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Diego Zecharies: Anderson’s Capriccio No. 2
Here’s an awesome video of Uruguayan bassist Diego Zecharies playing David Anderson’s Capriccio No. 2 for solo double bass. His rich, thick tone and intensity make the piece sound like it’s played by a full ensemble. Bravo!
Höfner Debuts “Cavern” Versions of Contemporary and Ignition Violin Basses
Höfner has introduced new “Cavern” versions of their Contemporary and Ignition Series Violin basses at the 2013 Musikmesse in Frankfurt last week. The pickups on the new models are positioned closely together and towards the neck in the Cavern style, similar to Paul McCartney’s original 1961 bass. Each of the entry level basses will be built with the same specifications...
Instinct vs. Learning: Ideas for Musical Growth
Q: I’ve been learning to play the bass for about a year now, and I have a concern: I am a very instinctual bassist. I tried playing guitar when I was younger, but didn’t connect. I took to the bass right away. I “hear” a groove in my head, and I’m able to reproduce it on the bass. So my...
D Tr3o: “Stratus” Monster Fusion Jam, Featuring Dave Marks
Dave Marks sent us this killer video from one of his fusion gigs, where the band lays into the classic Billy Cobham track “Stratus.” Marks locks into the groove (originally played by Lee Sklar) before the band stretches out for some jams. The bassist then takes a spacey solo at the 8:55 mark, eventually whipping the group into a frenzy...
The Rolling Stones Announce 2013 “50 and Counting” Tour Dates
After playing a handful of shows at the end of last year, The Rolling Stones are continuing to celebrate their 50 years together with new “50 and Counting” tour dates. The trek kicks off May 2nd at the Staples Center in Los Angeles before making its way across the U.S. with a few Canadian dates and skipping across the pond...
Reader Spotlight: Ben Hands
Meet Ben Hands, a bass player who splits his time laying down the low end for party, prog-metal and jazz fusion bands in the UK. While Ben avoided answering our favorite “superpower” question directly, we can’t help but admire his humble response. We also dig his gear list: simple, but effective. Ben is the No Treble player in the spotlight...
Bass Talk: How To Practice Scales, Intervals, Patterns and Positions
Editor’s note: No Treble readers submitted questions to us for the next series of lessons by Thomas “MarloweDK” Risell. Several readers submitted questions about learning scales, intervals and patterns, as well as asking how I approach practicing them. In this installment, I try to cover all the basics. If you have questions or something you’d like to share about these...
Sebastiano Mereu: The All-Bass “Full House” Theme Song
There was a time when the Olsen twins were those tiny and adorable sitcom stars on a show called Full House. I’m sure that those of you who remember the show also remember the theme song. Sebastiano Mereu shares his bass arrangement, noting that it was a lot of fun to play. Turns out, he made it fun to listen...
Digitech Announces JamMan Express XT Looping Pedal
Digitech has expanded their looping pedal lineup with introduction of the JamMan Express XT, a pared down pedal built for simplicity. The pedal sports one knob for adjusting the loop level with a footswitch for controlling the looping process. Three colored LEDs display what mode you’re in – Record, Dub, or Play – which are toggled by stepping on the...
Jazz ScaleHelper: A Look at the Scale Analysis and Study App for iOS and Android
Jazz ScaleHelper is, at it’s essence, a discerning ear. The app listens to you play your scales and arpeggios and gives you feedback on what you just played, as well as a grade. It judges your note stability, intonation, time and shows you how many notes per minute you played. The app’s analysis screen presents your scale in notation. My...
B2Men: Bass and Voice Cover of Sting’s “Shape of My Heart”
Bassist Viktor Lorincz has a great duo with László Peck called B2Men. The two are best friends and grew up together, so naturally they got into music together. Here’s a cool version of Sting’s “Shape of My Heart” featuring the duo on bass and voice.
Paul McCartney Announces 2013 “Out There” U.S. Tour Dates
Paul McCartney has added several U.S. stops to his 2013 “Out There” tour. The trek will stop at seven cities, including McCartney’s first ever concert in Austin, Texas. Macca’s “Out There” performances will be packed with nearly three hours of songs from the bassist’s career from the Beatles to Wings to his solo work. His band consists of keyboardist Paul...