Nashville Bound

Producer, author, and bassist Norbert Putnam looks back half a century at a session with a difference—the near‑mythical Nashville Cats recordings with Elvis Presley

YAMAHA SLB300 Silent Bass

An electric upright that assembles in 30 seconds? Jon Thorne sets his stopwatch...

New Jimi Hendrix film and album feature bassist Billy Cox

I was there! A historic moment in bass world—recalled by those who were there to see it

FENDER – 60th Anniversary Jazz

Now a sexagenarian, is the Jazz Bass still sexy? Chris Gill takes this Sixties-inspired model for a swing

THREE'S A CHARM

Sir Paul McCartney returns with his third self-titled album

SCHOOL'S IN...

...says bassist extraordinaire Damian Erskine as he launches his new bass education portal

WILL POWER

Austin-based Bonnie Whitmore returns with a bass-packed new album—and some serious food for thought...

RAW POWER

There is no band like AC/DC. There is also no bassist like Cliff Williams. “Jazz makes me feel kinda twitchy,” he confesses to Joel McIver

JACKSON Minion JS1X and SQUIER Mini Precision

Small but perfectly formed, these affordable bass guitars bring a touch of fun-sized charm to the table—but can they compete with their full-grown siblings, asks Joel McIver

GOING SUPERNOVA

Nova Twins bassist Georgia South brings a huge tone—and attitude—to modern rock music. We find out (partly) how it’s done

AMPLIFIERS EXPLAINED

Dan signs off this issue with a dig inside your amp

The 70's In Bass

“The Seventies were all about lead bass!” says the mighty Suzi Q. Let’s take a 148-bassist look back and figure out what really went on back then...

All That Jazz

Fender’s beloved Jazz Bass hits 60 years old this year. We meet Allen Abbassi, Senior Product Development Manager, for a look back—and forward—on the subject of the mighty J...

THIS MONTH - BASS ELECTRONICS EXPLAINED

Dan Veall closes this issue with a guide to on-board electronics

TAKING FLIGHT

Bassist Timothy B Schmit looks back on being asked to join the Eagles in 1977, just as they hit the big time.

STILL LIVES

In times of darkness we all need light, and that’s just what Camel bassist Colin Bass is hoping to bring with his meditative new album, Still...

Q THE MUSIC

Kicking down boundaries like there was no tomorrow, Suzi Quatro owned the Seventies, with 50 million album sales, a primetime TV slot, and bass mastery that put most of her contemporaries to shame. But the decade wasn’t all about ‘Can The Can’, she warns: there was a whole lot of ‘Can’t’, too...

Introducing

New, cool, and otherwise attention-grabbing bassists whose playing you need to hear, in their own words.

FRANCIS ‘ROCCO' PRESTIA

The great Tower Of Power bassist, whose muted playing style made him one of the funkiest musicians of all time, leaves us.

THE DEAN GENIUS

Metal monsters Destruction return with a new live album. We meet frontman Marcel ‘Schmier’ Schirmer for a chat about the album he recorded by mistake...

PICKUPS EXPLAINED

Dan Veall closes this issue with a guide to those wiry pickup units

THE LAW OF LEE

The Texan trio Khruangbin is unlike almost any other band we know. Jamie Dickson asks bassist Laura Lee to explain...

PEARLS of WISDOM

Jeff Ament of Pearl Jam returns with a solo project, American Death Squad, and advice that applies to all of us.

TOP OF THE LAKE

Matthew Leone of Madina Lake recalls his way into bass

PASS NOTES

Lindsay Manfredi of Cold brings us essential survival advice, for life in general as much as related to bass playing

ICONIC

Jazz maestro Christian McBride looks back at his storied career

I SPY… THREE-NOTE SEQUENCES

Hey there, bass players! Welcome back to our game of ‘I Spy’. Let’s take a moment to recall the rules. In this game, our goal is to refine the most essential tool in our musical arsenal: Our ears. By highlighting a particular theme and attempting to spy it on a record, we’re actively listening for something that lies beneath the surface of the songs that we love. Our goal is to draw attention to it, to call it by its name, and to recognize it in its natural habitat.

FAIR GAME

Dave Pegg of Fairport Convention has been a leading light of the British folk-rock movement for half a century. Sessions with troubadours such as Nick Drake, Sandy Denny, and John Martyn cemented his reputation over the years, with a 15-year stint in Jethro Tull a particular influence on a generation of American bassists. One of these is our guest writer Steve Di Giorgio, currently playing bass with thrash metal heavyweights Testament, who interviewed Pegg for us in an unlikely, but productive, collision of two very different worlds...

BITE Roxanne

Austrian luthiers Bite have a novel approach to bass-building, driven by the customer. We test out the company’s Roxanne P-Bass...

WIRELESS TRANSMITTERS EXPLAINED

Dan Veall closes this issue with a guide to how to unplug and play