Latest articles by Nick Wells
Exercises for bass: 5 ways to improve your bass guitar technique
Whether you're a beginner or a pro, these 5 finger exercises will help all areas of your bass playing – from fret work and picking to ear training and theory
“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?
The Clash's Paul Simonon reflects on that iconic London Calling moment
Paul Simonon smashed his Fender P-Bass during a concert at New York’s Palladium on September 20th, 1979
How Colin Greenwood came up with his deceptive stop-start bassline on Radiohead’s Airbag
Colin Greenwood’s bassline drives the opener of Radiohead’s OK Computer, even though it contains more rests than licks
Session legend Nathan East reflects on the business of bass
Nathan East looks back at some of his biggest tracks, and why he’d love to have a career like Pat Metheny or Marcus Miller
“I grow the nails on my right hand as long as I can”: Steve Harris on Iron Maiden’s Wrathchild
Every would-be metalhead should learn from the best: Iron Maiden bassist Steve Harris
Listen to Geddy Lee’s “flamenco” strumming technique on Rush’s Snakes & Arrows
Geddy Lee’s signature sounds abound on Snakes and Arrows, but was there a new twist in his bass playing?
Verdine White picks his top 5 Earth, Wind & Fire basslines
Earth, Wind and Fire’s pocket-perfect bassist names his best basslines
“It was always magical playing bass with Tony Iommi. To me, he's the greatest guitarist ever”: Geezer Butler’s 10 best basslines with Black Sabbath
When it comes to influential metal bands, few can hold a candle to Black Sabbath. These are Geezer Butler’s 10 heaviest rock riffs
How to play bass guitar for beginners: start playing today
From basic finger techniques to slap bass, here’s what you need to get started on your bass guitar journey
“He already had his signature tone and touch, and a few of his signature licks, too”: A year before he was discovered, Jaco Pastorius laid down this classic R&B bassline on Little Beaver’s 1974 hit, I Can Dig It Baby
Recorded a year before he was discovered by Blood Sweat and Tears drummer Bobby Colomby, I Can Dig It Baby finds Jaco Pastorius in his prime
“I’d be there with bass pedals, a triple-neck guitar and keyboards, and Robert Plant would ask, ‘Can you sing, as well?’” How John Paul Jones became Led Zeppelin’s ultimate wingman
Armed with years of experience as a session bassist and arranger – having worked with the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck and the Rolling Stones – John Paul Jones could do it all
“I totally respected Jaco's bass playing, but that 16th-note triplet funk thing – it just wasn't in his repertoire”: Weather Report drummer Chester Thompson on why Jaco Pastorius struggled to swing
In 1975, Jaco Pastorius replaced Alphonso Johnson in Weather Report, but for drummer Chester Thompson, playing with Jaco was “like oil and water”
“I gravitate more towards Victor Wooten than the straight-up shredding of Billy Sheehan, but I’ve ripped pages from both books”: Jacob Umansky unpacks the origins of his cutting-edge slap technique
How the Intervals and JIA bassist powered up his slap technique – with the help of Victor Wooten and Billy Sheehan
“It can sound funky, but, as a full-on rock bass – whacked with the heaviest pick you can find – is when it’s in its element”: Epiphone Thunderbird ’64 review
It’s often said that they don’t make ‘em like they used to. Well, Epiphone are on a mission to prove that old chestnut wrong
Classic Jazz Bass tones minus the buzz? Lollar’s new hum-cancelling pickup offers a “fuller bass sound that’s still vintage-faithful”
Lollar’s new DC J-Bass pickups are designed to help reduce noise and add “clarity, presence, and punch” to your low-end tone
“A groundbreaking innovation in the realm of bass amplifiers”: Is Ashdown's latest combo its best lightweight bass amp yet?
The OriginAL-EVO-C112T is designed to offer power and projection without incurring the need for a back specialist into the bargain
“I think Sgt Pepper was a ‘prize period’ when I was playing my best bass”: Paul McCartney’s 10 best basslines with The Beatles
Paul McCartney is, to state the obvious, a bass guitar legend – and these are his 10 best basslines
“Thom Yorke called Colin Greenwood the secret weapon to Radiohead, and I think he was right”: John Garrison on the 5 bass albums that shaped his sound
John Garrison, currently holding down the low-end with pop swooner James Blunt, talks us through his top 5 bass albums
“The White Album was the first thing that I connected with as a kid”: Flea picks his top 5 ‘desert island’ discs
The Red Hot Chili Pepper was also asked to name his dream supergroup. Safe to say he picked himself on bass
“Paul wants it to be fixed up, so he can play it… He was excited as a school boy”: Paul McCartney’s long-lost Höfner violin bass has been found after 50 years
Paul McCartney has been reunited with “the most important bass guitar in history”, which vanished after the Beatles split up – and was unearthed in an English attic
“I was never a huge Led Zeppelin fan, but I always loved that song, and the open strings just set it up for bass”: Watch Stuart Hamm’s bass arrangement of Led Zeppelin’s Going to California
Stuart Hamm walks you through the highlights of his fifth solo album, including a bass arrangement of a John Paul Jones classic
“Cheap instruments can be amazing and expensive ones can be totally wrong. Don't let the price tag fool you.” London bassist Dave Edwards on the beauty of his Aria Pro-II Precise Bass
Dave Edwards on the merits of his late ‘70s “old-school Fender copy”, and the Peter Gabriel bassline he wished he’d written
“His sound was reggae. He was an utterly beautiful force”: Tributes paid to Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, who has died aged 77
Ziggy Marley, Flea, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and many more pay tribute to Aston ‘Family Man’ Barrett, bassist and bandleader of Bob Marley and the Wailers
“It's a disgrace to the bass player in me, but it's hard to write on the bass. Playing power chords on a guitar is much easier”: Melissa Auf der Maur looks back on a life in rock
As the bass player for Hole and Smashing Pumpkins, Melissa Auf Der Maur helped define the sounds of alternative music in the ’90s
