CATEGORIES

Haim Sweet Haim

“It’s just me, with no bells and whistles,” explains Este Haim of the bass behind her trio’s acclaimed music

Stephen ‘Thundercat' Bruner – 'Bass Traverses Different Worlds'

Want to learn the secrets of the universe? Then you’d better join us as we sit down with Stephen ‘Thundercat’ Bruner, the pre-eminent bassist of his generation. This one goes deep!

THUMBS AHOY! MIX AND MATCH: ADVANCED SLAP

Welcome! For the last year or so we’ve been working on some very advanced slap bass techniques.

POP MUSIC

Cat Popper has earned her stripes as a bassist with a long list of big names—so a solo career is long overdue. We meet the reluctant star...

MEDICINE MAN

The Foo Fighters return with a new album, Medicine At Midnight, with the low end taken care of as always by the great Nate Mendel. Has he fallen for a five‑string yet? Find out here...

LAKLAND Skyline J-Sonic

A classically-styled Jazz with a sonic twist... does that sound interesting? You bet it does, says Mike Brooks

KIND OF BLUE

Fusion artist extraordinaire and sometime Pat Metheny alumnus Mark Egan brings us up to date with his new album, Electric Blue, recorded with his long-time drummer colleague Danny Gottlieb

I SPY…MIX AND MATCH ARPEGGIOS

Hey there, bass players! We’ve recently dedicated two columns to arpeggios, and for good reason. Whether you’re creating a groove or walking through changes, we do our jobs better by gracefully outlining the notes of the chord and clearly defining the harmony.

HONE YOUR SKILLS: DIG DEEPER WITH YOUR BASS THINKING

Last month we looked at inversions, which are chords where the lowest note is something other than the root. Using the third, the fifth, or even the seventh in the bass—in other words, the lowest note in the chord— offers us a whole lot more interesting options as bass players.

BASSIST Of The YEAR

Meet Danny Sapko, voted by you as Bassist Of The Year 2020!

Enter The Dead Zone

We chronicle the return of the long-lost 1974 Alembic bass, known as ‘Osiris’ aka ‘Mission Control’ by Deadheads, and ‘The Osage’ or ‘The Omega’ by Alembic faithful, once belonging to Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead

Captain Hook

Peter Hook gets his own signature Yamaha BB bass.

LUCKY JIM

Jimmy Haslip continues to push forward the frontiers of bass guitar with album reissues, sessions and a playing style that is like no other.

WHISKEY TONES

Session and solo bassist Leanne Bowes recalls the key moments that took her career to the next level

I WAS THERE!

A historic moment in bass world—recalled by those who were there to see it

JON LAWHON - BLACK STONE CHERRY

Bass tips and key advice from the rockin’ BSC bassist

NEW TRACE ELLIOT COMBOS

The veteran amp-makers announce new Elf units.

Lights. Camera. Bass!

Jason Momoa, the movie star who everyone knows thanks to Game Of Thrones and Aquaman, plays bass every single day. Who knew, right? Well, you read about it here first. He often talks about his admiration for a long list of heavyweight bass players— so, in a world first, we sit down with Momoa and present him with a list of questions from those very bassists. Along the way he reveals his journey into the low end, his admiration for a certain Mr. Claypool— and his profound fear of something that we bassists do all the time...

DUNN DEAL

There is no rock band quite like Mr. Bungle. There is no composer quite like John Zorn. Trevor Dunn plays bass for them both...

GET CARTER...

...on your session, if you want the ultimate double bass performance. “I’ll take a bullet if I’m wrong,” says the great Ron Carter, 83 years old and kicking the asses of bass players a third his age.

Best Bassists Revealed!

You voted for the Bassist Of 2020... and the results are in.

Jason Newsted

Jason Newsted was born in 1963 in Battle Creek, Michigan, and learned bass after becoming a fan of Gene Simmons of Kiss.

In 1968, Cream say goodbye... for now, anyway

I WAS THERE! A historic moment in bass world—recalled by those who were there to see it

JOHN MYUNG DREAM THEATER

The acclaimed prog-metal bassist shares essential tips that will help you become a better player

STANLEY CLARKE SIGNATURE PREAMP INBOUND

EBS launches an acoustic pre in collaboration with the jazz icon.

HELP US, RHONDA

Current Jeff Beck and former Prince bassist Rhonda Smith is a force of nature, even faced with a pandemic. Listen up as she reports from the front line of the low end...

GROOVE MASTER

“I don’t care if you can solo. Make people groove,” says the great Etienne Mbappé. Alison Richter digs into the philosophy behind the bass-lines

BLACKSTAR Unity Elite U700H Amp and U410C Cab

The Unity amp and cab range from Blackstar has got people talking. Mike Brooks finds out if it’s a contender...

FLOWER POWER

The Dead Daisies is a supergroup with a stellar line-up, in which the great Glenn Hughes brings a career’s worth of songwriting, singing and playing bass to the table. “I’ve fallen in love with bass again,” says our hero, looking back at his days with Deep Purple, Trapeze, Black Country Communion, and more...

Tony Visconti

This month’s forward-thinking bass player: David Bowie’s longtime collaborator Tony Visconti.