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himajinga posted:Last night I warmed up thoroughly and did stretches then played as light as I could and it helped a ton, thanks for the advice. My new practice routine is going to be training myself to be mindful of the tension in my fretting hand! Stick with it in that way and do it regularly and you'll be miles ahead in quite a short time.
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Mar 20, 2015 20:18
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himajinga posted:Last night I warmed up thoroughly and did stretches then played as light as I could and it helped a ton, thanks for the advice. My new practice routine is going to be training myself to be mindful of the tension in my fretting hand! I probably shouldn't have to ask this, but how's the setup on your bass? Changed string gauge recently? An out-of-whack truss rod makes a much bigger difference on a bass than a guitar, but I've seen way, way more bassists than guitarists utterly unaware of their string height. Maybe we're all masochists, I can't believe I stuck through this back in high school with an action you could slide paperback books through. Seventh Arrow posted:I've never liked the caveman look of having the bass around your knees. Then again, having it at Mark King height is a little too nerdy. I'm a wee fellow, so the only way for the first position frets to be at a comfortable elbow angle is to have the bridge just above my knee. I kept this up when I picked up guitar and it's just kind of a... thing now. Plus it looks badass when you grab the mic. 
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Mar 21, 2015 00:09
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I know this is really dumb but my experience with bass has been really sporadic over the past ~10 years so I have some simple questions I hope you guys can answer. The average scale length seems to be 34" on 4 strings and 35" on 5 strings. Is this right? What are the most common string gauges in standard tuning? On guitar, 10-46 and 9-42 are the most widely used. Is it 40-105?
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Mar 21, 2015 02:55
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muike posted:I know this is really dumb but my experience with bass has been really sporadic over the past ~10 years so I have some simple questions I hope you guys can answer. Average scale is 34" for pretty much all non-short-scale basses, 5- and 6-strings included. Some companies offer a longer scale, 35" or 36", for 5- and 6-string models, but it's hardly standard, and you'll pay more. (That said, you'll have a B string that isn't flippitty-flappitty and is more fun to play... which is great for the 4 notes it gives you.) Short-scale averages around 30". As for string gauges, 40-105 sounds custom, because the G string is light but the E string is not. And yes, they sell "custom gauge sets," which are designed to have lighter G and D strings paired with heavier E and A strings, because bass. You want to stick with what your bass was designed to use, but you don't have to. Just be aware that moving up or down far in the gauges will require some setup work. I use medium-gauge pure nickelwounds for all my Fenders. They just have that nice classic tone, they're easy on the frets, they're easy on the fingers (easier than stainless steels, for sure), and they actually last for quite a little while. I've used light gauge strings before, but I don't care of them much because the strings have to be looser, which means they flap around more, and I like to dig in without hearing fret buzz (and without having to have action that is too high). Mediums are actually a pretty good place to start: 45-105. Nice, meaty, substantial. If you'll be doing a lot of bending and crap, go with light gauge strings. I've never used heavy gauge strings, but they'll be tighter and harder to bend. BTW, these are roundwounds. Flatwounds exist, which feel like smooth wires under your fingers. Some people love 'em. I don't, except on fretless (and on those, I use nylon tapewound). As for brands, you get what you pay for most of the time. Avoid Earnie Ball Super Slinky, because they wear out (read: lose their bright, new-string tone) ultra-fast, even with moderate play. GHS Boomers tricked me twice because of their endorsements with famous bassists, but they are, in reality, not much better than Earnie Ball. I wouldn't go any cheaper than Fender strings, but d'Addario are also OK. Some people swear by La Bella or Dean Markley. tarlibone fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Mar 21, 2015 |
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Mar 21, 2015 04:02
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yeah that definitely covers all the bases HEH and fills in all the information that didn't carry over from guitar thank you 
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Mar 21, 2015 04:22
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Kilometers Davis posted:See that's the thing, I don't learn songs often and nowadays I'm really focusing on only learning riffs/licks and such from bands and letting the rest come from inside myself. It's weird but it works for me creatively. I didn't learn bass by ear so I also find it tedious. I make it worse for myself by writing down everything I transcribe in standard notation. Still, it's probably the best way to learn how to play over complex changes. Also, don't learn bass solos by ear - learn sax solos, guitar solos, keyboards, etc.
