I have a bone to pick with Bass Player...

i sympathise, man - over here in Australia Bass Player is the ONLY bass guitar-specific magazine and has to be imported, so it costs twice as much as it does anywhere else! and when i finally manage to scrounge up enough cash from the deepest recesses of my sofa to purchase a copy, i am always bitterly disappointed ...

 

you mean there are other bass guitar magazines!?!? the only one i've been able to find anywhere was bass player and even that's a maybe, whereas every place always has guitar world, guitar player, guitar mag, acoustic guitar, jazz guitar, rock world, and so on and so on.

 

I guess it all perception - I think they do a fairly good job of covering many different bassists considering what the coverage could be like. These gospel/Christian bassists they've turned me on to are massive. There are a lot of happening cats in the Nashville scene and Europe that get ignored, though. And something is definitely going on in Australia.

It does bug me that big name bassists get featured, refeatured, and featured again ad nauseaum. Every time a big name has a new release it doesn't mean it's worthy of a feature, (cough....M. Miller's "M2", cough). Why not use that space for the likes of Gard, John T, Fuqua, and a lot of other talent representative of their levels?

I totally agree with you about the up and coming bands. Like the TV news, they tend to give ink to the sensationalistic up and comers, (e.g., Bianca Butthole, Ryan Martinie,

How about if they got hip like
Bassics" and included a CD containing cuts from all the feaured bassists with each issue?....it is a music mag after all.

I still want them to use something like a Squier Affinity and a Crate amp in their product reviews in addition to the high end stuff they always use. I don't own any gear near that level, but much of the bass world does, according to sales data.

 

I haven't bought an issue since stefan lessard's...and i skipped marcus miller's...i just don't find enough in the mag...too many ads...

 

Welcome to the world of commerce.

 

I thought the best mag out was "Bassist" out of the UK, but they remerged with "Guitarist" mag, and so it's not as good anymore. Bass Player is okay as long as you don't have a subscription. That way, you can just buy the issues you like.

 

I think the amount of actual academic content in these magazines could be squeezed onto a single page. The rest is filler, of varying levels of usefulness.

I don't buy them, needless to say. The only thing of any possible use is the transcriptions, and why would you fork out good money for those when you can't even control what you get?

 

Apparently Bassist magazine in the UK folded because it couldn't get enough ads in - that is it couldn't sell enough ad space to be financially viable.

If Bass Player starts getting less ads, then that'll be just before it folds as well!!

 

I used to get that mag a couple years ago. But I have a problem with any magazine that would put the guy from U2 on the cover LOL! Besides if you wait a month their website posts all the articles for free.

Talkbass has way more info and experience than any 'bass' magazine. There are great talented players here that are full of 'free' knowledge. take advantage!

 

Funny you mentioned that. ZP! I started a thread knocking that cover when it came out. I didn't get hammered, but a some people rushed to Clayton's defense. That whole band is just incredibly fortunate that the public pays attention to songwriting while musicianship has practically become forgotten in recent several years.

I imagine good guitarists might feel the same way about the Edge. Take away his chorus unit and that guy is delivering pizzas.

 

Well, you are sort of right...i think they got him in the cover a bit too late...some of his older basslines are pretty good for a mainstream bassist. As a huge fan, i urge you to listen to Achtung Baby and The Unforgettable Fire, they demonstrate some of his best playing. How much of theirs have you actually heard to come to such opinions as you did in december?

And about the cover...i really don't want to start a flaming war, as this is JUST MY OPINION....but if Jason Newsted and Michael Anthony (Van Halen) both got covers...

 

Just not what I consider talented. But then again what does it really matter? It seems as though Bassplayer Mag is no different then some teen magazines, only instead of topics like what makeup to wear on a first date, you have...'Fieldy-The Man, The Music' LOL!!

 

well, they do have to cater to everyone's tastes though...cause that's marketing....but they do idolize mediocre players...

 

But think about it, if they focused on most of the bassists mention here, how many people would buy their magazine? Answer: not as many. It's all capitalism.

 

That's the nature of the mainstream press. A new CD or movie comes out and you see the same faces plastered all over the magazine racks for the next month or two. Then it's time for the next face.

 

Enough to make me not want to hear anymore.

I'm not saying he's bad, just that their status and their ability seem disproportionate to me, considering many who have never made a BP cover.

But, like you said, it's your opinion and I respect that. I like some of the 80's hair band bassists and "proficiency" is hardly the first word that comes mind when I think of them.

 

No doubt! I'm still waiting for a feature story on Beefcake the Mighty.

 

It does piss me off that they have nu metal characters on that, then you open it up, "suu-prise, suu-prise, adds"

 

Y'know, if you get past the godawful vocals, stupid body painting, and one-finger power chord guitar, Mudvayne is a pretty tight-ass band. "SPaG" and the aforementioned Mr. Martinie are one of the better rhythm sections I've heard, and Ryknow's playing is both technically and musically impressive.

Moral: don't judge a book by its Max Factor-smeared cover.