Table of contents for November 2019 in Bass Player

It’s Low Life time again! We’ll be following on from last month and continuing the theme of Pre-Performance Preparation. On this occasion, I’ll be looking specifically at making our practise and rehearsal as efficient as possible, in order to make our live performances tight and professional. Here are some key points to make that happen: PLAN Consider going into the rehearsal studio with a plan of what you are going to be rehearsing. You may wish to concentrate on things like going through a set for a show, working out new material, preparing a cover track or even more intricate details such as dialling in sounds with the gear you use live. Without a plan, rehearsals become aimless and you will fail to make the same amount of progress as…

The Altered Dominant scale, also known as the Diminished Whole Tone scale, is a widely-used sonority in jazz improvisation which has a unique ‘outness’ to its sound when applied over dominant 7th chords. Although technically it fits harmonically over a dominant 7th with a #5or b 5, in jazz it is commonplace over any dominant 7th chord that resolves up a fourth or down a fifth. With this in mind, the Altered Dominant scale proves to be a versatile tool in your improvisational arsenal. Let’s begin by learning the scale in two octaves in every key—Example 1 shows it in C. Then try the scale in diatonic 3rds, as shown in Example 2. Next practise it in alternating triads as shown in Example 3. As with the first example, Examples…

“WE HAVE A LOT IN THE ARSENAL THAT WE NEVER GET RID OF—OBVIOUSLY WE’VE ALL BEEN COMING UP WITH MUSIC OVER THE YEARS, AND THERE’S ALWAYS NEW, FRESH IDEAS” Things really shouldn’t have worked out for Tool, but against all the odds, they did. The three-quarters American, one-quarter British quartet has sold over 10 million albums over a three-decade career, won a fistful of Grammy awards, topped charts all over the world, and still stayed on their own resolutely individual path. There was nothing easy about their rise to worldwide prominence, especially as their last album, 10,000 Days, came out a whopping 13 years ago, but rise they did. Singer Maynard James Keenan, guitarist Adam Jones, bassist Justin Chancellor, and drummer Danny Carey are among the most accomplished rock musicians…

The music business may not be as as highly populated with genuine characters as it used to be, but there are still a few around—and one of those is definitely Ed Friedland, acclaimed bassist, author, educator, long-time Bass Player contributor, and more. Charismatic and friendly, but also more than capable of poking jabs at fools when it is warranted, Friedland spends most of his time these days as a member of the Mavericks, the renowned American roots band. How long have you been in the Mavericks, Ed? I joined in 2015, so it’s about four years. They basically tour all year round, so I’ve learned not to schedule too much. Every time we have a couple of weeks off, they schedule something, so I’m always on call. We do take…

As I see it, this Aqua Sparkle version of Ernie Ball’s most divisive instrument is an absolutely beautiful product. Its finish is incredibly lustrous—an aesthete’s dream, up there with (for example) a Ritter. You may agree, or you may not, but I suspect that quite a few of those reading this would be happy to have this Bongo hanging on the studio wall, not least among them Dream Theater’s John Myung, a renowned Bongo user. But does it play as smoothly as it looks? Build Quality Pick the Bongo up and give it a close examination—you’ll find it interesting and individual, both in terms of small details and looking at the bigger picture. But yes, at the risk of becoming repetitive, it must be said that it won’t be to…

Price | $1,150 Made In | South Korea Color | Arctic white, gloss finish Body | Alder, two-piece Neck | Northern hard rock maple (one-piece), 34” scale Neck Join | Bolt-on, five-bolt attachment Nut Width | 40mm Fingerboard | Maple Frets | 21 Pickups | Dimarzio Ultra Jazz pickups x 2 upgrade (Tesla VRB1 used as standard pickups) Electronics | Passive Controls | Volume, pickup pan, tone Hardware | Black hardware, Hipshot-licensed Ultralite elephant-ear machine heads, Sung II BB009 bridge Weight | 8 lbs Left-hand available | Yes Gigbag/case included | Gigbag WHAT WE THINK Plus | Light weight, power, tones Minus | Extras add to the cost—but at the player’s discretion Overall | A seriously great bass. How have they done it for the price? BP RATING…

