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Killswitch Engage Celebrates Album’s 10th Anniversary with Tour
Killswitch Engage is celebrating the 10th anniversary of their breakthrough album Alive or Just Breathing with a U.S. tour during which they’ll play the album in its entirety. The 20-date tour will feature support from Shadows Fall and Acaro. Anchored by bassist Mike D’Antonio, the group recently reenlisted their original singer Jesse Leach, who sang on the 2002 effort but...
Manne Guitars Introduces VibraBass
Italian boutique builder Manne Guitars has expanded their bass offerings with the VibraBass. Inspired by the AcoustiVibe guitar, the new bass features a fully chambered body made of Korina with an Italian poplar burl top, a maple/beech laminate neck, and a thin, hard resin fingerboard. Besides a magnetic single coil pickup mounted in the bass’s sound plate, the VibraBass is...
Connecting with the Drummer: A Discussion for Bassists
Q: I’ve found myself in a situation where I can’t set up a musical connection with my drummer. It’s been three months of rehearsals, but I just don’t feel comfortable playing, the rhythm-sections suffers and we don’t sound good. In my other bands, the great, non-verbal communication came right after one or two rehearsals. I realize I am also responsible....
Andres Rotmistrovsky: Solo Bass Arrangement of “You’ve Got a Friend In Me”
Andres Rotmistrovsky has a way with arranging songs for solo bass. Here’s his version of Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend In Me.”
Jack Bruce: Cream 2013 Reunion Plans Scrapped
In a recent interview with the BBC, rock legend Jack Bruce revealed that plans for a Cream reunion in 2013 have been halted due to a rift between guitarist Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker. The band, which was one of the first rock supergroups, last reunited in 2005 for four sold out shows. “There was supposed to be [a...
Reader Spotlight: Harrison Caruana
Meet Harrison Caruana, a bass player hailing from Hastings in the UK. Like many bassists in our spotlight, Harrison had an awesome parent supporting his love for music – and helping shape it. Harrison is our player in the spotlight for October 9, 2012. Bio: When I was seven my dad taught me the bass line to The Chain, by...
Transcription: Cliff Burton’s “Orion”
“Orion”, the classic Metallica track that features bassist Cliff Burton in a lead role, was an obvious choice for this month’s transcription. To this day – nearly thirty years after it was recorded – it’s a track that is studied and dissected by metal-loving bass players all over the world.
Sting with Christian McBride: Englishman in New York
Last week we celebrated Sting’s birthday, and our Facebook friend Andrew Bennett reminded us of this great version of his hit “Englishman in New York” from the DVD …All This Time. Sting’s eclectic band is joined by double bassist Christian McBride, who kicks the group into a burning jazz trio at the 2:10 mark.
Alberto Rigoni Releases Third Solo Album, “Three Wise Monkeys”
Alberto Rigoni has released his third solo effort, entitled Three Wise Monkeys. Further refining the style presented in 2011’s Rebirth, the new album is made up of half instrumental and half vocal songs that revolve around the Japanese folk legend of the “Three Wise Monkeys,” which embodies the proverbial principle “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil.” Rigoni’s...
Squier Introduces Chris Aiken Signature Precision Bass
Squier has introduced the Chris Aiken Signature Precision Bass, which the Strung Out bassist helped design. “I decided to make something that’s really cool, that I like to play,” said Aiken. “But, also something I want to give to the fans of Strung Out and any average bass player that wants to buy a bass – something that’s simple, practical...
Scale Pattern Work for Bassists
I have mentioned previously that daily scale practice should include scale patterns, and indeed most scale books devote some space to such patterns. There are, of course, innumerable patterns that we can apply, but certain scalar patterns occur more frequently than others in the music we play. Although the number of possible patterns are seemingly limitless, I have found that...
Weekly Top 10: Victor Wooten Interview and Secret Technique, Bass of the Week, New Bass Gear, the Top Videos & More
The best of the best in bass. Here are the most read stories and most viewed videos on No Treble for the week of September 30 – October 6, 2012. Thanks for reading, commenting and sharing! 1. Victor Wooten: “Secret” Harmonic Technique As part of our three part interview with Victor Wooten, we’ve shared several exclusive videos for the series....