“There was no intention to be clever. We didn’t know what we were doing!” Herbie Flowers on David Bowie’s Space Oddity By Bryan Beller published 9 November 23 Listen to Herbie Flowers give lift to David Bowie’s lyric about “floating in a tin can”
“You don’t just play the root notes – there’s always harmony there to make a bassline more interesting”: How Bruce Thomas transformed Elvis Costello’s (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea By Brian Fox published 8 November 23 Bruce Thomas on the heyday of the Attractions and their most auspicious debut, (I Don’t Want To Go To) Chelsea
“Marvin Gaye was used to hearing James Jamerson, so he had me overdub a second bass part to fill out the original track”: An untold story from Motown’s Studio A. How Bob Babbitt's '65 P-Bass drove Marvin Gaye’s Inner City Blues By Chris Jisi published 7 November 23 By 1971, James Jamerson’s demons had started to affect his consistency, so Bob Babbitt was called for this Motown classic
“It’s hard to think who the greatest bass players are. You could say Flea, but he doesn’t need the plug!” Jack Bruce on the bass players that shaped his sound By Nick Wells published 6 November 23 Back in 2010, we asked Cream bassist Jack Bruce to nominate five albums that influenced his bass playing
“The game-changing pick you never knew you needed”: Offset fever reaches guitar picks as Fender launches Offset Picks By Michael Astley-Brown published 6 November 23 The offset guitar boom shows no sign of abating, and Fender reckons its wonky shape results in “the most versatile pick ever”
“Steve Vai tried to school me on string bending, but you just don't do that on bass!” Pete Griffin reflects on his time with Steve Vai, and his latest solo EP By Nick Wells published 3 November 23 The seasoned sideman compares notes on Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Zakk Wylde and Dweezil Zappa
“A backline in your gigbag and a macrocosm of next-level tonal excellence”: Could the Two Notes Opus be the only guitar amp your pedalboard needs? By Matt Owen published 2 November 23 The feature-packed unit takes the Torpedo CAB design to new heights, with an expanded preamp and power amp simulation section and greater connectivity options
Sweetwater’s massive early Black Friday sale just launched with up to 70% off guitar gear – these are our top picks By Chris Corfield published 2 November 23 With big reductions on PRS SE electrics, 25% off selected Mesa/Boogie amps and rare reductions on this year’s UAFX pedals, why wait until Black Friday itself?
“There it was, John’s voice, crystal clear. It’s quite emotional. And we all play on it – it’s a genuine Beatles recording”: The final Beatles song, Now and Then, has been released at last – but is it any good? By Jackson Maxwell published 2 November 23 Built from a John Lennon demo, Now and Then features newly recorded contributions from Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, with additional guitar work from the late George Harrison
“The perfect meld of versatility and precision”: Walrus Audio’s ultra-accurate Canvas Tuner lets you upload your own photos for ultimate personalization – and we want one By Matt Owen published 1 November 23 A screenshot of your setlist? How about some positive affirmations? Walrus Audio's new tuner has a screensaver mode that lets you get mighty creative
Mooer’s pocket-sized Prime P2 unit is an effects pedal, amp modeler and audio interface all in one that has apparently “refined the concept of a digital effects device” By Matt Owen published 1 November 23 Is this touchscreen-equipped Swiss army effects interface the future of multi-function guitar units?
“The whole track is driven by the bassline!” How “Ready” Freddie Washington conceived the dance-funk classic that later became a massive hit as Will Smith's Men In Black By Chris Jisi published 1 November 23 The story of Patrice Rushen’s Forget Me Nots, the song that became more famous as the theme from the Will Smith and Tommy Lee film Men in Black and was sampled by George Michael
Ernie Ball Music Man just dropped the Retro ‘70s StingRay bass range – and Brazilian thump master Fernando Rosa has demoed them in impeccable style By Nick Wells published 1 November 23 Ernie Ball's new throwback StingRay combines ‘70s-inspired features with modern playability
“An excellent gift for anyone with more pedals than necklaces. Because spoiler: they're ALL necklaces now”: This patch cable chain turns any pedal into neckwear By Matt Parker published 1 November 23 The Signal Chain ingeniously converts any pedal into a highly fashionable necklace
Best guitar cleaning kits and tools 2023: keep your guitar looking and sounding sweet By Richard Blenkinsop last updated 31 October 23 Take a look at our expert pick of guitar cleaning and maintenance products to help keep your instrument in tip-top condition
“The pedal your ’board has been waiting for”? Zoom unveils the next generation of its cult classic MultiStomp pedal, cramming 100 effects into a $129 compact stompbox By Michael Astley-Brown published 30 October 23 The MS-50G+ multi-FX can be any effect you want it to be, including an amp modeler with impulse responses – and it offers serious competition to the Line 6 HX One
Best budget bass amps 2023: punchy low-end for a low price By Richard Blenkinsop last updated 30 October 23 Keep your low-end punchy and your bank balance healthy with our pick of the best budget bass amps from Fender, Orange, Ampeg and beyond!
“When Michael McDonald first played it for me, I had him slow down and just show me his left hand”: Tiran Porter on The Doobie Brothers’ Minute By Minute By Bill Leigh published 29 October 23 Tiran Porter played the “cowboy-movie-theme-meets shuffle-feel” on a B.C. Rich Mockingbird with twin DiMarzio P-style pickups
“It’s Roger’s bass riff. He came in with the verses and the lyrics for Money”: Listen to the isolated bassline on Pink Floyd’s 1973 masterpiece By Nick Wells published 28 October 23 The iconic bass riff helped make Dark Side of the Moon one of the biggest-selling albums of all time
“When I'm not playing online, I love to blend with the band. I'm not the one who wants to stand out. But online, that's what it's all about”: April Kae is on a quest to inspire new bass players – and it starts with making bass sound good on phone speakers By Jenna Scaramanga published 27 October 23 From social media to the stage, the new face of Fender basses is broadening horizons for who can play the instrument. She reveals her secret to getting good bass tone on a phone, how she deals with trolls, and what it's like to jam with “the greatest drummer of all time” in Fever 333