FLEA (SOUND)BITES Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist, and living legend Flea, releases his autobiography on 5 November. Acid For The Children is said by its publisher, Grand Central Publishing, to include “jazz-inflected prose” (lots of minor sixths, then). Flea, a supremely talented musician who influenced a generation of funk bassists, covers his early years in the book, ending where the Chilis begin; let’s hope Volume 2 comes along soon. @flea333 JACKSON FIVES Megadeth’s David Ellefson has partnered with Jackson for a new signature bass, the CBXM IV and V. The design of the new X Series Signature Ellefson Concert Bass reflects its owner’s high-speed, high-precision playing style, featuring a resonant poplar body with an upper contour, that provides a stable anchor for pick, or fingerstyle playing. There’s also a graphite-reinforced…

NO TREBLE KEVIN JOHNSON Kevin Johnson considers the real value of bass gear As news continued to trickle in from the Summer NAMM Show in Nashville, there were several new pieces of gear that caught the attention of No Treble readers: the Boss SY-1 Synthesizer pedal, the Ampeg 50th Anniversary SVT, and the Vox Starstream basses, to name a few. However, there was one bass that really caused a commotion. The Fender Custom Shop Phil Lynott Precision Bass is a limited edition instrumented crafted by master builder John Cruz, who recreated the late Thin Lizzy frontman’s axe in precise detail. That includes a two-piece select ash body with a lacquer finish, a handwound ’78 P-Bass split-coil pickup, and a rift-sawn maple neck with a round-lam rosewood fingerboard. The bass is…

Welcome back, fellow defenders of the lower realms! This month I would like to continue looking at a song of mine called ‘Flow My Tears’ from my first solo release way back in 1988, Radio Free Albemuth. This album featured many bass techniques that were in their formative stages, and exposed a generation of bassists to new ways of coaxing sounds out of a four-string bass… and this piece is no exception. “THIS IS A REAL FINGER-TWISTER, SO PLEASE STOP AND STRETCH OUT IF YOU FEEL ANY DISCOMFORT” Last month’s first example from this piece consisted of a finger-busting arpeggio of stacked fifths, with triads tapped and combined with sliding notes to create upper structure triads. This month’s exercise is similar—we just up the ante by making the chords and…

I’ve been a musician all my adult life and have gigged and worked across many genres and situations over the years. I particularly relate to funk, jazz, prog, and blues, and I really enjoy playing in big bands and musical theatre. I used to teach a lot too, but I made the decision to wind that down in the last year or so in order to concentrate on the Earthrise album and develop my career as a composer, producer, and session bass musician. I started playing bass in 1979, aged 16. Like many others I played guitar from the age of 13 or so. I really liked the bass-lines in disco music, particularly those by Bernard Edwards with Chic. I also loved Chris Squire with Yes and was a massive…

You’ve been touring with Pink for quite some time now, Eva. Twelve years. It’s a big family. Everyone is so happy—the shows have been amazing, it couldn’t be better. To play at Wembley this year was definitely a pinnacle for us. It was just absolutely amazing. We were all blown away. Are you a different bass player now to the one that you were 12 years ago? I would say yes and no to that. I would say yes because I think I’ve grown as a player, I’ve grown as a person, and I’ve grown as an artist. I think one of the most important things is to continue to grow as a musician and as a person, to keep on acquiring new skill sets. I’ve learned to play a…

Price | $2,499 Made In USA Body Basswood, Aqua Sparkle finish (other finishes including Stealth Black also available) Neck Maple, 34” scale Neck Join Bolt-on, five bolts Fretboard Ebony, 24 frets Pickups 2 x humbuckers with neodymium magnets Electronics 18v active preamp Controls Volume, bridge/neck pickup balance, treble, high-mid, low-mid, bass Weight 8.25 lbs Left-hand Available No Case/gigbag included Gigbag WHAT WE THINK Plus | Supreme playability, huge tone boosts Minus | Those wacky looks Overall | A lustrous version of a bass that is on its way to classic status... if you like the unusual design BP RATING…

