William Billy ‘Bass’ Nelson, Funkadelic bassist who coined the band’s name, dies aged 75
Flea has led tributes to the Funkadelic bassist, who was one of the founding architects of funk’s most audacious musical revolution
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Marcus Miller and Pino Palladino share the stage alongside Lauryn Hill at the 2026 Grammy Awards
The two bass legends took to the biggest stage in music for a tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack
Facing mounting debts, Nick Beggs sold off his Kajagoogoo bass – 40 years later his fans helped him buy it back
A family intervention and the generosity of Beggs' fans reunited him with his much-loved bass – and he found a musical way of rewarding them
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From Aguilar to Ashdown and beyond, here’s a look at the new gear that had bassists abuzz at this year’s NAMM show
Bassists
William Billy ‘Bass’ Nelson, Funkadelic bassist who coined the band’s name, dies aged 75
Flea has led tributes to the Funkadelic bassist, who was one of the founding architects of funk’s most audacious musical revolution
Marcus Miller and Pino Palladino share the stage alongside Lauryn Hill at the 2026 Grammy Awards
The two bass legends took to the biggest stage in music for a tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack
Facing mounting debts, Nick Beggs sold off his Kajagoogoo bass – 40 years later his fans helped him buy it back
A family intervention and the generosity of Beggs' fans reunited him with his much-loved bass – and he found a musical way of rewarding them
“You gave him the world, and he gave you his music in return”: Former Scorpions bassist Francis Buchholz dies, aged 71
Buchholz played on all the classic Scorpions records and later joined forces with his old bandmate Michael Schenker in his Temple of Rock project
Eric Clapton was Cream’s biggest star, but Jack Bruce sang most of the band’s classic tracks
In later years, Bruce jokingly referred to Cream as Da Creams, in a nod to the band’s supergroup status
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She put a video of herself playing bass on YouTube. Then Prince called
Having caught the attention of Prince and Bootsy Collins, Alissia is riding a new wave of recognition with her debut single featuring Nile Rodgers and EarthGang
What it takes to get to the top of the bass world, according to Victor Wooten
Having overwhelmed countless bassists with his rapid-fire slap technique, Victor Wooten still has plenty of bass philosophy to share
How Leland Sklar went from being banned from the studio to a session legend
Sklar reflects on his first encounter with the legendary collective of session musicians widely known as “Wrecking Crew”
The making of Don Was, the über-producer trusted by the Stones, Bob Dylan and John Mayer (and who’s a pretty good bassist too)
The bassist, producer and label boss on what Iggy Pop and Ringo Starr have in common, why Keith Richards is not sloppy, and that one time he pushed to play on an album he was producing
Bass Gear
Best bass guitars 2026: long and short-scale bass options for beginners to pros
Our pick of the world’s finest low-end monsters, with the best bass guitars from Fender, Cort, Yamaha and more…
Höfner, the famed instrument maker behind Paul McCartney’s iconic Violin Bass, reportedly files for bankruptcy
The firm was founded in 1887, and designed the legendary Violin Bass that became Macca’s go-to in the Beatles and beyond
The cheapest bass Fender makes isn't just useful for beginners – save a huge 20% on it this Black Friday
At just $131 this Black Friday at Amazon, this is a great deal for those who want their first four-string, a bass to quickly pick up for recording, or even a modding project to have fun with
Bassists, this one's for you – 9 great Black Friday bass guitar deals with up to $250 off Fender, Yamaha, Darkglass, Line 6 and more
These 9 amazing bass savings prove it’s not just the Black Friday prices that are low
When a young Bootsy Collins joined James Brown’s band, the Godfather of Funk bought him a Fender Jazz Bass. Now it’s up for auction
Following Bootsy’s departure from the JBs in 1972, the bass continued its life on stage with Fred Thomas, another of Brown’s longtime bassists
John Entwistle’s Warwick bass triples in value after analysis reveals links to another rock great
The prototype's natural finish and some sharp eyes have helped it to a huge bump in value
Mike Dirnt looks back on his early bass days – as Epiphone launches signature version of his cult classic Grabber G-3
Dirnt has championed the oddball 1970s bass throughout his career. Now he's got his own signature Epiphone version
Reviews
“Those cleaner tones are very characterful and usable, evoking classic tube-driven bass amps”: Ashdown Geezer Butler Pedal of Doom review
Geezer Butler helped invent heavy metal. Here’s a slab of heavy metal bearing his name.
“Boss has packed some serious muscle into a small box... For its price, it’s going to be very tough to beat”: Boss GX-1B review
Boss's GX range of multi-effects gets a bass-specific baby brother...
“It vacuum-packs superb tones and incredible utility into a compact space”: IK Multimedia ToneX One Bass Edition review
Honey, I shrunk the Ampeg! And the Gallien-Krueger, and the Sansamp, and...
“It absolutely nails the sounds of the ‘60s when palm muted and picked”: Gretsch Electromatic CVT Bass Double-cut review
It's a reboot of the lesser-spotted Gretsch Corvette – but it's only got four strings!
“It evokes a cool old Jazz Bass that's picked up some useful mods over its life”: Squier Classic Vibe Active ’70s Jazz Bass review
Is it a '70s-inspired Jazz Bass? Is it a modernised active bass? Yes to both...
“It might not be to all tastes, but its retro charm and sonic potential are compelling indeed”: Squier Classic Vibe Telecaster Bass review
Squier reissues an oddity from Fender's bass archives, complete with a Wide Range humbucker – is this its time?
“There are many reasons to love the Anagram – it’s a pretty comprehensive set of sounds, aimed at bassists first”: Darkglass Anagram review
Darkglass turns its attention to providing you with a do-it-all solution for practice, studio and live use
