Buzz
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...
Fender Unveils Nate Mendel Signature P-Bass
Foo Fighters bassist Nate Mendel now has a signature bass from Fender. Modeled after the ’71 Precision that carried him through over half of his career, the Nate Mendel Fender P Bass features special body contours, extra-slim neck and nut width, and a lightly worn Candy Apple Red finish. The bass is built with an ash body, a maple neck,...
No Bass Amp? A Guide to Hearing Yourself Practice
Q: My amp and most of my gear got confiscated when I got to college because they said it was a fire hazard. What do you recommend for some amp-less ways for me to get my sound amplified? I really have no idea. A: My first question is: what kind of amp did you have that was such a fire...
Derrick Murdock / David “Fingers” Haynes Jam
Bassist Derrick “Dock” Murdock shared this video with us, after seeing our recent videos with Victor Wooten and Nathan East, each performing with David “Fingers” Haynes. Dock recorded this video with Haynes, along with Matthew Pittman on keys. A humble bassist, Dock said, “Although I’m nowhere near as great as these 2 icons [Victor and Nathan], I was hoping to...