July 2022

Bass Player

Dig Deeper

Bass Player1 min read
Bass Player US
Editor Joel McIver, joel.mciver@futurenet.com Art Editors Rosie Webber, Mixie Von Bormann, Philip Cheesbrough, Mark White Managing Editor Stan Bull Technical Consultant Stuart Clayton Content Director, Music Scott Rowley Group Art Director Graham Dal
Bass Player2 min read
Learn With Stu
The mighty Stuart Hamm, one of the most creative bassists ever to stalk a stage, has announced a new online study program. “With great innovation, we’re calling it the Stu Hamm Electric Bass Online Course,” laughs Hamm when we call him for the inside
Bass Player1 min read
’Pool House
Paul McCartney’s Liverpool home at 20 Forthlin Road is set to become a songwriting location for unsigned artists. The plan is to open up the house, where he lived between 1955 and stardom in the early Sixties, as an inspiration for musicians. The For
Bass Player1 min readMusic
Tony Tones
The mighty Tony Levin, a hero in our community, has announced a new, limited-edition EP release from his trio, Stick Men. Their first release in six years, the TentaclesEP has 30 minutes of new music and features the acclaimed line-up of Levin on Cha
Bass Player1 min read
What Does It Mean To Be Truly Progressive? Tell Us, Mr. Squire.
When Yes bassist Chris Squire died aged 67 in 2015, it took the bass community aback. Sure, Squire had made his name with recordings from close to half a century before his passing, but there was a sense with everything that he did that he was nowher
Bass Player1 min read
Modern Times
A new Kiesel bass, the MJ—or Modern Jazz—has been added to the brand’s JB series. The pickguard is absent, giving the top woods an airing, and the luthiers add: “Other changes to modernize the bass include a tasteful top bevel for aesthetics and comf
Bass Player1 min read
Krist Returns
Kim Thayil, his Soundgarden bandmate and Pearl Jam drummer Matt Cameron and Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic have formed a new supergroup, 3rd Secret. The band also features Bubba Dupree, guitarist for D.C. hardcore vets Void and Cameron side-project Hater,
Bass Player2 min read
IN THE Groove
By the mid-Eighties, the Bangles stood atop the pop-rock pantheon, and it was Different Light that pushed them right up there. No fewer than five singles were taken from the LP, including the Prince-penned ‘Manic Monday’ and the record that launched
Bass Player1 min read
Norm Stockton
Versatile bass maestro Norm Stockton has worked with a wide range of artists over his multi-decade career. He is equally adept at working with American Idol star Clark Beckham as he is in the field of smooth jazz-funk with Steve Laury of Fattburger.
Bass Player4 min read
The Albums That Made Me
“Sushi is sort of a recurring theme with me. I’m half Japanese, born and raised in Japan, so it’s close to my heart. What was really exciting about this for me was that it was the first project I ever did as a leader where it was all tracked live. Th
Bass Player2 min read
I Was There!
Good times, bad times: Jerry Barnes reports on the recent Concert For Ukraine and sad events in Colombia On March 29, the perennial disco masters Chic shone brightly at the Concert For Ukraine, a benefit concert held in Birmingham, England and headl
Bass Player2 min read
Find A Balance
Welcome back to our live performance corner, bassists! I’ve spoken previously in this column about how to use stagecraft in order to move away from being static performers—but what we rarely focus on is performers going too far the other way; bassist
Bass Player2 min read
A Sticky Subject
Having been a regular trade-show exhibitor for close to 30 years, I’ve met a lot of aspiring guitar builders. Some are dedicated hobbyists, while others are aspiring professionals, and still others can only be accurately classified as dreamers. But h
Bass Player2 min read
Master Ascending Diminished Chords
We’ve covered a common use of diminished chords in recent columns—those which occur on any of the chord tones of a diminished chord built on the tonic. This month, let’s look at an equally common example: that of chromatically ascending diminished ch
Bass Player9 min read
The Fisher King
Bass players with dazzling technique and a tone that leaps from the stage—or, as is more likely, from your laptop speakers—are commonplace these days, fortunately for us. We at BPlove a thuddy Motown bass part as much as the next James Jamerson fan,
Bass Player1 min read
Thumbs Up
Chris Squire occasionally played fingerstyle, but he preferred to use a Herco heavy-gauge pick, hitting his strings either in front of or behind his bridge pickup, according to the tone he was seeking. The clever bit that makes his picking unique was
Bass Player7 min read
Play The Squire Way
The classic Chris Squire bass tone is best described as ‘clanky’, ‘clacky’, ‘brittle’, ‘hollow’ and so on, but rather than deciphering endless adjectives it’s probably best to listen to ‘Roundabout’ and marvel at its prominent, treble-loaded tone, de
Bass Player10 min read
Hamish Stuart Meets Lorna Thomas
HAMISH STUART needs little introduction to the readers of Bass Player. He first came to prominence with the Average White Band, whose 1974 hit ‘Pick Up The Pieces’ you know even if you think you don’t. After the AWB folded in 1983, he worked for six
Bass Player3 min read
Kentucky Notes
Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Holly Montgomery first picked up the bass at the age of 14 and later moved to Los Angeles, where she blossomed as a songwriter and versatile hired gun, playing bass for country band The Mustangs, the folk singer Dan Be
Bass Player12 min read
Every Man
