John Lodge, Moody Blues bassist and singer, dies at 82
The beloved British band's bassist for over 50 years, Lodge also penned some of their biggest hits, among them I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)
Latest
Reverb and Ashdown are selling bass amps used by Geezer Butler during rehearsals for Black Sabbath’s final show
15 Head Of Doom amp heads will be sold exclusively via Ashdown’s Reverb Shop
Danny Thompson, innovative bassist who played with Kate Bush, Nick Drake, Pentangle, and countless others, dies at 86
Though he grew up with a love of jazz, it wasn't long before Thompson branched out stylistically, and embarked on a career of extraordinary musical breadth
“I have long harbored a slight obsession with this hugely underrated guitar. The new finish doesn’t help with that one bit”: All the new guitar gear that has caught my eye this week – including... an urn that fits inside an acoustic?
A whole load of new Jacksons, Charvels, Yamahas and Gibsons headline the last seven days of guitar gear drops
How Eddie Van Halen led to Les Claypool picking up the bass – and how he nearly joined Kirk Hammett’s band
The Primus bassist and Metallica lead guitarist attended the same high school – and very nearly ended up in the same band
Spinal Tap play Big Bottom on Jimmy Kimmel with Tal Wilkenfeld and Thundercat
David St. Hubbins led a legion of bassists out onto the Jimmy Kimmel stage for a rendition of Spinal Tap’s 1984 track
The Boss PX-1 Plugout FX backlash has gone viral – but is it justified? We put the biggest criticisms to Boss
We leveled 5 of the internet’s most common issues with the divisive PX-1 to its maker. Now Boss has set the record straight
Bassists
How Christian McBride reunited The Police duo for his latest solo outing
Sting and Andy Summers joined McBride for a jazz-tinged version of a Synchronicity-era Police classic
How Esperanza Spalding created the most complex music of her career under the guidance of an alter ego
With help from producer Tony Visconti, one of the brightest stars of 21st century bass found a brand-new source of inspiration
John Lodge, Moody Blues bassist and singer, dies at 82
The beloved British band's bassist for over 50 years, Lodge also penned some of their biggest hits, among them I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)
How Geezer Butler went from playing bass on a guitar to the ominous riff that defined one of Black Sabbath’s darkest moments
Geezer Butler’s iconic bassline announces this tune from the classic 1970 LP Paranoid
For these Led Zeppelin classics, one finger was all John Paul Jones needed
Using just the index finger may not seem like the most “efficient” way to play, the low-end legend wrote in his GW column, but he loved the consistent attack and dynamic control that he got from using one finger
How Tony Visconti rethought rock bass for David Bowie’s The Man Who Sold the World
The legendary producer revisits his ground-shaking bass work on Bowie’s 1970 breakthrough album
Bassist Mick Grøndahl looks back on his time with Jeff Buckley, and the song that took 19 takes to perfect
Produced by Slayer and Nirvana collaborator Andy Wallace, Last Goodbye was the most cinematic track from Buckley’s only studio album
CJ Ramone landed the gig of a lifetime with the Ramones, but his audition got him sent to naval prison
Replacing Dee Dee was no easy task, but CJ helped energize the band’s last stand by relearning how to play and using his predecessor’s rig – and he has no regrets about how it ended
From gigging in strip clubs to recording with John Martyn and Kate Bush, Danny Thompson walked a singular path in bass playing
Beginning with his early days amid London’s jazz and blues boom in the ’50s, to his famed partnership with singer-songwriter John Martyn, the late Danny Thompson excelled at everything he touched
Bass Gear
Reverb and Ashdown are selling bass amps used by Geezer Butler during rehearsals for Black Sabbath’s final show
15 Head Of Doom amp heads will be sold exclusively via Ashdown’s Reverb Shop
Best bass guitars 2025: 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, EBMM, Yamaha and more…
Leo Lyons on the bass that appeared at Woodstock, has been played by Hendrix, and is on three UFO classics
The Ten Years After bassist’s 1962 Fender Jazz Bass is one of the coolest four-strings you will ever see, with buckle rash on the back that any Fender Master Builder would kill to recreate
Adrian Younge’s new semi-fretless signature Fender is perhaps the craziest Jazz Bass the company's ever released
Based on Younge's personal Custom Shop build, the limited-edition Masterbuilt model nods to the past while departing radically from convention
Best basses for metal 2025: our selection of the best basses for heavy music across all budgets
From Rickenbacker to Ibanez and Schecter, our picks of the best metal basses will help you sound heavier than ever before
“I said to my tour manager, ‘I need 350 bucks,’ which he wasn’t happy about. That bass changed my career”: In 1981, Pino Palladino bought a fretless StingRay that altered the course of his musical life – now it’s been recreated as a signature model
In 1981, Pino Palladino bought a fretless StingRay that altered the course of his musical life – now it’s been recreated as a signature model
“Esoteric boutique vibe, superb ergonomics and a powerful, unique preamp”: Tobias Growler IV review
The cult-classic Growler bass makes a long-overdue return to the bass market
Sterling by Music Man completes its trilogy of Joe Dart signature models with a trio of made-to-order basses that cost less than $500
The Vulfpeck funk maestro has unveiled two all-new models that slash more than $2k off the price of his Ernie Ball Music Man basses – and revived the OG Sterling Dart I that proved such a hit last year
Reviews
“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
“As a compact amp modeler/cab simulator/Capture device, this is perhaps the best option out there, screen or no screen”: Neural DSP Nano Cortex review
The follow-up to the game-changing Quad Cortex is here at last, and with its ultra-powerful Nano Cortex, Neural DSP has set its sights on challenging IK Multimedia and Kemper to offer the ultimate all-in-one rig solution
“Esoteric boutique vibe, superb ergonomics and a powerful, unique preamp”: Tobias Growler IV review
The cult-classic Growler bass makes a long-overdue return to the bass market
“My initial reaction was to marvel at just how creative an effect it is”: DigiTech MonoNeon Whammy review
Designed in collaboration with bassist Dywane Thomas Jr, aka MonoNeon, this tone-bending pedal delivers signature sounds in the Whammy format
“Playing the Bass VI is a really strange experience”: Squier Limited Edition Classic Vibe Bass VI review
Part bass, part guitar, we get to grips with the Classic Vibe version of Fender’s very own dichotomy of tone
“Gene Simmons used a Grabber for a reason – because they play like nothing else on earth”: Epiphone Grabber Bass review
With its classic looks and budget-friendly price tag, is the revived Grabber still as iconic?
“In terms of sheer value for money, it’s hard to beat”: Sterling by Music Man Joe Dart Artist Series Bass review
On paper, the Sterling Joe Dart model looks like a remarkable reproduction of Music Man’s pro-standard version. Could this be as good as it gets for a $399 bass?
