Bass Player Features

Recorded in 1969 when John Paul Jones was just 23, Ramble On stands apart from the rocked-out blues songs that dominate Led Zeppelin II

According to George Porter Jr., his job as a bassist is to tie the groove and the rhythm together

Well Strung Guitars' David Davidson introduces us to a bona fide oddball – an electric bass with six strings and two pickups that was never a big hit for Gibson… but was played by Elvis

Basil Fearrington tracked with a custom Carl Thompson that had become “almost impossible to play”

The post-punk pioneer gets back to his P-Bass, which he thinks of as a lifeform, and prepares to rework classic album Metal Box on tour – without ripping off reggae

When faced once again with the bass role in the ultimate power trio alongside Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce hired a rehearsal room in London and brought in “every bass amp in existence”

Dug Pinnick’s onstage presence with King’s X is made even more compelling by his unusual 12-string bass guitar

Serving the songs of Shakira, Gwen Stefani and Orianthi doesn’t mean the bass journeyman can’t bring a bit of Rocco Prestia, James Jamerson and Pino Palladino to proceedings

The Flora Aurum – created in 2007 to mark Ritter Basses’ tenth anniversary – was priced at $100,000

Suzi Quatro’s soul and Motown-influenced rock bass playing made her a huge star throughout the 1970s and beyond

Dreamsludge, doomgaze, doomsludge… Whatever you call them, Mario and Sarah Quintero are producing some of the heaviest tones in the business. They reveal how they do it – and why couples who riff together, stay together

After a six-year absence from the recording studio, Vapor Trails redefined Rush’s career

Jazz-schooled bassist Chris Chaney has now secured three career-defining gigs – first with Alanis Morissette and Jane’s Addiction, and now with AC/DC

From booting Chuck Berry’s manager off stage and proving John Lennon wrong, to touring Japan and blazing a screaming trail across Europe, The Liverbirds took Merseybeat beyond British shores, on their own terms

Six foot plus of leather and lust, Phil Lynott was the consummate rock bassist. These are his 5 best basslines

Few bassists can stake a claim to inventing slap bass more than Sly and the Family Stone’s Larry Graham

Jason Balla and Emily Kempf worship Big Muffs, reverbs and Roland amps – and are making the kind of shoegaze-informed alt-rock dreams are made of

1971’s Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon featured some of Lee Sklar’s best work with James Taylor – and Lee Sklar's “total hippie bass”

These masterful slap basslines chart the evolution of the quintessential bass technique, from Larry Graham to today's YouTube heroes

Geezer Butler’s pioneering bass tone with Black Sabbath helped set heavy metal’s mood before the term even existed