No Treble Archive for June 28th

MonoNeon has released a new “director’s cut” video of his song, “Invisible”, which is on his latest album, “Supermane”. Among the many things he does on the track, he lays down the groove on a 2-string bass!

Korn is heading out on a summer tour starting July 16th, but Fieldy has announced he won’t be joining them. In a statement on Facebook, the bassist stated he’s taking time to heal.

Ned Steinberger has been pushing the boundaries of musical instrument creation for decades. Now, we can all get a deeper look into his history and concepts with a new book called “Steinberger: A Story of Creativity and Design” by Jim Reilly.

It has been a while since we featured a video by Diego Tarantino. Time to change that. Diego shared this clip, and it caught our eyes – and ears. Check out his incredible solo bass performance of “Norwegian Wood” and “With A Little Help From My Friends”.

It’s been a roller coaster of emotions for Primus fans this year. The band’s highly anticipated “A Tribute to Kings” tour, which will feature Les Claypool and the gang performing Rush’s “A Farewell to Kings” in full, has been rescheduled for 2021.

Keeping good company is a common theme of Ryan Madora’s “Bass Players To Know” column. Her latest BPTK - Jimmy Johnson - does just that. Check out what Ryan has to say (including some of her favorite tracks) and add your own to the list.

We normally see Linda May Han Oh behind a double bass, but this clip of her song “Speech Impediment” shows she’s great on electric, too. The song begins with a syrupy chordal riff on the bass before playing with the time feel.

SUNN O))) and EarthQuaker Devices have teamed up to release an effects box called the Life Pedal. The pedal, which is limited edition and hand numbered, includes an octave fuzz and distortion with boost.

After launching the CLF Research series earlier this year, G&L has expanded the range with the CLF Research L-1000. The new model revives the passive G&L bass from 1980 while updating some aspects. “The new CLF Research L-1000 brings back the best of the iconic passive G&L bass from 1980. Fans of the vintage G&L “wunkay” know,” the company writes....

Milk’n Blues is a band I discovered on Youtube, thanks to this video. In this clip, the band combines three tunes – Pink Floyd’s “The Happiest Days of Our Lives” and “Another Brick in The Wall”, with The Rolling Stones’ “Miss You.” Eduardo Machado handles both the bass and the backing vocals.

Saxophone giant Kamasi Washington has returned with another massive album. Following The Epic and his Harmony of Difference EP, Heaven and Earth pushes the boundaries of jazz with huge soundscapes filled out by an orchestra and choir. Washington made it a double album based on perception. “The Earth side represents the world as I see it outwardly, the world that...

Q: I have a question about minor ii-V’s. In a major ii-V7-I progression, each chord is diatonic to the I chord. The ii chord is Dorian, the V chord is Mixolydian and it resolves to a Major tonic. In a minor ii-V, the 1 would be natural minor, which makes the ii chord Locrian (7th degree of the major scale)...

We also love the videos Diego Tarantino shares with us. This time around, Diego takes on Fats Waller’s “Jitterbug Waltz” on double bass and bass guitar.

Meet Ariana Falcò, a bassist from Argentina who spends her days teaching, recording and playing bass. Ariana is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s her story… Bio: I started to play bass when I was 17 and in a random way, when some friends forgot an electric bass, after a show, in my house. Since I was...

Meet Cole Millward, who started on bass out of necessity (a bass player quit, Cole was handed a bass and asked to learn fast). Today, Cole stays busy with a few bands – including playing upright in a bluegrass Pink Floyd tribute band. Cole is this week’s No Treble reader in the spotlight. Here’s his story… Bio: I started playing...

I was back home in New Orleans recently hanging out with my mom and attending my @* year high school reunion. Where did that time go??? Yeah, that’s a tale for another time! While I was there I sat in with the Marc Stone band down on Frenchman at a club called 30/90. My buddy Thomas was the bass player...

Andreas Oxholm is a recent graduate of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (aka the Paul McCartney School). He sent us this video of a solo bass performance of his original composition, “Ingrid”. Enjoy.

Instrumental jazz/fusion/prog band MJ12, featuring Percy Jones (Brand X, Soft Machine, David Sylvian, Brian Eno, Steve Hackett) has released its self-titled debut album. The band draws its name from “Majestik 12, which was supposedly a group of 12 scientists and engineers assembled in the late 40s to investigate UFOs,” Jones said. There’s speculation as to whether the group actually existed....

We had a lot of fun this week with some great videos and stories. Looks like that excitement reached NT readers too. Lots and lots of views on this week’s top 10 list. As always, thanks for reading, watching, commenting and sharing. 1. Geddy Lee on Developing His Right-Hand Picking Technique Fender shared a great video featuring Geddy Lee talking...

It is always exciting to see a new video from Jesús Rico Pérez. Here’s his latest – a solo fretless bass performance of his tune, “A Never Ending Winter”. Once again, Jesús creates such a rich sound on a single instrument, with no overdubs.

Bass legend Chris Squire, who stood at the helm of progressive rock in Yes since 1968, has died of cancer. He was 67 years old. Yes released a statement on their Facebook page announcing the news. “It’s with the heaviest of hearts and unbearable sadness that we must inform you of the passing of our dear friend and Yes co-founder,...

Weather Report’s 1973 album, Sweetnighter, has been released in a 180-gram vinyl audiophile limited edition. The record, the legendary jazz fusion group’s fourth, features two bassists — founding bassist Miroslav Vitous (who handles both acoustic and electric bass here, on what would be his last album as the group’s principal bassist) and multi-instrumentalist Andrew White on electric bass. The vinyl...

