Bass Player April 2022

When the Red Hot Chili Peppers, heroes in our world for decades, announced recently that their new studio album would be called Unlimited Love, it gave me pause for thought. We are, after all, coming out (we hope) of the worst episode in public health in a very long time: Is 2022 really the year that we should be suggesting that love is the solution to all our problems? Having spent a long time in conversation with RHCP bassist Flea for this issue of BP, though, I now understand the message more clearly. Love for our chosen instrument, love for his band-mates, love for music: If these are at the core of our worldview, as they are for him, then we will be more tolerant, kinder people who are better…

Bass wizard Stephen ‘Thundercat’ Bruner has made his acting debut in the Star Wars spinoff series, The Book Of Boba Fett. He appeared in The Gathering Storm, the fourth episode of the series which premiered on Disney+ on December 29, portraying a body modification artist with a robot hand. It’s unclear as yet whether Thundercat will appear in any future episodes of the show. As we’re told, The Book Of Boba Fett finds Fett and mercenary Fennec Shand “navigating the Galaxy’s underworld when they return to the sands of Tatooine to stake their claim on the territory once ruled by Jabba the Hutt and his crime syndicate.” A perfect setting for Thundercat, who addressed cosmic matters in last year’s BPcover feature. “Bass carries a lot of weight, literally and figuratively,”…

The new X4 Nanobass, according to its makers Phil Jones Bass, is the most compact and portable combo amplifier ever designed. As they tell us, “It is a highly efficient mini-engineering marvel—a 35-watt amplifier with a 4” speaker and three-band EQ that not only rocks with bass, but will also provide dazzling tone for other instruments including guitar, ukulele, violin, and electronic drums.” The new unit has a street price of $359.99, and will be reviewed in these pages as soon as we get hold of one.…

Martin Wind’s new album, Air, available via Laika Records, features four bassists—Wind, Gregg August, Jordan Frazier, and Sam Suggs—playing music by Bach, the Beatles, Joe Zawinul, Charlie Haden, and more. “I consider them the A-Team for this kind of project,” says Wind. “Thanks to their versatility and perfect bowing technique, I was able to explore the immense tonal possibilities of the instrument, as well as the entire scope between classical, rock, and jazz.”…

The frontman and bassist for the cult Welsh rock band Budgie, Burke Shelley, died aged 71 on January 10. Born in Cardiff, Wales in 1950, he was introduced to the world of guitar with the arrival of the Beatles in the Sixties—a musical exposure that convinced Shelley to ask his father for his first instrument. In 1967, Shelley—who by this time had already authored a number of songs, including Budgie’s ‘Parents’, which he wrote when he was 16—met Dave Edmunds, who was part of musical trio Love Sculpture. It was during this transformative year that Shelley decided to pursue a full-time music career. Switching to bass, Shelley recruited drummer Ray Phillips and guitarists Kevin Newton and Brian Goddard for Budgie’s first official lineup, though the swift departure of Newton and…

The days when an affordable instrument came with shoddy parts seem to be behind us Although Fender have launched several variants on the venerable Precision and Jazz format in recent years, we’re particularly keen on two new Squier basses, the 40th Anniversary models. These are available for $599.99 each and come in Gold and Vintage editions. The last time we reviewed a Squier bass we were genuinely hard put to differentiate it—tonally, at least—from its full-priced Fender equivalent, making the affordable brand a viable option for more or less any bassist. The Squier 40th Anniversary Precision Bass features a C-shaped neck profile, vintage-style tuning machines, a four-saddle bridge with barrel saddles, and a Fender-designed split single-coil pickup with alnico magnets. Body material differs between each model: The Gold Edition sports…