'I've seen and used loads of bass books and most of them seem to tell you the stuff you already know. this one will have you learning new techniques from when you open it up.

Giants of bass is really for the more experienced player (but thats not to say beginners won't find anything usefull in it either). Theres a section at the start of the book explaining how to do 2 hand tapping, slapping and any other techniques used in the book. '20 original tracks' are put on 2 cd's. Full track then a backing track but their not completely original. You can tell some of the tracks are modelled quite closely on hit songs from that artist.
but really this book is going to expand everyones playing ability. i mean how many people can say that they know how to bend a natural harmonic - well you'll be the one thanks to this book!' (Posted on 9/18/09)

'This is an absolute goldmine for any student of bass playing AND bass players. Firstly Stuart covers a few basics about notation, scales and the cycle of 5ths etc. and stresses in his unpreachy way (acknowledging they're mundane and a bit of a chore) about their importance. Then he goes through 20 of the world's most famous and influential bass players in a very thorough and original way.

He firstly covers each player with a potted biography, describing where they came from and briefly explaining their influences and motivations and the bands and artists they've played with. He then gets into their distinctive playing style, highlighting what they brought to 'bass playing' and justifying why they made it into the book. Here he has chosen well - picking a blend of different styles of players from jazz, through funk and soul to metal and more esoteric 'niche' styles. Finally, before we get to the music, Stuart explains each artist's setup - the kit they use, how they set up their bass and what effects they might use to achieve their distinctive sound...oh yeah, and he also throws in a short list of CD references as suggested listening for each artist.

What makes this book and CD set stand out however are the tracks. Anyone who owns any of Stuart's transcriptions of Mark King's basslines will know how thorough and dedicated he is and this book is no exception. Rather than use existing basslines from each artist's back catalogue Stuart has gone to the trouble of composing his own original tracks which best showcase the individual style of each bassist. In a way he has created caricatures of each player's style - a kind of amalgam of chops which identify them...his Mark King track sounds more like Mark King than......Mark King. As an instructional tool to teach players about famous bassists' styles this has no equal. ' (Posted on 9/18/09)

'This is a great book for any bass player who isn't new to the instrument and wants to continue exploring the versatility of the bass. The format of the book is useful with in depth sections for each of the 20 greatest bass players featured in the book. These sections include the gear they would have played, advice for what tone to use and tips on how to perform each piece. No matter what style of music you play this book is well worth buying because it includes many different genres of music e.g. Motown, Rock, Funk, Metal.

As well as this many tracks use different techniques of bass playing e.g. slap, strumming and tapping which are great for building up your technical skills as well as learning songs at the same time. Some of the pieces in the book take some time to work at as they are technically tricky E.g. the slap line on the Mark King section or the fast 16th note solo in the Jaco section. But they are well worth working at as they are very satisfying to play once you have learnt them. Basically if you want to learn how to take your playing up to the next level, and learn loads of cool licks, fills and solos from the greatest bass players ever this book is for you.' (Posted on 9/18/09)

'Still outputting bass books at a prodigious rate, Clayton has come up trumps with his latest title, especially if you are at intermediate or advanced level. Examining the style, history and equipment of 20 top bassists, together with an audio track featuring a stylistic representation and backing track of each artist, the author offers a meaningful insight to bass players that helped shape the world of bass as we know it today. The tracks are based upon an interpretation of each artist's style instead of analysis of actual tracks (presumably for copyright reasons) although the interpretations are well executed and Clayton has used many different instruments to reflect the tone and vibe of each player. And the 20 chosen ones? Well, as Clayton is quick to indicate himself, "there are certainly more than 20 giants of the bass,". We find those we would expect; Entwistle, Bruce, Flea, McCartney, plus some nice surprises; Tim Commerford (Rage Against The Machine/Audioslave), Dirk Lance (Incubus), Stuart Zender (Jamiroquai/D'Angelo), and a few of the author's favourites; Mark King (Level 42) and Stuart Hamm. With 165 pages and two audio CD's, Giants Of Bass offers hours of bass information at a reasonable £19.99.' (Posted on 9/18/09)