Buzz
Fretlight Introduces FB-525 Bass
Educational instrument maker Fretlight has introduced their first bass guitar, the FB-525. The bass is the four-string to feature the company’s built-in LED learning system that teaches you to play by lighting up dots on the fretboard. The FB-525 comes in right and left-hand models and features a P/J pickup configuration with a 3-way toggle switch. Its neck is made...
Aaron Gibson: Love
If you’ve heard the music of Aaron Gibson, you’ll know why he’s one of our favorite bassists here at No Treble HQ. Here’s Aaron performing his original composition, “Love”. The song is also available on .
Evergreen Terrace Releases “Dead Horses”
Melodic/hardcore band Evergreen Terrace (named after the street where The Simpsons live) has dropped , its first album since the 2012 return of bassist Jason Southwell, who stepped away from the group back in 2009. It’s also the band’s first release on Rise Records. The group severed its connection with Metal Blade in 2012. Two songs — the title track...
Kala Announces Bakithi Kumalo Signature U-Bass
Bakithi Kumalo and Kala Brand Music have teamed up to released the Bakithi Kumalo Signature U-Bass. Kumalo, who first made his mark on Paul Simon’s Graceland album, has been a U-Bass endorser for several years and helped to create the new signature model. The B.K. U-Bass is solid-body fretless four-string with a 21″ scale. It’s built with a select ash...
Olivier Babaz: “Teen Town” on Double Bass and Kalimba
There’s something very satisfying about the combination of bass and kalimba. Olivier Babaz plays both simultaneously (not to mention a foot shaker) in this chilled out rendition of the Jaco Pastorius tune “Teen Town.” Talk about coordination!
Nathan Vonnahme Releases Teüna Chromatic Tuner App
Nathan Vonnahme has released Teüna, a chromatic tuner app for iPhone, iPad and iPad Touch. The app draws on historical aesthetic for its design. “I started looking at these pocket watches from the 17th century, and I realized, these were the iPhone of their day,” Vonnahme explains. “This was the object that every gentleman and many ladies would whip out...
Bass of the Week: Ronin Guitars Prætorian
This week we check out the Ronin Prætorian, a bass built with the environment in mind. Central to the instrument is its “Salvaged Old Growth Redwood” (or S.O.G.R.) body, which the company reclaims from old barns, wineries, and agricultural buildings. Each piece is selected for a tight quarter-sawn grain structure, which the company explains offers improved sound transfer and acoustic...
Vulfpeck Tour Vlog: Joe Dart & the Guys Get Funky
During Vulfpeck’s tour, they had the night off in Tulsa. But a night off doesn’t stop these guys from getting funky. Joined by Cory Wong on guitar, the band put together one epic jam. As usual, bassist Joe Dart delivers big time. Jack Stratton told me they were “going for a Bernard Edwards tone”. Oh yeah.
Caspian Releases “Hymn for the Greatest Generation”
, post-rock outfit Caspian’s first release since the August death of bassist Chris Friedrich, is a six-song EP featuring new music as well as remixes of two songs from the band’s last full-length LP, Waking Season. Both “Procellous” and “Halls of the Summer” from Waking Season receive the remix treatment. Another Waking Season track, “High Lonesome,” appears here in demo...
To Audition or Not to Audition
Q: I’ve applied to audition for a band. My problem is that I’m not actually convinced about their music. The reason that I still want to try it is because they play gigs that are a higher level than mine, plus the fact that they play, because I haven’t been doing much lately. I have never been great at networking,...
Kenneth Dahl Knudsen: Beautify
Back in July, Flemming shared an incredible video of an incredible tune by Kenneth Dahl Knudsen. I didn’t make it through halfway through that video before I bought Kenneth’s album, Clockstopper. Here’s another great song and performance filmed during the same concert. “Beautify” is harder hitting than “Tucked In”, but just as great.
Velvet Underground’s “White Light/White Heat” Gets 45th Anniversary Deluxe Reissue
The Velvet Underground’s original White Light/White Heat release in 1968 included just six songs, including the iconic title track and legendary “Sister Ray.” Raw, loud, and avant-garde for the time, it became a rock classic. Decades later, the of the record features three CDs (one of the CDs is a live show recorded in 1967 in New York) and 30...