Buzz
Bass of the Week: Ray Ross Bass No. 27
Luthier Aaron “Ray” Ross has been cooking up a new style of bridge this year, and he’s created an amazing bass to showcase it. His 27th bass features the new saddle-less “universal bridge.” “Coming up with something new is a violent, painful way to create, this took 4 months of agony and hand work,” Ross writes. “I was a little...
Best of 2017: The Top 10 Reader Favorite Basses
We covered a lot of new basses in 2017. Here are the top 10 reader favorites of the year. 1. Ibanez Ashula SRAS7 Hybrid Fretted/Fretless Bass Ibanez shocked many bassists again this year by introducing a new Ashula bass. The SRAS7 is a seven-string model that has a unique hybrid fretted/fretless design with three strings over a fretless purpleheart fingerboard...
Oz Noy, Will Lee, and Stefano Volpe: Wisps
Will Lee is rounding out 2017 with a funky little video for the song “Wisps”. Written by drummer Stefano Volpe, it also features Lee’s jamming buddy Oz Noy on guitar. The bassist kicks off the video with his signature brand of humor before laying down a nicely syncopated groove. Volpe shared his gratitude on Facebook by writing, “Mr. Will Lee...
Jayme Lewis: This Christmas
Jayme Lewis knows how to celebrate the holidays with some killer cover songs. After tackling “Thriller” for Halloween, the bassist is back with his band and a funky rendition of Donny Hathaway’s classic “This Christmas.” “Merry Christmas! 2017 was a stellar year here at TheBassist.net and I hope it was full of joy and blessings for you and yours!” Lewis...
Best of 2017: The Top 10 “Ask Damian Erskine” Columns
Damian Erskine is our longest running columnist, for good reason. His Q&A column is one of the most popular features we publish each and every week. Of the 50-plus columns Damian published this year, here are the reader favorites for 2017. 1. A Drummer’s Perspective on Bass Playing For this column, I asked a good friend of mine – Seattle-based...
Pobozhiy / Malaman / Stepanov / Sagamonyants: The Aether
Evgeny Pobozhiy has a new video out featuring his collaboration with Federico Malaman, Valeriy Stepanov, and David Sagamonyants. The group play’s Evgeny’s original tune, “The Aether.” We dig this!
In Memoriam: Lenny Stallworth
David “Lenny” Stallworth, who anchored Roy Hargrove’s RH Factor and toured with Maceo Parker, has passed away. Raised in Moss Point, Mississippi, Stallworth started playing bass at 11 years old and one year later joined his first band: The Super Soul Movement. At eighteen he joined the show band Poo Nanny and toured the Chitlin’ Circuit where he got the...
Royal Blood Announce U.S. Headlining Tour
Bass and drum duo Royal Blood have announced they’ll be coming to the U.S. for a headlining tour in 2018. Fronted by bassist/vocalist Mike Kerr, the band will be hitting the road in support of their latest album, How Did We Get This Dark? The tour kicks off in Brooklyn, New York before heading to Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Georgia, Florida,...
Wolfgang Muthspiel Quintet: Father and Sun
Larry Grenadier takes the melody and an awesome solo on this live version of “Father and Sun” by the Wolfgang Muthspiel Quintet. He also creates a spacey groove with drummer Brian Blade to propel the ethereal song.
Best of 2017: Top 10 Reader Favorite Bass of the Week Features
Back in 2011, we kicked off our popular Bass of the Week feature, showcasing low-end instruments ranging from beautiful to bizarre. Of the 50-plus we featured in 2017, here are the top 10 No Treble reader favorites. 1. Justin Chancellor’s Warwick Custom Shop Masterbuilt Streamer Stage II Tool’s Justin Chancellor has always been known for his impeccable style and tone....
Death By Audio Introduces Absolute Destruction Pedal
If you’re looking to blow up your bass sound, Death By Audio has you covered with their new Absolute Destruction pedal. Utilizing a power amplifier IC, the unit offers a distortion as well as what its name implies. “Showing little to no respect for what instruments normally sound like, or even what many people want them to sound like, we...
Bass Transcription: The Jackson 5’s “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas”
Once The Jackson 5 had been signed by Motown in March 1969, they were very quickly put to work in the label’s legendary “Hitsville” studios in Detroit. However, label owner Berry Gordy was only happy with a few of the recordings, and he decided to relocate the band to work out of their Los Angeles headquarters. The new Jackson 5...