Buzz
Avid Releases “Scorch” Music Notation Software for iOS
Avid has released their first foray into the iPad app world with Scorch, a sheet music application powered by their Sibelius music notation software engine. Scorch allows users to playback, adjust, and buy sheet music from publishers as well as community members via iTunes. The app allows you to play whole scores or individual parts one at a time. You...
Old School: 1960’s Fender Coronado Bass II – Wildwood
This week, John Roblin shares the story behind his ultra-rare 1960’s Fender Coronado Bass II – Wildwood. Fender’s Coronado line included guitars and basses with a double-cutaway, thin-line hollow-body, designed by Roger Rossmeisl, who originally designed instruments for Rickenbacker. The Coronado line came two years after Leo Fender sold Fender Musical Instruments to CBS, and the company was looking to...
Geezer Butler on Black Sabbath’s Paranoid Bass Riffs
Black Sabbath brought heaviness to a new level, inspiring millions of fans and building up a new genre. This clip from the DVD has Geezer Butler playing through parts of “Iron Man,” “Hand of Doom,” and “Electric Funeral” while explaining some of his playing. “A lot of the riffs are so strong you can’t get off them, especially ‘Iron Man,’”...
Tedeschi Trucks Band Releases “Revelator”, Featuring Oteil Burbridge
We featured a video of the Tedeschi Trucks Band back in March featuring the tasty bass lines of Oteil Burbridge. Now the group has released their debut album, Revelator, with Burbridge anchoring the 12 tracks with his trademark lines. Formed by the husband/wife team of Derek Trucks and Susan Tedeschi, the 11-piece band presents a soulful mix of blues and...
Ibanez Releases Peter Iwers Signature PIB2 Bass
Ibanez has released a new Peter Iwers Signature bass, the PIB2. Finished in Pearl White with an inlay, the In Flames bassist’s new axe is a 5-string that comes factory-tuned to the his preference: Eb, Bb, F, C, Bb. The body is a 3D contoured version of the company’s SR body made of Maple. The 5-piece neck is a combination...
A Review of Hiromi’s “Voice”
“When I play music, I realize that it really filters emotions, I called this album Voice because I believe that people’s real voices are expressed in their emotions. It’s not something that you really say. It’s more something that you have in your heart… Instrumental music is very similar. We don’t have any words or any lyrics to go with...
Esperanza Spalding: I Know You Know / Smile Like That Live
Here’s a great clip of Esperanza Spalding sporting a Fender fretless and performing live in San Sebastian on July 23, 2009.
The 2nd Annual Bass Coalition Summer Workshop
The Bass Coalition will be holding its second annual Summer Workshop at Shenandoah University-Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia on July 9th and 10th, 2011. Faculty will include Oberlin bass professor Peter Dominguez, renowned bass educator Inez Wyrick, and Shenandoah Professor and No Treble columnist Dr. Donovan Stokes. The two-day event includes clinics covering classical, jazz and alternative styles, including use of...
GoGo Tuners Releases TT-1 Clip-On Tuner
GoGo Tuners has released the TT-1, a clip-on tuner that features both piezo and microphone tuning methods. The main concept for the tuner is that the backlit LED screen has two colors, displaying red when you are out of tune and green once you are in tune. The side of the tuner also glows red when you’re off pitch, so...
Gear, Tone and Reality
Q: I know a lot of guys who spend quite a bit of time and money on their gear. In your opinion, how much of a bassist’s sound is contained in the rig that they are using versus the hands and so on? A: I’m glad you asked! I just had this conversation the other night, at different times and...
Andy Saxton: Turrican
Andy Saxton sent us this video of his tune “Turrican” from his solo album, Evolution of the Thumb. The tune has a cool blend of styles mixed together to keep things interesting. “This song is dedicated to my youth,” Andy said, “and to one of my favorite computer games when I was growing up – on the good old Atari...
Hiromi Releases “Voice”, Featuring Anthony Jackson
Pianist/composer Hiromi Uehara has just released Voice, her latest solo album. Bassist Anthony Jackson, who performed on a couple of tunes on Hiromi’s first two albums, performs on the entire album (excluding “Haze”, the one solo piano track), along with drummer Simon Phillips. “I’ve always been a huge fan of [Anthony Jackson’s] bass playing,” Hiromi said. “I’ve always liked playing...