Should Bill Wyman have gotten a songwriting credit for The Rolling Stones (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction? By Nick Wells published 24 March 23 Bill Wyman: “The fact of the matter is that my bassline made the song just as much as Keith’s guitar riff”
Rudy Sarzo: "Randy didn't live long enough to be the best Randy Rhoads. There was so much more inside of him that we never got to see" By Andrew Daly published 20 March 23 The LA bass legend reflects on the legacy of his Ozzy Osbourne bandmate, 40 years of Quiet Riot's Metal Health, and explains why you can't compare Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads
Remembering the Boss TU-1000 – the gigantic, pedalboard-dwarfing tuner pedal that launched a hundred memes By Michael Astley-Brown published 20 March 23 One of the largest pedals ever released, the enormous tuner quickly became the subject of guitarists’ ridicule – but it did eventually find an audience
The Lowlist: Jamiroquai’s Emergency on Planet Earth was a solid platinum gem for all bass players By Mike Brooks published 18 March 23 An appreciation of the album that introduced the young Stuart Zender
Jet Harris was Britain’s first bass guitar player, the first to own a Fender Precision, and its first rock’n’roll hellraiser too By Tom Poak published 18 March 23 Fights, car crashes, affairs with starlets – Jet Harris set the template for British bass players and bad behaviour, and along the way inspired everyone from McCartney to Lemmy
Andy Fraser: “It was me trying to impersonate Pete Townshend, who was, to me, the all-time greatest chord king” By Nick Wells published 17 March 23 How Free’s worst ever gig inspired one of the most iconic bass solos in rock
The Mu-Tron III: “Without it, there ain’t no Bootsy” By Nick Wells published 17 March 23 Everything you need to know about the iconic stomper from Musitronics
Slipknot’s V-Man: “At first the mask was a bit weird, but the LEDs make the sides of the bass neck easier to see!" By Joel McIver published 15 March 23 Slipknot’s Alex ‘V-Man’ Venturella reveals how he got the (literally) hottest gig in metal
Les Claypool: “The Pachyderm bass has one knob on it, a volume knob: I don’t want any tone” By Joel McIver published 10 March 23 Primus’ bass wizard tells us all about his Pachyderm bass and exactly what naugahyde is
How a Victor Wooten bass odyssey provided the unlikely inspiration for one of Lianne La Havas’ biggest hits By Michael Astley-Brown published 8 March 23 The bass virtuoso inspired the neo-soul artist and Prince collaborator to approach her trademark Harmony Stratotone in a whole new way
Watch Pedalpocalypse, Season 1 By Scott Rowley published 7 March 23 Every episode of "the Desert-Island-Discs but for pedals", starring Vai, Trout, Smith, Krasno, Fletcher, Grossi and McKeon, in one binge-able place
Bruce Foxton: “We once butchered some Rickenbackers, putting in P-Bass pickups to make it sound like a Precision. But all it did was screw up a lovely guitar” By Henry Yates published 7 March 23 The former Jam bassist checks in to discuss his tonal experiments, writing with Paul Weller and why the Beatles can't sue him for the Start! bassline
“I don’t buy the idea that the bass player is the quiet one”: The 5 most notorious bass guitarists in rock By Nick Wells published 3 March 23 From Mötley Crüe hellraiser Nikki Sixx to GN‘R’s Duff McKagan
Why Flea’s bass track had to be fixed in the mix on Alanis Morissette's hit record By Nick Wells published 2 March 23 Mix Engineer Chris Fogel: “Flea was way out of time on You Oughta Know”
50 years ago: The Runaways’ guitarist Lita Ford was invited to replace John Paul Jones in Led Zeppelin By Nick Wells published 24 February 23 Lita Ford: "Robert Plant says to me, ‘You’re really good on guitar. Would you like to play bass for Led Zeppelin?’”
“To be honest, I'm not really a bass player. I've scammed people all this time…” The world of Jean-Jacques Burnel By Scott Rowley published 21 February 23 The Stranglers’ Jean-Jacques Burnel looks back on his playing style and sound, his habit of punching basses, fighting Paul Simonon and where he ranks in the bass players of punk
How The Jam's Town Called Malice turned a cheeky Motown steal into a bona fide bass classic By Tom Poak published 17 February 23 Bruce Foxton on destroying Rickenbackers and the band's history of borrowing bass parts – plus, how to play Town Called Malice
Megadeth's Dave Mustaine: “The bass isn’t a difficult instrument to play. It’s one step up from the kazoo, isn’t it?” By Nick Wells published 15 February 23 When Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine slammed all bass players on ABC News
Metallica’s Robert Trujillo: “Cliff’s approach was, ‘I’m gonna play what I feel, and if you don’t like it, screw you!’” By Nick Wells published 10 February 23 Trujillo remembers bass guitar’s ultimate metal maverick, Cliff Burton
How to replicate the Beatles’ classic tones using today’s affordable guitars, basses and effects pedals By Chris Gill published 7 February 23 Because sourcing the vintage gear is almost impossible, financially and practically, we've put together a list of gear that's on the market today that will help you nail the Fab Four's sound
