Buzz
Bob Babbitt to Receive Star on Music City Walk of Fame
Funk Brother and bass legend Bob Babbitt will be getting part of his due respect by receiving a star on the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee. Babbitt’s star, which will be the Walk of Fame’s 60th commemorative sidewalk marker, will be unveiled at a ceremony on June 5th that will also be inducting Steve Winwood. The bassist...
Fret-King Unveils Black Label Series with Perception Bass Guitar
Fret-King has unveiled their new Black Label series of instruments, including the Perception Bass Guitar. Available in 4 and 5-string versions, the Perception sports a passive P/J pickup set made by Wilkinson. The body is made of two pieces of American Alder, while the neck is Canadian Hard Rock Maple topped with a rosewood fingerboard. Hardware on the bass is...
Top 10: The Best of No Treble – Top Bass Gear, Lessons and Stories (May 2012)
May was another great month for gear news (and some sweet basses of the week picks by Kevin), and No Treble readers ate it all up. We also shared the sad news of the passing of Duck Dunn, and some good news with a Jaco documentary planned and backed by Robert Trujillo. Plus, some of the best lessons and how-to’s...
Stanley Clarke Announces Tours with George Duke and Stewart Copeland
Bassist Stanley Clarke is gearing up for two tours this summer – one with George Duke in the US, Japan and a Carribean cruise, and another with Stewart Copeland with dates across Europe. Clarke Duke 4 “Bring It!” Tour The Clarke Duke 4 “Bring It!” Tour pairs the duo for the first time in six years for the long-time collaborators...
Bass of the Week: Hot Wire Bass Inlaw 521 BO
German bass company Hot Wire produced a super cool version of their Inlaw 521 BO model with a stunning quilted maple top and matching pickup covers. The “zebra” effect is attained by using a lighter quilted maple and a dark quilted maple to create a sharp contrast. The Inlaw comes in several versions, but the 521 BO is a 5-string,...
Stories Behind the Songs: Bob Daisley
Without a doubt, Bob Daisley is one of the most influential bassists of all time. For over four decades, Daisley has laid down the low end for everyone from Mungo Jerry to Rainbow to Ozzy Osbourne to Gary Moore. In fact, nearly every one of you reading this right now has probably played his bass lines, whether you know it...
Jean-Luc Ponty with Guy Christian Nsangué Akwa: Celtic Steps
Here’s a cool video of Guy Christian Nsangué Akwa taking a solo with Jean-Luc Ponty’s band on the tune “Celtic Steps.” The bassist starts things off pretty cool before working the whole group into a frenzy. (I love the bass freakout at 2:50). As if that wasn’t enough, he plays the blazing melody in unison with the rest of the...
12-Bar Blues: The Complete Guide for Bass
Hal Leonard’s Inside the Blues series released earlier this year has an edition focused solely on bass, penned by Dave Rubin. 12-Bar Blues: The Complete Guide for Bass is a book/CD combo offering up a well-rounded approach to learning – or improving – playing various forms of the blues. Rubin starts off with the basics, including tuning and breaking down...
Hot Tuna Releases “Jorma’s 70th Birthday Celebration” DVD
In early December, 2010, Hot Tuna took the stage at New York City’s Beacon Theater to celebrate the 70th birthday of guitarist and Hot Tuna co-founder Jorma Kaukonen. The two night event featured an all-star cast, anchored of course by the other co-founder of the group, bassist Jack Casady. The band was in their “electric” format, with mandolinist Barry Mitterhoff...
Choosing the Right Tone for the Song: On Stage and In Studio
Q: How do you decide what tone to use for different songs? A: This is a great question. And it is one that is very subjective. This will be different for everyone, but I’m happy to share my personal take on it. This is also something that may be very different live than it is in the studio. Quite often,...
Marcus Miller: Run for Cover, Live (2007)
Recorded live at the Java Jazz Festival in 2007, here’s Marcus Miller and his band performing a groovy take on “Run for Cover”. Love the bass tone on this one. Love the solo. Love the bass face. This is not the first time we’ve shared a video of Marcus playing this tune… the other time featured a performance with the...
Michael Manring and Kevin Kastning Release “In Winter”
Take two musicians who love to push the boundaries of their respective instruments, put them together, and they still probably won’t sound like the pairing of bassist Michael Manring and guitarist Kevin Kastning. The duo have just released In Winter, a twenty track album offering what Manring describes as “avant garde, improvised music with a mysterious, atmospheric quality.” The album...