IN THE Groove

WELCOME

This is the last print issue of BP. We’re not finished yet, though...

SONGS FOR JACK

The great Jeff Berlin releases a starstudded Jack Bruce tribute album

Lucky Jim

The great Haslip returns.

Five Up

A new bass arrives from Modern Vintage.

SHAKEN...

...but not stirred, says the great Martinie

ACID DAZE

Les Claypool remembers a particularly lysergic show from the early days of Primus.

Eric Bass, Shinedown

What better way for this page to go out than by interviewing a bassist of this name?

The invention of the double bass, circa 1575

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

FESTIVAL ESSENTIALS

Be ready for the big stages

THE GOLDEN AGE OF BASS

Rob Elrick avoids nostalgia

KEY THEORY POINTS TO REMEMBER

Nik Preston takes us through three ways to

Goodbye Print, Hello Online

Thirty-two years and 427 issues since its launch, Bass Player is going online. We’ll miss the print magazine, but we’re excited about our future...

1985 CALLING

Billy Sheehan returns with a new Talas album in time for our last print mag. You may recall that he was the star of BP’s very first issue in 1990. Don’t you love it when the wheel comes full circle?

SNAKE EYES

Tanya O’Callaghan is Whitesnake’s new bass player, and for her, the mission is just beginning. Let’s hear what lies ahead...

SPIRIT OF 75

Ross MacDonald of The 1975 never takes the predictable route. “We’re all about love and connection,” he tells us.

POLE STAR

Behemoth bassist Tomasz ‘Orion’ Wróblewski may look a touch intimidating, but behind the grimness he’s all smiles. You would be too, if you had not one but two signature basses to play with.

SCREEN GEM

Actor Gary Sinise, who you know from Forrest Gump and Apollo 13, is also a bass player, a philanthropist, and the man behind a foundation that has raised vast sums of money for military veterans and their families. “I was just an actor who picked up the bass,” he says.

HEAD DOWN

Oakland metallers Machine Head return with a monstrous new album full of huge bass parts. How does Jared MacEachern pull it off, time after time?

J-LOW NOTES

Megadeth’s new bassist James Lomenzo is also their old bassist. Confused? Let the man himself explain....

GEAR Reviews

Welcome to our expert road-tests of state-of-the-art bass gear

GIBSON Rex Brown Signature Thunderbird

Pantera’s smokin’ bassist gets a T-Bird with his name on it. Our editor pours a Black Tooth Grin and plugs in. www.gibson.com £2499

American Ultra Precision

Fender launches its “most advanced” P-Bass ever. Joel McIver tests that claim...

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

CONNECTIVITY! PART TWO

Hey there, bass players! Welcome back to our

LOOKING BACK... AND FORWARD

Beginners Lesson The great Steve Lawson signs off

DIMINISHED CHORD TYPES EXPLAINED

Intermediate Lesson Phil Mann is a stage and

AS IT WAS IN THE BEGINNING...

Advanced Lesson Stuart Clayton is a teacher, publisher,

ACTIVE PICKUPS

To boost or not to boost? asks Dan