Bass Player

Bass Player is the world's most comprehensive, trusted and insightful bass publication for passionate bassists and active musicians of all ages. Each issue delivers the latest tips and techniques that are guaranteed to make you a better player.

WELCOME • What happens when you leave the biggest rock band in history?

Bass Player

STANLEY CLARKE’S SPELLCASTER • The master reveals his signature Strat-a-like bass

Ricky Turns 90 • Two pricey 4005s inbound

Love Lines • A great bass-line in 85 words

Bass Bucks

Rose Tinted

Star Man

LOUD AND PROUD • New bass gear incoming from a trio of amp manufacturers.

Sand Men • New Sandberg models are on the way

Tales From The Van • WVH releases debut album

Grohl Hearted

POWER CHORDS • It’s one last outing for the late Francis ‘Rocco’ Prestia.

Lorenzo Feliciati • We celebrate five great - and less great! - albums on which a notable bassist appears

Miles Davis recruits Dave Holland... and goes electric • A historic moment in bass world—recalled by those who were there to see it

PLAYING LIVE IN A PANDEMIC • How has our job as performers changed over the past year?

SINGLE-COIL PICKUP HUM • Why does that skinny rail make such a noise?

MASTER MAJOR SCALES

TAKING WINGS • It’s half a century since Sir Paul McCartney walked away from the biggest band ever formed. That seismic event often obscures his subsequent work with Wings, who rose in a few short years from college level to a stadium phenomenon. How the heck did he pull that off?

Five Of The Best • A fistful of Wings bass parts that you need to hear...

Ricky Rolling • In 1994, Paul McCartney discussed his bass playing in Wings with the writer Tony Bacon…

Boss Bass • What’s it like to get on stage with Paul McCartney and play the classics? Stevie Van Zandt, also known as Bruce Springsteen’s guitarist Little Steven, did exactly that in 2017.

ROAD CAT • Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats tells us how his new solo album, Gather Round, was crafted in the back of an Airstream trailer. “It’s one of my most personal records,” he says...

FLEET FINGERS • Rockers of the moment Greta Van Fleet return with their second album, The Battle At Garden’s Gate: “It’s exactly the record that we wanted to make, and I’m very, very happy about that,” says bassist Sam Kiszka , as we catch up with him for a chat about all things low-frequency

TWO UNLIMITED • The award-winning duo Ferris & Sylvester kick out a full-band sound with just two members. We ask bassist Issy Ferris how she does it

WHO NEEDS GUITARS? • How do you run a full-throated rock band with only bass and drums? Mike Kerr of Royal Blood sets Joe Shooman straight

Board Games • Mike Kerr’s pedalboard revealed… or not

DEEP ROOTS • The mighty Indojazzfunk bassist Shez Raja returns with his most ambitious album yet, Tales From The Punjab. We meet the maestro...

FISHER KING • Droogs bassist Ben Fisher on his journey into the low end

JAZZ NOTES • John Goldsby is back with three EPs from his eponymous trio, a much-needed perspective on the future of bass... and a definitive answer to the question we always ask: ‘Is jazz dead?’

MOON TUNES • Bassist and producer Adeline on the low notes behind her phenomenal creativity

GEAR Reviews • Welcome to our expert road-tests of state-of-the-art bass gear

SADOWSKY MetroLine Verdine White • Miss Disco bassist Dave Clarke puts Earth, Wind & Fire legend Verdine White’s signature bass through its paces. Is this Sadowsky really a ‘Shining Star’?

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION

VINTAGE VCB440WK Statesboro’ • For the blues bassist on a budget,...