Buzz
Bass Players To Know: Klaus Flouride
It’s election week here in the U.S. The country has been saturated by advertisements, campaign rallies, and repetitive debate jargon. Times like these require a creative outlet, a way to ease the politically charged anxieties. For many people, music is the perfect remedy. While some listeners flock to acoustic folk music or groovy reggae, others set their radio dials to...
La Vague: Little Village
Alessandro Corsi sent us the latest video from his band La Vague for the song “Little Village”. The bassist lays down an awesome bass line while simultaneously taking care of accompanying chords. Who needs a guitar, anyway?
Robert Trujillo Talks on Learning Metallica’s “…And Justice For All” Songs
Metallica’s …And Justice For All is one of the band’s most classic albums, but it’s often maligned by bass players due to the almost inaudible bass. Bassist Jason Newsted‘s bass was just about mixed out of the album. Current member Robert Trujillo recently told Rolling Stone Australia that songs from the 1988 album were hardest to learn when he joined...
Curved vs. Flat Fingerboards on Bass
Q: Why are some fingerboards curved and some flat? Is there any benefit to one over the other? A: The curve in the fretboard is called a radius, and there are varying arguments I’ve found for the reason. Many people agree that a radiused fretboard works best with the natural curvature of the hand. This is especially geared towards guitarists...
Ben Allison Trio: Pony Express
Ben Allison has a new album out with saxophonist Ted Nash and guitarist Steve Cardenas called The Quiet Revolution, and it’s sublime. Modeled after the drummerless trios of Jimmy Giuffre and Jim Hall, the band’s configuration allows for freedom while pushing each member to get creative. Here’s a video of the trio performing Giuffre’s “Pony Express” with Allison starting things...
Red Hot Chili Peppers Add More 2017 Tour Dates
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have announced the second leg of their 2017 North American tour. The outing starts April 12th at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. and will focus on the East Coast with several Canadian dates mixed in. The new dates are in add to their existing Winter tour and will now take the band on tour...
Reader Spotlight: Calum Craig
Meet Calum Craig, once a classical guitarist who saw the light and switched to bass. Calum is part of a multi-national band known as Frontierer. He’s this week’s reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story… Bio: I’m from Edinburgh in Scotland. I played in a few bands at home before I moved to Spain three years ago. I currently live...
Top 10: The Most Watched Bass Videos (October 2016)
Time to celebrate some great music – and great bass playing – via the top 10 reader favorite videos of the month. Thanks for watching, commenting and sharing! 1. Anthony Crawford: Jazz vs Hiphop Bassist Anthony Crawford shared this on his Facebook page and it immediately caught my attention. He recorded it as a demo for his Mirura MB-2 bass,...
Federico Malaman and Marco Venturini: At Last
Federico Malaman joined vocalist Marco Venturini in the studio to record their own version of “At Last.” The iconic tune was made popular by Etta James in 1960. We love the what these two did with the song, including Federico’s jam at the end.
Burnt Belief, Featuring Colin Edwin, Release “Emergent”
Bassist Colin Edwin and guitarist Jon Durant have teamed up once again under the name Burnt Belief to release Emergent, an album they say is inspired by the unspoken and hidden truths behind our daily reality. The experimental duo called upon their prog chops to create an ambient and hypnotically rhythmic experience. “One of the things that makes Burnt Belief...
Bass of the Week: Barton Basses 11-String Fretless Harpbass
Barton Applewhite of Barton Basses sent this in for us to check out and it stopped me in my tracks. This monstrous 11-string fretless Harpbass includes a four regular bass strings plus seven standalone harp strings. “[The bass is] constructed of swamp ash [and] a flame maple neck through with a cocobolo top,” the luthier shares. “It has Bartolini pickups...
Talking Technique: Octaves on Overdrive
Today we’re going to go over a few tips on how to spice up a groove using octaves. Of course, we’ll focus on good fingering practices to make the notes sound smooth and connected. You can use this technique when practicing rudiments and scales, but check out this PDF to work up an example using one- and two-chord grooves.