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.
The argument about which rock band is the biggest in the world has been going on for decades—but in terms of sheer cultural weight and stadium presence, we reckon that the Rolling Stones take the crown in 2020. With that in mind, we’re absolutely delighted to welcome the mighty Darryl Jones to our cover, a bassist with incredible stories to tell and a relaxed attitude to fame and fortune from which we can all learn. Elsewhere, dig into our historic run-down of Fender versus Gibson, our interviews with Lee Sklar, Lena Abé, Jon Moody and the eight up-and-coming bass players in our new First Bass section. Read the results of our road-tests of amazing Ibanez, Ashdown, Trickfish, Darkglass and Hamstead gear, and absorb the wisdom of our state-of-the-art bass tuition…
FAB GEAR Fender’s American Original Series was launched in 2018 and included 11 electric guitars and basses in 13 different colors. The venerable company has just announced additions to the range in the form of an Aztec Gold 50s Precision and a Vintage White 70s Jazz. As a press release runs, “Like all American Original models, the new guitars and basses are inspired by some of Fender’s most-successful 50s, 60s and 70s designs and include vintage-style hardware, vintage-tall frets, body radii and neck shapes, lacquer finishes, original-spec pickups and vintage-style cases.”In other Fender news, the new Made In Japan Heritage Series has been announced under the guidance of Mark Kendrick, one of the Fender Custom Shop’s founding master builders and the company’s current Director of Global Build Standards. The new…
“AWARENESS OF DETAIL IS WHAT SEPARATES GOOD AND GREAT BASS PLAYERS” Hello bassists! This time around I will be looking at live recording scenarios, and what it takes to be a successful bass player in these settings. This might be a live recording in the studio, on the radio, on TV or as part of a show that is recorded for future release. Even within those categories, the roles can differ subtly in terms of the experience—but here are some core fundamentals that are consistent when taking on the job of a live recording bass player... NERVE Ever heard the term ‘red light fever’? This is the moment when the record button is pushed, and we tense up—and suddenly we can’t play the line we had down so accurately in…
From endorsee to employee, Jon Moody has helped to push the GHS brand further into the 21st century. For the past seven years, Moody has held the prestigious title of Manager of Brand Identity and Development with the family-run company—but there’s a lot more to his role with GHS than an impressive business card. What are the most important lessons he’s learned while being at GHS, we ask? “It’s actually something I picked up from my dear friends over at Aguilar, during conversations at the NAMM show,” Jon says. “Their mindset is that every part of your signal chain plays an integral role in shaping your sound. Understanding the role each part plays helps you make very thoughtful and deliberate design choices. “That knowledge has been incredibly valuable when designing…
Welcome! Ready for some cool theory to lift your spirits in these strange times? As many of you will already know, we tend to employ Lydian Dominant over dom7#11 chords, as its construction is 1, 2, 3, #4, 5, 6, b 7—see Example 1. But, and it’s a big but, we don’t always encounter chord symbols which capture every extension unique to the mode which we may choose to employ. This means that we often need an understanding of a chord’s function relative to the harmony in order to come up with suitable, harmonically ‘correct’ choices. We’ve looked at tritone substitution in past issues, but just to recap, we can substitute a resolving dominant for a dominant chord a tritone away. Dmin7, G7, Cmaj (Example 2) could now become Dmin7,…
TIM STARACE YYNOT BAND What was your way into bass? I wanted to be Gene Simmons, like most kids back in 1976. At a yard sale on my block, a neighbor was selling an album called Learn To Play Bass Guitar With The Ventures, so I bought that for 25 cents, cut two strings off my brother’s acoustic guitar, and started teaching myself how to play. ‘La Bamba’ was the first song I taught myself from that album. My first bass was a Cameo that my mom bought from the mall in 1976. It was like a piece of plywood with strings on it. It was tobacco sunburst, and I was the proudest nine-year-old in town. My first real bass was a Fender Music Master, then a Rickenbacker 4001 and…
