Buzz
Radial Engineering Introduces PZ-DI Orchestral Acoustic Direct Box
Radial Engineering has introduced the PZ-DI, a direct box designed to work with all types of acoustic and orchestral instruments on stage by having an adjustable input impedance. This allows to you to optimize the impedance to match your pickup or transducer, including active basses and basses with piezo pickups. The impedance selector has three settings: 220k-ohm to warm up...
Oteil Burbridge Announces Break from Touring and Tedeschi Trucks Band
Oteil Burbridge posted an announcement on his Facebook page yesterday that he’s decided to take a break and leaving the Tedeschi Trucks Band tour, currently in progress. It appears that all is well with the band and Oteil, who shared there’s some personal motivation behind the move. “After 25 years of intensive touring, I have come to the very difficult...
Johan Hansén-Larson: Kopano
If you haven’t noticed yet, Johan Hansén-Larson is a guy you need to keep an eye on. In his newest video, Johan shares a new original called “Kopano,” inspired by a recent trip to Botswana and South Africa. The composition includes three parts for guitar (which he also covers), but the focus is really in the bass as it takes...
Aaron Gibson Releases Debut Album “Becoming Unravelled”
Bassist and composer Aaron Gibson has gained the attention of No Treble readers over several months, thanks to his unique videos – cover tunes and originals – to our New School interview. Aaron has released his solo debut album, Becoming Unravelled, featuring his own compositions, and expanding his music with the support of other musicians. The result is an eclectic...
Genz Benz Updates Cabinet Line with NX2 Series
Genz Benz has introduced the NX2 series of cabinets including the NX2-212T and NX2-112T. The new line follows up on the company’s NeoX cabinets, offering improvements like proprietary neodymium loudspeakers and a new cabinet design to add strength and reduce weight. Furthermore, they feature Dual Edge “X” porting, which Genz Benz explains helps to increase low-frequency support and projection. Both...
New School: Darren Michaels
Atlanta-based bassist Darren Michaels is helping to expand the role of our instrument. With extended techniques and an open mind, Michaels has been finding new sounds to convey his music in both band and solo contexts, though he dislikes the term “solo bass.” It’s not the technique that drives him, but the connection of music with his listeners that makes...
Evan Brewer: Untitled (with some pretty wicked tapping)
Evan Brewer just put out a new video of a song he’s working on for his next solo release. Brewer utilizes a 5-string bass tuned EADGC and plays some some pretty wicked tapping on the untitled track. In our recent interview, Brewer described his new material as “super erratic,” adding that he was hoping to finish up the material this...
At Last: Rush and Deep Purple Nominated for Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
For many fans, this is a story of “too little, too late”, but the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has finally taken a step to putting Rush and Deep Purple into the Hall. The two bands, plus Public Enemy and N.W.A. are first time ballots, along with 11 other groups returning once again for consideration. Fans of Rush and...
Bass of the Week: Pino Saracini’s Keyboard Bass by Huma Guitars
Pino Saracini is professional bassist in Italy. He’s also creative guy. While out on tour, he typically has to play synth bass in addition to his 4-string with little time for changing between instruments. To fix the issue, he came up with the Keyboard Bass, a bass with a Korg Nonokey2 USB controller built in. After designing every detail of...
Playing with Words and Music: An Interview with Victor Wooten (Part 3)
Victor Wooten has been touring since he was five years old, most notably in his early years as a member of the Wooten Brothers Band. He and his brothers traveled with a variety of opening acts – including Curtis Mayfield in 1969 — and during the seventies and eighties shared the stage with artists like Stephanie Mills, War, Ramsey Lewis,...
Marcus Miller, George Duke and David Sanborn: “Blast”, Live
What a treat this one is… Marcus Miller performs “Blast” – a tune from his A Night in Monte Carlo album – along with George Duke and David Sanborn. This performance took place at the 2011 Tokyo Jazz Festival. This is what happens when musical giants get together. [Check out our review of A Night in Monte Carlo after the...
Muse Releases “The 2nd Law”
English alternative rock trio Muse have returned with their sixth studio album entitled The 2nd Law. With its title referring to the second law of thermodynamics, the new effort shows the band stretching their sound with obvious influences from Queen, Stevie Wonder and even some dubstep from Skrillex. It’s also the first to feature bassist Chris Wolstenholme as lead singer...