No Treble Archive for August 16th

Walrus Audio has introduced the Mira Optical Compressor, which they say offers “plenty of sustain, attack, and release that can be blended in to taste.” On top of typical compressor controls, it has a push-button high pass filter in the side chain.

The amount of talent on a single stage in this video is mind-blowing. This clip comes from the 2014 Global Concert in Osaka, Japan, with Herbie Hancock backed by a supergroup (including Marcus Miller) on a performance of “Hang Up Your Hang Ups.”

Jeff Beck has unveiled a United States tour this fall in support of his new album, “18,” which is a collaboration with Johnny Depp. Along for the ride will be bassist Rhonda Smith, who has been in Beck’s group for over a decade.

We previously featured a bass by John Sullivan, who built his own bass to be a versatile workhorse. Now he’s shared a killer five-string.

For her latest video, Juliaplaysgroove asked her friend, guitarist Michal Rajca, to join her to create the “ultimate funk experience”. The duo does indeed get super funky playing along to Cory Wong’s “Design”.

After four decades in the band, Simon Gallup has announced he has left The Cure. He made a statement on Facebook.

Warwick has stepped into the world of micro amps with the Gnome series of pocket-sized bass amplifiers. The lineup includes three models – the Gnome, Gnome i, and Gnome i Pro – that step up features.

Stuart Clayton never ceases to amaze us. In this video, Stuart performs his bass arrangement of “Midnight Express” by Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt.

On August 8th, 1970, the original lineup of The Stooges played their final concert together. Now Third Man Records has released a previously-unheard soundboard recording of the event in an album called “Live At Goose Lake: August 8, 1970.”

Ernie Ball Music Man has unveiled the latest in their Ball Family Reserve series with two guitars and a bass. The limited-edition bass is a five-string Bongo in a Wild Cherry Burst finish.

Bryan Beller is gearing up to release an incredible new solo album called “Scenes from the Flood,” which drops on August 23rd. To prep listeners, he’s launched his second single from the record, “Volunteer State.”

Time to celebrate some great bass playing, thanks to our monthly roundup of the top 10 videos. Here are the 10 reader favorite videos we shared on No Treble in the month of July.

Free the Tone has unveiled the Black Vehicle, a bass overdrive that is part of their 15th anniversary project called the Integrated Series. Described as having a wide range of “amp like” sounds, the pedal includes a unique new circuit called the Holistic Tonal Solution. “The HTS circuit prevents a thin sound, makes the texture of the sounds from the...

Time for your monthly dose of bass goodness, thanks to the top 10 reader favorite bass videos on No Treble. Here are the 10 most watched for the month of July 2018. Thanks for watching, commenting, and sharing! 1. Jeff Berlin on Jaco Pastorius: Harmonics In my younger years, Jaco Pastorius and Jeff Berlin were two of the titans of...

Derrick Elliott sent us this new video by his band, Coevality, and I was an instant fan. Of course, I’m always a sucker for great fretless bass, and Derrick brings it on this tune. The track will be part of the band’s upcoming album, Multiple Personalities, which the band describes as “[blending] a good amount of different styles and genres...

Tauk has announced a fall tour to coincide with their upcoming album, Shapeshifter II: Oubreak, which is due out September 28th. The trek will start with a string of festival dates through September before heading into the club circuit. The album’s concept looks at artificial intelligence and its effect on the world. Tauk calls it their most sonically adventurous, and...

API has unveiled the TranZformer series, including the TranZformer LX bass pedal. The pedal incorporates the company’s traditional analog signal path with gain control, compression, and equalization all in one unit. The pedal’s variable compressor, which can be bypassed, is their API 525. The three-band EQ can also be bypassed for flexibility. Other features include phase invert switches on each...

Q: What kind of rhythms should I play during pedal tones? A: I get asked this more often than one might think. The quick answer is to use whatever rhythm you think compliments what’s happening around you. Of course, I’ll suggest a heavy dose of listening to hear how different players have approached pedal tones in different styles. For those...

A year ago, keyboardist Valeriy Stepanov, drummer Arkadiy Kornev, and bassist Federico Malaman got together to record some music. This video blew us away. Federico is showing his incredible chops (and musicianship) on this tune, which also offers up a sweet solo by him.

