In this issue

Ernie Ball Music Man Short-Scale Stingray Special $1,999 - Shrink the scale of a full-sized Stingray to 30”, reduce the weight and stand well clear, advises Joel McIver.

Claudia McKenzie, 4th Labyrinth - Providing a thunderous bass foundation to a tower of classic rock riffage.

Star Bass - Celebrating the great and less-great work of a given bass star. This month, it’s Frankie Poullain of The Darkness

Giving It Away

Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Michael ‘Flea’ Balzary needs no introduction, thanks to his genuinely iconic status in our world—but you’ll read about another side of the great man in his new autobiography, Acid For The Children. Joel McIver goes deep with the spokesman for an entire generation of bass players

10+ mins

Bassist Of The Year 2019

At the London Bass Guitar Show UK back in September, we crowned the winner of this year’s Bassist Of The Year competition, in association with Orange Amplification. It was a close-run contest between our three finalists, who were chosen by Robert Trujillo, Stuart Hamm, Joe Dart, and Mark King—but in the end the victor was Leo De Santi, whose performance narrowly outdid the equally talented runners-up Marine Courtin, and Andreas Oxholm. All of them took home a much-deserved haul of Orange bass gear, but before they headed off to celebrate, we got interviews out of them!

6 mins

Watt Prevails

Bassist for a generation of punk rockers, symbol of perseverance against the odds, winner of Bass Player ’s Lifetime Achievement Award, and pioneer of the less-is-more ethos—just take a look at his signature bass—Mike Watt is that rare bassist: one of a kind. We take a meeting with the sometime Minuteman

9 mins

A-Mazed

Claudia McKenzie of 4th Labyrinth ended up as a bass player by accident—but it yielded results, she tells us

2 mins

High Score

Stanley Clarke is known for his work in many musical fields. We talk to him in this issue about his career as a composer for film and television… and where the bass fits in

6 mins

Life Begins...

...at 40! We visit Chris May of Overwater Basses for a look back across four decades of low (and high) frequencies

8 mins

Yamaha Attitude 3

Round three for Billy Sheehan’s wondrous signature Yamaha. Stuart Clayton prepares his tapping fingers

3 mins

Markbass Little Mark Vintage Amp

Italy’s kings of bass amplification serve up a new recipe, incorporating a valve preamp for added low-frequency goodness. Mike ‘Gordon Ramsay’ Brooks hooks up some cabinets, and prepares his taste buds

3 mins

Gamechanger Audio Plasma Pedal

This hypnotic distortion pedal is pure witchcraft. Actually it’s xenon, but it’s much the same thing, says the editor

2 mins

Low End Of Love

Joe Shooman signs off each issue by celebrating an iconic bass guitar This month: The Hagström Super Swede

2 mins

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Bass Player US Magazine Description:

Bobby Vega
Ever since his first recording session with Sly Stone at the age of 17, Bay Area bass badass Bobby Vega has set the bar for funktastic pick playing. In this month's cover story, he goes deep on his plectrum technique and artistic approach. Plus: interviews with Cheap Trick's Tom Petersson, Dream Theater's John Myung, and Jerry "J Blakk" Henderson of Big Sam's Funky Nation; reviews of the Blackstar Fly Bass mini-amp, Mesa-Boogie D-800 head and Ultra Lite cabinets, and new pickups from Lindy Fralin; Jazz and R&B lessons you can use; a full-song bass transcription of Deep Purple's "Gettin' Tighter;" and more!