Latest articles by Nick Wells
Larry Graham on when you really need to use a 5-string bass
The godfather of slap bass says “I actually love playing a 5-string for other artists, but not for live shows”
Jeff Berlin: “Look at Jaco Pastorius: clearly a genius, but misunderstood”
Jazz bassist Jeff Berlin debunks a myth surrounding Jaco’s early years
Lee Sklar: “If the drummer doesn’t swing – let him serve French fries in McDonald’s"
Session legend Lee Sklar was asked to name his studio pet hates: sequenced basslines, Pro-Tools and lacklustre drummers came out on top
Mike Dirnt: “Even Flea told me he wanted to play a P-Bass live”
Green Day’s Mike Dirnt reveals why so many top bass players switch back to Fender
How Billy Sheehan learned to slap
“I could never figure out where those notes were coming from. Then I’d go see Victor Wooten and just give up!”
Watch two bassists shred-off using Tosin Abasi's selective picking technique
Toby Peterson-Stewart and Jacob Umansky throw down: “Technique-wise, we really threw the kitchen sink at it”
Aguilar Agro Bass Overdrive review
Back with a brand-new look, the Agro aims to cram Aguilar’s AG 500 overdrive channel into something you can stomp on
Epiphone El Capitan J-200 Studio Bass review
Epiphone is aiming high with this new electro-acoustic bass
Nikki Sixx “played his butt off” on Dolly Parton’s upcoming rock album
The country legend recruited Mötley Crüe's bassist for her tentatively titled Rock Star LP
Cliff Burton wrote one of Metallica’s heaviest riffs on a de-tuned classical guitar
Kirk Hammett: “To this day, I think: ‘How did Cliff write that?’”
Steve Lukather: "The bassline was easy. It wasn't like I had to be Jaco Pastorius"
How the legendary guitarist ended up playing bass on Michael Jackson’s Beat It
NAMM 2023: Dingwall Guitars launches the John Taylor Rio Dream Bass
The new John Taylor Signature model salutes Duran Duran’s breakthrough album
Thundercat: “People are telling me to turn down, and I’m like, No! I’m trying to burn down the stage!”
The 6-string superhero on his gigantic bass tone, and how he nearly set fire to the Sydney Opera House
10 reggae records that every bass fan should know
The 10 best reggae albums from Jamaica’s main bass men. From Sly and Robbie to Bob Marley and the Wailers
Dunlop Cry Baby Bass Wah: the most recognizable effects pedal ever made?
Classics don’t come much more heavyweight than the Cry Baby wah-wah and the 105Q Bass edition is no exception
Watch the trailer for Flea’s new podcast series
First guests on the show will include Rick Rubin, Patti Smith and Thundercat
Paul McCartney: “Somebody whispered to me ‘That’s Nirvana. You’re Kurt.’ I couldn’t believe it”
Bassist Krist Novoselic revisits the time the ex-Beatle fronted a Nirvana reunion gig
Geezer Butler: “Originally it was titled ‘Nib’, which was Bill’s beard and looked like a pen nib because it was pointy”
Geezer Butler explains the obscure title behind one of Black Sabbath’s most recognisable riffs
Watch Vulpeck's Joe Dart break down Flea and Victor Wooten's slap bass technique
How Will Smith brought back, er, slap: "The two main slap basslines of our generation were Will Smith samples..."
10 things you didn’t know about Carol Kaye
She played for Elvis, Sinatra, Spector, the Beach Boys - but just how did she do it?
Should Bill Wyman have gotten a songwriting credit for The Rolling Stones (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction?
Bill Wyman: “The fact of the matter is that my bassline made the song just as much as Keith’s guitar riff”
Andy Fraser: “It was me trying to impersonate Pete Townshend, who was, to me, the all-time greatest chord king”
How Free’s worst ever gig inspired one of the most iconic bass solos in rock
The Mu-Tron III: “Without it, there ain’t no Bootsy”
Everything you need to know about the iconic stomper from Musitronics
