Buzz
Chris Minh Doky and The Nomads Announce Worldwide Fall Tour
Bassist Chris Minh Doky has announced a Fall tour with his group the Nomads, which includes drummer Dave Weckl, guitarist Dean Brown and keyboardist George Whitty. Starting October 1st at the Iridium in New York City, the tour will take the quartet across the world with further stops in the U.S., Mexico, Denmark, Norway, and Italy. Doky lays it down...
Electro-Harmonix Adds Utility Pedals to Next Step Series
Electro-Harmonix has added to their Next Step Effects series with three new utility pedals. Similar to the rest of the line, the new volume, expression and pan pedals have no moving parts and feature a smooth rocking chassis to control the effect. The Next Step Volume Pedal controls the volume of an instrument. Powered by either a 9V battery or...
Play Other Instruments! Such as… Guitar
In the previous column, we introduced an exciting concept: the importance of learning your way around on a few other instruments. Aside from being able to sit down at a piano or pick up an acoustic guitar, a bit of musical variety can influence your approach to the bass. Having some basic knowledge of piano can be a huge advantage,...
Mathieu Verlot: “Little Wing” Live Double Bass Arrangement
Bassist Mathieu Verlot really impresses with this video he shared with us, taking the Hendrix classic “Little Wing” and turning it into an epic bass-fest. All four of the bass parts were improvised by Mathieu, and the drums were added after the bass recordings were completed. Mathieu said he’s working on his solo project, and “exploring all the faces of...
The Bad Plus Release “Made Possible”
The Bad Plus have released their eighth studio album, Made Possible, on the Entertainment One Music label. The effort may mark a new era for the band as they chose to include electronic percussion and synthesizers, which is a first for their traditionally acoustic sonic palette. The new layer was brought in mostly by bassist Reid Anderson, who played synthesizer...
Bass of the Week: Aural II by Meridian Guitars
Based in Avezzano, Italy, the luthiers at Meridian Guitars know a thing or two about style. That’s evidenced in their Aural II bass, and though each one is built to order, this particular Aural II really struck me. The pickups include a pair of Meridian’s magnetic pickups as well as a Roland GK-3 MIDI controller. The control layout, which looks...
Playing with Words and Music: An Interview with Victor Wooten (Part 2)
Since his first solo album, released in 1996, Victor Wooten has been intimately involved in the recording, producing and mixing of all his albums — part of a growing trend among musicians. From the mid-nineties forward, more and more artists have been getting their hands involved in the recording process. The introduction of the ADAT recorder in 1991 made home...
Nathan East and David “Fingers” Haynes: NAMM Jam
Nathan East took the stage at the TC Electronic booth at the 2012 Winter NAMM show, teaming up with the phenomenal David “Fingers” Haynes. The duo proceeded to lay it down. If you look closely, you’ll see a cameo of the No Treble guys behind the stage. We were hanging out with Uriah Duffy and chatting, heard Nathan’s playing, and...
Tom Tom Club Releases “Downtown Rockers”
Tom Tom Club has returned with their first new material in 12 years, entitled Downtown Rockers. Founded by the husband-wife team of bassist Tina Weymouth and drummer Chris Frantz, the Talking Heads shoot-off group’s latest offering stays true to their quirky, danceable style while paying homage to the music scene of downtown New York in the ’70s. “The reason why...
Gibson Unveils Midtown Standard Bass
Taking elements of their semi-acoustic EB basses and their Midtown guitar line, Gibson has unveiled the Midtown Standard Bass, a new semi-hollow design with a full 34? scale. The chambered body sports a pair of f-holes for a classic look, but the body is actually made of routed solid woods rather than a laminated top, back and sides. Gibson says...
Bass Players: Get Out of the Shed and Into the World
Q: I practice a lot, but I don’t get to play music with other people all that often. How important do you think it is that I play with other actual humans? A: The short answer? Extremely important. There is no shortage of reasons why this is important, but here are the most important in my book: Feedback! What you...
Adam Stevens: All Bass Cover of John Mayer’s “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room”
We first featured bassist Adam Stevens last month, with his incredible solo bass arrangement of the Chili Peppers tune, “Under the Bridge“. Adam has just shared his latest bass arrangement, this time tackling John Mayer’s “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room”. Adam covers it all, including the vocal line, and ends with a tasty solo.