Bass Player

Fender releases refreshed Aerodyne Special series, putting a radical contemporary spin on its Stratocaster, Telecaster and bass models

By Matt Owen published 5 October 22

New-and-improved Aerodyne models feature basswood bodies, 12" radius fingerboards, newly designed pickups and a wealth of stunning finishes to choose from

singer Freddie Mercury and bassist John Deacon of British rock band Queen in concert, 1980

Is this the best known bass line of all time?

By Nick Wells, Joel McIver published 4 October 22

How Michael Jackson influenced Queen's biggest selling single

Billy Sheehan onstage with Sons of Apollo. Town Ballroom, Buffalo, NY.

Billy Sheehan began his career with Talas. Over 40 years on, he returned for a new album tinged with tragedy

By Stuart Clayton published 4 October 22

"They photocopied my P-bass!" Billy Sheehan on "The Wife" and the tragedy and triumph of the new Talas album, 1985

Rush's Geddy Lee (foreground) onstage with Chad Smith

Watch pro-shot footage of Rush performing Working Man with Chad Smith at Taylor Hawkins tribute

By Matt Parker published 3 October 22

See Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee team up with the RHCP drummer for a spectacular live outing

Jack Bruce: “Jimi Hendrix regarded the guitar as an extension of himself. But in an instrumental sense, I would argue that Eric Clapton was probably better”

By Joel McIver published 3 October 22

In this classic 2003 interview, the pioneering bass guitarist and rock legend talks Cream, explains why Clapton was better than Hendrix and confesses his love for gangsta rap

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

Dave Grohl, Pink and Nancy Wilson performing live

Watch Nancy Wilson perform Barracuda with Foo Fighters, Pink and Jon Theodore at second Taylor Hawkins tribute event

By Matt Owen published 28 September 22

Wilson had previously performed Barracuda virtually with Taylor Hawkins as part of a lockdown cover in 2020

Soundgarden reunite at LA's Taylor Hawkins tribute show

Watch an all-star lineup including Dave Grohl, Kim Thayil and Taylor Momsen cover Soundgarden classics at LA’s Taylor Hawkins tribute concert

By Michael Astley-Brown published 28 September 22

Krist Novoselic, Pat Smear and Matt Cameron also featured on roof-raising versions of The Day I Tried to Live and Black Hole Sun

Cliff Burton performs with Metallica at the Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Illinois on July 13, 1986

Hear Cliff Burton blend sweeping, Eddie Van Halen–esque hammer-ons with Hendrixian distorted runs in his final show with Metallica

By Joe Bosso published 27 September 22

The fateful show took place at the Solnahallen in Stockholm, Sweden, on September 26, 1986, and shows the incredible live form Metallica were in after Master of Puppets

The Go-Go’s Kathy Valentine: “When I was asked if I could play the bass, I didn’t even hesitate. I thought, ‘How hard can it be?’”

By Joel McIver published 26 September 22

Valentine reveals high times and low points in her memoir, All I Ever Wanted – a deep dive into abuse, addiction, and redemption, as well as blazing a trail for a generation of bass players

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

Flea played bass on the Mars Volta’s best album – but you probably never noticed

By Michael Astley-Brown published 23 September 22

A radically different bass rig meant the Red Hot Chili Peppers funkateer’s contributions might have flown under your radar

Les Claypool praises Willow Smith's Primus cover: “Fine guitar pickin’ there young fiery lass”

By Sam Roche published 23 September 22

Willow donned her one-of-a-kind St. Vincent signature model to play one of Larry LaLonde's signature avant-garde leads

Charvel Custom Shop Masterbuilt Collection 2022

Charvel turns up the heat and introduces the Spacecaster in jaw-dropping new Custom Shop guitar and bass drop

By Michael Astley-Brown published 22 September 22

4 new Masterbuilt models take the San Dimas, Surfcaster and Frank Bello So-Cal Bass templates into extraordinary new aesthetic territories

Radial Engineering drops two "state-of-the-art" re-ampers – one of which doubles as a DI box

By Matt Owen published 21 September 22

Two consoles aim to provide musicians with flexible re-amping options, with the Reamp Station combining a DI circuit with Radial's JCR Reamping box

Ernie Ball Music Man Ball Family Reserve model

Ernie Ball raises the curtain on the Fall 2022 installment of its Ball Family Reserve collection

By Matt Owen published 21 September 22

Two electrics and two basses flash exclusive colorways, ornate aesthetics and the brand's newly released Heat-Treated pickups

Jaco Pastorius (1951 - 1987) performing with Weather Report at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, Illinois, November 15, 1978.

Watch Jaco Pastorius go from funk to fuzz in one of his most groundbreaking bass solos

By Nick Wells published 21 September 22

The self-proclaimed (and undisputed) “greatest bass player in the world” went full tilt in this unmissable performance

Why so many all-time bass greats flocked to the Ampeg B-15 Portaflex

By Dan Veall published 21 September 22

James Jamerson, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn and John Paul Jones all counted themselves fans of this classic tube-driven bass amp

Joe "Spyder" Lester performs onstage with Steel Panther at Hellfest Open Air on June 18, 2022 in Clisson, France

Steel Panther announce new full-time bassist

By Jackson Maxwell published 20 September 22

"Spyder" first filled in for Lexxi Foxx back in 2018, and played on the band's recent European tour