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Best of 2017: The Top 10 Bass Lessons
Our bass lessons are super popular with readers, thanks in large part to our excellent contributors in the various lesson categories. Here are the top 10 No Treble reader favorite bass lessons for 2017. 1. Creative Bass Lines: The Chameleon Variations In this lesson, I’ve taken a pretty classic and fairly easy to play bass part from Herbie Hancock’s “Chameleon”...
Omar Vazquez Castro & Simon Sammut: Mar
Bassists Omar Vazquez Castro and Simon Sammut teamed up for a bass duo composition called “Mar”, which translates to “sea.” “Omar composed the track and plays bass chords and harmonics. I play the fretless and upright bass,” Sammut explains. The track reflects the feeling of the sea with an ambient atmosphere, thanks to the harmonics and tones each player pulls...
Bassists Alliance Teams Up For “Crush”
If you’ve felt the ground rumbling late, it’s probably because bassists from all over the world have teamed up for the Bassists Alliance. The project, which features thirteen bassists and one drummer, has released their debut album, Crush. Formed by Alberto Rigoni and Six Feet Under bassist Jeff Hughell, the group’s new album is as varied in style as it...
Sleep Expands 2018 Tour Dates
Doom metal legends Sleep expanded their 2018 tour dates with a new handful of concerts in January. The trio, which is anchored by the mighty Al Cisneros, will be visiting Utah, Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas in addition to their previously announced spring shows. In other news, the band spent part of this past year working on a new album with...
Bass Effects Overview
I recently met a player in Portland who completely blew me away. (We soon realized, we only live two blocks away from each other!) He’s new to town and hasn’t been gigging here yet. His girlfriend plays in the symphony and he’s been getting his bearings in the new city. Long story short, we got together over at his house...
John Ferrara and Seth Moutal: Mouth Say Tongue
Bassist John Ferrara and percussionist Seth Moutal have released their second composition, and it’s mesmerizing. “This one is an original composition with me tapping polyrhythms and doing auxiliary percussion with my feet, and Seth playing a hand drum and aux percussion with his feet,” Ferrara shares. While that sounds complicated, it’s a natural and great feeling groove. “Mouth Say Tongue”...
Best of 2017: The Top 10 Bass Player Interviews and Podcasts
We had the chance to chat with many bass players over the course of 2017, between the Groove Podcast and our other interviews. Here are the top 10 reader favorites of the year. 1. Groove – Episode #32: Joe Dart Let’s just call it a “mutual admiration society.” Vulfpeck bassist, Joe Dart, has always been very kind to the No...
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...