Session Guitarist & Bassist for Hire

If you need a seasoned guitarist or bassist rather than a tutor, this is the page. Three ways to put me on your project — on stage, in the studio, or remotely from mine to yours.

Why hire me for your session?

I’m Malcolm Callus — a live and studio guitarist of 34 years and an RGT-registered tutor of 29, DBS-checked and a Berklee Honours graduate. I’ve played and recorded across extreme metal, jazz and world music, so whatever style you’re after, I’ve been there. You can see where that came from on my bands and activities page.

The instruments come with me: six- and seven-string electrics, classical and flamenco nylon-strings, a jazz archtop, an eleven-string fretless Glissentar and a fretless bass, plus the desk and preamps to track them. My main flamenco acoustic and the Glissentar do the heavy lifting on stage. The full gear list is here if you want to know exactly what you’re getting on the take.

Everything runs from the London SE16 studio in Rotherhithe, on location around London, or online worldwide — Mon–Fri 11am–11pm, Sat 10am–7pm and Sun 11am–5pm. I work in English, Italian, German and Maltese. Get in touch and let’s talk about what the track needs.

Records I’ve played on

The clearest sample of my playing is the work I’ve released with my own bands. Sceptocrypt — the death-metal band I co-founded in 1992 — put out its debut CD in 2014, regrouped in 2022 and has released three singles since (late 2023, early 2024 and early 2026), with a full-length in progress. EthnaMorte, which I started in London in 2007, released two CDs across a decade of world-leaning material: bossa nova, flamenco, avant-garde and dark overtones inside one set. There’s also Unus Quod Insane, a 2011 project of drony whispers and tribal beats over an industrial backbone, and Wound, slow-tempo classical and jazz harmony under electronic and rock pulses. Between them they cover most of what people actually ask me for — heavy, clean, nylon-string, fretless and everything in between. Have a listen on the bands and activities page before you brief me.

How a session works

Send the track — a rough mix, a stem bounce, even a phone demo — with a note on what you want the part to do. Tell me the key, the tempo and the reference you’ve got in your head, and whether you want it played to the letter or written from scratch. Prefer to talk it through first? Give me a call and we can scope it quickly. I’ll come back with what’s involved, and we agree the turnaround before I start rather than guessing at a deadline.

Remote work is tracked here at the Rotherhithe SE16 studio, through the Xenyx desk and its preamps, and sent back to you online — it makes no odds whether you’re in London or Los Angeles. In person means your studio or your stage, around London; anything further afield, just ask. For live dates, give me the set and the arrangements and I’ll learn them properly rather than busk it on the night.

What you get back

Worth settling before I start, because it’s your call: a dry DI alongside the recorded take, so your engineer keeps every option open, or a finished processed part ready to drop straight in. Alternate passes and spare takes are normal — comping is easier when there’s something to comp. Tell me the sample rate and bit depth your session runs at and the files will land on your timeline without conversion.

What it costs

Session work is quoted per project rather than off a price list, because “one guitar line under a chorus” and “lead, rhythm and bass across an EP” aren’t the same job. Tell me how many tracks, how much of each needs playing, and whether it’s remote, studio or live, and you’ll have a figure back before anything is committed. The published fees cover lessons; session rates aren’t listed there for the simple reason that no two briefs match. Working languages are English, Italian, German and Maltese, and the studio runs Mon–Fri 11am–11pm, Sat 10am–7pm and Sun 11am–5pm. Send the brief and I’ll come back to you.

Looking for lessons instead?

Teaching is the other half of what I do — guitar, bass, ukulele and music theory, from total beginner to advanced. Start at guitar, bass and ukulele lessons, or see the lesson fees.