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Darryl Jones

Darryl Jones: "The Rolling Stones are pretty cool about letting me play what I want - they trust that I'll find the essence of the songs"

By Joel McIver

The in-demand bass player goes deep on nailing the Stones' tones, playing with Miles Davis and the luxuries of touring with one of the world's most commercially successful bands

Green Day's Mike Dirnt: “My wife bought me a ’58 Olympic White Fender P-Bass - it eats my friends alive that I play it live”

By Mike Brooks

The icon of the low-end talks songwriting, collecting vintage basses and giving others to good causes

Lena Abe

My Dying Bride's Lena Abe: "When you’re playing slow, it’s even more noticeable if your timing’s not bang-on"

By Bass Player Staff

The doom-metal bassist talks playing exclusively with a pick and the creation of the band's latest album, The Ghost of Orion

Richie Goods

Richie Goods: "In my neighborhood, it was all about the bass. It was all about Bootsy Collins and Louis Johnson"

By Joel McIver

The Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera and Alicia Keys bassist on Mulgrew Miller's influence, tracking live, and how he became a 12-hour-a-day bass fanatic

Michael Mondesir

Michael Mondesir: “In 36 years of playing professionally, I haven’t really owned a high-end bass”

By Joel McIver

The Jeff Beck and Whitney Houston session great on reading music, learning by ear, and why there are few better-sounding basses than the Yamaha BBN5 II

How trailblazing Yardbird Paul Samwell-Smith helped bass playing take flight

By Joe Shooman

The best-dressed bass player of all time, hero of Billy Sheehan and more, we salute the incomparable Yardbirds bassist

Billy Sheehan: "I love playing. I can sit down for three hours and have a one-man party on the bass"

Billy Sheehan: "I never considered I had any natural talent at all. I just had a burning desire to play"

By Joel McIver

Guest editor and lord of the low-end, Sheehan talks complex arrangements, gear essentials and low-carb diets

Carol Kaye: "You want an instrument that gets all the sounds, not just rock and pop"

Carol Kaye: "You want an instrument that gets all the sounds, not just rock and pop"

By Alison Richter

How the history of popular music changed in 1963 when A-list studio guitarist Carol Kaye was asked to fill in on bass

Mike Watt: "I think there’s something about using the bass as a composition tool. Why only compose on a piano or a guitar?"

Mike Watt: "There’s something about using the bass as a composition tool. Why only compose on a piano or a guitar?"

By Joel McIver

The Minuteman punk icon talks signature models, trying to be funky, and starting out on bass not knowing what it was

Stanley Clarke

Stanley Clarke: "The bass is a very important instrument in film. It can create tension - that's powerful"

By Alison Richter

The skilled bassist discusses working on the soundtrack to Frédéric Tcheng's Halston, which documents the life and work of fashion designer Roy Halston Frowick

Kinga Glyk

Kinga Glyk: "The hardest thing to do onstage is to stop playing - we play because we are afraid of silence, but silence is part of the music"

By Kinga Glyk

The Polish bassist goes deep into her low-end philosophy

Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers

Flea: "Playing bass gets you into this hypnotic state - you’re not thinking because you’re just a conduit for the rhythm"

By Joel McIver

The iconic Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist discusses philosophy, gear and his new autobiography, Acid For The Children

Mike Gallo: "I don’t think the bass should have more than four strings! But that’s just me"

Mike Gallo: "My father told me guitar players are a dime a dozen, but it’s harder for a band to find a good bass player"

By Ian Glasper

The Agnostic Front bassist and NY hardcore legend on the power of Motown, starting out and developing his own style

Andrew Levy: "If a track’s really going to travel, you’ve got to pull back the bassline and make sure the song is the star"

By Bass Player Staff

The bassist of acid jazz legends Brand New Heavies takes on our questions on longevity, gear and how brass can age a song

Skyler Acord of Issues performs live with his Spector signature bass

Issues bassist Skyler Acord details his funk-informed metalcore approach and tricked-out signature Spector bass

By Joel McIver

Ever been so deep into your music that you’ve lost your grip on reality? Meet Issues bassist Skyler Acord, newly equipped with a state-of-the-art signature Spector bass – and stand clear

Gene Simmons: "Many guitarists call their instruments 'axes', but nobody trademarked it. Except this guy!"

By Lee Barrett

The fire-breathing Kiss frontman and bassist on being the hardest working, hardest rocking band in the business

John Myung

Dream Theater's John Myung: "There are moments when I’m playing parts live that I wish I did on the album the first time round"

By Bass Player Staff

The Dream Theater bassist on the 20th anniversary of Scenes from a Memory, the magic of down-tuning and how he brings the energy live

Vicky Warwick: "I love playing Fender Mustang basses, but the Jazz has more punch"

By Ellen O'Reilly

The fast-rising Charli XCX, Gabrielle Aplin and Josh Kumra bassist talks high-profile collaborations and her love of short-scale Fender basses

Alex Canion: "Have I ever been accused of slapping the bass too much? Maybe."

Voyager's Alex Canion: "I knew absolutely nothing about being a DJ, so, I got my dad’s old basses out and started chipping away"

By Alex Canion

The Aussie prog bass wizard on his failed attempts at DJ-ing, love for the 5-string, and favorite bass tone of all time

Dave Ellefson

Megadeth's Dave Ellefson: "With bass design, sometimes the best way forward is to go back in time"

By Bass Player Staff

The thrash-metal bassist is not one to sit still between the band's touring cycles. Here he talks solo ventures, spoken word and collaborating with Jackson