Forget everything you think you know about the role of the bassist.

W e bass players pride ourselves on being

THE Lowdown

News and views from the bass world, collated by BP's team of newshounds

VOTE NOW!

Who’s the greatest bass player of all time? You decide!

NEW ASSUME NOTHING COLUMN LAUNCHES IN BP

Say hello to our new columnist, Chloe Peacock

THE Lowdown

Hey Joe New Ernie Ball Music Man Joe

SPEAKING FRANKLY

New memoir incoming from Anthrax bassist Frank Bello

IN THE Groove

MADONNA : THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION (SIRE, 1990)

Tony Levin

Getty Tony Levin’s stellar career in progressive rock,

Three decades ago, Metallica released the biggest metal album of all time...

I WAS THERE!  A historic moment in bass world – recalled by those who were there to see it

RETURNING TO THE CROWDS

Let’s manage our performance mindset, says Antonio

COMPOUND RADIUS

What the heck is this all about? Explain please, Rob

USING ALTERED SCALES OVER DOMINANT CHORDS

Nik Preston takes us through three ways to exploit this useful theory

THE FUTURE IS HERE

Let’s meet them!

DAVIE504

Over nine million subscribers tune in to Davide Biale, known to all as Davie504, on YouTube. He’s a phenomenal bass player, with a sharp sense of humour that gives his videos an edge. In a rare interview, he tells us about his life before the internet came calling

BLU DETIGER

New York bassist, songwriter and DJ Blu DeTiger’s profile has gone stratospheric over the last year or two. We find out why it happened, and what it feels like

DARRELL FREEMAN

A seasoned session player who has embraced the online medium and built a fanbase devoted to his “electric versus synth bass” videos, Darrell ‘The Real Free’ Freeman explains how it all gets done

CHARLES BERTHOUD

YouTube sensation Charles Berthoud reveals that it’s not all about the numbers

APRIL KAE

Influencer, model, activist and highly trained bass player April Kae is out to change the world. We salute her mission

TUBE TALES

Want some more? Check out these ‘primarily-online’ bassists

TREVOR BOLDER

In every issue, we dig into the vaults to bring you an interview with a bass great. This month it’s the late Trevor Bolder, once of David Bowie’s band the Spiders From Mars, and in 2004 when we met him, enjoying a long career with Uriah Heep. He passed away in 2013 at the age of 62: rest in peace, Trevor

MO FOSTER

From session bassist to composer, producer to author, over the last five decades Mo Foster has occupied a seminal position among session musicians. But how do you even begin to quantify a 50-year career with Gerry Rafferty, Jeff Beck, Phil Collins, Eric Clapton, Frida Lyngstad of ABBA, Ringo Starr, Van Morrison, Joan Armatrading and many more?

STUART HAMM MEETS ARIANE CAP

Every now and then, we get a couple of great bass players together to do our hard work and interview each other about their lives at the low end. This month, the great Stuart Hamm breaks bread with the equally great Ariane Cap, both state-of-the-art educators and practitioners of solo bass

COSMIC NOTES

Angeline Saris on the thinking behind her approach to bass

CHARVEL Pro-Mod San Dimas PJ IV and JJ V

Let’s revisit the  Eighties, says our  Editor, putting on  his Ray-Bans

SPECTOR NS Ethos 4SFB

Kev Sanders takes a close look at Spector’s smart new NS Ethos

NEURAL DSP Quad Cortex

Tom Bowlus plugs into the Matrix to explore the Neural DSP Quad Cortex

LANEY

Laney Digbeth DB500H Amp, DBV212-4 Cabinet

Bass Lessons

Making you a better bass player in every issue, our state-of-the-art team of educators will guide you every step of the way. Say hello to them here!

BP Notat on Legend

The following is a guide to the notation symbols and terminology used in Bass Player magazine

SEVENTH CHORDS: MIXING AND MATCHING

Nashville-based session and stage bassist Ryan Madora is

LEARN THE NOTES ON THE NECK

The great Steve Lawson brings us a new

THE MELODIC MINOR EXPLORED

H ello again! Being able to understand and

LEARN TO PLAY LIKE MARK KING

Ace bass educator Stuart Clayton guides us to

A BRIDGE TOO FAR?

Part One of our search for the perfect bridge