Buzz
Buddy Guy, Jack Bruce, Buddy Miles, Dick Heckstall-Smith: Mary Had a Little Lamb (Live, 1969)
Today’s clip comes from the documentary Supershow, filmed in 1969 and featuring Jack Bruce, Led Zeppelin, Buddy Guy, Buddy Miles, Dick Heckstall-Smith, Chris Mercer, Eric Clapton, Colloseum, Roland Kirk, and Stephen Stills. This was dubbed “the last great jam of the ’60s”. Here, Bruce, Buddy Guy, Buddy Miles, and Dick Heckstall-Smith perform “Mary Had A Little Lamb”.
RapcoHorizon Releases the iJam 3-n-1
Audio/visual company RapcoHorizon is now shipping the iJam 3-n-1, a new iPhone instrument interface designed for all electric instruments. The iJam also acts as a practice amp and MP3 play-along device. The iPhone portion of the iJam connects your bass to your apps, including amplifier modelers, recording software apps, and instructional apps. It allows for continuous monitoring for any applications...
Acoustic USA Launches With Revamped 360/361 Bass Rig
A new branch of the Acoustic brand, called Acoustic USA, has launched with the unveiling of an updated version of the classic 360/361 rig. The vintage head/cab combo was originally made famous by players like Jaco Pastorius, Larry Graham and Led Zeppelin’s John Paul Jones. Acoustic USA employed the help of former Acoustic President and bass amp guru Russ Alee...
Practical Theory: Practice Tips for Scales (Part 2)
This week, we’re continuing where we left off with Part 1 of this series, covering the Major tetrachord formula to practice scales. This week, we expand on the basics by covering various finger patterns and covering the entire neck. As part of this exercise, we’ll also skip notes in the scale, playing in thirds, fourths, fifths, and so on, to...
Hadrien Feraud: “Marching Powder” Live Bass Solo
I’m not sure I’ve seen a performance by Hadrien Feraud that didn’t blow me away. But this one is perhaps one of the best of them all. Recorded at The Baked Potato in March, 2011, Feraud takes a solo during the tune “Marching Powder” with “Bubba Lugatz” – in 15/8. The band includes Chris Coleman on drums, Arlan Schierbaum on...
Peter Erskine New Trio Releases “Joy Luck”, with Damian Erskine
Peter Erskine’s latest album, Joy Luck, showcases the drummer’s new trio, and a family connection. Peter’s nephew [and No Treble columnist] Damian Erskine joins his uncle for the first time on an album. Dubbed the Peter Erskine New Trio, the group also includes pianist Vardan Ovsepian. “I’ve waited for the right time to form a group with my talented nephew,...
Source Audio Introduces the Soundblox Pro Bass Envelope Filter
Source Audio has expanded upon their Soundblox Bass Envelope Filter with a new Pro version of the pedal. Similar to its sibling, the Soundblox Pro Bass Envelope Filter has 22 envelope filter effects ranging from 2 Pole and 4 pole Low Pass variations, Single Peak, Triple Peak, Peak/Notch variations and Phaser settings. Options go even further as you can tweak...
Custom Shop: Darkglass Electronics
We first heard about Darkglass Electronics by way of the company’s flagship distortion pedal, the Microtubes B3K [check out our review here], and soon met proprietor Douglas Castro. Castro, who hails from Chile but is now based out of Finland, builds all of the pedals by hand. A bass player himself, Castro couldn’t get the sound he wanted from all...
Rebecca Johnson Band: Live Bass Solo
Here’s a new reader-submitted video, from bassist Rebecca Johnson. Rebecca is an Australian bass player and singer with her own band, a 3-piece funk/R&B band she says has “real musicians (no machines).” In this video, Rebecca lays down a nice, groovy bass solo. Gotta love the interplay between the bass and drums! Have a video to share? Send it to...
311 Releases “Universal Pulse”
311, anchored by bassist Aaron “P-Nut” Willis, has released Universal Pulse, the group’s tenth album. Produced by Bob Rock, the album brings the band back to a more live and energetic sound. At eight songs, the CD is also their shortest to date. P-Nut says quality is better than quantity. “Universal Pulse is a continuation of this musical experiment called...
Pigtronix Releases Class A Boost Pedal
Pigtronix has released the Class A Boost, designed to fatten any signal, from instruments to line level devices. The pedal includes discreet transistor topology to boost signals up to 20db without clipping. A flat frequency response from 20Hz to 20kHz ensures your bass’s sound is preserved. The company explains that the pedal’s design allows for noise free performance, and has...
The Reading Hurdle and How to Jump It
Q: I’m working on being a more fluent sight-reader. I can read notes and their values but it takes me a while to transfer that to the instrument. Any advice on how to most effectively improve? A: Good for you for devoting time to this worthwhile endeavor! Learning to read music is much like learning to read a spoken language....