This recent iteration of the Kala U-Bass is a deviation in aesthetic terms, but it retains the intrinsic qualities that have made the brand such a success. The instrument’s diminutive dimensions may lead it to be seen as a novelty, but the actual bass tones have garnered many favorable reactions—just look at the extensive list of artists employing a U-Bass in their arsenal. So is the Journeyman a bass crossroads, or a case of ‘uke can’t touch this’? Let’s take a look. Build Quality The rounded mahogany body and neck, ebony fingerboard, cream binding, and F-hole decor give this U-Bass variant a tastefully organic appearance. The front facing sports a visually impressive flame grain and the satin finish on the neck and body creates a natural feel. With only a…

Quilter InterBass Price | $249 Made In | USA Features | Master, Depth, Woof, Snap, Gain controls, effects loop, active/passive bass selector, line-out/headphone selector, FR/VINT tone selector Power | 24V power supply and AC cord (supplied) Dimensions | 45mm / 1.75” (H), 125mm / 4.9” (W) / 90mm / 3.9” (D) Weight | 11oz WHAT WE THINK Plus | Great tone modulation, range of user-friendly features Minus | None Overall | A bassist-friendly box from a heritage brand BP RATING…

Hello there! In recent months we’ve experimented with an array of performance environments, but our learning objective has remained the same—to improve our understanding of a range of time signatures. Deciphering what’s actually meant by those two stacked numbers at the start of a composition can mystify the best of us at times. Remember, think of the symbol as a fraction. The upper number tells you the number of beats in a single measure, while the lower number signifies the value of each beat—so 4/4 suggests four quarter notes per bar, while 6/8 indicates six eighth notes per bar. As you’re about to find out, 6/8 can prove to be an awesome academic platform to really hone your shuffle technique. Example 1 In Example 1, two groups of three eighth…

NEW ALBUM Alter Bridge, Walk The Sky (2019) Stadium-rock tunes, earworm melodies, batlike vocals, and superb bass playing from the great Brian Marshall. OLD ALBUM Pixies, Bossanova (1990) Kim Deal—the coolest bassist who ever lived? You can try to convince us otherwise, but you’d better be prepared for a fight REALLY OLD ALBUM Charles Mingus, Mingus Ah Um (1959) Yes, we know it’s the obvious Mingus choice, but so what? This is an immortal record, start to finish.…

The Marotta Brothers Band is a group featuring Rick and Jerry Marotta, double drumming. We do mostly covers of tunes that Rick and Jerry recorded on. Rick has played on albums by Steely Dan, Aretha Franklin, James Taylor, and others, while Jerry has toured and recorded with Peter Gabriel, Hall & Oates, and more. My dad, Jon Zeeman, is on guitar, with Joanne Cassidy on vocals, Sam Rothberg on keys, and myself on bass. I’m about to head up to Martha’s Vineyard where we will be kicking off our third summer doing a weekly residency. It was a few different things that got me into the bass. My dad is a guitar player, so I’ve been exposed to music my whole life. I played violin from kindergarten to high school,…

Currently, I’m involved in three projects. Dear Moon is a band with Sam Smith (bass), Bryan Kopchak (drums), and Chris Ward (sax). This is a very important project for me because the music is all my originals. We debuted at the 2019 Bass Bash at NAMM, and I must say that it’s very fulfilling to finally release this music to the public. Bendy Effect is a group with my brother John Bendy on guitar and vocals. It’s always an amazing experience to share the stage with my big brother. The Hipster Assassins is a group consisting of Felix Pastorius (bass), John Bendy (guitar), Chris Ward (sax), and Kenny Grohowski (drums). We have a monthly residency at the legendary 55 Bar in NYC. If you’re ever in the area, it will…

Behold our world-beating bass gear review section, where we bring you the crop of each month’s new, interesting or otherwise relevant bass guitars, bass amplifiers, bass cabs, and bass effects. Occasionally we’ll review a guitar effect if it’s useful for bassists, but generally speaking, this zone is reserved for bass-specific gear. We take our reviews seriously. BP has readers all over the world, so we’re responsible about our conclusions. If a product is worth your time, we’ll say so; if it’s flawed, we’ll make that clear. We’re not beholden to advertisers in any way, and our tests are independent of the views of manufacturers and distributors. When you read about a product here, you’re getting a balanced review from an experienced bass tester. Value for money is at the top…

