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Rocco Prestia Facing Health Issues, Needs Kidney Transplant
Rocco Prestia is facing serious health issues again, according to reports shared on Tower of Power’s website and Facebook page. The bassist, who is famed for his unique 16th note finger-style funk playing, is in need of a kidney transplant. “As you know, our beloved Rocco Prestia has been a part of Tower of Power since the beginning,” the band...
Fret-King Announces STVDIO Country Squire Semitone Bass
Fret-King will be adding to their high-end, one-off STVDIO series of instruments this fall with the introduction of the Country Squire Semitone Bass. The singlecut, bolt-on bass features a pair of designer Trev Wilkinson’s new JM pickups wired to a 3-way toggle switch. In keeping with a vintage vibe, Wilkinson used traditional woods for its construction: swamp ash for the...
Weekly Top Ten: The Top Bass Stories, Videos and How-To’s for the Week of April 14
The bass world lost two of its members last week, with the passing of Chi Cheng and Cordell “Boogie” Mosson. No Treble readers paid their tribute to both, making their In Memoriam features two of the top read stories. On a happier note, we reported new gear, shared our latest lessons and how to’s, plus the week’s top videos. Here...
Johan Hansén-Larson: KNOWER’s “Gotta Be Another Way” Bass Playalong
Johan Hansén-Larson sent us this new video of himself playing along with “Gotta Be Another Way” by the Los Angeles electronica duo KNOWER. The bassist adapts the synth line to make a cooking and catchy bass line to jam along with the track, adding beautiful chords during the breakdowns.
Gear Review: Rybski Sean O’Bryan Smith Deluxe Signature Bass
Rybski’s Sean O’Bryan Smith Deluxe Signature Bass is a truly rare custom bass. Rare in the sense that most custom basses have some element of “stock” to them, where as this bass is a signature model with features to fit a particular player’s needs and the builders unique touches that comprise his own inspiration and designs. I could immediately feel...
Jermaine Morgan: Journey
Jermaine Morgan shared this video featuring his single, “Journey”. He said “This is an old one, but I hope you’ll enjoy.” We did, and we’re betting you will too. Jermaine is in good company on this one – he recruited Ron James on sax, David “Fingers” Haynes on drums and Will Perry on keys.
Jim Dunlop MXR M89 Bass Overdrive Pedal Now Shipping
Jim Dunlop is now shipping the MXR M89 Bass Overdrive, the latest effects pedal in their Bass Innovations series. The pedal features standard overdrive controls with Volume, Tone, and Drive knobs, but adds a Clean control to blend in clean signal with a pre-tuned EQ. “Pre-tuning the Clean signal ensures that when you blend it with the overdrive signal, the...
In Memoriam: P-Funk Bassist Cordell “Boogie” Mosson
Parliament-Funkadelic member Cordell “Boogie” Mosson passed away on April 18th from an unspecified illness. He was 60 years old. Mosson grew up in Plainfield, New Jersey, where he was friends with future P-Funk guitarist Garry Shider. The duo eventually joined a band called United Soul, which came to the attention of P-Funk founder George Clinton. Clinton produced several of the...
Pekka Pohjola Group: “Nipistys” Live
No Treble reader Aleksi Aaltonen shared this video with us, saying “Here’s a great video of the absolutely best ever Finnish bassist Pekka Pohjola. This guy isn’t yet on your page for some reason ;).” After just a handful of seconds of watching this video, we realized we needed to fix this oversight immediately. Here’s the Pekka Pohjola Group performing...
Tedeschi Truck Band Adds Bakithi Kumalo for Spring Tour Dates
The Tedeschi Trucks Band has announced that they’ve recruited bass legend Bakithi Kumalo to lay down the low end during their Spring tour dates. The bassist, who first made waves on the classic Paul Simon album Graceland, will be with the group this weekend at the Wanee Festival through the May 3rd performance in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Since original bassist Oteil...
Bass of the Week: Off Guitar Design soulbrotha’
A collaboration between Martin Off and luthier Jozsi Lak, the Off Guitar Design soulbrotha’ bass is unique mix of retro and modern design aesthetics. The bass, which gets its design from the company’s soulsista’ guitar, is handmade by Lak in Germany. Much of the soulbrotha’s construction is optional, from the body wood (alder, swamp ash or mahogany) to the neck...
Track by Track: Janek Gwizdala Talks “Theatre by the Sea”
Janek Gwizdala is staying ahead of his goal of putting out an album every year with the release of Theatre by the Sea. His third record in 18 months, the album features nine tracks of the bassist’s own compositions and lush arrangements performed by a host of heavyweight musicians including Peter Erskine, Mike Stern, Randy Brecker and more. Gwizdala wrote...