Buzz
DevilDriver Releases “Trust No One”
Groove metal band DevilDriver has released its seventh studio album, Trust No One. The record was the band’s last with bassist Chris Towning (Bury Your Dead), who played on the group’s previous effort, 2013’s Winter Kills. Diego “Ashes” Ibarra, formerly of Static-X, has stepped in to handle bass duties as DevilDriver tours in support of the new album. The record’s...
Sonic Nuance Electronics Introduces the TDI Mk2
Sonic Nuance has introduced the TDI Mk2, a direct box that combines tuner and DI functions. The new pedal retains the signal path from the Mk1 version but has a more accurate and stable tuning section, the company says. At the heart of the TDI is a passive Jensen JT-DBE transformer. The chromatic tuner is phantom powered and fully operational...
Custom Shop: Roks Instruments
Earlier this year we featured the Roks Instruments Futura bass as a bass of the week. It garnered so much interest that we decided to get the inside scoop on the company with luthier Axel Roks. Based in the Netherlands, Roks describes his basses as “tools for musicians created in the twilight zone between craftsmanship and artistry.” One look at...
Dennis Chambers: Fall Out
Dennis Chambers recorded his album in 2013 with an impressive line up of musicians. Among the tunes on that album is “Fall Out”, which features a nice groove thanks to Chambers and bassist Rossana Nicolosi.
Hatebreed Releases Seventh Studio Album
Metalcore band Hatebreed has released its seventh studio album, The Concrete Confessional. With Chris Beattie on bass, the album’s themes are wide-ranging, covering everything from the dissipation of the American Dream, to being doomed by vices, to experiencing night paralysis. Then there’s “Looking Down the Barrel of Today”: The Concrete Confessional is available on , and as a digital download...
Original Misfits Reunite for First Time in 33 Years
Legendary horror-punk band The Misfits will be reuniting for the first time in 33 years. After years of disagreements and lawsuits, original members Jerry Only and Glenn Danzig patched things up and will perform along with Doyle Wolfgang Frankenstein at Riot Fest in September. “We were never not friends,” Only told Rolling Stone. “We were just adversaries. Larry Bird might...
Making Practice Meaningful
Q: I have a shelf full of instructional books, methods, transcriptions, etc., but I feel like they don’t actually help at all. I just play through things and while I feel like I practiced, I don’t really see how any of that stuff is helping. Any thoughts? A: I know exactly how you feel. It took me a long time...
Alasdair McLachlan: Vulfpeck’s “Conscious Club” Bass Playthrough and Transcription
Alasdair McLachlan shared this video and transcription with us of Vulfpeck’s tune “Conscious Club”, which appeared on the band’s 2015 release, Thill of the Arts. “I’m sure we all have a mutual love of Vulfpeck and Joe Dart,” he shared. “This one was a challenge to learn. Joe Dart is groovy and lightning fast, this track is a workout. Hope...
Pat Metheny Releases Music from DVD with His Unity Group
Jazz guitar great Pat Metheny’s Unity Group has released The Unity Sessions, the CD version of a filmed performance by the group recently released on DVD. The two-CD set features 13 songs and the bass work of past Thelonius Monk competition winner Ben Williams, who also has a solo career. “Ben has a fearless and open-minded approach to what music...
Reader Spotlight: Tom Sinnett
Meet Tom Sinnett, a bassist living in London, doing the music (and the coffee) thing. Tom is a man of many styles, as you’ll see below. He’s our No Treble reader in the spotlight this week, and here’s his story… Bio: I’m a bassist/composer/teacher, originally from Wales but now based in London. I started out at 14 playing rock and...
Grateful Dead Set Gives Classic 1978 Show an Official Release
A show from one of the The Grateful Dead’s earliest stands at Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre has finally received an official release as a three-CD set after circulating among fans for decades. As always, Phil Lesh holds down the low end on the set, simply called Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, Colorado, 7/8/78. The show’s audio is pulled from the Betty...
Steven Blasini: Sound Chaser Play-Along
Steven Blasini, aka BlasiniBass, sent me this video of him playing through to the Yes tune, “Sound Chaser”. Not only did he nail it, he played it on a Epiphone Viola strung with flat wound strings! “The following is for HARD CORE YES fans only,” he shared “I had been avoiding it all this time because it’s so damn complex...