Latest articles by Nick Wells
“When Jimmy Page first saw my 8-string rig, he said, ‘I’m not playing to that!’” John Paul Jones on his 10 greatest Led Zeppelin moments
From the pounding riffs of Black Dog to the monomania of Achilles Last Stand, we check out some Led Zeppelin history
“Paul McCartney was one of my favorite bass players. I didn’t do him justice”: Paying tribute to the Beatles turned out to be a humbling experience for Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn
As a member of Booker T. and the MGs, Donald ‘Duck’ Dunn cut an instrumental version of the Beatles’ Abbey Road. But the experience wasn't all that satisfying...
“I really liked the concept, but it was a bit impractical. My bass playing tends to rely more on my hands than any kind of trick”: Listen to Paul Jackson’s double-stop funk on Herbie Hancock’s Watermelon Man
Paul Jackson’s big-bottomed stank came courtesy of his modified Fender Telecaster Bass, Geraldine
“The last thing Bernard Edwards wanted to be was a bass player who used a pick”: Nile Rodgers on the funk behind Chic’s Le Freak
In 1978 Bernard Edwards helped define one of the most distinctive sounds of disco
“Fingers or pick? I’ll play bass with a drumstick! Whatever works for the song!“ How Amos Williams found his sound on TesseracT’s War of Being
TesseracT's Amos Williams on why he used parallel distortion and a “Swiss Army knife of overdrive” on the band's new album
When Stanley Clarke met Paul McCartney: “Paul asked me to show him how to slap!”
Stanley Clarke made a key assist on Paul McCartney's early-80s albums Tug of War and Pipes of Peace
“It’s hard to think who the greatest bass players are. You could say Flea, but he doesn’t need the plug!” Jack Bruce on the bass players that shaped his sound
Back in 2010, we asked Cream bassist Jack Bruce to nominate five albums that influenced his bass playing
“Steve Vai tried to school me on string bending, but you just don't do that on bass!” Pete Griffin reflects on his time with Steve Vai, and his latest solo EP
The seasoned sideman compares notes on Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Nuno Bettencourt, Zakk Wylde and Dweezil Zappa
Ernie Ball Music Man just dropped the Retro ‘70s StingRay bass range – and Brazilian thump master Fernando Rosa has demoed them in impeccable style
Ernie Ball's new throwback StingRay combines ‘70s-inspired features with modern playability
“It’s Roger’s bass riff. He came in with the verses and the lyrics for Money”: Listen to the isolated bassline on Pink Floyd’s 1973 masterpiece
The iconic bass riff helped make Dark Side of the Moon one of the biggest-selling albums of all time
“Punk rock should be accessible – I think it’s very cool to be somebody’s potential first bass”: Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz partners with Sterling by Music Man for its first full-scale passive bass
Spotlighting his punk roots, the Pete Wentz Artist Series StingRay is visually inspired by watches and skateboards
“I’m trying to show the world that a bass player can do many things”: Watch the first trailer for Geddy Lee’s new docuseries, featuring Les Claypool and Robert Trujillo
Geddy Lee Asks: Are Bass Players Human Too? also stars Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic and former Hole bassist Melissa Auf der Maur
“Unlike Jimi Hendrix, we never deliberately tuned down”: Listen to Jack Bruce’s bassline on Cream’s Politician
Jack Bruce wrote with Pete Brown for Cream’s third album, 1968’s Wheels of Fire
Bassists, ditch your pedalboards: the Sterling by Music Man DarkRay features two Darkglass distortion circuits in one bass
The Music Man DarkRay is now available as a more budget-friendly Sterling offering
“I bought it from this bloke our drummer knew. I think it was the first fretless electric bass ever”: Bill Wyman on the origins of his famous “homemade” fretless bass
The former Rolling Stones bassist used a modified fretless on every album and many of the singles up to 1975
“It’s got nothing to do with the rest of the song!” Listen to the octave-heavy outro on Gettin’ Betta by Pat Travers Band
Bassist Peter ‘Mars' Cowling was at his inventive best on this blues-tinged rocker from 1979’s Live! Go For What You Know
“My Gibson is still the coolest looking bass guitar ever!” Frankie Poullain remains a committed Thunderbird player – just don’t ask him about beer-throwing fans
The Darkness bassist on reinventing what it means to be a rock star in 2023: "You can't behave in that stereotypical rock star way..."
“Sunshine of Your Love should be in the dictionary under the best-known bassline of all time”: Chris Squire on the five bass players that shaped his sound
Back in 2012, the legendary Yes bassist revisited five classic albums – and his final pick might surprise you
“Sometimes the simplest bassline is the most difficult to play!” How Richard Bona developed his percussive right-hand technique
Richard Bona may have the chops to pull off superhuman solos, but his strengths as a sideman lay in keeping things simple
“On Longview I used a Gibson bass. Then I broke the neck in half”: Mike Dirnt on the making of Green Day’s breakthrough single
Despite his legendary status with Fender, Mike Dirnt’s most memorable bassline was recorded on a mid-’70s Gibson
“Ultimate control” over your bass overdrive tones, and your entire backline in a pedal? Ashdown has lofty aims for its latest bass stompboxes
Ashdown adds to its big trunk of tone with the Triple Shot and Pro-DI
“We mic’d one of Steve Howe’s old Gibson guitars and mixed it with the bass. That’s what gave it such a bright sound”: Listen to Chris Squire’s isolated bassline on Roundabout
Learn the tone secrets behind Chris Squire’s iconic bassline on the Yes classic, Roundabout
“I grabbed a diaper and shoved it under the strings near the bridge”: How Tony Levin came up with his muted bass tone on Peter Gabriel's Don't Give Up
Peter Gabriel called it the “super wonder nappy sound”
