Buzz
Best of 2015: The Top 10 Lowdown with Dr. D Columns
Dr. Donovan Stokes’ “Lowdown with Dr. D” column debuted here on No Treble on September 3rd, 2009, making it one of our longest running columns. Since then, it has become one of our most popular, by the Professor of Music at Shenandoah University-Conservatory and founder of Bass Coalition. Here are the top 10 reader favorite “Lowdown” columns in 2015. Time...
Galactic Empire: Star Wars Theme
Star Wars buzz is in the air, so we thought we’d celebrate with this fun video by the band known as Galactic Empire. I mean, come on – a Stormtrooper (Atrium Audio’s Carson Slovak) playing bass? That’s just too hard to pass up. And the break in the middle is just plain awesome.
1974 Rush Session Reveals Early Live Sound
The sound of early live Rush is available on The Lady Gone Electric, which documents a 1974 live radio broadcast of the group, playing songs from its debut album and the then soon-to-be released Fly By Night from Electric Lady Studios in New York. The event also marked the first recording featuring Neil Peart on drums for the Canadian trio...
Bass of the Week: Mana Basso Glade 6-String
This week we’re checking out a six-string Glade model from Mana Basso custom basses. The gorgeous singlecut bass features a Padouk, Wenge and Swamp Ash body matched to a Wenge, Padouk and Flamed Maple neck for a rich textural palette. Its Birdseye maple fretboard leads your eye to the bass’s carved headstock, which is made as part of the neck...
Talking Technique: Jumps Without Looking at the Fretboard
Now that your fingers are getting in shape from the first two lessons, but how do you tackle making large interval leaps on the fly? Accurate shifting is an equally important skill to mastering technique. Upright bass players work meticulously on shifting to be as accurate as possible. We’ll borrow a few pointers from them as well as dive into...
Jan-Olof Strandberg and Dominique Di Piazza: Bass Duo Improvisation
Jan-Olof Strandberg uses his solo project, aptly entitled The Strandberg Project, to bring together musicians from all over the world to create incredible musical experiences. He also regularly invites guests bassists to join his band for tours, including Michael Manring, Armand Sabal-Lecco, Paul Jackson, and more. His latest collaboration is with Dominique Di Piazza, who joined him for the “Strandberg...
New York Gypsy All-Stars Release Sophomore Effort
If you’re looking to explore some new contemporary Balkan, gypsy, jazz/funk/electronica, you’re in luck. The New York Gypsy All-Stars have released its second album, Dromomania. The band, co-founded by versatile, Athens-born, Berklee-educated bassist Panagiotis Andreou, has a thoroughly unique sound. All of the band members pull from varied musical traditions. Andreou, for example, crosses genre boundaries, using funk and rhythmic...
Weekly Top 10: New Bass Lesson, Old School Gibson Bass, Making Transcribing Easier, Top Videos and More
Another week in the books, which means it is time to celebrate the best of the best from the world of bass. And this week was all about great how to’s, great videos, some great gear – and more. Thanks as always for reading, watching, commenting and sharing. 1. Keelan Jones with Cory Henry: Sunday Stroll Snarky Puppy keyboardist Cory...
Electro-Harmonix Introduces 720 Stereo Looper Pedal
Electro-Harmonix has expanded their series of looping pedals with the 720 Stereo Looper. Featuring 720 seconds (12 minutes) of stereo recording time, the pedal includes ten independent loops and unlimited overdubbing for flexible looping. The looper has 24-bit A/D/A converters and a sample rate of 44.1kHz for high quality audio. Its controls are streamlined with a Push:Mode button that toggles...
Tim Carey and Amanda Taylor: Put Your Records On
Tim Carey sent us his latest video, taking Corinne Bailey’s “Put Your Records On” and making it a terrific arrangement for bass and vocals. The vocalist is Amanda Taylor, and once again, a great pop tune is made even better.
Miles Davis and Great Bassists: The Warner Bros. Years, Remastered
Lovers of the Warner Bros. era of jazz trumpeter/composer Miles Davis’ career, which began in the mid-1980s, can delight in a definitive 8-CD box set called The Last Word – The Warner Bros. Years. The of remastered music covers the Tutu, Amandla and Doo-Bop albums, and the Dingo and Siesta soundtracks. The set also includes a 1986 Miles Davis Octet...
Jacob Collier: PYT
Multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier is a freak of nature, so it figures that his cover of Michael Jackson’s classic “PYT” would be just as out there. Collier – who arranged, performed, produced, filmed and edited the clip – included some off the wall bass licks and a thriller of a unison line with the keyboard.