Buzz
Bass of the Week: Murray Kuun Elemental
Murray Kuun is a South African luthier who admits he came to the profession relatively late in life, but his passion is in creating fresh designs. “I am not keen on making copies of instruments that have been copied ad nauseam,” he shared. “All my instruments are original designs.” His first bass model is the Elemental, a neck-thru bass with...
Gear Review: Ibanez SRF700 Portamento Fretless Bass
Up for a review is the Ibanez SRF700 Portamento, a 4-string fretless from the company’s new Bass Workshop series. The bass is fitted with some nice features for a bass under a thousand bucks, namely piezo pickups imbedded in the bridge and integrated with Bartolini active pickups. The bonus here is that the piezos actually sound great and not harsh....
Anthony Crawford: Bass Solo on Virgil Donati’s “Eleven”
Anthony Crawford sent us this video of a rehearsal with drummer Virgil Donati for their upcoming European tour. This is his bass solo from Donati’s tune, “Eleven.” Good luck keeping up with it!
Black Label Society Releases “Catacombs of the Black Vatican”
Guitarist Zakk Wylde’s Black Label Society is back with its first studio album in five years, . With John “JD” DeServio on bass (Cycle of Pain) the record is as heavy as you’d expect from Wylde, who was Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarist for more than 20 years. “Catacombs” is the band’s follow-up to 2009’s The Order of the Black, which debuted...
D’Orazio Announces Spyrachrome Double Bass Strings
Italian string manufacture D’Orazio has announced a new set of strings for upright bass called the Spyrachrome. Designed for psychobilly slap style players, the new strings are described as soft to the touch with high magnetic response for improved use with pickups. The Spyrachrome is made with a flat wire steel/chrome winding over a steel rope core created by D’Orazio....
Types of Listening: Three Approaches for Bass Players
Q: How do you hear music, as in a critical method of hearing? How can your playing or musicality get better just by hearing a certain genre or style? Do you perhaps hear a piano comping and try to do the same if you are digging it? A: The answer to this question could fill a book, for sure. It...
Dapp Theory: Only Clave
Bassist Steve Jenkins shared this video of Dapp Theory with a priceless quote: “Whenever people say to me: ‘I just heard a killer band and they melted my face off.’ I pause and think of this clip and politely say ‘Right on.’” Here’s Dapp Theory, anchored by bassist Rich Brown, performing the mind-bending “Only Clave.”
California Breed, Featuring Glenn Hughes, Announces Debut Album
Vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Black Country Communion) has joined up with former Black Country Communion bandmate Jason Bonham (drums) and newcomer Andrew Watt (guitar/vocals) to form the new band California Breed. The trio shares co-writing credits on its debut self-titled album, which will be released on May 20. The group came together after Julian Lennon introduced Hughes...
Reader Spotlight: Shane Andison
Meet bassist Shane Andison, a busy musician who started fast in his music career, and never seemed to look back from there. Shane is the No Treble reader in the spotlight for the week of April 7, 2014. Bio I’ve been playing bass guitar professionally for over 10 years, starting off laying down the low end with Melbourne singer-songwriter Justin...
Top 10: The Most Watched Bass Videos (March 2014)
Think you can handle this much bass? We know you can. Here are the top 10 most watched videos on No Treble for the month of March 2014. Thanks for watching, commenting and sharing! 1. Zander Zon: Nine Inch Nails’ “Hurt” for Solo Bass Time for another incredible solo bass performance by Zander Zon. This time, he tackles the Nine...
Jim Bennett: “Thrift Shop” Bass Jam
“Daft Bass” bassist Jim Bennett has shared a new video, this time doing a cover of Macklemore’s “Thrift Shop”. Jim says it is more of a “Bass Jam”, and he’s posted some basic tab for the main riff on his website.
Megadeth Announces World Tour
Megadeth is hitting the road for a 25-country, four-continent “Killing Road” world tour that will begin following guitarist/bandleader Dave Mustaine’s sold-out April 12 “Symphony Interrupted” performance with the San Diego Symphony. After he collaborates with the symphony on the “Summer” and “Winter” movements of Vivaldi’s “The Four Season” and Bach’s “Air” (on the G string) the band will bring a...