Latest articles by Karl Coryat
When bass icon Phil Lesh went in search of a new sound
The late Grateful Dead anchor made his debut solo effort alongside guitarist Warren Haynes and lyricist Robert Hunter
“It was the first kind of ‘bass solo’ I’d been allowed to throw on a Rush song”: Geddy Lee on the album that saved Rush
After a six-year absence from the recording studio, Vapor Trails redefined Rush’s career
“Bass players seem to like that feeling of the sound pushing against their legs, but if you stand too close to your amp, you’re never sure what it sounds like”: Mike Watt offers his advice for putting some teeth into your live sound
The patriarch of punk has influenced a generation of rockers. Here he talks through his live gear setup
“Early on I discovered that the bass player decides the chord – not the guitar player”: R.E.M.’s Mike Mills on finding the perfect bass part and becoming a “one-bass guy”
From the Bass Player Archive: An interview with R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills
“I credit half of that bassline to James Jamerson. I’ve always been proud of knowing him”: Listen to Chuck Rainey’s isolated bass on Kid Charlemagne
Chuck Rainey tips his hat to Motown legend James Jamerson in this 1976 Steely Dan classic
Tom Hamilton: "I thought, I'll be damned if I'm going to play eighth-notes on the root all my life!"
Aerosmith’s long-serving bassist reflects on becoming a "music-book junkie", channeling John Paul Jones and "smoking a bowl" before writing Sweet Emotion
Veteran record producer Don Was names his 5 all-time favorite bassists
Producer Don Was on his favorite players, how to get a great bass tone, and the most common mistakes people make in the studio
Mike Watt: “I think for every 7-string bass they should make a 1-string!”
The patriarch of punk unravels his punk rock roots and the making of his 1995 solo album Ball-Hog or Tugboat?
"With no disrespect to Cliff Burton, I think my picking brought a new tightness to Metallica. Cliff's sound wasn't very defined": An interview with Jason Newsted on the release of The Black Album
From the Bass Player archive: Jason Newsted on picking vs fingers, the gear and technique behind The Black Album and how it feels to fill Cliff Burton's shoes...
“Sometimes I think, 'What would John McVie do?' That’s how I wrote the bassline to Losing My Religion”: The secrets of R.E.M.’s Mike Mills
From the Bass Player Archive: An interview with R.E.M. bassist Mike Mills from 1991, the year that Out Of Time took them from cult status to million sellers.