If you’re looking for a creative solution to having a kill switch, Dwarfcraft has got you covered with the Memento. The compact stompbox takes the concept of a kill switch and expands on it with a “re-kill” switch that can remember your kill pattern and repeat it back in a loop. Or in Dwarfcraft’s words, “give [the kill switch] a...

Here at No Treble HQ, we have a special place in our hearts for tight bass grooves in horn bands. Here’s bassist David Nesselhauf laying it down with his band Diazpora and vocalist Miu on the tune “Risin’ High.” Nesselhauf shares that the bass is a custom Hot-Wire Bass with a special finish. “They managed to get my favorite car...

After falling ill in Japan, Paul McCartney’s plans for his “Out There” world tour got thrown off track. Macca was hospitalized for a brief period, which nixed his appearances in Asia, and then doctors told him to take more time off. This offset the return of his tour to the U.S., but the former Beatle has posted a new video...

Tapestry Audio has introduced the Time Traveler, an auxiliary BPM synchronization pedal that syncs up a pedalboard’s time-based effects. The utility pedal sends out preprogrammed BPM presets to any pedal that has an external tap tempo jack, allowing for all of the external effects’ beats per minute to be unified. The Time Traveler has two outputs and offers up to...

Lessons and how-to columns are among the most popular features on No Treble. Here are the best of the best for June, based on readership. Looks like the bass community is getting things done! As always, thanks for reading, commenting and sharing. 1. Chord Construction: A Guide for Bassists Damian tackles this reader question in this Ask Damian Erskine column:...

Steve Lawson shared this one with us on Twitter saying, “[I] think you might enjoy this solo bass cover…” Well Steve, your hunch was correct.

Aries Basses is a custom shop producing some pretty incredible instruments out of Varazdin, Croatia, including their Senes bass model. The Senes bass sports a singlecut design with a unique hole in the upper horn, offering a distinct look. The bass is completely custom, and can be built with a variety of top woods. Standard options for the Senes includes...

Here’s a winning formula for you: let bassist Gary Grainger and drummer Dennis Chambers back you up. That’s exactly what John Scofield did for this live performance. Holy smokes.

Bassist John Koko has passed away at the age of 51, due to complications from a lifelong heart condition. He was a member of The Makaha Sons and had been a fixture of performing and promoting Hawaiian music. Koko started his musical career at just 12 years old when he joined Na Leo O Nanakuli. Later, the Hawaiian native started...

Meet Kent Beatty, a bassist from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and our player in the spotlight for June 28, 2011. Bio: Upcoming bassist Kent Beatty has been on his way to the forefront of modern bass playing since he started at age 12. Influenced by such legends as Flea, Les Claypool, Victor Wooten, and Stuart Zender, his style has caused audiences...

Monolith Loudspeakers and Effects has released the MAGMA 1.0, a dual channel bass preamp built on solid state CMOS technology. Each channel is identical and has it’s own input, as well as an A/B input for blending. The back of the unit has effects loops for both channels, as well as two master line outs, a direct output, and footswitch...

Damian Erskine’s latest column (Making the Shift: from 4 to 6 String Bass) generated a ton of reaction and debate from readers. So here’s your chance to weigh in: How many strings on your bass? What’s the limit? Answer below in the comments, or on our Facebook page.

BB BlackDog is a band after our own hearts: two basses, some drums and some loops. That’s it. Thanks to Facebook friend and BB BlackDog bassist Dale Rowles, who shared this video with us. Dale said, “Here is a live offering from our April tour. As always features just two basses and drums, with no overdubs or technical trickery.” John...

Bassist Evan Brewer has released his debut solo bass album, Alone on Sumerian Records. The album is truly a solo bass album, as Brewer notes he is the only person on the album, and every sound is made by his bass. “I just think of [the bass] as a tool,” he said. “You don’t necessarily have to use it to...

During our Summer NAMM adventure, we stopped in at the Better Audio Technologies booth to check out their new custom SMB-series of bass cabinets. The cabinets, which are available in a variety of finishes, utilize innovative 6″ long-throw woofers that give a –3dB cutoff frequency of 37Hz for great low-end extension. That’s lower than many manufacturers’ bass cabs, which generally...

There are countless ways to improve our intonation, both at our instrument and away from it. Here’s one strategy, to be done at our instrument, which can help open our ears and stabilize a key center. It involves isolating and spotlighting a single pitch every time it appears. The technique works well with music of any tempo. You can isolate...

Here’s Brazilian bassist Marcelo Mariano, taking a solo during a performance with the Eumir Deodato Trio. Check out more from Marcelo on his Myspace page.

1. Player News: Whitesnake Seeking New Bassist 2. Interview: Thomas Risell, the Man Behind MarloweDK 3. Video: Jaco Pastorius Solo (Reading, 1978) 4. Gear: The Vee Strap 5. Gear: Fleabass Street Bass 6. Player News: RIP Pete Quaife 7. Gear: Gold Tone PBB and BB-400+ 8. Gear Review: TC Electronics BG500 9. Ask Damian Erskine: Chord Voicings 10. Video: Fingersmoran:...

Bassist David Ellefson continues his Rock Shop Webisodes with Part 6 of “Making a Recording,” a video continuing in his recording focus. His comment on the webisode project: “I’m always asked questions from fans and other musicians about playing the bass, the business side of our industry, and music in general. So, I decided to create these regular video webisodes...

Markbass, an Italian bass amp manufacturer, has announced the launch of seven brand new effects pedals. These pedals have been designed solely with bass in mind and includes the Compressore (valve compressor), Distosore (distortion pedal), Super Booster (EQ), Octaver (doubles playing one to two octaves), Riverbero (reverb), Chous Flanger, Super Pro (DI box), and Super Synth (sound manipulation) pedals. For...