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Mar 21, 2015 15:01
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I have poor impulse control. I found this 5 string MIM jazz bass at a shop, and while it had some issues off-the-shelf, I kind of dug the neck contour. I usually pass over 5's because the necks just feel cartoonishly large to me. The fact that it was 5-in-line helped more than a little, I never really dug the looks of the 4+1. Apparently this configuration isn't super uncommon, but somehow I just never came across one. In any event, it's a white 5 string j-bass with gotoh tuners and fender pickups with "noiseless" on them in gold script. I'm not sure what came stock and what was the last owner's upgrades, so no real clue about the model. I'm going to put in an order for strings, when they come in I'll take the neck off and see if there's any hint about what year the thing is. After getting the neck relief squared away, I had to raise the saddles to what seemed like a comical extent. Normally I have things pretty low, but the strings just went stupid above the 12th fret, not even buzz just thudding out completely until I jacked them way up. Any lower than that and they're just gone. This is currently as low as I can get them to have every fret actually produce a note. 
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Mar 25, 2015 05:18
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Good God, you need to shim that neck. EDIT - you can't tell the year of manufacture from the serial number? After The War fucked around with this message at 05:27 on Mar 25, 2015 |
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Mar 25, 2015 05:25
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Jonithen posted:I have poor impulse control. I also have a MIM 5-string Jazz bass with the Gotoh tuners. Those were standard on these models; Fender bass tuners generally come in the one size--big-rear end--and these make it easier to have a 5 in-line headstock. The "Noiseless" pickups are definitely aftermarket; MIM basses have standard pickups, and to my knowledge, Fender never uses Noiseless on the MIM-level standard. My bass is midnight wine, though. After all these years, my Jazz 5 has needed maybe one truss rod adjustment. It's been played a ton, too. For many bands, it was my go-to bass, especially if it was only practical to bring one bass to a gig. In one cover band I was in, the guitarists were obsessed with playing the songs in their actual tuning, meaning we had to account for standard, standard - 1/2 step, standard - 1 step, drop D, and drop D down 1/2 step. They had multiple guitars and still had to occasionally retune between songs because they didn't bring 5 guitars to the gig. I simply used this one 5-string. When they gave up and went to a 2-guiar system (standard and drop D), the joke was on me, because I had to relearn half our set. On my Jazz 5, the bridge-to-string height on the A string is about 2/3rds of a dime. You either need to shim the neck or adjust the truss rod. I'd check the relief first to see if it's the easier fix.
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Mar 25, 2015 05:48
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If the general lore is to be believed, we're looking at somewhere around 1997, so now that is two MN7's. Assuming this wasn't parted together well after it left the factory or something, which I'll have a little better idea of once I can see the back of the neck and the pocket. Yeah, it would be a joke to try to go five in a row with the elephant ear tuners. i just didn't know they were shipped with Gotoh or if that was put in after the fact like the pickups. Cool. Got the neck relief where it should be according to Fender's setup guide, checked the clearance with feeler gauge so this probably isn't the neck. I'm relatively comfortable with basic Fender setups now- anything beyond relief, saddle, or changing pickups / heights is a little beyond me, but I'm not above bringing it by a tech to have my work sanity-checked. I'll swing it through to a place I like this weekend, if it looks like the neck is holding. Right now it's probably about 1/3 of a truss rod turn. If it needs more after doing a restring / whatever I end up subjecting this poor thing to, that isn't too scary. My 4 string J neck has held up extraordinarily well through heavy use and a few solid years of neglect, so I have faith in the platform.
