No Treble Archive for April 7th

Pedalsnake has unveiled its own line of pedal-to-pedal interconnect cables. The series includes cables in the four lengths – 6”, 12”, 18”, and 24” – that carry the same features.

Ibanez expanded their SR Premium lineup for 2019 with the SR2405W. The five-string bass utilizes the company’s flagship SR body shape while adding plenty of upgrades.

Will Lee recently posted this video on Facebook, and I’m glad he did. The former Late Show bassist sings and dishes out a smooth-as-butter bass line on a classic Toto song, “Georgy Porgy.” Get ready to groove.

Drummer and “rhythmic storyteller” Sean Noonan and his jazz-rock band Pavees Dance have released their second album, “Tan Man’s Hat.” The adventurous music runs parallel to Ornette Coleman’s harmolodic system, so it’s perfect that it includes bassist Jamaaladeen Tacuma.

In true professional musician fashion, I recently received a set list for an upcoming gig and had a mini panic attack when I took a look at the final song. An anthem, that’s for sure, but one that is rarely attempted in a live setting. It’s a song that most people are familiar with, thanks to the fact that Wayne’s...

YouTube bassist Davie504 makes some incredible videos. No matter what or how well he plays, people comment with a challenge for his next video. This time he’s playing a four-string bass, but not like you’re thinking. “[I’m] playing a four strings bass, but every string has its own neck,” he writes. “Here’s a four necks bass / quadruple neck bass!...

Story of the Year has parted ways with longtime member Philip “Moon Valjean” Sneed. Both the band and the bassist announced the news on social media. “Story of the Year is announcing the departure of guitarist/bassist Philip “Moon” Sneed today,” the band wrote on Twitter. “He will be dedicating more time to Greek Fire, Goldfinger, and The Rizzuto Show on...

Kiesel Guitars has expanded their bass lineup with the Aries series, which comes in four-, five-, and six-string versions. The made-in-the-USA model is based on their Aries guitar and carries similar aesthetics in a bigger package. As with the rest of Kiesel’s custom shop instruments, the Aries bass is available with a wide range of woods for the body, neck,...

What better way to end a week than with some funky goodness from Vulfpeck? Joe Dart gets down on this one. And “Woody smiles. A common reaction to a great bass fill.”

Today’s column is brought to you by the Tennessee Department of Transportation. My usual route to and from downtown involves quite a bit of highway driving and every few days; the TDOT message boards provide a less-than-clever quote to inspire better driving habits. Apparently, plenty of drivers have been neglecting their turn signal, and the government has decided to do...

Effects pedal manufacturer Pigtronix has introduced the Pigtronix Power, which they describe as a “robust, multi-voltage analog power supply.” The device has eight individually isolated outputs with several variable voltages. The first two outlets are 9-volts at 100mA, while the next four are variable (9V/12V/15V/18V) with two at 100mA and two at 300mA. The last two outputs provide 18 volts...

Take one second, head over to Google Images and do a search for Jack Casady. A life in images. That’s not Photoshop. That’s him. A lifetime of electric bass history and evolution all rolled up into this individual who played for Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna and more. He’s – rightfully – in the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame and...

A few days ago, Parliament-Funkadelic took the stage on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to perform their 1978 hit “Flashlight.” Alissia Benveniste laid down the groove on bass, while Bootsy Collins backed up the band on drums. Bootsy played drums on the original track, thanks to the fact that Bernie Worrell played the bass line on three connected Minimoog...

Weezer’s latest album is a self-titled affair, to be known as the White Album. The band’s 1994 self-titled studio debut is known as the Blue Album, and then there’s the self-titled 2001 record known as the Green Album, and 2008’s self-titled Red Album. The White Album’s producer, Jake Sinclair, who once even played in a Weezer tribute band, wanted to...

Steven Harrison brings us one of the more unique stories of this series. A long-time bassist, Steven doesn’t actually own a bass today (thanks to a series of life events). But he’s getting back into it. And that makes for one exciting story to us. Steven is No Treble’s reader in the spotlight for the week of April 6th, 2015....

We know you dig the bass videos we share each day… and we know you can handle a lot of bass. So here’s some good news: the list of the top 10 most watched bass videos for the month is here. Enjoy. 1. Josh Cohen: Solo Bass Arrangement of “Chameleon” Here is a video that will freak you out musically...

We recently got to interview Consider the Source’s John Ferrara, who gave us the scoop on the band’s latest album, World War Trio, Pt. 1. It’s made up of a six-part epic song called “Put Another Rock in That Bag” that the bassist kicks off with some blazing two-handed tapping. Ferrara shares some insight on this new playalong and lesson...

Godspeed You! Black Emperor (GYBE) has released Asunder, Sweet and Other Distress, the Canadian post-rock group’s first record since 2012’s Allelujah! Don’t Bend! Ascend! The group, with its two-bassist lineup of Thierry Amar (double bass, bass) and Mauro Pezzente (bass), has a sound marked by major unison riffage, noise/drones, and guitar/strings counterpoint. Just this one description from the record’s promotional...

Gallien-Krueger has announced the company’s new CX Series of bass enclosures. Designed to compliment their MB Series of heads, the cabinets are loaded with proprietary ceramic drivers designed and built in the United States. Each of the units also has a horn with a defeat switch and both Speakon and quarter-inch inputs. The lineup starts with the CX115, a 300-watt...

Every bassist, at some point, wants to learn to play fast. This is a reasonable technical goal to have, of course. Much music demands this sort of technical facility. Furthermore, if we want to be able to truly express ourselves musically, we must have this ability. However, fast playing isn’t everything, in fact it’s only one tool in our box....

