How Motown hit-maker James Jamerson funked up a Christmas classic on this holiday gem from 1968
The Temptations' funky cover of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer captured Jamerson at his peak powers, before personal problems began to take their toll
Latest
Greg Lake started out as a guitarist – before being convinced by Robert Fripp to switch to bass when joining King Crimson
Lake went on to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer – ELP – with keyboardist Keith Emerson and drummer Carl Palmer, creating one of rock’s first super-groups
Greg Norton believes Hüsker Dü were always going to break up, but it happened too soon
The current Ultrabomb bassist discusses the instruments that led to his custom Reverend, how a 1985 concert video got lost, and how easy it was to learn from bandmate Mould
How Flea landed his cherished 1961 Fender Jazz Bass after finding a seller during the early days of Twitter
During the early days of his career, the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist was far from a gearhead – but an old Fender changed his tune
How Moody Blues bassist John Lodge found another gear with a Fender double-neck that was half P-Bass/half Telecaster
Having anchored the Moody Blues since the ’60s, the late John Lodge had a VIP seat for the Austin Powers-like era that made London the capital of cool
Flea has announced his debut solo album – but he’s not the only bassist playing on it
After decades of anticipation, Flea’s debut single pulls no punches, with two bassists linking seamlessly on the song’s darting bassline
When Michael Anthony met the self-proclaimed “greatest bass player in the world”, Jaco Pastorius
How the accidental meeting of two of the ’70s and ’80s greatest bass icons – neither recognised by the other – came about in a Tokyo hotel
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
How Motown hit-maker James Jamerson funked up a Christmas classic on this holiday gem from 1968
The Temptations' funky cover of Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer captured Jamerson at his peak powers, before personal problems began to take their toll
Greg Lake started out as a guitarist – before being convinced by Robert Fripp to switch to bass when joining King Crimson
Lake went on to form Emerson, Lake & Palmer – ELP – with keyboardist Keith Emerson and drummer Carl Palmer, creating one of rock’s first super-groups
Greg Norton believes Hüsker Dü were always going to break up, but it happened too soon
The current Ultrabomb bassist discusses the instruments that led to his custom Reverend, how a 1985 concert video got lost, and how easy it was to learn from bandmate Mould
How Flea landed his cherished 1961 Fender Jazz Bass after finding a seller during the early days of Twitter
During the early days of his career, the Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist was far from a gearhead – but an old Fender changed his tune
How Moody Blues bassist John Lodge found another gear with a Fender double-neck that was half P-Bass/half Telecaster
Having anchored the Moody Blues since the ’60s, the late John Lodge had a VIP seat for the Austin Powers-like era that made London the capital of cool
Flea has announced his debut solo album – but he’s not the only bassist playing on it
After decades of anticipation, Flea’s debut single pulls no punches, with two bassists linking seamlessly on the song’s darting bassline
When Michael Anthony met the self-proclaimed “greatest bass player in the world”, Jaco Pastorius
How the accidental meeting of two of the ’70s and ’80s greatest bass icons – neither recognised by the other – came about in a Tokyo hotel
Bass Gear
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
“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!
Sterling by Music Man releases signature bass with two dummy knobs that do absolutely nothing for MxPx bassist Mike Herrera
The punk rock icon is serving his go-to wiring setup without harming the heritage of the StingRay design
Reviews
“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
“Could this Dingwall convert newcomers to fanned frets? Well, why not?”: Dingwall SP1 review
This modern take on a classic design could open up new markets for Dingwall
“This bass has plenty of cutting power, and it's versatile enough to handle just about any gig”: Cort GB-Fusion 4 review
A new entry to the wallet-friendly bass market, the Cort GB-Fusion 4 combines impressive pickups and hardware with classic J-Bass style
“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
