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The Latest Breaking News from Bass Player

“I wouldn’t be able to play the technical stuff while wearing the mask. I’ve almost passed out a few times”: Slipknot’s original bassist Paul Gray on holding the middle ground in metal’s most extreme band

Slipknot are one of the most visually arresting bands still working today – but the late Paul Gray’s role was decidedly different

Guitar World

“You could argue that Cream was the first fusion band. Eric Clapton was our Ornette Coleman – we just didn’t tell him!” How Jack Bruce tapped into his jazz roots with fusion supergroup Spectrum Road

Jack Bruce launched Spectrum Road in 2012, featuring drummer Cindy Blackman-Santana, and Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid

Guitar World

“If you couldn’t play that solo, you weren’t a bass player – you couldn’t get a gig”: How Bob Babbitt laid down an epic first-take solo on this under-appreciated Motown classic – with the help of a damp household sponge

Every bassist needs to familiarize themselves with Bob Babbitt’s knockout solo

Guitar World

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“We walk into this music store, and the owner is making sure we didn't turn up with a lawyer – and then Robert Trujillo came in and saved the day!” The amazing story of how Jaco's Bass Of Doom made its way back to Felix Pastorius

Stolen in 1982, the bass vanished from the public eye until 2006 when it resurfaced in a New York music store

Guitar World

“James would always try to break you down. Any time you played a great gig, he'd call you into his dressing room and say, ‘You just ain't on it. You ain't on the one!’” If you play funk, you owe Bootsy Collins – the bass legend who played with James Brown

Bootsy Collins is a legend not just for his interstellar bass playing, but also for his star-shaped bass guitars

Guitar World

“My feel drives Stephen nuts – he’d rather have a traditional metal bass player who uses a pick and follows his every move. Instead, I counter his every move”: Chi Cheng on his final Deftones album – which took almost three years to complete

According to the late Chi Cheng, Saturday Night Wrist was the first time he’d really locked in with the drums

Guitar World

“I’d messaged Cory to see if he needed a bassist. He sent me his tour manager’s phone number and said, ‘See you in two days’”: Meet Vincen García, the Spanish bass virtuoso who joined Cory Wong’s band with 48 hours’ notice

Vincen García shares his bass heroes and how he went about “bringing the artillery” with Cory Wong

Guitar World

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“I knew Beyoncé would really belt it out there, so I wanted to play something more in your face”: Meet the unsung bass hero who laid down one of the noughties’ most irresistible basslines with Beyoncé

Jon Jon Webb laid down his standout grooves with a late-‘90s Fender Marcus Miller Signature Jazz Bass

Guitar World

“Technical bass players might be able to spell it out in print, but if the pocket isn’t there, it’s just dots on paper”: The Meters’ George Porter Jr on surviving Hurricane Katrina, the subtleties of New Orleans funk and his unusual slap style

According to George Porter Jr., his job as a bassist is to tie the groove and the rhythm together

Guitar World

“After one of the shows, Ginger said, ‘You are a great bass player after all.’ I couldn’t believe it – he’d never once said that in all the years”: In 2005, Jack Bruce reunited with Cream after 36 years – and realized how much his bass playing had changed

When faced once again with the bass role in the ultimate power trio alongside Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce hired a rehearsal room in London and brought in “every bass amp in existence”

Guitar World

“I play chords on the bass like a bluegrass or country picker would. It really works with the 12-string”: Dug Pinnick on pushing hard rock’s boundaries with King’s X

Dug Pinnick’s onstage presence with King’s X is made even more compelling by his unusual 12-string bass guitar

Guitar World

“Jamerson pushed the intercom button and said, ‘Not bad for a white chick!’” How Suzi Quatro cut her teeth on Motown hit-maker James Jamerson

Suzi Quatro’s soul and Motown-influenced rock bass playing made her a huge star throughout the 1970s and beyond

Guitar World

“It started out as a 1962 Fender Jazz Bass, and then I got bored and did this to it”: Why Lee Sklar hand-carved his pre-CBS Fender

1971’s Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon featured some of Lee Sklar’s best work with James Taylor – and Lee Sklar's “total hippie bass”

Guitar World

The 20 greatest slap bass songs of all time

These masterful slap basslines chart the evolution of the quintessential bass technique, from Larry Graham to today's YouTube heroes

Guitar World

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“Ozzy would never stand in front of the bass rig. He told me to turn it down one night, so for a laugh I turned it up”: Geezer Butler names the Black Sabbath album that captured his favorite bass tone

Geezer Butler’s pioneering bass tone with Black Sabbath helped set heavy metal’s mood before the term even existed

Guitar World

“Most bass players are boring, standing at the back. I’m not like that because I was a guitarist first”: Lemmy, the godfather of heavy rock, on why he switched from guitar to bass

The Motörhead frontman switched to bass guitar while working as a roadie for Hawkwind

Guitar World

“It’s Chuck Rainey’s concept of ‘what you don’t play is as important as what you do play’”: After decades of studio sessions with artists ranging from Eric Clapton to Usher, Nathan East reflects on the business of bass

Nathan East looks back at some of his biggest tracks, and why he’d love to have a career like Pat Metheny or Marcus Miller

Guitar World

“As a guitarist you can come in after the one without the house falling apart. But as a bass player, you always have to be there”: How Jonas Reingold switched from classical guitar and became Steve Hackett’s go-to bassist

From Wire and Karmakanic to the Flower Kings and Steve Hackett, the Swedish musician loves to learn, and always strives to be a better team player

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“When I was a kid, I thought bass playing was about throwing up and cutting yourself – I blame Gene Simmons and Sid Vicious”: Bad Religion’s Jay Bentley on his bass-playing influences and the “best-sounding P-Bass he’s ever heard”

Vomit and blood may be punk rock, but it’s not what you might expect from longtime Bad Religion bassist Jay Bentley

Guitar World

“It’s one of my favorite basslines. I don’t know how I came up with it – doing the session was like floating in space”: Verdine White picks his top 5 Earth, Wind & Fire basslines

Earth, Wind and Fire’s pocket-perfect bassist names his best basslines

Guitar World

“It was always magical playing bass with Tony Iommi. To me, he's the greatest guitarist ever”: Geezer Butler’s 10 best basslines with Black Sabbath

When it comes to influential metal bands, few can hold a candle to Black Sabbath. These are Geezer Butler’s 10 heaviest rock riffs

Guitar World

How to play bass guitar for beginners: start playing today

From basic finger techniques to slap bass, here’s what you need to get started on your bass guitar journey

Guitar World

“I’d be there with bass pedals, a triple-neck guitar and keyboards, and Robert Plant would ask, ‘Can you sing, as well?’” How John Paul Jones became Led Zeppelin’s ultimate wingman

Armed with years of experience as a session bassist and arranger – having worked with the Yardbirds, Jeff Beck and the Rolling Stones – John Paul Jones could do it all

Guitar World

“I bought a right-handed Hofner, re-strung it and learned to play like a lefty, which was a nightmare”: How The Bootleg Beatles’ Steve White became a carbon-copy Paul McCartney

Think you can play a bit like Sir Paul? It’s not as easy as you think, says Bootleg Beatles bassist Steve White

Guitar World

“I was scared to death. Miles didn’t say a word to me. Afterwards, I asked what he thought of my playing. He said, simply, ‘It was cool’”: T.M. Stevens on playing with Miles Davis and James Brown – and what went wrong on Vai’s Sex & Religion project

Vai hired the “flashy bassist with the long hair” after spotting him in a Joe Cocker video

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