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DARK SECRETS: 4 | Rare Historical Photos

“When I was growing up, everyone said, ‘Oh, bass is just a second guitar.’ Bull! It's an art, man!” How Matt Freeman became one of punk’s most iconic bassists – bringing bass solos, jazz band and Carole King to Rancid

The Rancid bassist talks picking technique, chasing vintage tones, and channeling John Entwistle

Guitar World

“We hit the stage, and there’s Paul McCartney. He looks at me and he says, ‘Hey, Duff’. All I can think is, ‘Paul McCartney knows my name. How the hell did that happen?!’” Duff McKagan recalls his real-life Spinal Tap moment and meeting his heroes

The Guns N' Roses bassist on meeting Sir Paul McCartney, and a life-changing encounter with Prince

Guitar World

“Live, I like to mostly play on the E and the A strings. I could pretty easily get away with playing a two-stringed bass”: How bassist Dave ‘Phoenix’ Farrell found his sound with Linkin Park

Alternating between using a pick and his fingers on a StingRay and a P-Bass, Farrell tailored his bass tone to cut through the center of nu-metal

Guitar World

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“My dad called me a ‘rhythm bassist’, but all he taught me was a power chord and an AC/DC drum beat”: Wolfgang Van Halen on calling the shots in rock’s royal family

He isn’t just Eddie’s kid – Wolfgang Van Halen is a talented bass player with his own style

Guitar World

“A lot of guitar players switch to bass, but I feel like I was born a bass player – it’s in my bones”: Weezer’s Scott Shriner shares his bass tone secrets

For Scott Shriner, letting loose and taking risks – including singing and playing floor pedals – is all part of the journey

Guitar World

“Jaco was Joni’s liberator, but she wanted the bass to play a greater part in holding down the groove”: Larry Klein on how he handled the challenge of replacing Jaco Pastorius in Joni Mitchell’s band

The session ace-turned producer began working with Mitchell in 1981, soon after her last album with the “world’s greatest bass player”

Guitar World

“I got a call from Glenn Frey. I just said. ‘Where do I sign?’ Here they were asking me to join The Eagles without playing one lick of music with them”: Timothy B. Schmidt joined The Eagles at the height of Hotel California – and didn't even audition

From Poco to Toto, Steely Dan to Spinal Tap, Timothy B. Schmidt has logged endless road miles and studio hours – and then there’s his main gig...

Guitar World

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“The bass isn’t looked at as a ‘cool instrument’. It’s always seen as the ‘backbone’ of a band. I think I’m trying to shed new light on it”: Blu DeTiger on how she's changing people’s perception of bass players

With her newly released signature guitar with Fender, DeTiger shares her vision for redefining the bass as a leading instrument

Guitar World

“Herbie Flowers was supposed to do the date, but he couldn't make it. So Bowie said to me, ‘You'll have to play bass’”: Trevor Bolder speaks out on his storied history with David Bowie

How could anyone who played bass on Ziggy Stardust not be a rock legend?

Guitar World

“I'm continuing in directions I established in the Grateful Dead, but I was never satisfied with my studio work – this band has surpassed my wildest dreams”: When bass icon Phil Lesh went in search of a new sound

The late Grateful Dead anchor made his debut solo effort alongside guitarist Warren Haynes and lyricist Robert Hunter

Guitar World

“l’d been listening to Jamerson for some time, but this was staggering”: Inside James Jamerson’s 10 seminal “B-Sides”

Anthony Jackson and James Jamerson Jr reveal the hidden secrets of Motown’s multi-track recordings

Guitar World

“Trent Reznor asked, ‘Who wants Justin in the band?’ And they all raised their hands. A few days later, I was digging into the setlist for a world tour”: How Beck’s longtime bassist scored his spot in Nine Inch Nails

Back in 2008, Justin Meldal-Johnsen was launched from his role as Beck’s musical director onto a Nine Inch Nails world tour

Guitar World

“There was one gig where Eric and I stopped playing for two choruses. Jack didn’t even know”: Cream were one of the loudest rock bands of their time – but the excessive volume tore the band apart

