Latest articles by Nick Wells
Richard Davis, legendary jazz bassist who worked with everyone from Van Morrison to Charles Mingus, dies at 93
He recorded with the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Paul Simon, but it was Davis’ bass playing on Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks that was described as “the greatest bass ever heard on a rock album”
“Quincy Jones said, ‘Man, this song sounds just like Stevie!’” The Richard Bona song Stevie Wonder turned down
How Cameroonian bassist Richard Bona found the perfect place for a track he’d written for Stevie Wonder
One of the most famous names on a bass guitar pickup, electronics expert, Bill Bartolini, has died aged 84
Gary Willis, Michael Manring, Lee Sklar, and many more pay tribute to Bill Bartolini
“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
“Rocco Prestia could have held that 16th-note pattern in his sleep – it’s airtight” Halestorm bassist Josh Smith picks his top 5 bass albums
From Tower Of Power to The Beatles, Josh Smith reveals the influences that helped shape his heavy-riffing bass style with Halestorm
“Hetfield would say, ‘Dude, get that bass s**t happening!’ It was a breathin'-down-your-neck type of thing...” Jason Newsted on the making of Metallica’s Load album
The ex-Metallica bassist recalls the making of Load and why James Hetfield had a lot to do with the bass
"Like wrestling an octopus": How to play bass like Les Claypool
Even if you're not playing double-stops tapped on a fretless 6-string bass there’s still a lot you can learn from Primus frontman Les Claypool. We asked him to break down some of his craziest basslines...
“Ozzy Osbourne gets in my face and we're doing this dance. Sometimes Kirk and I do it during For Whom the Bell Tolls”: Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo explains the origin of his iconic crab walk
Robert Trujillo thanks Ozzy Osbourne for helping turn on his stage performance with Metallica
Think kill switches don’t belong on bass? Steve Tréguier’s new metal machine from Vola Guitars is here to prove you wrong
The adventurous prog stalwart showcases his Tom Morello-style kill switch technique on his new signature bass, the Vasti 5 STM J1
“Prince was serious about what he wanted. He would turn around, point to you and say, ‘Go!’”: Josh Dunham names the five albums that helped shape his sound with Prince
According to Josh Dunham, having chops is cool, but playing with Prince you really had to play in the pocket
For decades no-one even knew his name. This month, James Jamerson will have a street named after him
How James Jamerson became a bass guitar hero: with tributes from Jack Bruce, Suzi Quatro and Paul McCartney
“Wings are underrated. It’s difficult to follow The Beatles. It’s like following God”: How Paul McCartney quit the world's biggest band... and triumphed
In 1971 Paul McCartney announced the formation of his new group Wings, who rose in a few short years from college level to an American stadium phenomenon
“40 minutes of bass solos just ain’t going to work for me”: Meshell Ndgeocello on why she could never be as solo-orientated as Jaco Pastorius
Yes, she’s an A-list bass player, but for Meshell Ndgeocello the groove comes first
“You bassists who think your bass isn’t loud enough, you’re right! I always want my bass louder in the mix”: How Geddy Lee found his sound with Rush
Geddy Lee used distortion to “knit together” his live sound with Canada’s pioneering power trio
One of the strangest guitar mods of all time? How Leon Wilkeson adapted his Gibson Thunderbird following the Lynyrd Skynyrd plane crash in ‘77
The ’63 T-Bird had a metal extension added after Wilkeson injured his left arm in the crash
When TM Stevens met James Brown: “I said, ‘One day I'm going to play with you!’ He said, ‘Don't do it! Stay in school!’”
TM Stevens on meeting the Godfather of Soul and the bass players that helped shape his sound
“Our best amp yet”: Darkglass introduces the limited-edition Microtubes X 900
The X 900 promises power and projection without incurring the need for a back specialist into the bargain
"There was something about that picture of Marilyn that resonated with how I feel when I’m trying to get something right on the bass": Why Gail Ann Dorsey named her bass after Marilyn Monroe
The story behind the Bowie bassist’s iconic Music Man StingRay
“There’s not much swagger in that band.” For Glenn Hughes, joining Deep Purple wasn’t the clear-cut choice that you’d think
The ‘Voice of Rock' looks back on his decision to quit Trapeze in 1973, and why Ritchie Blackmore was “a bit eccentric”
“A lot of Sugar Hill records were clichéd bass riffs that DJs would spin in the clubs”: How a bassline by art-rockers Liquid Liquid became one of the biggest hip-hop anthems of all time
In 1983 Doug Wimbish was asked to recreate a bassline that was tearing up NYC clubs. Transformed into White Lines (Don’t Do It) it became an enormous worldwide hit – but the original creators never received a dime…
“Whenever we’d drop that bass riff, places would become unhinged”: Listen to Tim Commerford’s isolated bassline on Killing In The Name by Rage Against The Machine
The beginning of RATM best-known song is a sinister D plus octave of D#
John Lennon: “Willie Weeks was supposed to do it, but he was doing a George Harrison session”: In August 1980 John Lennon could have called just about any bass player on Earth. He went with Tony Levin
The King Crimson bassist recalls the making of Double Fantasy and why he laughed at The Beatle’s first ever words to him
Need more control over your tone? This new preamp from Aguilar was made to “push your bass sound to the limits”
The latest addition to Aguilar's pedal range is an all-analog preamp unit with a built-in boost