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Mar 25, 2015 12:54
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Dyna Soar posted:it's a fine line to tread, ergonomy vs. looking cool Above the dick/below the dick, that's all you have to worry about (well that and nailing yourself in the chin with your dorky bass) himajinga posted:Last night I warmed up thoroughly and did stretches then played as light as I could and it helped a ton, thanks for the advice. My new practice routine is going to be training myself to be mindful of the tension in my fretting hand! You should never be tense when you play. Easier said than done but yeah
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Mar 25, 2015 16:32
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After The War posted:Good God, you need to shim that neck. tarlibone posted:You either need to shim the neck or adjust the truss rod. I'd check the relief first to see if it's the easier fix. Could be the relief is not set properly but, I'd take the neck off to see if it's not already shimmed. Maybe there's some buildup of paint in the pocket near the heel. The last owner's upgrades could have included "dude, I totally shimmed the neck" without actually understating what it does. Either way, what you're describing sounds like the neck isn't sitting flat in the pocket.  You're having the issue seen in the 2nd image. You want image 1 and then adjust relief and saddles accordingly. (You should only have to shim if the neck and/or neck & body geometry are completely hosed... pretty rare on an instrument like this)
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Mar 26, 2015 16:55
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what do you guys think about bbe sonic maximizers? gimmicky bullshit? considering getting one for my bass rig for cheap (from a friend).
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Mar 27, 2015 03:14
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I had one on my party PA, I liked it. From my experience, it can make less-than-stellar equipment sound better, but it isn't a drastic difference for bass. Try it and see how you like it. If you rackmount and have a slot open, it won't hurt anything.
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Mar 27, 2015 03:21
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CaseFace McGee posted:I had one on my party PA, I liked it. From my experience, it can make less-than-stellar equipment sound better, but it isn't a drastic difference for bass. Try it and see how you like it. If you rackmount and have a slot open, it won't hurt anything. Yeah that's exactly what's happening. Got an open slot in my case and trading him this acoustic guitar I never use so why not.
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Mar 27, 2015 17:40
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Widdershins posted:Could be the relief is not set properly but, I'd take the neck off to see if it's not already shimmed. Maybe there's some buildup of paint in the pocket near the heel. You are a scholar and a gentleman. I checked the neck relief this morning and its stable. I made a point to look again when I got home from work after reading your post. I noticed a bit of a shadow in the neck pocket that I somehow glanced over before. Taking the neck off, some helpful fellow had folded two yellow sticky notes over themselves multiple times. Checked them for insults, magical spells, and treasure maps but nope just regular sticky notes. Tossed them out, screwed the neck back on, and now we're looking at reasonable action. Zeroed the saddles down and brought them just enough to get articulation and a little buzz if I want to dig in. Might raise them a bit, but this is seriously a fraction of where they were before. Dude totally shimmed the neck. 
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Mar 27, 2015 23:05
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All this got me thinking about my Jazz V. It's got old strings, but I took out my feeler gauges and stuff and found that the action is higher than spec. If I lower it to spec, it buzzes in some spots, but just a little over spec is fine. It's lower now than it was before I started fiddling with it the other day, though, so that's good. And I play with my fingers and tend to dig in a lot, so I'm just a buzzy player by nature. Does anyone else play with higher than spec action, or is this just an old guy thing?
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Mar 27, 2015 23:09
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I play with a slightly higher than spec. action too. I've been playing for 25 years & have always had a heavy touch. Not sure if that's due to the beginner instruments being poo poo compared to the quality you can get today in the same price point, or because I did a lot of practicing without an amp early on, or never had a bass teacher. Aaaaaaanyway, you may or may not be the problem with your buzzing. A proper fret level & crown can make a big difference but you'd need to find someone who actually knows what they're doing (or a robot) and that can be 'relatively' expensive. Buzzy Player? If it makes you feel better you should listen to isolated bass tracks of some of your favorite players. There's usually a huge difference when it's not sitting in the mix and you'll hear lots of buzz and clank etc... I wouldn't sweat it if there's no problem other than "not being in spec."
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Mar 28, 2015 14:12
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I've been playing for a while, too, and every now and then I get self-conscious about these little things. You know, because it totally matters, because the bass is always super-easy to hear and right up front in the mix. Derp. I was poking around online, and I found a video made by a guy selling a book on maintaining guitars where he sets up a P-bass with different specs, and ones that are pretty close to how mine is currently set up. That said, I know at least one of my instruments is getting to that spot where it needs to have the frets leveled and crowned. Not looking forward to that, because as you say, you don't always know what you're going to get.
