Articles by: Mike Brooks

Dragonfly CS-5/345 review

By Mike Brooks published 30 June 22

A custom five-string from Japan that places plenty of tone options at your fingertips

BITE Funky Booster review

By Mike Brooks last updated 8 June 22

There are no weedy bass tones with this customized four-string

Cort Artisan B5 Element review

By Mike Brooks last updated 24 May 22

The B5 is like a beefed-up five-string greatest hits of Cort's Artisan series, with a generous spec at a very attractive price

Aguilar DB599 Bass Compressor pedal review

By Mike Brooks last updated 11 May 22

A super-compact, transient-taming compressor from the storied bass amp brand

Spector Euro 4 RST review

By Mike Brooks published 14 April 22

Tired of back-breaking basses? Try the new lightweight Spector Euro

BOSS Katana-110 Bass review

By Mike Brooks last updated 26 July 22

The bass-specific version of the hugely popular Katana guitar amp range has finally arrived – we put its flexible feature set to the test

Trace Elliot Elf C110 Combo review

By Mike Brooks last updated 4 April 22

We loved Trace’s ultra-compact Elf head: can the 1x10 combo match up?

Dingwall D-Roc Standard 5 and Hellboy review

By Mike Brooks last updated 4 April 22

Behold a pair of T-bird-style five-strings that bring the thunder and then some...

Blast Cult Hollow Vee Bass review

By Mike Brooks published 15 March 22

Like the sound of a handmade Flying V bass? Add a hollow body and a fiendish pricetag and let’s go...

Kustom KXB100 and KXB10 review

By Mike Brooks last updated 4 March 22

A pair of bass combos in giggable 1x15 and practice-friendly 1x10 formats that are big on tone but tread lightly on the finances

Harley Benton CLB-10SE review

By Mike Brooks last updated 28 February 22

A short-scale, travel-friendly acoustic-electric bass guitar that treads lightly on your budget

Meet Tim Staffell, John Deacon's bass-playing predecessor in Smile, the band that became Queen

By Mike Brooks published 15 February 22

Staffell looks back on the days of forming an unconventional rhythm section with Roger Taylor and allowing Brian May's nascent talents to shine

Duvoisin Standard 5 review

By Mike Brooks published 27 January 22

This Swiss-built doozy is a classy five-string bass for all seasons

Orange Glenn Hughes Purple Crush 50 review

By Mike Brooks published 12 January 22

An Orange combo, but in purple? That’s ‘deep purple’ to you, and here we take a closer look at the Voice of Rock's new signature bass amp

Billy Sheehan looks back on 30 years of Mr. Big’s Lean Into It

By Mike Brooks published 11 January 22

How the 1991 album defied the rise of grunge and changed the band’s lives with a number one hit for the ages

Aguilar SL112 Poseidon Green Special Edition review

By Mike Brooks published 9 December 21

It's an inordinately handsome bass speaker cab, but does the Poseidon's sound and performance stack up?

Ampeg Rocket Bass RB-108 and RB-110 review

By Mike Brooks last updated 26 July 22

One of the great names in bass amps rolls out a portable, affordable range of Class D combos... It's time for lift-off

Laney Digbeth DB500H Amp, DBV212-4 Cabinet

Laney Digbeth DB500H and DBV212-4 cabinet review

By Mike Brooks last updated 8 September 21

Laney's new range of heritage-inspired amps, speakers and FX offer a great deal of versatility and at a decent price, too

MXR Sub Octave Bass Fuzz, Vintage Bass Octave and Dyna Comp Bass review

By Mike Brooks published 26 August 21

Looking to up your bass tone? This trio from MXR might justify extending your pedalboard

Wilcock BiSonic review

By Mike Brooks last updated 23 July 21

A short-scale bass with a single neck pickup and a sound that's sure to surprise you

Markbass Marcus Miller CMD 101 Micro 60 review

By Mike Brooks last updated 6 October 21

Can usable bass combos get any smaller? We take a look at a compact powerhouse that defies all expectations

Moon Groove Master GM4 review

By Mike Brooks published 17 June 21

Vintage styling on a modern build – a winning combination? We investigate one of Japan's finest bass makers

Ampeg BA-108 V2 review

By Mike Brooks published 1 June 21

Compact, portable, lightweight, fully featured – just how we like our bass combos...

Atelier Z Beta 5+ DX review

By Mike Brooks published 25 May 21

A fully-equipped Jazz Bass variant with glacial looks... chilling! It's time to don the thermals for a night on the ice

Mike Rutherford: ”I covered a lot of ground with the double-neck and bass pedals – they gave the band an extra sound”

By Mike Brooks published 12 May 21

The Genesis and Mike + The Mechanics icon on pulling double shifts on a single instrument and finding inspiration on the pedalboard