he Chilean bassist Roberto ‘Ra’ Díaz is an early riser, taking a call with Bass Player at 9am his time while on tour with Korn, whose bassist Reggie ‘Fieldy’ Arvizu he’s replacing while that musician takes a break from life on the road. In a circular
Bass Player3 min read
Turn The Page
Bassist and educator Joanna Smith has been dedicated to her instrument since an early age, she tells us. Raised in upstate New York, she progressed from piano to double bass at the tender age of 10. The mind boggles at the thought of a 10-year-old at
Bass Player8 min read
Studio talk
There’s no avoiding it: As you approach the most famous address in British rock music—3 Abbey Road in St. John’s Wood, London—you have to take a selfie of yourself posing on the zebra crossing (or ‘marked crosswalk’, if you prefer) just outside. Yes,
Bass Player1 min read
Road House
“It’s a home from home as far as studios go. The people are so nice and so accommodating, and the engineers are so trained and ready to do whatever you need. That’s one of the things that makes it memorable. I work a lot out of the Power Station in N
Bass Player5 min read
Incoming
TŪRANGA I picked up the bass in 2020 when Alien Weaponry asked me to audition for them. It probably sounds whack that they asked me to audition when I had no bass experience, but I’ve been a guitar player for 11 years and a piano player for 16 years.
Bass Player4 min read
Perseverance Pays
Brooklyn art-punks Gustaf have paid their dues, channeling more energy and time into their debut album, Audio Drag For Ego Slobs—its title adapted from a quote by singer Laurie Anderson—than most bands ever do. The quintet, formed of singer Lydia Gam
Bass Player1 min read
GEAR Reviews
Behold our world-beating bass gear review section, where we bring you the crop of each month’s new, interesting or otherwise relevant bass guitars, bass amplifiers, bass cabs, and bass effects. Occasionally we’ll review a guitar effect if it’s useful
Bass Player3 min read
SPECTOR NS Dimension 4SFB
SPECTOR www.spectorbass.com $2099 he Dimension is the second of two new basses from Spector released last year, the first being the Ethos. Both are made in Korea and share a similar body shape and through-neck construction. We were particularly imp
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Technical Specification
Price| $2099.99 Made in| Korea Body| Maple, burl poplar top Neck| Five-piece maple/wenge, 34”-36” scale Neck join| Through-neck Fingerboard| Wenge, 24 frets Pickups| 2 x Fishman Fluence Electronics| Fishman Fluence active preamp Controls| Vol
Bass Player1 min read
Technical Specification
Price| $999 Made in| China Power| 400w RMS at 8 ohms or 800w RMS at 4 ohms Speakers| 2 x 10” Eminence plus switchable compression driver Features| Wi-Fi and Bluetooth-enabled 800w at 4ohm Class D power amp, Gain, Bass, Middle, Treble, Master cont
Bass Player4 min read
BECOS CIQ5 CompIQ Pro Stella Compressor
GEAR HERO www.gearhero.com $469 Compressor pedals for bass tend to fall between two camps: The basic type that squashes your sound in a really obvious way and is way more of an ‘effect’ than a tool, and the more fully-featured tone-shaping variet
Bass Player3 min read
FENDER Rumble Stage 800
FENDER www.fender.com $999 A lthough the Fender Rumble Stage 800 has been available for a few years now, it’s still right at the forefront of bass amp technology. You might think that the popularity of these amps is due purely to the name on the
Bass Player1 min read
Technical Specification
RRP | $469 Made In | Romania Features | Ratio, Threshold, Attack, Gain, X-EQ, Release pots, Knee, SCF, Knee Pivot, Timing switches, Wet/Dry, Saturation and Level rotary controls, balanced output Dimensions | 4.4” x 2.7” x 2” Power | 9-12v DC Wei
Bass Player2 min read
Bass Lessons
Ryan Madora is one of Nashville’s most sought-after touring and session bassists. Recent touring and session credits include Robben Ford, Kyshona Armstrong, and her instrumental trio, The Interludes. For the past five years, she has served as musical
Bass Player2 min read
BP Notation Legend
The Stave: Most music written for the bass guitar uses the bass clef. The example to the right shows the placement of the notes on the stave. Tablature: This is a graphical representation of the music. Each horizontal line corresponds with a string
Bass Player4 min readMusic
Add Funk To Your Bass-lines
Hey there, bass players! I’m doing the beginners’ lesson this month, so let’s take a look at some useful pattern exploration that will serve you well as you move along your bass journey. If you studied last month’s instalment of my I Spy column, you’
Bass Player6 min read
Odd Time Groupings
Hello! Hope you don’t mind me popping my head in here for this month, but the invitation to offer some intermediate wisdom was a little too tempting! What we’re going to be exploring this month is grouping notes in three and five while still playing
Bass Player4 min read
Explore Chord Tones
The role of chord tones isn’t something to be taken lightly by any musician. Although it’s possible to deliberate over a vast array of components in the melodic portrayal of chord progressions, it’s always the notes within the associated triads and a
Bass Player1 min read
If You Only Practise One Thing This Month…
It’s important to understand that all melodic structures are fashioned from formulas which you can learn by rote: The notes produced are merely the result of these constructions. If you only have time to practise one thing this month, ensure that you
Bass Player3 min read
Boss Oc-2 Octave Pedal
The Boss OC-2 Octave pedal is an all-analog pedal that produces one tone an octave below the note you’re playing and a second tone an octave below that. With just three dials setting the levels, one for each sound—including the direct bass sound—a wi

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