Latest articles by Nick Wells
Why Prince stripped the bassline from his all-time biggest hit
From the beginning, Prince had an inkling that Purple Rain’s landmark single would be better without bass guitar
How to play slap bass: an essential guide to slapping and popping
Also known as thumpin’ and pluckin’, slap bass is one of the mainstays of funk bass
Bass chords: shapes that work on bass guitar – and go beyond the power chord
Learning how to play chords on the bass is an absolute must if you want to develop your musicianship
20 metal bassists who took heavy bass playing in new directions
Featuring metal’s leading low-enders – from old-school thrash to modern metal
Legendary sideman Lee Sklar reveals the studio secrets behind his incredible career
The legendary bassist looks back at five decades of studio work on hit songs by James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Phil Collins, and many more
John Myung on how the return of Mike Portnoy has changed the band – and his bass playing
Parasomnia is Dream Theater's first new album with drummer Mike Portnoy for 16 years
21 slap bass legends who made thumpin’ and pluckin’ their own
From the godfather of thumpin’ and pluckin’ to Victor Wooten’s game-changing slap technique, we bring you the players that you must know if you want to call yourself a true bass aficionado
How Nicole Row went from a wild ride in Panic! at the Disco to laying down the low-end in Incubus – and rerecording their biggest album
The former Panic! At The Disco bassist on the challenges she faced when replacing Ben Kenney in the alt-rock institution – and why she’s finally come around to using a pick…
20 funk bass legends who took low-end groove to new heights
A rundown of the best funk bass players of all time, featuring the trailblazers, the early innovators, and the monster groovers around today
“There’s an art to simplicity, and Jason Newsted brought that art”: The bassists of Metallica
From Ron McGovney to Robert Trujillo, we trace the evolution of Metallica’s low-end sound
“If Leo Fender could come back today I think he would approve”: 10 6-string bassists you need to know
From John Myung to Felix Pastorius to Thundercat, we follow their historic quest for the ultimate extended-range axe
From Ritchie Blackmore to Ozzy, bassist Bob Daisley has worked with rock’s heaviest heroes
For more than 30 years, bassist Bob Daisley laid the foundations on which some of the greatest rock and roll ever was built
“We took 36 hours to cut Good Vibrations. We knew it was a big deal”: Carol Kaye’s 10 greatest basslines
The session legend was responsible for some of the finest bass playing ever committed to tape – here are her best moments
Created by the Ibanez Custom Shop in L.A., Thundercat’s double-neck bass guitar has a 6-string on top and an 8-string on the bottom
It’s impossible not to notice Thundercat onstage, especially when sporting a custom-made double-neck bass
After 50 years at the low-end, Stanley Clarke decided to part ways with his astonishing bass collection
The bass virtuoso recounts his bass gear past and present, from his trademark Alembic to the bass equivalent of the Fender Stratocaster
Opeth’s Martín Méndez names the 5 albums that shaped his sound
The low-end maestro for prog titans Opeth digs deep into fusion and soul as he names his favorite bass records
John Paul Jones breaks down his Led Zeppelin bass approach – and what separated his and Jimmy Page's riffs
The all-time bass great discusses his telepathic relationship with John Bonham, early influences, and why Stairway to Heaven's gradual speed-up is part of its magic
Guy Pratt on the Jazz Bass he bought from John Entwistle and how he conjured a “massive octave-pedal freakout” with Madonna
In addition to his main gig with David Gilmour, Guy Pratt has played bass on some monster hits, including Madonna’s Like a Prayer and Michael Jackson’s Earth Song
Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris on staying loyal to Fender, and the Gibson that sounded “horrible”
In his quest for the perfect tone Steve Harris has tried virtually every make of bass there is, but always comes back to one
In an era dominated by look-at-me shred guitarists, Nikki Sixx showed that playing bass could be cool, too
Mötley Crüe's 1989 blockbuster, Dr. Feelgood, is a prime example of Sixx's gritty bass approach
“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
Sterling By Music Man Intro Series StingRay review
As a budget-friendly version of the US-made original, can this wallet-friendly StingRay really do the business?
How do you anchor a band like Pleasure? If you’re Nate Philips, you do it with a formidable slap technique
Pleasure’s fusion-influenced dance music reached its peak with Glide, the Top 10 R&B single from Future Now
With Rage Against the Machine, Tim Commerford pioneered an all-time iconic bass tone. No wonder he's cagey about his setup
The toughest right hand in bass charts his never-ending quest for the ultimate tone
John Myung plays for one of rock’s most ambitious bands, and the Berklee-schooled bassist is tackling the challenge with extraordinary discipline
The Dream Theater maestro explains what every bassist can learn from Bach, how he developed the Bongo 6-string bass with Ernie Ball, and why he runs a Mesa/Boogie Triple Rectifier on bass…
