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1 week ago | 
guitarworld.com | Nick Wells
They swore. They drank. They wrote songs about decaying flesh. Straight out of the blocks, Slipknot had all the measures in place to guarantee the outrage of Iowa's retirement homes. Fusing the bile of punk with the brutality of thrash, they recruited the cream of the town’s underground metal scene, slackening their guitar tunings down to drop B, and dabbling with a series of leather masks, ranging from a bloodstained clown to a chap with nails sticking out of his head.
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1 week ago | 
guitarworld.com | Nick Wells
Somehow both no-nonsense bloke and consummate showman, Steve Harris has become a master of role-play in his 50 years living heavy metal. Bassist, lyricist, businessman, rock star, athlete, and family man – he is all these and more. Of course, he is known mostly for one especially grand role: father of metal's most beloved group Iron Maiden. Among bassists, Harris distinguished himself as one of rock's most intense performers, ably contributing to our technical playbook.
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1 month ago | 
guitarworld.com | Nick Wells
Channelling punk, jazz and classical influences, Scott Thunes is an enigma of modern bass-playing history and blazed a unique trail in creating his own spiky playing style. Yet his cult status is based on his controversial tenure with Frank Zappa, which ended with him quitting music altogether.
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1 month ago | 
guitarworld.com | Nick Wells
When is a bass player not a bass player? When she's a ‘female bass player’, a term which makes great bassists like Tina Weymouth, Melissa Auf Der Maur, Kim Deal, Kim Gordon, Gail Ann Dorsey, and recent Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee Carol Kaye roll their eyes in despair.
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1 month ago | 
guitarworld.com | Nick Wells
Bassists may not be too familiar with the Cort brand name, but it’s odds on that you've already played on a guitar or two built by this Indonesia-based company. As well as its own range, Cort also manufactures for other brands. In fact, it seems that almost every big American guitar maker that has expanded its range with a Far East-built line has used Cort’s considerable resources at some point.
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1 month ago | 
guitarworld.com | Nick Wells
The “Muscle Shoals sound,” a drum-and-bass-heavy blend of soul, pop, and rock, defined the Golden Age of Southern R&B. As the creators of that sound, studio strongmen David Hood, drummer Roger Hawkins, and the rest of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section (nicknamed the Swampers) provided the backbone for a succession of hits from soul acts like Wilson Pickett, and the Staple Singers, as well as groove-loving rockers like Boz Scaggs, Bob Seger, and Jimmy Buffett.
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1 month ago | 
guitarworld.com | Nick Wells
You could be forgiven for bracketing Mike Inez as a rock bassist for hire. After all, he’s tackled the low-end with Ozzy Osbourne, and Alice in Chains, as well as featuring on albums by rock greats such as Black Label Society, and Motörhead. “I really got to refine my style by virtue of playing with so many different artists,” Inez told Bass Player.
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2 months ago | 
guitarworld.com | Nick Wells
As sideman, bandleader or composer, Jaco Pastorius is one of those rare players who can legitimately be said to have revolutionized their instrument. With his lyrical, melodic fretless work, growling fingerstyle 16th note playing and jaw dropping harmonics Jaco had total control of the bass guitar, and a charisma and stagecraft that would put many rockers to shame.
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2 months ago | 
guitarworld.com | Nick Wells
Though not known so much as a bass player, Prince's basslines on such classics as Let's Work and the Time's 777-9311 proved that he was as accomplished on the bass guitar as he was on the myriad other instruments he played. An avowed disciple of Larry Graham, Prince kept things funky with ghost-notes, vibrato, and plenty of Graham-esque slap work. “He's a phenomenal bassist – he plays from the heart,” Rhonda Smith told Bass Player backin 2014.
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2 months ago | 
guitarworld.com | Nick Wells
Though not known so much as a bass player, Prince's basslines on such classics as Let's Work and the Time's 777-9311 proved that he was as accomplished on the bass guitar as he was on the myriad other instruments he played. An avowed disciple of Larry Graham, Prince kept things funky with ghost-notes, vibrato, and plenty of Graham-esque slap work. “He's a phenomenal bassist – he plays from the heart,” Rhonda Smith told Bass Player backin 2014.
