Latest articles by Nick Wells
“Jimi was a genius guitarist, but the recording sessions were chaos, and onstage, it was getting ridiculous”: Why Noel Redding quit the Jimi Hendrix Experience
After a show in Denver on June 29, 1969, bassist Noel Redding brought an end to one of rock's greatest trios
“Slap bass got too technical. I stopped when it became all about triplets”: Preston Crump on gaining fame with Outkast and why he stopped playing slap bass
Atlanta bass originator Preston Crump has supplied the low-end for the likes of Outkast, Dr Dre and Cee Lo Green
NAMM 2024: Ernie Ball Music Man just introduced the final instalment in the Joe Dart Artist Series… and it sold out in seconds
Ernie Ball’s collaboration with Vulfpeck’s Joe Dart continues with this fresh take on Dart’s go-to short-scale P-Bass
“Some bass parts are functional and some are creative: you don’t need to play Rachmaninoff when the band wants Al Green”: The man behind Elvis Costello’s finest albums recalls his life as a main Attraction
Bruce Thomas, once of Elvis Costello’s backing band, the Attractions, recounts his career
“Eric Clapton’s a great guitarist, but Gary Moore’s a more exciting player”: Jack Bruce on the brilliance of Gary Moore and why Cream’s real chemistry was between Bruce and Ginger Baker
In 1993 the late Cream bassist joined forces with Gary Moore and Ginger Baker to form the short-lived power trio BBM
The 20 greatest bass solos of all time – from the fastest ‘lead bass guitarist’ to the only bass solo James Jamerson ever recorded
We count down moments of bass guitar genius from Tal Wilkenfeld, Flea, Victor Wooten, John Myung and many more
“The smallest element can be the basis of a cool riff. That’s pretty much how I wrote Sweet Emotion”: Tom Hamilton reveals the inspiration behind one of the most iconic bass riffs in rock
How Sweet Emotion, from Aerosmith’s Toys in the Attic, was inspired by Jeff Beck’s Rough and Ready
“I would never play a bass that has brand-new strings. My strings only leave the bass when they break”: How George Porter Jr. helped put funk on the musical map with The Meters
Formed in 1965, The Meters became the measure of funk to come with their 1969 instrumental anthem Cissy Strut
“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..."