Inspiration can come from anywhere, and combining your inspiration with your passion creates something special. Jason Everett sent in this video of himself playing along with the song “Jog” on his 7-string fretless bass. “I have loved Indian music for nearly 30 years and this vocal solo by Ujwal Nagar is a great example of why,” he states. “It is...

It’s a huge year for KISS fans. The band is not only celebrating the 40th anniversary of its first album release, it’s also being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. To mark this year, the band is releasing remastered versions of 28 albums on 180-gram heavyweight vinyl in a move that’s a nod to the band’s first...

Epiphone is paying tribute to the old school with a limited edition of six of their models in TV Pelham Blue, a color finish that was first introduced in the ’60s. The color was offered as a custom option in its heyday and as such is rare to find on vintage instruments. The lineup includes the Ltd. Ed. TV Pelham...

We featured some really popular videos and how to’s last week, which combined to make up half of the weekly top ten list. There’s even a top ten list inside this list – with the most popular gear stories of the month. Top ten inside of top ten equals and extra dose of bass awesomeness for this week’s popular No...

During the 2012 Bonnaroo festival, the Superjam was set up by The Roots drummer Questlove. Questlove recruited Pino Palladino to play bass, setting the stage for some real magic. Questlove said Pino is “one of the greatest bass players I’ve had the pleasure of working with. He is the second coming of James Jamerson…” Pino added that with bass and...

Bassist Neil Smith, a one-time member of AC/DC and Rose Tattoo passed away early this morning, according to a message posted on his Facebook page. The bassist had been battling cancer. “Neil Smith passed away in the early hours of the morning, Sunday the 7th of April 2013. He was sleeping peacefully and surrounded by family. “Neil is now in...

EBS has added to their Session Combo series with the Session 30. The smallest of the line, the new model is rated at 30 watts and features a single 8? driver matched with a tweeter. The Session 30 combo retains tone similar to the company’s Classic 450 head while keeping things simple with four controls: Gain, Bass, Treble, and Volume....

A new interview with Cannibal Corpse bassist and songwriter Alex Webster has been posted by O2 Academy TV. During the interview, Webster speaks on what it takes to become a successful death metal band, consistency, and how to release negative energy. Cannibal Corpse’s latest album, Torture, was released in March and sold 9,600 copies in the U.S. during its first...

I stumbled across the video by random chance. And then I watched it about six times in a row. This is Sharay Reed, defining the phrase “laying it down”. I love how the audience reacts to Sharay’s lines too, especially around the 2-minute mark. There’s even guys with basses in the audience!

Janek Gwizdala has released his fourth album as a leader, the 10-song It Only Happens Once. The album features drummers Jojo Mayer and Mark Guiliana, saxophonists John Ellis and Justin Vasquez and guitarist Tim Miller. “[The album was] recorded over two days at the Bunk Studios in Brooklyn NY with no preconceived ideas about what we were going to play,”...

Technical death metal band The Faceless has added bassist Evan Brewer to their ranks. The position had been vacant since founding member Brandon Griffin left the group last year. They made it official through their social media pages. “The sickest bass player in the game, Evan Brewer (Animosity/Reflux) has officially joined The Faceless,” the band wrote. “See his videos on...

Fifteen years ago, Victor Wooten released a solo electric bass album that inspired countless bassists to push themselves to new limits. Today, you’d be hard pressed to find a “best of” or “reader’s choice” list of top bassists without him. Victor is a busy bassist, teacher, and more recently, record label owner. We caught up with him during one of...

Recorded live at the B-SPOT in Nice, here’s a nice video featuring bassist Hadrien Feraud with Nicolas Viccaro, Gregory Privat, and Stephane Guillaume. Dig Hadrien’s tone (and his bass cam)!

The Wailers, who played with Bob Marley during his lifetime, are on the road in a trek that takes them across the U.S. The legendary reggae band is on tour in celebration of bassist Aston “Family Man” Barrett, who co-founded the band and has stayed with the group for 40 years. It was Barrett’s musical leadership that helped Marley and...

Q: I’d like to learn to create walking bass lines. I don’t read music so tabs would be preferred. A: Learning to walk is immensely helpful in so many ways. It helps you see the inter-connectivity between chords, helps develop a good time-feel and helps you explore how the arc of a line can affect the feel of the music....

Here’s Italian bassist Paola Venturini doing her version of Ave Maria by Bach/Gounod: For more of Paola Venturini check out her web site.

In early January, we reported that Slayer frontman Tom Araya was scheduled to have back surgery, and that the band’s American and Canadian Carnage Tour had to be rescheduled. Araya had his procedure on May 20th, and the masters of metal have announced their make-up dates, which will occur after a European trek. In his first interview since going under...

Bruford Levin Upper Extremities (B.L.U.E.), a group including bassist Tony Levin, Bill Bruford on drums, David Torn on guitar and Chris Botti on trumpet, formed after recording Torn’s 1987 Cloud About Mercury release. B.L.U.E.’s 1999 release, Bruford Levin Upper Extremities, out of print for some time, is being re-released today. Here’s about the only video you’ll find of the group,...

Ibanez Electronics demoed their new Promethean Pro bass amp line at Winter NAMM 2009 with the help of bassist Rufus Philpot. The new amps will once again be on display for their unveiling at Summer NAMM in Nashville, this July. The P5110 Promethean Combo includes a 10″ woofer and detachable 250 watt head and lists for $933.32. The P500H 250-watt...