Eddie Van Halen and Keanu Reeves nearly ended up on the John Wick soundtrack
The soundtrack that could have been...
Latest
Why The Cars' Elliot Easton believes a guitar's setup is more important than its price tag
Is it worth breaking the bank for a guitar? The Cars' six-stringer doesn't think so...
Why Andertons’ captain, Lee Anderton, believes there’s still space for dedicated guitar stores
A series of high-profile guitar shops have permanently closed their shutters over the last couple of months – but one of the UK’s most well-known music stores, Andertons, is navigating the storm
Chrissie Hynde warns how global warming will likely impact the existence of outdoor summer shows
The Pretenders icon recalls playing shows with Foo Fighters and Guns N’ Roses over the last few years amid intense heatwaves
Tye Trujillo dips into the signature stompbox world for the first time with the TruDrive
The Trujillo TruDrive Wah, designed in collaboration with Morley, promises to be a “cool new wah for the next generation of players”
Bootsy Collins and Buckethead reflect on their first meeting – but the guitarist speaks through his Les Paul
Collins talks and Buckethead riffs in the strangest guitar interview of 2025
Why Paul Reed Smith isn't interested in chasing Fender or Gibson – but is focused on cementing PRS in history
Smith reflects on his decades-long involvement in the guitar making space
Randy Rhoads became a legend with Ozzy Osbourne, but his incredible playing was evident long before then
Kelly Garni, Rhoads’ brother in arms in Quiet Riot, recalls the guitarist’s early days – and how he developed his iconic tone, in spite of his unorthodox gear
Bootsy Collins on the musician that totally “changed his mind” about bass playing
James Jamerson's immense contribution to Motown Records in the ’60s and ’70s went largely uncredited – but his game-changing adoption of the P-Bass, coupled with his off-kilter technique, makes him an electric bass pioneer
Bassists
Joe Satriani’s best basslines (Yes, he plays bass, too)
The phenomenal guitar playing of Joe Satriani needs no introduction, but he also handled bass duties on his first two albums
Alex ‘V-Man’ Venturella on the secret to metal’s heaviest bass tone and nailing his Slipknot audition
Slipknot's low-end specialist discusses his epic amp collection, the brilliance of Eloy Casagrande and how James Hetfield shaped his technique
Bootsy Collins on the musician that totally “changed his mind” about bass playing
James Jamerson's immense contribution to Motown Records in the ’60s and ’70s went largely uncredited – but his game-changing adoption of the P-Bass, coupled with his off-kilter technique, makes him an electric bass pioneer
Iron Maiden remain one of most domineering forces in heavy metal – and bassist Steve Harris has led the charge
Steve Harris has always pushed beyond the conventions of rock bass guitar, but in his mind, he’s no bass hero
Carol Kaye has declined her Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction invitation
The hard-working recording artist and bass guitar icon explained why in a post on social media
How an unassuming bassist carved out a spot in music history on Derek & the Dominos’ Layla
Recorded at Miami’s Criteria Studios on September 9, 1970, Carl Radle helped ground the mega-hit beneath the immortal pairing of Eric Clapton and Duane Allman
Stephen Malkmus is using his bass string as a guitar strap
Your shoulder might not thank you, but it’s certainly a novel way of repurposing old strings
How Trevor Bolder anchored this 12/8 rocker from David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane
Replacing longtime Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti in the Spiders From Mars, Bolder found himself writing basslines on the spot, a challenge he relished. On Drive-In Saturday, he hit the jackpot
Eva Gardner on returning to the Mars Volta, bass as a family business and rocking with Cher and Pink
Eva Gardner has played with Cher, Moby, Pink, Veruca Salt... the list goes on. Here she reveals how it all started with a bass from Andy Johns, how it's going with the Mars Volta – and what comes next
Bass Gear
“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
Laney and Nathan East team up for a versatile signature bass head that ends a 40-year wait for the session legend
East, one of the most celebrated bass players in history, knows a thing or two about tone – and he’s put practicality at the forefront of his new signature model
Tobias instruments were trailblazers in the bass world. Now they’re back as part of the Gibson family
Luthier Michael Tobias’ ergonomic and tonally versatile bass guitars were lauded in the late ’70s, and now Gibson has spearheaded their return
“We’ve only changed the strings one time”: Travis Barker reveals the bass he uses on everything he records
The Blink-182 drummer and producer has made a revelation about a go-to bass that has proved perfect for almost every record he's produced
Seymour Duncan pushes the boundaries of its PowerStage series with dedicated bass unit
The latest PowerStage offers an onboard preamp and built-in overdrive in a bid to cover all bases for bassists
Jack Bruce’s Gibson EB-1 is going up for a one-time-only public display
Bruce’s iconic EB-1 will go on display for four weeks at the Gibson Garage in London as part of the Gibson Garage Fest later this month
Reviews
“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?
“Thrill-seekers wishing to add ear-melting fuzz to their bass will be in tonal nirvana”: Goliath FX Hornburg Fuzz review
With drive tones verging on the mythical, is this the ultimate bass fuzz?
Fender Vintera II ’60s Precision Bass review
Vintage looks? Timeless P-Bass tones? We size up the latest incarnation of Fender’s flagship 4-string
“You’d be hard-pushed to find a bass sound that you couldn’t gig with almost immediately”: Boss Katana-500 Bass Head review
This newly developed, feature-packed bass head features an Amp Feel switch and ‘Cabinet Resonance’ calibration technology to get the best from your cab – but is it a game-changer for bassists?