Buzz

Profiles in Tone: Jerry Scheff

As bassist for Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan and The Doors, Jerry Scheff’s sound epitomized rock bass tone in the ’70s. Thousands of bassists have studied his style while learning The King’s live version of “Suspicious Minds,” the psyche-penetrating bass groove from “Riders on the Storm” by The Doors, and countless other songs from Scheff’s career. That’s why we’re kicking off...

Adam Stevens: “the drriifft” Improvised Loop Jam

Time for some Adam Stevens goodness. This time around, Adam utilizes all five of his basses, which includes an upright, a U-bass, a Jazz, a Precision and Roscoe LG-3000. Lots of bass goodness on this one.

Jimi Hendrix: Miami Pop Festival Recordings Released

Forty five years ago, the Jimi Hendrix Experience headlined the first major rock festival on the East Coast. Now the band’s appearance has been released as Jimi Hendrix Experience: Miami Pop Festival, an album of previously unreleased material from the concert. The album has eleven tracks: nine from their morning set with two from the afternoon set. Alongside the classics...

Ish Announces “Strap-On” Disposable Strap Locks

Ish has shared details on a new disposable strap lock they’ve developed named Strap-On. The simple design is made to work with nearly every strap and strap button combination for both bass and guitar. The Strap-On itself is a hard plastic washer that’s placed over top of your strap when it’s on your bass. They can be mounted and unmounted...

Perfecting the Double Thumb Technique

Q: I’m hoping you can help me perfect my double thumb technique. I have a few questions: How can I improve the sound of the upstroke so that it sounds more like a slap as opposed to a ghost note? When I try the technique on the A string I always strum the E string on the way up, how...

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings: I’ll Still Be True, Live at SXSW

Now here’s a sweet gig. Gabriel Roth, aka Bosco Mann, lays down a big soulful bass line for Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings in this clip from the 2010 SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas. Does it get any cooler than this?

Wooten Brothers Announce December Tour

The virtuosic Wooten Brothers have announced an 11-date East Coast tour for December. Kicking off at the Choo Choo Campus in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the band will work their way up from Georgia all the way to New Hampshire over eleven days. The children of military parents, the Wootens started a band at a young age, with bassist Victor Wooten first...

Reader Spotlight: Rolando “Rolo” Romero

Meet Rolando “Rolo” Romero a bassist living in Kansas and clearly loving life. A self-described “nerd”, Rolo might just have the coolest family around. Check out his story and see if you don’t start smiling before the end. Rolo is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of November 4, 2013. Bio: I am 32 year old NERD...

Lesson: Funky Slap Bass with Open Strings

Here’s a simple slap pattern based on open strings and octaves. As I demonstrate in the video, I’m playing a pattern, first in A, and then switching to E (same line). Before switching back to the A, there’s an octave line to bring us back. The line uses hammer-ons and pull-offs. Around the 3 minute mark of the video, I...

Andy Edwards and Steve Lawson: Studio Jam

Here’s a great jam between bassist Steve Lawson and drummer Andy Edwards. Steve uses his six-string bass and looping wizardry to get a nice, spacey groove going.

Hal Leonard Releases Megadeth Bass Anthology

Hal Leonard’s newest edition in their “Bass Recorded Versions” offers up David Ellefson‘s bass line transcriptions for 20 Megadeth tunes. Megadeth Bass Anthology includes transcriptions for each song in both standard notation and tab. Megadeth Bass Anthology Song List: Countdown To Extinction Dawn Patrol Five Magics Hangar 18 Head Crusher Holy Wars…The Punishment Due In My Darkest Hour My Last...

The “Bloody Thumb” Exercise for Thumb Position Playing

Thumb position is an essential technique for upright bass. Players like Steve Bailey and Brian Bromberg have even adapted it for use on the electric bass. However, when people first start using their left hand thumb to stop a note (i.e. play in thumb position) they often experience discomfort. This is sometimes due to their inexperience with the new hand...