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Best of 2014: The Top 10 Lowdown with Dr. D Columns
Every other Monday, Dr. Donovan Stokes brings offers up his latest prescription for improving ourselves as bassists. We’re lucky to have someone with his vast knowledge and status as an educator. Here are the top 10 most popular Lowdown columns published in 2014. 1. Improving Troublesome Passages: Five Tips for Bass Players From the speed in which we practice troublesome...
Funkadelic is Back with 33 Songs After 33 Years
Funkadelic has released an album of new music after a 33-year hiatus. is the first album the legendary funk group led by George Clinton has released since 1981’s The Electric Spanking of War Babies. The new record, which combines classic funk with hip-hop sounds, features several bassists, including Rodney ‘Skeet’ Curtis, Lige Curry, Jeff ‘Cherokee’ Bunn, and Michael B. Patterson....
Miki Santamaria: Silent Night
Continuing our celebration of the holiday season, bass-style, here’s a beautiful arrangement and performance of “Silent Night” by bassist Miki Santamaria. Miki said “Please excuse my facial expressions… LOL I was very into it haha.” Hey, he wouldn’t be a bass player without some bass faces. Happy holidays, all.
Jazz Greats to Celebrate the Life and Music of Charlie Haden
Charlie Haden had an incredible life full of triumph, tragedy, and – most of all – beautiful music that he shared with the world. His passing earlier this year rocked the jazz community, who remembered his legacy with an outpouring of anecdotes on his impact on their lives. Now everyone is invited to honor Haden’s memory with a special concert...
Best of 2014: The Top 10 Isolated Bass Tracks
Our “Isolated Bass Weeks” are super popular, and they’re super fun for us to do. Here are the top 10 reader favorites from 2014, based on No Treble reader views over these 12 months. Which one is your favorite?
Bass of the Week: Phantom Guitars XTC
This week we check out the XTC by Phantom Guitars. Handmade in Cologne, Germany, the XTC brings together elements of several classic basses with a single-coil and humbucker pickup configuration that the company says gives it modern sounds for rock, funk, jazz and pop. The XTC comes in 4-, 5-, and 6-string versions with a choice of body woods. Its...
Simon Fitzpatrick: Jingle Bells (Solo Bass)
Time for some more holiday cheer from another one of our favorite bassists around here. Here’s Simon Fitzpatrick performing “Jingle Bells” – solo bass style.
Bastille’s Third “Mixtape” Features Collaborative Originals
Indie band Bastille has reappeared with a new mixtape, with a title reminiscent of its first two. This time out, the “tape” — actually a CD — is . However, the album marks the fist time the “mixtape” has featured exclusively original content, rather than a combination of originals and cover versions of songs. The album does feature extensive collaboration...
Weekly Top 10: Funky Bass Videos, New Bass Gear, Learning the Electric Bass, Self Evaluation and More
This week’s top 10 list kicks off with two incredible videos – the first by Alissia Benveniste with her old school funky sound, and the second by Rebecca Johnson and her remarkable bass and vocal work on Jaco’s “Come on, Come Over”. Readers also enjoyed columns by Sam Hallam (the best way to learn electric bass) and Donovan “Dr D.”...
Vulfpeck: Christmas in L.A.
Vulfpeck is one of our favorite bands around here. So when Jack Stratton emailed me there was a Christmas video, I couldn’t wait to share it. “This song follows true Dartonian Physics,” Jack shared, referencing Vulfpeck bassist Joe Dart. “Meaning, groove for two minutes and then freak out during the last 1/8th of the song.” As if that wasn’t enough,...
Bass Battle Releases “Play” EP
Romanian artist, Bass Battle (also known as one person, Bogdan Diaconeasa), has released an EP’s worth of ambient solo bass songs called Play. Recorded over the course of three years, just for fun, the album features only Diaconeasa’s bass and a looper. “I will say that this album is the declaration of my love for this beautiful instrument – the...
Book Offers Insight on Using an iPad to Record Music
You may already be aware of many ways to use an iPad for making music. However, Hal Leonard Corp. has put together an book — — that covers the device’s “connectivity to the professional, project, and home music studios.” Written by music technology authors Vincent Leonard and Thomas Rudolph, the book in the Hal Leonard Quick Pro Guides series, the...