Buzz
Creative Bass Lines: Increasing Fingerboard Knowledge – Part 2: Arpeggios, Major 7ths & Beyond!
We have not one, but two lessons for you this month! In this lesson, I’ll talk you through major 7th, then 9th, ?11th and 13th arpeggios, which follows part one (“Triad Visualization”). I am a firm believer in learning these concepts in multiple ways/fingerings – it all goes to increase our overall knowledge of the fingerboard, and that’s a good...
Bravo Victor: The Duel
Bassist Jonathon Burgess sent us the new video by his duo with vocalist Sophie Aked, known as Bravo Victor. This video is a milestone for Bravo Victor – their debut single for their upcoming EP. The band has the track available on Bandcamp.
Biltworth Launches with BW-1 Effects Pedal
A new pedal company called Biltworth has launched its first product called the BW-1, a multi-effects unit for bass and guitar. It features three effects – overdrive, delay, and reverb – that are cascaded in series with separate controls and footswitches for each. The Drive section has Volume, Gain, and Tone controls that Biltworth says can “push it from light...
MonoNeon: Miles Beyond, Live
MonoNeon’s playing never ceases to amaze me, and this clip of him covering a Mahavishnu Orchestra song is why. The bassist grooves hard on the song “Miles Beyond” in this video from a concert in Memphis, Tennessee. As always, MonoNeon puts his own spin on it with an incredible solo. Keyboardist Lance Lucas and drummer Anthony Knox help to provide...
Mooer Audio Introduces Tender Octaver Pro Pedal
Mooer Audio has beefed up their Tender Octaver pedal with a Pro version. The polyphonic harmony pedal now has two synthesized harmony voices: one upper and one lower. Each has independent volume, tone, and pitch controls, with the pitch control allowing for any harmony to be created between unity and octave. The Tender Octaver Pro also has a smooth control...
Bass Players to Know: Bunny Brunel
Like any aspiring bass player, I went through a “fusion phase” (otherwise known as college). I spent countless hours infatuated with complicated harmony, the wild and masterful displays of technical ability, and the jammiest of jams. It wasn’t long before I discovered the CAB albums featuring Tony MacAlpine, Dennis Chambers, Brian Auger, and bass player Bunny Brunel. This quickly sent...
Snarky Puppy with Esperanza Spalding: Grown Folks
Although this is a fan-shot video, it’s too good to pass up. Snarky Puppy and Esperanza Spalding both performed at the GroundUP Festival earlier this year. Spalding joined Michael League and the crew for their song “Grown Folks” from . The bassists trade off on playing the bass line with Spalding taking an unbelievable vocal solo halfway through the tune.
Positive Grid Introduces BIAS Modulation Pedal
Positive Grid has expanded their pedal range with the BIAS Modulation. The standalone pedal has nine built-in effects – Chorus, Vibrato, Flanger, Rotary, Phaser, Tremolo, Pan, RingMod and Autoswell – that can be mixed and matched to create unique sounds. It has intensity, depth, and rate controls as well as tap tempo and LFO controls for dialing in your sound...
Getting Away from Playing the Root on Beat One
Q: I play mostly jazz and am a pretty facile walker, but I’ve gotten into the habit of playing lines that almost invariably lead to the root being on the 1 (or the 3 if it’s a 2-chord measure in 4/4, etc.). While I am guessing that some of the folks I play with don’t mind the solid anchor, I...
Bambo Kino: Angels in Motion
We featured bassist Bambo Kino, aka Mark Buccilli, as a reader spotlight back in 2014 and today we’re sharing some more of his music. Here’s a clip of him playing with the recording for his fusion song “Angels in Motion” from the album Ecto Perfecto.
Herbie Hancock Recruits James Genus for Summer Tour
Jazz legend Herbie Hancock has announced a tour of the United States and Europe this summer, and it’s going to be incredible. He’s put together a killer lineup for his band with Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Lionel Loueke on guitar, Terrace Martin on drums, and James Genus on bass. The bassist has been a mainstay in the jazz community for...
Reader Spotlight: Dylan Caillouet
Meet Dylan Caillouet, a bassist from New Orleans who has an impressive resume over his 13 years of playing. Dylan is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story… Bio: I am a New Orleans musician who has played with the likes of Trombone Shorty, George Porter Jr., Henrik Linder, Tab Benoit, Terrence Higgins, Donald Harrison, Jody...