Bass of Tomorrow

We can think of a few string manufacturers who claim to make the best-sounding products in the world. Dr Jonathan Kemp doesn’t just make that claim—he can prove it, too. Hywel Davies is blinded with science...

PASS NOTES: ASHLEY REEVE

Welcome to Pass Notes, our new advice column, in which we ask a renowned bass player for tips about how to make it as a musician. This month: Cher bassist Ashley Reeve

IT WAS FORTY YEARS AGO TODAY...

...that Mark King’s flying thumb first blew our minds and, in doing so, opened up a whole new era for the bass guitar. As Level 42 celebrate their fourth decade in business, we sit down with King and take a look back—with the benefit of 2020 vision

MARLEAUX Contra

A four-string beauty from Gerald Marleaux falls into the hands of Mike Brooks

THIS GOES TO TWELVE

Idaho-resident bassist Mark Rowe owns what is thought to be the world’s largest collection of 12-string basses. We meet him for a chat about the thang behind the twang...

LOW LIFE

Nail your preparation with Tax The Heat bassist and BIMM UK Live Performance tutor Antonio Angotti

HARTKE LX8500

The new big box from the esteemed amp-makers Hartke arrives on Stuart Clayton’s desk. Cover your ears, he advises

Enter Sandbergman

Swedish bassist Victor Brandt is a veteran of Scandinavian metal—so it’s about time he got his own suitably heavyweight signature axe. We meet the metal maestro

BEHIND THE WALL OF SOUND

You think you know who the late, great Ian ‘Lemmy’ Kilmister of Motörhead was? We thought so too, until we met the singer songwriter Lynda Kay, who reveals a tender side to the great man that we never knew existed

Royal Rumble

Gibson’s head of Product Development, Mat Koehler, and Fender historian, Terry Foster, explain how the two industry titans battled it out over the electric bass in the early days—and changed the course of popular music in the process…

TRICKFISH Bullhead 1K Amp and TF-112 Cabinet

There’s a new kid on the amplification block and it’s making serious waves. Mike Brooks takes a dip with the Trickfish

Wedding Rites

My Dying Bride play heavy—but ‘romantic’—metal. Lena Abé is tasked with delivering the lowest of the low end, she tells us...

Immediate Lee

The great Lee Sklar, veteran of literally countless sessions, returns with a new project, the Immediate Family. “I’m your gardener!” he tells us...

HAMSTEAD Subspace Intergalactic Driver

Ready to go Intergalactic? The Editor readies his (moon) boot

STONE UNTURNED

Is there a bigger band on the planet in terms of cultural impact, commercial stature, and sheer heritage than the Rolling Stones? Darryl Jones looks back at the path that led him to the very, very top

DARKGLASS Microtubes X Ultra

The latest pedal from Darkglass is another mighty Microtubes. Let’s rock, suggests Brooks

IBANEZ SR2405W-BTL

Mike Brooks gets up close and personal with this sensibly-priced head-turner

BASS OF TOMORROW

GHS Strings have helped to shape the sound of the world’s bass players since 1964. Hywel Davies asks Jon Moody, one of the company’s top minds, what the future holds

ASHDOWN Grail and Saint

Amp-makers Ashdown step into bass guitar world, with this Dan Lakin-designed range of workhorse instruments. Phil Mann steps up for a test

Strictly For The Birds

Lloyd Wood of Welsh rockers Those Damn Crows talks starting bands and his love of the lower register

WILCOCK Mullarkey

Short-scale loveliness from the workshop of Viv Wilcock, whose instruments are creating a buzz. Mike Brooks assesses the goods

Two Up

With her new album, 02022020, Ida Nielsen reveals a new composing direction

Morbid Tales

David Vincent—the man behind the bass and/or vocals in Vltimas, I Am Morbid, and solo projects—has spent his career among the low frequencies. Here he explains how it all came to pass...

RICKENBACKER Al Cisneros 4003 AC

Sleep and OM bassist Al Cisneros is the latest of a very short list of bassists to get his own signature Rickenbacker. Do we want to review it, they asked? Not only does the Editor say yes, he doesn’t want to give it back afterwards...

Read And Learn

Most successful bassists learn to read music and then build a career, but not the esteemed Michael Mondesir. He’s played with a huge list of musicians, from Jeff Beck, to Ginger Baker, Neneh Cherry, and Bill Bruford. All bassists should read this!

Goods Times

Bassist and bandleader Richie Goods has played with a stellar cast of stars including Alicia Keys, Common, Whitney Houston, Lenny White, Christina Aguilera, and many others. Here, the prolific musician returns with a new album, My Left Hand Man, in honour of his late mentor, pianist Mulgrew Miller

DAYS OF OUR LIVES

What’s more punk than playing the biggest arenas in the world, giving your new album a frankly unprintable title and playing a bass with an ancient shape? Nothing, that’s what. We know because we asked Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt...

Finnish Lines

Solo bassist Kristiine Silinja reminds us that there’s no such thing as ‘you cannot’...

BASS OF TOMORROW

Only the best is good enough—even after 51 years, as amp mastermind Robert Gallien of Gallien-Krueger tells us

WILD BILL

With more bands under his belt than we’ve eaten backstage ramen, the mighty Billy Sheehan is nothing less than a king in our world. We meet the great man as he delivers yet another sterling performance on Sons Of Apollo’s new album, MMXX