Buzz
Serek Updates the Midwestern Bass
Serek Basses announced a new model at the Summer NAMM Show this year. The Midwestern 2 is a new version of the company’s flagship model with a few new refinements. It still retains many of the same features – a light-weight mahogany body, short scale, vintage profiled neck, and Hipshot hardware – but has a new body shape for playability....
Blues Beatles: Yesterday
I discovered the Blues Beatles on Facebook, and I’m glad I did. As their name suggests, the band takes classic Beatles tunes and turns them into blues arrangements. Anchored by bassist Bruno Falcão, the band performs in various concert halls in Brazil – and thankfully shares their work on Youtube too.
Violent Femmes Release “Two Mics & The Truth: Unplugged & Unhinged In America”
After releasing a long-awaited studio album last year, Violent Femmes have returned with a follow-up live album. Two Mics & The Truth: Unplugged & Unhinged In America captures the band over the past year at sessions for radio stations across the country. Anchored by bassist Brian Ritchie, the album is filled with songs from their entire catalog, including past hits...
Dunlop Unveils Geezer Butler Cry Baby Wah
Black Sabbath may have played their final tour this year, but Geezer Butler‘s tone will continue to inspire generations of bassists. Now Dunlop has introduced the Geezer Butler Cry Baby Wah, which is the company’s first ever signature Cry Baby Bass Wah. The pedal is designed to complement the legend’s tone with “massive low end power with a midrange that...
Behold the Seer: An Interview with Jeff Hill
Jeff Hill may be the newest member of the Chris Robinson Brotherhood, but he’s no novice. The skilled bassist cut his teeth on rock and jazz in Chicago and New York City for years before becoming a go-to player for artists like Rufus Wainwright, Shooter Jennings, Linda Thompson, and more. Now his fantastic groove and tone are featured in the...
YYNOT: Run On Love
Our favorite Rush tribute band is back with a new original tune. “Run On Love” features the lineup of Rocky Kuner on vocals, Billy Alexander (who wrote the song) on guitars and Mini Moog, Tim Starace on bass, and Chris Moore on drums. The band is performing on August 20th at Gaslamp Long Beach. Get details here.
Hartke Unveils Enhanced HyDrive Bass Cabinets
Ten years ago, Hartke unveiled a new series of bass cabinets featuring their HyDrive speakers. Now they’re celebrating the 10th anniversary with four new models in the HyDrive HD Series Bass Cabinets. It consists of four new models: the HD112, the HD115, the HD210, and the HD410. Each is fitted with HyDrive speakers, which are a hybrid design combining paper...
How High Should I Set My Bass Strings?
Q: What’s your take on string height? For over a decade, I’ve subscribed to Anthony Jackson’s view that the neck must be as flat/straight as possible and the strings as low as possible. And while I’ve spent as much time refining a light touch, I sometimes wonder if I’m spending too much time worrying about my touch and how much...
Camilla Chessa: “Get Lucky” Bass Cover
Camilla Chessa sat down at Piazza della Scala in Milan and absolutely nailed this all-bass performance of Daft Punk’s “Get Lucky.” “Here is one of my favourite busking songs!” Camilla shared. We dig it too.
Benefit CD for Marc VW Now Available
The music world was shocked in January when Tower of Power bassist Marc Van Wageningen and drummer David Garibaldi were struck by a train on their way to a gig at Yoshi’s Night Club in Oakland, California. Thankfully, they both survived, though Van Wageningen (aka Marc VW) was put in the hospital in serious condition. One week after the accident,...
Reader Spotlight: Alex Nikolaeff
Meet Alex Nikolaeff, who started playing the bass because no one else in the band wanted to pick it up. He says he’ll play his trusty Fender Jazz bass for the rest of his life. Alex is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story… Bio: I’m a 34-year-old bass player from the furthest hole of the...
NS Design Announces the NS WAV Omni Bass
NS Design’s WAV series got a little bigger this year with the addition of the NS WAV Omni bass, which debuted at the 2017 Summer NAMM show. The new model brings the Omni design, which has an upright bass design with the 34-inch scale of an electric bass, to the company’s most affordable WAV series. Available in four and five-string...