Despite slapping down the years on a variety of bass guitars, most of which have been custom jobs from Brooklyn luthier Carl Thompson in various string and fretted/fretless configurations, in 2011 ...

Les Claypool sits comfortably in the pantheon of bass greats, thanks to his off-kilter slapping-and-tapping playing style and bold basslines that have captured the imagination of generations of ...

The rise of Eddie Van Halen as a generation’s guitar hero saw thousands running to their local Guitar Center to buy a Superstrat and master tapping licks. As his son, Wolfgang Van Halen, once said, ...

Les Claypool remembers being 14 years old and in algebra class. Behind him was another guy, a friend who often had guitar magazines. Claypool’s compatriot would thumb through the pages and show him ...