Few of us can afford to invest as much money as we’d like in the bass of our dreams. Anaconda, like other companies before it, has noticed how customer numbers tail off as prices increase. It has responded with the release of its new Essence range, which has been developed to offer a playable passive bass, with looks and sounds to match, at an affordable price. Construction is based in South Korea, with final touches undertaken in London. The base model retails at $1,150. A defined list of custom options is available, but the concept is to keep the instruments attainable rather than stray down the pricey road of customization. Build Quality The light weight of this bass is impressive, with its two-piece alder body avoiding the pitfall of overburdening…

Price | $359.99 Made In | China Color | Natural Body | Mahogany top, back and sides, satin finish Neck | Mahogany, 21” scale, satin finish Neck Joint | Set neck Nut Width | 44mm Fingerboard | Ebony Frets | 18 Pickups | Shadow piezo system Electronics | UK-500B system Controls | Volume, bass, middle, treble, tuner Hardware | Custom black die-cast machine heads, ebony bridge Weight | 2.4lbs Left-hand available | Yes Gigbag/case included | Padded gigbag WHAT WE THINK Plus | Well voiced, easy to play, sensibly priced Minus | Requires some effort to master Overall | Very interesting, useful, and well worth checking out BP RATING…

Ultimate Billy Sheehan Signature Drive Price | $349.99 Made in | China Features | Drive, Frequency, Level, Clean, Frequency switch (Hi/Lo), Phase switch (Inverted/Normal), Compression switch (Off/Mid/High), Boost pedal (On/ Off), Active pedal (On/Off), ¼” jack sockets (Input/Output/Clean Loop/Drive Loop), Comp (Mid) trim pot, Threshold trim pot, Boost trim pot, Replaceable Op-Amp Chip Dimensions | 110mm / 4.3” x 83mm / 3.3” x 47mm / 1.9” Power | 9v battery or 9/12/18v DC, 60 mA max Weight | 15 oz WHAT WE THINK Plus | The Sheehan tone can be yours! Minus | Expensive, and older units are still relevant Overall | If you treasure distorted bass tones, this pedal is for you BP RATING MicroBass 3 Preamp Price | $349.99 Made in | China Features | Master, Blend, Level,…

Welcome to our lesson section, in which Bass Player collates the wit and wisdom of the crème de la crème of the electric and upright bass world. We’re fortunate enough to have some serious talent on the team, from world-class music educators to experienced touring musicians, who between them have laid down the low notes in every studio, club, and arena in the civilized world. Note that we’ve divided the columns according to Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced level for easy reference. Whether you’re looking to improve your playing technique, expand your awareness of theory, set up your rig to sound like your particular bass hero, or simply get on a bus and tour, we provide the answers you need here. What are you waiting for? Dive in... Kickstart your journey…

Welcome! This month we’re going to take a look at one of the most misunderstood aspects of music-making—improvisation. Improv at its most basic is a ‘choose your own adventure’ approach to music: Are you going to play this version of the bass-line, or this version? You decide! Conversations about improvising often happen when we’re talking about learning jazz, but are absent from so many other areas, even though the improviser’s mindset is a crucial approach for us to develop. So this month we’re going to explore a few ways to begin thinking about improvisation. At its core, improvisation is about who’s making the decisions. If someone or something else is deciding exactly what you play, that’s a composition. If you get to choose what you play in a particular situation,…

Welcome back to my long-running column on the tapping technique. We’ve covered pretty much every aspect of this technique in this series, and we’re now at the stage where we can begin combining it with other playing styles. In the previous instalment, we combined tapping with artificial harmonics and slap bass to create some interesting but challenging parts that were very much in the style of virtuoso players such as Michael Manring and Victor Wooten. We’re going to continue in that vein in this issue, now combining tapping with the chord strumming technique. Once again, we’ll be cooking up some lines that require a high level of proficiency with the tapping technique, so if you’re in any doubt about elements not covered here, be sure to dig through those back…