Articles by: Bass Player Staff

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Bass Player is the world’s most comprehensive, trusted and insightful bass publication for passionate bassists and active musicians of all ages. Whatever your ability, BP has the interviews, reviews and lessons that will make you a better bass player. We go behind the scenes with bass manufacturers, ask a stellar crew of bass players for their advice, and bring you insights into pretty much every style of bass playing that exists, from reggae to jazz to metal and beyond. The gear we review ranges from the affordable to the upmarket and we maximise the opportunity to evolve our playing with the best teachers on the planet.

Articles by: Bass Player Staff

Paul Simon's Graceland: Fretless bass playing would never be the same again

By Bass Player Staff published 14 May 23

1986's hit album that opened people's ears to African music and the free-flowing fretless lines of Bakithi Kumalo

The Lowlist: Primus' Sailing The Seas Of Cheese – a weird mix of twisted basslines, warped lyrics and general weirdness

By Tom Poak published 7 May 23

For the second Primus album, Les Claypool decided that he was bored with the 4-string and his playing needed something to "blow it wide open". Cue 6 string fretless mania…

Musician Eric Bass of the band Shinedown performs onstage during the "Planet Zero" tour at The Wiltern on January 28, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.

Shinedown’s Eric Bass looks back at the band's top five bass albums

By Bass Player Staff published 3 October 22

On the eve of Shinedown’s Planet Zero Tour, Eric Bass revisits five of the band’s classic LPs

Joela Bassista: “The best advice I’ve ever gotten about bass was to stay in the pocket. Groove and feel are so important to every song”

By Bass Player Staff published 28 September 22

In her own words, session bass ace Joela Bassista reveals the tools of her trade, and the inspirations who guided her on her bass journey

Obscura's Jeroen Paul Thesseling on his 5 best bass albums

By Bass Player Staff published 23 September 22

Thesseling’s story is one of experimental fretless meets metal, breaking new ground with progressive Dutch death-thrashers Pestilence and advancing technical death metal with Obscura

The Knack’s Prescott Niles looks back on 5 of his best albums

By Bass Player Staff published 19 September 22

A self-confessed bass addict, Prescott offers us the low-end perspective on the basslines behind of the catchiest hits in rock and new wave – and the catchiest bar none

Michael Manring heads up unique fundraiser on August 28

By Bass Player Staff published 25 August 22

The acclaimed experimentalist will be raising funds for his fellow bass wizard Steve Lawson

Gustaf’s Tine Hill: “Bass is one of those instruments that chooses you”

By Bass Player Staff published 24 August 22

Never give up the hunt for the perfect tones says the bassist with the Brooklyn art-punks

Bass Player magazine to close, as brand moves fully online

By Bass Player Staff published 17 August 22

Bass Player print mag is dead. Long live Bass Player online!

Norm Stockton: “I’ve always strived to make my music something that speaks to the heart”

By Bass Player Staff last updated 17 August 22

Few bass players have covered as much territory as the great Norm Stockton. Here, he looks back on five key releases that chart his progression as a musician

5 albums you need to hear by bebop trailblazer Oscar Pettiford

By Bass Player Staff published 27 June 22

A legend of upright bass who died far too young, Pettiford’s influence can still be heard across jazz and popular music. Here we revisit his finest moments on record

Volbeat’s Kaspar Larsen: “We go from pop-punk to rockabilly to Black Sabbath on this album, and the bass is a big part of the sound”

By Bass Player Staff published 31 May 22

The art of writing bass parts that are neither too experimental nor too boring, explained by Kaspar Larsen of Denmark’s premier rock exports, Volbeat

Nashville Pussy’s Bonnie Buitrago talks live albums, Larry Taylor’s influence, and playing through Kyuss’s Welcome to Sky Valley Ampeg SVT

By Bass Player Staff published 26 May 22

Nashville Pussy’s bass powerhouse checks in for a roll call of bass amps she’s destroyed and how she swapped bedroom thrash for a life of punk rock

Cannibal Corpse bassist Alex Webster on his 5 best bass albums

By Bass Player Staff published 24 May 22

Death metal’s low-end master takes us on a bloody tour of the totally NSFW Cannibal catalog

Stuart Hamm on 5 of his best bass albums

By Bass Player Staff published 18 April 22

The unique solo and session star looks back on a fistful of career-defining recordings, from the fast to the frenzied

Joshua Crumbly talks playing with Kamasi Washington and Leon Bridges, and gigging jazz standards at 10 years old

By Bass Player Staff published 12 April 22

The broad-horizoned bassist on making his new solo bass album, ForEver, and how advice from Marcus Miller began a lifelong obsession with the instrument

Bass guitarist Cliff Burton (1962-1986) plays on stage during the Damage, Inc. Tour on July 21, 1986 at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston, Michigan.

Cliff Burton Museum set to open in Ljungby, Sweden

By Bass Player Staff published 7 April 22

The tribute to the late Metallica bassist is located near the site of his fatal coach crash

Thunder’s Chris Childs on his 5 best bass albums

By Bass Player Staff published 16 March 22

From his improvisational collaboration with Mick Cox to Thunder’s latest, All the Right Noises, Childs talks through some of the most memorable moments in his discography

Bootsy Collins, Geddy Lee, Bernard Edwards and Roger Waters

The 40 best basslines of all time

By Bass Player Staff last updated 29 June 22

The greatest bass guitar parts ever committed to record

Freekbass on his 5 best bass albums

By Bass Player Staff published 22 February 22

The funk bass master and Bootsy Collins protégé talks us through five career high points

Peter Hook on his 5 best bass albums

By Bass Player Staff published 21 February 22

The Joy Division and New Order co-founder looks back through his back catalog and reflects on the tragedy and triumph of New Order, and the recording of a true survival record

Charles Berthoud: “I want my music to appeal to people who don’t know anything about bass. That can be a difficult balancing act”

By Bass Player Staff published 8 February 22

The YouTube star and winner of Bass Player's inaugural Rising Star award explains how a little humor and imagination can make people fall in love with the bass guitar

Gail Ann Dorsey: “It was so much fun to work with David Bowie – he was always open to exploration of his material”

By Bass Player Staff published 4 February 22

David Bowie, Lenny Kravitz, Gang of Four: the great Gail Ann Dorsey has earned Bass Player's Lifetime Achievement award many times over

John Taylor: “The energy is my department – it gets laid down by the bass and drums. It’s my job to bring as much energy to that mood as possible”

By Bass Player Staff published 1 February 22

The Duran Duran bassist and recipient of Bass Player’s Lifetime Achievement Award on gear, technique and songwriting for a multiplatinum pop institution

Marcus Miller: “I try to play from my ears and not from my fingers”

By Bass Player Staff published 27 January 22

As Miller receives his Lifetime Achievement Award from Bass Player, he talks about the role of producer and explains why a formal musical education can help your career

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