Buzz
Weekly Top Ten: The Best in Bass for the Week of December 22nd
This year is almost in the books, and we have one more weekly top 10 to get before ’14 begins. This week’s list features a few top 10 lists – part of our Best of 2013 spotlights we’re running all week. Thanks for reading, commenting and sharing. Happy holidays and here’s to an even better 2014! 1. Best of 2013:...
Best of 2013: The Top 10 Ask Damian Erskine Columns
Damian Erskine was No Treble’s first regular columnist, and he has been going strong every Wednesday afternoon since June, 2009. We feel very lucky to have him and based on readership, you all agree. Here are Damian’s top 10 most popular columns this year, based on readership. There’s a lot of great advice in here! 1. Butter Strings: A Guide...
OM: State of Non-Return
Our friend Lyall Storey sent us this video of OM performing “State of Non-Return,” saying the doom metal band is a prime example of “no treble”. OM consists of just a rhythm section with Al Cisneros on bass and vocals, Emil Amos on drums and Robert Lowe on percussion. Cisneros delivers his signature thick, crushing riffs throughout the song. “He...
Best of 2013: The Top 10 Reader Favorite Bass Amps & Cabs
We covered a lot of bass gear news in 2013, and there’s just too much to try to pack into a single Best Of list. So this year, we’re featuring the top 10 most popular gear stories in various bass gear categories. Kicking things off is the top 10 most popular bass amp and cabinet stories this year. As always,...
How to Play A Funky Bass Line
Thomas Risell, the man best known as MarloweDK sent me this video over the holidays. It starts off – appropriately – with MarloweDK saying “How to play a funky bass line”. This is a demo of a theme song Thomas wrote for a TV program about social media. So it is fitting one of the best known bassists on Youtube...
Dream Theater Announces 2014 North American Tour Dates
After announcing European tour dates, Dream Theater has revealed their North American tour plans for 2014. The prog metal outfit will be kicking things off at Toronto’s Massey Hall before covering the States in the Northeast, Midwest, and West Coast. Their trek is capped with three dates in Mexico. “We are all really pumped and excited to bring our new...
Best of 2013: The Top 10 “I Wish I Knew That” Columns
Every other Friday, columnist Ryan Madora shares the lessons she’s learned along the way as a working bassist in her “I Wish I Knew That” column. Here are the top 10 most popular IWIKT columns for 2013. Enjoy! 1. Bass Strings: To Change Or Not To Change For years, bass players have debated the concept of changing strings and most...
The Dad Guitar
I’ve been watching Flight of the Conchords a bit over the holidays and discovered this scene from the show’s second season. As the band warms up in their “dressing room”, band manager Murray Hewitt questions Bret on the whereabouts of his guitar. Then he goes on to describe the bass in epic fashion.
Nathan East to Join Eric Clapton’s Touring Band
Guitar legend Eric Clapton has once again recruited bass giant Nathan East to his touring band. East, who played with Clapton from 1984 to 2004, will be hitting the road with the former Cream guitarist in 2014, starting in Japan. The rest of the band includes keyboardists Chris Stainton and Paul Carrack, vocalists Michelle John and Sharon White, and drummer...
Bass of the Week: Scott Walker Guitars California Bass
Scott Walker is an independent luthier based in North Carolina. Though his primary focus is electric guitars, his California Bass is more than an after thought. Its construction includes a long tenon design, laminated hard woods, and multiple bolt coupling to eliminate dead spots and promote resonance. The bass starts with a body of Alder or Swamp ash and a...
Best of 2013: The Top 10 Bass Lessons and Transcriptions
When we started pulling the best of lists for No Treble this year, we were reminded of how much readers love the lessons and transcriptions we share. Of course, it helps a lot to have Thomas “MarloweDK” Risell as a primary contributor of bass lessons and Stuart Clayton as our primary guru for awesome bass transcriptions. Add to that a...
MonoNeon: Donyea’s Slo-Soul Arrangement of James Brown’s “I Feel Good”
YouTube brings out a lot of collaboration and inspiration in people. Here’s an awesome video by Dywane “MonoNeon” Thomas adding his own flourishes to producer Donyea Goodman’s arrangement of “I Feel Good” by James Brown. It’s a totally different groove from the original and brings a new flavor to the song.