Buzz
Mr. Big to Release a Live Acoustic Album
Mr. Big, anchored by bassist Billy Sheehan has announced they’ll be releasing Live from the Living Room in February, 2012. The album is a unique one for the band, who decided to do an acoustic album featuring ten of Mr. Big’s songs. Mr. Big’s original line-up of Sheehan, vocalist Eric Martin, guitarist Paul Gilbert and drummer Pat Torpey reunited in...
Best of 2011: The Top 10 Bass Reader Spotlights
Our Player Spotlight feature is one of our favorites here at No Treble HQ. Each week, we get to feature a bassist from our community in a big way. Here are our top 10 most popular bassists in the spotlight for 2011, based on readership. Want a shot at making the top 10 list for 2012? Be sure to submit...
Aguilar to Introduce Tone Hammer 350 in 2012
Aguilar will be introducing a new ultra-lightweight amp to the Tone Hammer series in 2012, with the all new 350 model. Weighing in at only three pounds, the 350-watt head follows suit in the series by utilizing the company’s Tone Hammer preamp, originally found in the Tone Hammer D.I./preamp pedal. Controls on the Tone Hammer 350 include drive, bass, treble...
ChaotH from UneXpecT: Words
Here’s an awesome clip of 9-string bassist ChaotH (aka Frédérick Filiatrault) playing the song “Words” from his band UneXpecT’s album Fables of the Sleepless Empire. ChaotH, who admits that his hair is the source of his bass playing power, takes full advantage of his extended range instrument with some beautiful chordal playing reminiscent of some Tony Levin’s Chapman Stick work...
Top Ten: Bass / Not Bass Discussion, New Signature Basses and Gear, Plus the Top Videos & Columns of the Week
Last week, our conversation about what makes bass actually “bass” took top billing. We expect this conversation to go on for some time, and we’ve really enjoyed reading all the viewpoints. If you missed it, be sure to check it out and add your voice to the mix. In videos, we saw the return of Dirty Loops, once again taking...
Anthony Wellington: Christmas Medley Bass Loop Jam
Here’s another great Christmas medley the way we like it… all on the bass. This is Anthony Wellington, looping some funky beats together for the holidays.
Kent Beatty: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas for Solo Bass
Kent Beatty recorded this solo bass arrangement of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” back in 2008, and it is still awesome. Skip to around the 0:45 mark if you want to get right to the music. Merry Christmas all!
Happy Holidays from No Treble
As we look back at 2011, there are a lot of great memories and favorite moments here on No Treble. At the top of the list is the connections we’ve made with bassists around the world – more than 50,000 of them on our Facebook page, and many more who have visited this site over the year. No Treble has...
Christmas Funk
Davie504 posted this video he dubs “Christmas Funk”, featuring his own unique three-bass arrangement of “Jingle Bells”. Happy holidays!
Making It: How To Go From Wanting A Career As An Artist To Having One
“We aren’t going to sugar coat it. Having a career as a musician will not be easy.” That’s how Making It: How To Go From Wanting A Career As An Artist To Having One begins. This is certainly a book about hard work, and one that lays out the steps for modern musicians to find the path to “making it”....
Carvin Introduces MB210 Combo Bass Amp
Carvin has added a 210 model to their micro bass combo amp series. The MB210 carries an internal head unit, a pair of 10” speakers, and a neodymium titanium tweeter, all while weighing a mere 36 pounds. Alone, the MB210 delivers 200W at 8 ohms, but can push up to 250W at 4 ohms with the addition of an 8...
The Most Influential Blues Bassists: Part 1
One of the common bonds between a lot of us bass players is that we learned how to play by ear. Unlike other instruments, such as the clarinet or piano, we didn’t start out by taking private lessons, nor did we play in the fourth grade orchestra at school. Instead, we heard songs on the radio with cool bass lines...