Meet Marcin Sypniewski, a high school student in Poland who stays busy with school and fills every extra minute with his musical pursuit. Marcin got his start like many bassists – no one was playing the bass when he formed a band with friends – but he’s extremely happy with how that turned out. Marcin is this week’s No Treble...

Kala has revamped their California U-Bass series for 2016. The mini-scale, solid-body instruments will have reshaped necks and bodies, plus new placement for the fret markers on the fingerboard. “The California body and neck have been cut and sanded to smoother, more rounded edges so they provide more comfort for the player,” The company writes. “The feel is enhanced when...

Spare Parts sent us their latest, and this time is a little different than we’ve seen from them previously. Filmed by Jody Michael Miller, here’s the trio anchored by Colin Scott performing their cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Four Sticks”.

The Fred Hersch Trio, featuring John Hébert on bass, has released the live album, Sunday Night at the Vanguard, which All About Jazz says may be the trio’s best recording yet. The Vanguard refers to the Village Vanguard, a legendary New York City jazz club that has become a second home for the trio. Sunday Night at the Vanguard sees...

Time to roll out the best from the world of bass – this week’s top 10 most read stories/most watched videos. Enjoy! 1. Herbie Hancock with Tal Wilkenfeld: Actual Proof Herbie Hancock has never been short on great bassists to play with over his career. Here’s a killer clip of his band being anchored by Tal Wilkenfeld on “Actual Proof”...

On August 12th, an all-star lineup gathered at the Hollywood Bowl to celebrate the music of Jaco Pastorius. The event also included clips from Robert Trujillo’s documentary on Jaco. Brian James was in the audience and captured some of the show for the rest of us to enjoy. This clip starts off with Jaco’s son Felix Pastorius impressing the audience...

Welsh metal band Bullet For My Valentine has released its fifth studio album, Venom. Frontman Matt Tuck handled bass on the record, which is the group’s first following the departure of longtime bassist Jason “Jay” James. The album deliberately shies away from any melodic or pop sounds, Tuck said. “We wanted to keep this as dark as possible. It was...

In Flames bassist Peter Iwers has teamed up with Ibanez to release a third signature bass called the PIB3. Featuring a new blood red finish, the company says the new five-string model’s secret weapon is the EQB-IIID 3-band EQ. The mid control is set up to boost at one frequency while cutting at a different frequency to optimize mid-frequency control....

Berklee hosted their 2014 Summer Bass Bash recently, and what a bash it was. Here’s one of the highlights from the event with Victor Wooten and Steve Bailey jamming along with drummers J.D. Blair and Derico Watson. Smokin’!

After spending the summer on the festival circuit, The Wood Brothers have announced their own tour that will stretch from September through October. The Americana folk group will kick off their trek at the WorkPlay Theatre in Birmingham, Alabama and spend the two-month outing focusing on the Southeast and Midwest United States. The Wood Brothers is based on the duo...

Le Fay has updated the ROB 344-66/IIIa with a new pickup system that brings together four single coils under three covers. The coils are selectable with a 6-way rotary knob and offer a variety of sounds. Position one activates the coil closest to the bridge, the next adds the coil closest to the neck for a J-style configuration, and the...

Do you have five minutes of free time? Yes, you do. You may say that you don’t, but really, you do. It’s easy… wake up five minutes earlier than you usually do and pick up your bass before work. Or, go to bed five minutes later. Or, DVR your favorite TV show, watch it and fast forward through the commercials,...

Marvin Gaye’s tune “Let’s Get It On” featured one the great Motown bass lines, played by Wilton Felder. Bassist Adam Stevens took the tune, his bass and a looper, and made it his own. Once again, Adam turns in an amazing all-bass performance.

Schecter’s Stargazer-4 is a quirky take on basses of years past. The old school-inspired 4-stringer is built for versatility with EMG’s MMHZ humbucking pickup in the bridge position and the EMG SJHZ single-coil pickup in the neck position. For further tonal adjustments, the bass has an EMG active 2-band EQ in addition to a pickup blend knob. The Stargazer-4 features...

Marcus Miller has been on top of the music industry for over 30 years, and it’s easy to see why. Even with several Grammy awards, numerous film scores, producing credits, and legions of fans, he’s constantly working to grow and understand the world around him – musically and otherwise. Miller was enjoying a rare day off in France when we...

