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Pete Griffin backstage with Dethklok

“Steve Vai tried to school me on string bending, but you just don't do that on bass!” Pete Griffin reflects on his time with Steve Vai, and his latest solo EP

By Nick Wells published

The seasoned sideman compares notes on Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Zakk Wylde and Dweezil Zappa

Will Smith and Tommy Lee aiming their weapons in a scene from Men in Black. Freddie Washington performs at Bass Player Live.

“The whole track is driven by the bassline!” How “Ready” Freddie Washington conceived the dance-funk classic that later became a massive hit as Will Smith's Men In Black

By Chris Jisi published

The story of Patrice Rushen’s Forget Me Nots, the song that became more famous as the theme from the Will Smith and Tommy Lee film Men in Black and was sampled by George Michael

Person wiping an acoustic guitar with a cloth

Best guitar cleaning kits and tools 2023: keep your guitar looking and sounding sweet

By Richard Blenkinsop last updated

Take a look at our expert pick of guitar cleaning and maintenance products to help keep your instrument in tip-top condition

Bass guitar leaning against a Boss bass amp

Best budget bass amps 2023: punchy low-end for a low price

By Richard Blenkinsop last updated

Keep your low-end punchy and your bank balance healthy with our pick of the best budget bass amps from Fender, Orange, Ampeg and beyond!

The Doobie Brothers posed in Amsterdam, Netherlands in 1975

“When Michael McDonald first played it for me, I had him slow down and just show me his left hand”: Tiran Porter on The Doobie Brothers’ Minute By Minute

By Bill Leigh published

Tiran Porter played the “cowboy-movie-theme-meets shuffle-feel” on a B.C. Rich Mockingbird with twin DiMarzio P-style pickups

Roger Waters performing live on stage at Wembley Arena during a production of Pink Floyd's rock opera The Wall, on September 20, 2013 & David Gilmour performs at Royal Albert Hall on September 23, 2015 in London

“It’s Roger’s bass riff. He came in with the verses and the lyrics for Money”: Listen to the isolated bassline on Pink Floyd’s 1973 masterpiece

By Nick Wells published

The iconic bass riff helped make Dark Side of the Moon one of the biggest-selling albums of all time

April Kae with the new Fender Vintera II series basses

“When I'm not playing online, I love to blend with the band. I'm not the one who wants to stand out. But online, that's what it's all about”: April Kae is on a quest to inspire new bass players – and it starts with making bass sound good on phone speakers

By Jenna Scaramanga published

From social media to the stage, the new face of Fender basses is broadening horizons for who can play the instrument. She reveals her secret to getting good bass tone on a phone, how she deals with trolls, and what it's like to jam with “the greatest drummer of all time” in Fever 333

Jack Bruce of West, Bruce & Laing performs on stage in 1973 in Copenhagen, Denmark. He plays a Gibson EB-3 bass guitar

“Unlike Jimi Hendrix, we never deliberately tuned down”: Listen to Jack Bruce’s bassline on Cream’s Politician

By Nick Wells published

Jack Bruce wrote with Pete Brown for Cream’s third album, 1968’s Wheels of Fire

A red Yamaha bass guitar on a dark background

Best beginner bass guitars 2023: four-string basses for beginners

By Jonathan Horsley last updated

The best beginner basses for young players, newcomers and the budget-conscious – featuring Yamaha, Squier, Ibanez and more

Tina Weymouth of Tom Tom Club performs on stage at Eden Sessions 2013 at The Eden Project on June 29, 2013 in St Austell, England.

“I dig playing that bassline, and I love the beats”: Tina Weymouth on the Tom Tom Club’s The Good The Bad And The Funky

By Bill Leigh published

Tina Weymouth talks through the ins and outs of Tom Tom Club’s rhythmically intense fifth album… track by track

Bill Wyman, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. 2nd June 1964

“I bought it from this bloke our drummer knew. I think it was the first fretless electric bass ever”: Bill Wyman on the origins of his famous “homemade” fretless bass

By Nick Wells published

The former Rolling Stones bassist used a modified fretless on every album and many of the singles up to 1975

Randy Jackson perform onstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on September 24, 2011 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Don’t pick up your bass and act like you’re in Guitar Center” Legendary studio bassist Randy Jackson shares his session secrets

By E.E. Bradman published

Ready to go pro? There’s no one more qualified than American Idol judge and all-around music-biz insider Randy Jackson

A Fender Rumble LT25 bass practice amp on a grey background

Best bass amps for practice 2023: top combos for working on your chops at home

By Chris Schwarten last updated

Get the most out of your playing at home with one of these great bass practice amps

Pat Thrall, Pat Travers and Peter Crowling performing at Travers Band'as the'Pat Oakland Auditorium in Oakland, California on November 28, 1978

“It’s got nothing to do with the rest of the song!” Listen to the octave-heavy outro on Gettin’ Betta by Pat Travers Band

By Nick Wells published

Bassist Peter ‘Mars' Cowling was at his inventive best on this blues-tinged rocker from 1979’s Live! Go For What You Know

Geddy Lee from Canadian rock group Rush performs live on stage at Bingley Hall in Staffordshire, England on 21st September 1979

“I love the sound of the Rickenbacker, but I didn’t sound like Chris Squire on it!” Geddy Lee on his Rick-O-Sound tone and ‘crossing the floor’ to Fender 

By Joel McIver published

The Ricky 4001 is both loved and hated by bass players: for the Rush legend it’s still a classic

Frankie Poullain during the Darkness perform live at the Estragon club in Bologna for their "Blast Of Our Kind" tour 2016.

“My Gibson is still the coolest looking bass guitar ever!” Frankie Poullain remains a committed Thunderbird player – just don’t ask him about beer-throwing fans

By Nick Wells published

The Darkness bassist on reinventing what it means to be a rock star in 2023: "You can't behave in that stereotypical rock star way..."

Origin Effects Cali76 compressor pedal on a brown metal floor

Best bass compressor pedals 2023: Our pick of pedals for keeping your low end dynamics in check

By Richard Blenkinsop last updated

We look at the best compressors for bass, from some of the biggest names around including MXR, Boss, Aguilar and more

Andy Bell

“I hadn’t played bass to any great degree before I tried out for Oasis. When I was invited to come out and got on the plane, I didn’t have a bass”: Andy Bell looks back on crafting Ride’s mind-expanding shoegaze sound and playing in Britpop’s biggest band

By Andrew Daly published

The ‘90s were good to Bell. With Ride, there were the classic albums Nowhere and Going Black Again. Then there was Oasis. He looks back on a decade that changed everything – and the advice Blur’s Graham Coxon gave him about string bending

Billy Joel poses for a portrait with his band in circa 1977. (L-R) Liberty DeVito, Doug Stegmeyer, Billy Joel, Richie Cannata.

“Doug really knew his way around that bass. Billy built the band around him”: How Paul Simon's advice and Doug Stegmeyer’s swinging bassline transformed Billy Joel’s Only The Good Die Young

By Brian Fox published

Doug Stegmeyer was a student of the Beatles and Motown – and his bassline on Only The Good Die Young is a masterclass

Chris Squire, bassist of British progressive rock band Yes performs in Ahoy, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 24 July 2003.

“Sunshine of Your Love should be in the dictionary under the best-known bassline of all time”: Chris Squire on the five bass players that shaped his sound

By Nick Wells published

Back in 2012, the legendary Yes bassist revisited five classic albums – and his final pick might surprise you