Buzz
Reader Spotlight: Cristian Tisselli
Meet bassist Cristian Tisselli, a musician from Argentina with a cool story about following dreams and a great line: “I could play a big stadium or in a small bar, I don’t really care.” Cristian is a man ahead of his times: he took the approach of turning a guitar into a bass when he first started out, way before...
Roger Waters Announces Final and Largest Production of “The Wall”
Roger Water’s tour of The Wall will be coming to a gigantic finale on July 21st in Quebec City, Quebec. Held at the Fields of Abraham, the recently added concert will be the last tour stop of the current North American trek, but will differ from the rest in that the production will feature a set twice as large as...
Ran Kaufman: Solo Bass, Funky BaBa
Bassist Ran Kaufman sent us some of his videos, and we were immediately impressed. Ran employs loops in his work, and does so in a way that lays down a nice groove to let him showcase his soloing abilities. Here’s Ran performing his tune “Funky BaBa”. Funky indeed.
Dan Briggs and Trioscapes Release “Separate Realities”
Dan Briggs and his new group Trioscapes have released their debut album, Separate Realities on Metal Blade Records. Originally started to do a one-off show of the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Celestial Terrestrial Commuters, the sax/bass/drums trio brings together elements of prog rock, metal and jazz. Briggs, who lays down the low end for the prog metal outfit Between the Buried and...
Copilot FX Releases New Octave Pedal for Bass
Copilot FX has a new octave pedal designed specifically for bass. The Cubic is a versatile pedal with a switch for two different voices – one with pure octave and the other with mixed octave, while the switch on the front of the pedal toggles between providing one or two octaves down. In addition to Volume and Blend controls, the...
Notion: A Look at the Music Notation Software for iPad
As you may recall, I reviewed Symphony Pro late last year and hailed it as a good start and the best we have available to us for notating music on the iPad. I believe that Notion may have just raised the bar. I found that the actual act of notation on Notion was far more intuitive and a bit quicker...
Return to Forever 2008: The Sorceress (Live)
Oh man. This is some great music, and some sweet grooves. The reunited Return to Forever, with Stanley Clarke, Lenny White, Chick Corea and Al Di Meola, performed at Montreux in July 2008. The concert was released a year later on the DVD. This performance of “The Sorceress” from that show has it all, including a great bass face by...
Weekly Top 10: New and Old Basses, Amazing Bass Videos, Rush’s Real History, Buying Bass Strings and More
When it is bass, we think everything deserves to be in the top 10. But we have to choose from a lot of stories, columns and videos. So we let you decide. Here are the top 10 most read, most watched features on No Treble for the week of May 20-26, 2012. Enjoy, and as always, thanks for reading! 1....
Robert Trujillo Financing Jaco Pastorius Documentary Film
We’d heard rumors about this, and now a report has come out via USA Today confirming what we’ve been hearing: a film about Jaco Pastorius has been in development, and it is being financed by Metallica’s Robert Trujillo. Trujillo, you may remember, has another tie to Jaco, having purchased Jaco’s Bass of Doom a year ago, years after it had...
Dean Markley Introduces Nikki Sixx Helix HD SS Bass Strings
Dean Markley has expanded their Helix series strings with a signature set for Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx. Used by the man himself, the Nikki Sixx Helix HD SS Bass Strings are made of a special stainless steel alloy that the company says has an “inherent bright and cutting timbre.” Following the line, the new set of strings is constructed...
Amy LaVere: Take ’Em Or Leave ’Em
I hope you’re enjoying your Sunday. Here’s something from bassist/vocalist Amy LaVere and her trio to make it even better.
Happy Birthday, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen
Today, we celebrate the birthday of one of the greats: Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen. NHØP, as we all like to call him, started out on piano but thankfully picked up the bass at age 14. He went on to have a major impact on the instrument, expanding on the work of another bass innovator, Scott LaFaro. From the 1960’s until his...