EMG has shared an excellent video by the one and only Victor Wooten, performing his tune, “The Lesson” live in studio. The tune was written as a companion for his book, The Music Lesson, and appeared on the soundtrack released last year. Is there anything Victor can’t do?

We’re sad to report the passing of Bob Birch, longtime bassist for Elton John and session musician. Birch, who was 56, reportedly took his own life near his home in Los Angeles. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Birch started out as an alto saxophonist before the sounds of Motown made him switch to bass in middle school. He worked the Detroit...

Meet Scott Kellogg, a bassist who got his start with hardcore music in the 80’s (and remembers vinyl), but still looks forward to reinventing his musical self after 27 years of playing. Scott is our player in the spotlight for August 16, 2011. Bio: Scott cut his teeth on American hardcore music in the 1980s, and quickly branched out into...

July was an exceptionally popular month for bass videos, and these are the best of the best. Here are the top 10 bass videos of the month, based on views by No Treble readers. 1. Stevie Wonder with Nate Watts: Sir Duke and I Wish, Live Nate Watts really lays down the groove on this live performance with Stevie Wonder....

This might be our favorite question, taken from the Player Spotlight questionnaire (open to all bassists, by the way). The question this week: What is your bass superpower/claim to fame? Answer below in the comments, or on our Facebook page.

Damian Erskine shared this video of Kai Eckhardt demonstrating a drone exercise, with moving chords and polyrhythms. Kai says it is a work in progress, with the goal of “[combining] the power of funk bass slap with the sophistication of jazz harmony, Indian tabla beatz and African trance.” Have a video to share? Send it to [email protected]

BassBrites USA has released their BassBrites Advanced String Cleaner, a cleaner made specifically for bass and designed to increase the life of the strings. Designed by bassist Daryl Weber, the BassBrites are small wipes treated with a special formula that seals and protects the strings from contaminants without harming the fretboard or bass. The company says the cleaner will extend...

MTD Kingston has released their new CRB and Saratoga basses, which will be shipping within the next month. The new models are Mike Tobias’ take on classic P and J-style basses, with his own twist. Both Models are available in 4 and 5-string versions, have 34″ scale necks, and have carved Basswood bodies. They also mimic classic elders by utilizing...

Robert Wilson, affectionately known as the “Godfather of the Bass,” passed away last night at the age of 53. Wilson was the bassist for the funk pioneering Gap Band, which also included his two brothers, Ronnie and Charlie. The group was in its prime in the late ’70s through the mid-’80s, with hits such as “I Don’t Believe You Want...

Bass Extremes, consisting of bassists Steve Bailey and Victor Wooten, put out a couple of CD’s in the late 90’s and early 00’s. Before that there was this video featuring live performances and instructional material, from Bass Extremes Live: Steve Bailey & Victor Wooten. One of my favorite tunes from the video is this tribute to Stanley Clarke called “Stan...

Here are the most read, most popular stories and features on No Treble for the week of August 8 – 14, 2010. 1. Video: Billy Sheehan Shredding 2. The Lowdown With Dr. D: Technique Series: Minimum Finger Pressure 3. Sheet Music: Alfred Releases the Bass Line Encyclopedia 4. Sponsor: BOSS Wants Your Bass for the “Loop Station World Championship” Contest...

Have you ever had a bass guitar thrown from a high roof? Do you want a guitar case that could withstand that level of abuse anyways? After 3 years in research and development Reunion Blues has released the RB Continental Case, designed to outperform standard cases made from wood or plastic and handle an “accidental” roof launch. “When we set...

We have discovered another bass gem for those of you looking for smooth jazz and a strong groove. Bassist Freddie Washington released In the Moment this June, his solo debut featuring a collection of groove songs mixing jazz, pop, R&B and gospel. Known as “Ready” Freddie Washington, he has played with Herbie Hancock, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and...

By far, my favorite John Mayer CD is , thanks to bassist Pino Palladino‘s incredible playing. This is concert footage the way we like it… with the camera operator sticking with the bassist for the whole segment. Be sure to hang around to the 2:40 mark of this video, where the band kicks into Jimi Hendrix’s “Power of Soul”. Pino...