Roger Newell

Articles by: Roger Newell

Jaco Pastorius

"When he died, I cried. And I actually jumped into the ocean at San Francisco. And let me tell you, the ocean at San Francisco is cold": Bass legend Jaco Pastorius

By MusicRadar published

"Fretless bass was an instrument that had been around for a few years, but he just raised the standard of it to a completely different level"

Freddie Mercury, John Deacon and Brian May of Queen live on stage

"I wasn't likely to upstage Brian or Freddie": Queen's John Deacon - a tribute to an elusive bass giant

By Roger Newell published

Brian May: "He won't talk to me, so why the f**k would he talk to you?"

Hank Marvin

"It was like something from space" – Hank Marvin talks in-depth about the Strat

By Roger Newell published

Classic interview with the Shadows' guitar hero

James Jamerson

Profile: Motown session giant James Jamerson

By Roger Newell published

We celebrate one of the greatest of them all

Red Witch Zeus Bass Fuzz Suboctave review

By Roger Newell published

  • £226

Hot fuzz

The Factotum has the dual function of introducing a sub-octave note and distortion

Red Witch Factotum Bass Suboctave Drive review

By Roger Newell published

  • £249
  • €329
  • $452.5

Red Witch's first bass unit

It's all about a single preamp valve (ECC83/12AX7) adding fully controllable tonal colour

EBS Valve Drive DI review

By Roger Newell published

  • £269
  • €305
  • $599

Drive and DI in the same box

The Bass Whammy will take up a lot of space on your board, but it's got a lot to offer, too...

DigiTech Bass Whammy review

By Roger Newell published

  • €166

Weird, whacky and wonderful!

There's certainly no doubting the Rumble 200's Fender heritage

Fender Rumble 200 Bass Combo review

By Roger Newell published

  • £490
  • €598
  • $549

Light and portable but still ready to rumble

Rotary controls offer gain, shape, volume and blend with a micro switch to change the EQ character

EBS FuzzMo review

By Roger Newell published

  • £139
  • €163
  • $349

Bass fuzz creating a buzz

The offset body design, with full back scoop and forearm chamfer, looks and feels great

Fender Deluxe Dimension V Bass review

By Roger Newell published

  • £1978
  • €1819
  • $2359

Five-string bass from the big F

The bolt-on neck has familiar Fender proportions, but the body has a feel of its own

Fender Starcaster Bass review

By Roger Newell published

  • £898
  • €755
  • $999

The characterful bass makes its debut

The Classic 25 is clearly inspired by the good ol' Hofner Violin bass

Classic 25 Electric Bass Guitar review

By Roger Newell published

  • £275

Beatles-y bass with a short scale

Jet Harris of The Shadows, one of Vox's early bass amp endorsees

The history of the electric bass part five: solid amplification

By Roger Newell, Bass Expo 2014 published

The evolution of the bass amplifier

Warwick Thumb five-string bass, first produced in the 1980s

The history of the electric bass part four: how many strings?

By Roger Newell, Bass Expo 2014 published

From Danelectro's UB-2 to the Hamer Chaparral

The Framus Star bass was a favourite of Rolling Stone Bill Wyman

The history of the electric bass part three: a UK perspective

By Roger Newell published

German imports, homegrown innovation and early amplification

Immortalised in the Jailhouse Rock lyrics, Shifty Henry was an early adopter of the Fender Precision Bass

The history of the electric bass part one: the early days

By Roger Newell, Bass Expo 2014 published

Charting the evolution of the instrument from the 1930s to the 1950s

James Kirkland (far right) with a beautiful Rickenbacker 4000

The history of the electric bass part two: beyond Fender

By Roger Newell, Bass Expo 2014 published

American bass evolution through the 1950s from Gibson, Rickenbacker and more

The Cabronita P-Bass retains the stripped-down good looks of its guitar forbears

Fender Cabronita P-Bass review

By Roger Newell published

  • £790
  • €799
  • $799

The Cabronita reborn in bass form

The body design is typically Yamaha, meaning excellent balance and access to those uppermost frets

Yamaha TRBX504 review

By Roger Newell published

  • £484
  • €569
  • $790

High spec, stylish bass guitar

Changing basses and types of bass mid-gig just became a lot easier

Providence DBS-1 Dual Bass Station review

By Roger Newell published

  • £333
  • €299
  • $299

Bass-focussed A/B pedal

The Surveyor-4 features an extended upper body horn for improved balance, and an ultra-slim neck profile

LTD Surveyor-4 Bass review

By Roger Newell published

  • £649
  • $927

Great value, flexible bass guitar

The American Vintage series is all about attention to period detail and feel - Fender has nailed it here

Fender American Vintage '63 P-Bass review

By Roger Newell published

  • £2350
  • €2792
  • $2499

A true classic returns

The Kinsman K100B makes a great practice amp, but has no problem handling small gigs, either

Kinsman K100B review

By Roger Newell published

  • £279

Bass combo with built-in effects

It's the added ability to blend in the clean signal this bass pedal special

EBS Billy Sheehan Signature Drive review

By Roger Newell published

  • £179
  • $349.95

A multi-tasking bass pedal

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