Articles by: Bass Player Staff

Andrew Levy: "If a track’s really going to travel, you’ve got to pull back the bassline and make sure the song is the star"

By Bass Player Staff

The bassist of acid jazz legends Brand New Heavies takes on our questions on longevity, gear and how brass can age a song

Dream Theater's John Myung: "There are moments when I’m playing parts live that I wish I did on the album the first time round"

By Bass Player Staff

The Dream Theater bassist on the 20th anniversary of Scenes from a Memory, the magic of down-tuning and how he brings the energy live

Billy Sheehan names 5 of his favorite bass albums

By Bass Player Staff

Sheehan is one of the world’s most accomplished bassists - so we can all learn from the five albums that influenced him

Megadeth's Dave Ellefson: "With bass design, sometimes the best way forward is to go back in time"

By Bass Player Staff

The thrash-metal bassist is not one to sit still between the band's touring cycles. Here he talks solo ventures, spoken word and collaborating with Jackson

Life of Agony's Alan Robert reveals his vintage bass guitar collection

By Bass Player Staff

"I've stage dived into the crowd countless times over the years holding my vintage basses"

Stuart Zender: "I remember recording Just Can’t Stop with Jamiroquai and it felt as though the bass was flowing into me"

By Bass Player Staff

Stuart Zender returns with the Sound Of London Collective - and a bass performance to equal his very best

Leprous bassist Simen Daniel Børven: "Good sound is in the hands. All the cool brands out there won’t save you"

By Bass Player Staff

The French prog-metaller steps out of the gear mindset and says the tone is all in your hands

Alter Bridge's Brian Marshall: "As a bass player, I tend to play off of what a vocalist would do"

By Bass Player Staff

The hard-rock bassist talks writing and recording Walk the Sky, and collaborating across time zones

Ruth Goller: "My regular Mustang Bass is still my favorite... I know exactly what to do with it"

By Bass Player Staff

Bass Player columnist and composer Ruth Goller talks about her career playing jazz, world and uncategorizable music

The 100 best bass players of all time

By Bass Player Staff

The definitive rundown of the legends, unsung heroes, virtuosos and trailblazers that make bass great

Les Claypool's five favorite bass albums

By Bass Player Staff

The albums that shaped Les Claypool, frontman of Primus, solo performer, film-maker, novelist and master collaborator...

Nirvana's Krist Novoselic: "I'm never in any bass magazines"

By Bass Player Staff

Back in 2012, we met the bassist turned political activist, commentator and now recipient of his own signature instrument

Jeff Berlin names his 5 favorite bass albums

By Bass Player Staff

The fusion maestro picks a fistful of classics

A quick history of the fretless bass

By Bass Player Staff

We take you for a stroll through the strange territory of the fretless bass, where fingers glide and chords slide…

65 of the best bass guitars of all time

By Bass Player Staff

Essential basses you need to play before you die

Bass effects pedals: top players and industry heavies reveal their favorite FX and pedal secrets

By Bass Player Staff

Influential builders and players on the future of bass pedals

20 legendary players who shaped the sound of electric bass

By Bass Player Staff

The iconic bassists who developed the sound of low-end as we know it

9 of the best fretless bass performances

By Bass Player Staff

Dive into some of the most sublime examples of fretless playing in bass guitar history

Jean-Jacques Burnel names his 5 favorite bass albums

By Bass Player Staff

The Stranglers low-end legend cites his top bass picks

Marcus Miller: keep 'em running

By Bass Player Staff

The Grammy-winning bassist and UNESCO Artist For Peace talks “Laid Black”

Prince: requiem for a bass hero

By Bass Player Staff

The bassists that played with the late legend share their stories

Tony Levin: "Improvisation that has to fill in all the spaces with notes is pretty dreadful to listen to"

By Bass Player Staff

The Peter Gabriel and King Crimson bassist on his favorite bass albums and what makes him pick up the Chapman Stick

Session bass legend Lee Sklar talks fan frets, beard maintenance and touring every year since 1970 in this classic interview

By Bass Player Staff

"I’ve been on the road for 42 years and I’ve only broken two strings - and I play really hard!"

Glenn Hughes: "It’s been rumored that I’m the only pick bass player who sounds like he’s playing with his fingers"

By Bass Player Staff

The Voice of Rock talks Black Country Communion, Black Sabbath and his love of Bill Nash basses in this classic interview from 2011

Billy Cox performs with the Jimi Hendrix Experience at the Isle of Wight Festival, August 1970

Billy Cox: "Jimi and I were locked together spiritually... that doesn’t happen so much nowadays"

By Bass Player Staff

The Band of Gypsys bassist looks back at Woodstock, the evolution of his gear and Hendrix's skills as a bass player