During Cream's late '60s heyday, and again during their brief reunion in 2005, drummer Ginger Baker felt that both his – and even Eric Clapton's – contributions were often drowned out by bandmate Jack Bruce's

Guitar World

“When you played with John Lennon, you could feel him listening to you. He didn't bother or bug you at all”: Unsung ’70s session bass ace Gordon Edwards recalls his time with John Lennon on his fourth post-Beatles album

A close connection with John Lennon's musical arranger put Gordon Edwards in the studio for 1973’s Mind Games

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“I didn't want to record a famous Jaco song, but Gil Goldstein found this tape for me – it was Jaco playing piano”: How Richard Bona found a rare Pastorius tune for his Brazilian-inspired solo album

Bass worshippers will need to listen between the layers to catch the bottom-end brilliance of Bona’s Jaco tribute

Guitar World

“I was just looking for a story to tell the grandkids. It was Flea who said that I might get the gig”: Jane’s Addiction bassist Eric Avery recalls his 2003 audition for Metallica

After surviving Jane’s Addiction and touring with Alanis Morissette, Eric Avery was granted an audition with metal giants Metallica

Guitar World

“Everyone I've ever met that I worshipped has been a disappointment, so I want to keep him as my hero”: Geezer Butler names his favorite bassist of all time

His basslines with Black Sabbath are iconic, but Geezer Butler’s still a fan with his own four-string idols

Guitar World

“It’s sloppy and out of tune, but it seems to benefit the track”: How Ryan Martinie redefined metal bass playing for a new generation with Mudvayne

Ryan Martinie stepped out as a 21st-century bass hero on Mudvayne’s The End of All Things to Come

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Guitar World

“There were no fret markers on it, so all I could do was try to keep a straight face and guess!” Fretted, fretless, double bass, eight-string – Sting is unstoppable on bass. Here’s how he developed his style

Songwriter, actor, author, activist, rock star, jazz freak... Gordon 'Sting’ Sumner is quite the renaissance man. Oh, and he played bass in The Police…

Guitar World

“Everywhere I go someone knows my name because of that bass solo. It’s not like with Michael Jackson – I don’t get mobbed – but I am famous”: How Willie Weeks' unbelievable solo on Donny Hathaway's 1972 Live album made him a bass legend

After being introduced as “the baddest bass player in the country,” Willie Weeks kicked off his now iconic solo

Guitar World

“Andy’s passing left us all absolutely devastated. I’ve been wanting to celebrate his life and contribution to music”: The Smiths drummer Mike Joyce launches Crowdfunder for Andy Rourke tribute mural

The campaign will finance a mural of the band's late bass player in Manchester, UK, with some of the proceeds also set to go to charity

Guitar World

“I’m sick of people saying Walk On the Wild Side is a classic. I got paid £12, and David Bowie didn’t even show up”: Session bass legend Herbie Flowers on the making of Lou Reed’s 1972 hit – and the hardest session he ever did

Having recorded over 20,000 sessions for the likes of David Bowie, Dusty Springfield, T.Rex, Paul McCartney and Elton John, Brian ‘Herbie’ Flowers was not your average bassist

Guitar World

“I couldn’t work with John Lennon and Paul McCartney. I’d end up being beaten to death”: When we locked horns with Lemmy to talk Motörhead, Marshalls and why he wouldn’t fit in with one of his favorite bands

In a world full of rock ’n’ roll poseurs, Motörhead's hard-living bassist, Lemmy Kilmister, was a true original

Guitar World

“I wrote that bassline when I was 16. I saw this dude slapping the hell out of a bass at a music store – the tumblers clicked in my head. I took a bus home, picked up my bass, and I was doing it!” Fishbone’s Norwood Fisher names his 10 best basslines

The most iconic bass riffs in Fishbone’s catalog, according to Norwood Fisher himself

Guitar World

“I didn’t know Corgan, but I knew he wasn’t the easiest person to work with. I thought, ‘This isn’t going to last but it’ll be interesting’”: Jane’s Addiction’s Eric Avery on his brief stint with the Smashing Pumpkins and what he learned from Billy Corgan

Avery briefly worked with Corgan on what would later become the Pumpkins’ seventh album, Zeitgeist

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