Buzz
Agile Partners Introduce AmpKit Version 1.4, with Ashdown Amp Model
AmpKit, the popular amp modeling app for iOS, has been updated with Version 1.4. The new incarnation introduces two new pedals and two new amplifiers including modeling of the Ashdown ABM-900 and its matching 8×10 cabinet. The second in AmpKit’s bass amp series, the Ashdown rig replicates all the features of the real ABM-900. Besides the company’s signature VU meter,...
Bass of the Week: Nordstrand NX5
I’ll admit it – I’m a sucker for boutique top woods. That’s why I had to do a double take when I saw Nordstrand’s first NX5 Bolt-on bass guitar. Its spalted maple top and matching headstock have a gorgeous textural look with striking light and dark contrasts thanks to the spalting, which is naturally created in wood by fungi. Equally...
Transcription: “No Woman, No Cry” Solo Bass Arrangement
This great version of the Bob Marley classic “No Woman, No Cry” was arranged by popular YouTube bassist Viaceslav Svedov, a talented young musician known for his hard-hitting covers of popular bass-driven songs.
Won’t Get Fooled Again: John Entwistle’s Isolated Bass (Live, 1978)
Has there ever been anyone cooler than John Entwistle? I don’t think so, and here’s Exhibit A – the Ox’s isolated bass from “Won’t Get Fooled Again”, performed live in Shepperton, UK in 1978.
Arild Andersen Steps Out Front With “Celebration”
For more than four decades, Norwegian bassist Arild Andersen has been a foundation in the sound of ECM Records. His recordings for the label include work with Bill Frisell, Kenny Wheeler, Paul Motian and many others. Now, the bassist has just released Celebration, an album consisting of music from ECM’s catalog. The six track collection features Andersen as the lead...
Alembic Unveils Stanley Clarke Signature Deluxe 5-String Bass
Stanley Clarke will be stretching out a bit more with the introduction of his new Alembic Signature Deluxe 5-string bass, which the company will offer in their signature series. Tuned E to C, the step from a 4- to a 5-string bass allows for playing Clarke’s songs written for tenor bass as well as everything written for traditional tuning. Clarke...
How and Why Woods Affect Your Bass Sound
Q: Experience and all instrument makers tell us that the choice of wood affects the sound of a bass. Of course we know and feel the difference of alder vs. ash bodies, ebony vs. rosewood vs. maple fingerboards, and so many other differences. But, do we know why exactly this affects the amplified sound? What we deal with are metal...
James Jamerson: “Bernadette” Isolated Bass
This wouldn’t be much of an “isolated bass week” without including the legend, James Jamerson. So here’s a (mostly) isolated bass track from the 1967 Four Tops hit, “Bernadette”. There’s some disagreement about whether this is the bass on the actually released single, or if it is an out-take from the Motown vault. Doesn’t matter to us… it is still...
Top 10: The Best of No Treble – Top Bass Gear, Lessons and Stories for July 2012
At the end of every month, we take a look at the most read articles on No Treble. So it only makes sense that we make a top 10 list from there. We lost one of the great bass legends of our time last month, with the passing of Bob Babbitt, who takes the #1 slot for most read in...
Reader Spotlight: Rafael Minerbo
Meet Rafael Minerbo, a bassist from Brazil who made us laugh pretty hard when reading his bio (you’ll see why). Rafael has been playing for about three years and says he wishes he was David Caraccio or Flea. To that, we say: “keep doing your thing, and then someone will one day say, ‘I wish I was Rafael Minerbo.'” Rafael...
Hot Tuna Cancels Remaining Tour Dates
Sad news to report… Hot Tuna has canceled the last three scheduled dates for their Steady As She Goes tour. A representative for the band sent us this note today: “Jack Casady‘s wife, longtime love Diana, is in the late stages of a rare form of cancer. She has fought an amazing fight for over ten years. It is with...
Primus Announces First-Ever Traveling 3-D Tour
Primus is kicking off a “first-ever traveling 3D enhanced live musical” tour in October, featuring two sets per evening the band promises will be “a one-of-a-kind psychedelic experience”. Every show will feature Quad Surround Sound too. The 22-date tour kicks off October 12 in Poughkeepsie, NY and ends on November 10 in Miami, Florida. Primus debuted the video for “Lee...