Latest articles by Joel McIver
Luna Guitars Tribal bass review
If only more acoustic-electric bass guitars combined this much quality with a price this low...
How Cliff Burton shaped Metallica's expansive thrash assault – and changed the sound of metal bass guitar forever
We celebrate Burton's career, and dig into his tones and talents with the help of Metallica’s incumbent bassist, Robert Trujillo
Randy Jackson on his return to Journey, what makes a great bassist, and playing football with James Jamerson and Jaco Pastorius
Journey are back with a new album made with the returning Randy Jackson, whose story goes beyond bass. A&R, TV star, producer, entrepreneur... And to 40 million TV viewers, he’s the man who sat next to Simon Cowell on American Idol
Fender Trapper Bass Distortion review
Why do they call it the Trapper? Who can say, but it has two distortion circuits to give options to those who need some low-end growl and thunder
How Chris Squire got his iconic bass tone
The evolution of the Yes man’s incredible low-end sound
Remembering Chris Squire – the bass pioneer who redefined the instrument in the ‘70s with prog icons Yes
Seven years since his death and half a century since his band Yes released their masterpiece, Close to the Edge, the influence of Chris Squire is felt as keenly as ever
Flattley Bass Chief and Bass Poison Ivy review
Gnarly overdrive and fuzz options for the bass player's pedalboard, with sounds as good as the enclosures look
Bass Player meets Metallica: Robert Trujillo salutes our cover star Cliff Burton
We explore the Burton legend, reveal the secrets of his playing and head to Sweden to visit the new Cliff museum
Dave Young: “When you were forced to transcribe stuff from records, that taught you something. It developed your ear and your sense of songwriting”
The Canadian jazz bass stalwart reflects on his roots as a bass player, working with Oscar Peterson and what technology has taken from learners
Bassbaba Sumon on overcoming relentless setbacks, studying Stu Hamm and bringing Bengali scales to rock bass
The Bangladeshi bass icon has survived multiple bouts of cancer, a near-fatal road accident and a stroke, but is still performing at the top of his domestic music industry
Fender Player Plus Active Meteora Bass review
Meet the Fender offset for bassists looking for a radical alternative to P and J archetypes, and for some oomph from the active Fireball humbucker pairing
Remembering Ove Bosch
The late bassist and former Warwick colleague, saluted by Chris P. Dekker, editor of De Bassist.
Learn to play like the great Chris Squire in Bass Player's killer new issue
The late Yes man is joined by amazing bass players from Chic, Korn, the McCartney/Starr bands and more
Rush’s Geddy Lee on A Farewell To Kings, Les Claypool the bassist, and what he thinks of Primus playing the album live in its entirety
Playing A Farewell To Kings in full is not for the fainthearted. Even Geddy Lee, the man who recorded it, thought Les Claypool “was a little bit nuts” for attempting it
Les Claypool: “Singing Geddy Lee parts and playing bass, or just singing Geddy Lee parts period, is f**king hard, because it’s up in the upper stratosphere”
Primus are currently on the road, playing the Rush album A Farewell To Kings in its entirety. We ask Claypool what made him embark on such a mad endeavor
Laura Lee of Khruangbin is the cover star of the new Bass Player, out now
She's joined by Nikki Sixx, Bassbaba Sumon, Stefan Olsdal of Placebo and a posse of other ace bassists
Will Lee: “A groove is a groove is a groove. If it feels good now, it’s always going to feel good!”
Will Lee has done more in his career than any 10 other bass players combined, including the small matter of 6,000 Letterman shows, but he’s not resting on his laurels just yet
The Cliff Burton Museum has officially opened – and we were there to see it
On May 14, hundreds of Metallica fans flew to rural Sweden for the Museum’s grand opening – and celebrated Burton’s life with loud music and a ton of headbanging
Ian Hill reflects on 50 years of Judas Priest
In a half-century of the British heavy metal institution, Hill has seen it all – here, he talks about the influence of Jack Bruce, his rig over the years, and the band's staying power
Troy Sanders: “The Teardrinker bass solo turned from a silly joke to an interesting moment that I’d never done in Mastodon before”
The Mastodon bassist and vocalist on why the Atlanta metal institution doubled up for their latest album, Hushed And Grim, and taking the opportunity for a bass solo
Flea: “I think about playing bass as like a river. I can unleash it however it needs to go – like violent rapids, or a calm, still pool”
The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ new album, Unlimited Love, is a showcase for Flea’s irrepressible talents, but as he explains, he’s always looking to improve
Geddy Lee on Primus' 'A Tribute To Kings' tour: "I think it's a bit nuts!"
We meet the Rush frontman and the mighty-thumbed Les Claypool for the low-down on the bass tour of the year
"Double-thumbing is where I use my thumb for up and downstrokes, similar to using a guitar pick": Bass legends Victor Wooten and Stanley Clarke in conversation
In this classic 2008 interview, Clarke and Wooten share their musical philosophies, talk gear and unpack some of the groundbreaking techniques behind their sound
