friend Christopher Kerton sent in pics of his bass for us to check out, and it almost knocked me out. The custom singlecut bass by AJR Guitars is a beauty to begin with, but digging into the details got me even more excited. “So, this bass was 100% customisable. Down to how I wanted the pickup covers to look,...
Talking Technique: Modes on a String
Typically when we play scales, we play across the strings, but there’s a lot of value in playing all the way up a single string. It helps us to think in positions and to mentally know how many steps you are skipping as you walk up the string. Today we’ll be working on our theory as well as our technique...