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Mar 28, 2015 18:16
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So I have some flatwound anxiety. I had pretty much written them off due to not liking the sound or feel when I was a dumb kid, and now that I am a dumb adult I thought I would give them a shot again. I grabbed the 100-40 chromes and put them on my fretless about a month ago. I have heard a lot of people get frustrated with them (and other flatwounds) out of the box and do all kinds of weird things to kill them faster and now that I have them on my instrument I can kind of see why. Basically, what I'm wondering is how much time I should give them and myself before I can feel safe in knowing if they are for me or not? Part of me just wants to go grab another pack of rotos, but I really want to give these guys a chance. If it's just a matter of holding my nose and dealing with it for another month or two and all of a sudden I'll wake up one day and they will sound magical, I can do that. I'm playing with them, stretching them, etc. Basically, I'm hoping to get some solid info on what would be a reasonable cut off point to know that I'm out of the break-in period and be able to say with some credibility that this is what they are going to sound like. If what I've got going now is what it's going to be, they are coming off. If it's a matter of staying the course for a bit longer, I can handle it. At this point, we are well over 30 hours played.
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Mar 28, 2015 22:58
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You shouldn't be looking for a reason to like these strings. I use roundwounds or nylon tapewound on my fretless basses. I've tried regular flatwounds, and I cannot stand them. My fingers don't slide over them as easily and the sound just isn't to my liking. I'd say, keep playing them for another month or so. If after that you are still wondering how much longer it will take for you to start enjoying how they feel and sound, then the answer is, you don't like them. Flats aren't for everybody.
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Mar 28, 2015 23:02
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I like a fairly high action too, because fret buzz is The Enemy of good bass tone.Jonithen posted:So I have some flatwound anxiety. I had pretty much written them off due to not liking the sound or feel when I was a dumb kid, and now that I am a dumb adult I thought I would give them a shot again. I grabbed the 100-40 chromes and put them on my fretless about a month ago. I have heard a lot of people get frustrated with them (and other flatwounds) out of the box and do all kinds of weird things to kill them faster and now that I have them on my instrument I can kind of see why. Basically, what I'm wondering is how much time I should give them and myself before I can feel safe in knowing if they are for me or not? Part of me just wants to go grab another pack of rotos, but I really want to give these guys a chance. If it's just a matter of holding my nose and dealing with it for another month or two and all of a sudden I'll wake up one day and they will sound magical, I can do that. I used Chromes for many years, and always found that they took a while to break in. They'll get to a sweet spot where they sound and play great.
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Mar 29, 2015 00:35
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Chromes sound like weird hosed up roundwounds for a few months and then they settle into an amazing warm, full tone and start to play a lot better. It's kind of insane how they break in so well.
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Mar 29, 2015 00:40
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Kilometers Davis posted:Chromes sound like weird hosed up roundwounds for a few months and then they settle into an amazing warm, full tone and start to play a lot better. It's kind of insane how they break in so well. Indeed. I've keep the same set around going on 17 years. Once they break in, they're great.
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Mar 29, 2015 01:01
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Widdershins posted:Indeed. I've keep the same set around going on 17 years. Once they break in, they're great. This is awesome to me because I've been playing music for about 3 years less than that. Quite the endorsement, haha. They really do age perfectly. I just threw some D'Addario Nylon Tapewounds on my Bongo 5. The old EB Cobalts were gross and sticky. Feels and sounds a million times better but I really need to set it up and get the action, relief, and intonation right.
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Mar 29, 2015 02:51
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Anyone have tips for learning to play a song by ear? I generally look up the chords and then try to work in a "box" from there.
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Mar 29, 2015 15:58
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Well that's not by ear now is it?
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Mar 29, 2015 16:35
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juche mane posted:Well that's not by ear now is it? Haha that's a good point! I phrased it kind of strangely. What I meant was: "I usually look up the chords and then work in a box from there, but I would like to have some tips on how to learn to identify the chords so I don't need to look them up."
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Mar 29, 2015 17:19
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The only way to learn how to do it is to do it. When I was in theory class, we had to do transcriptions, but only of a melody line. Prof would play it on the piano, and we had to figure it out by ear. First he'd play it, then we'd sing or hum it to ourselves, then we'd work it out. It's just something you learn by doing. If you're trying to grab a bass line (or some other line), that method works well: play a small part of it over and over until you can sing the part you're trying to transcribe. Once it's in your head, find it on your instrument, and you have it. You'll probably want to write it down, too. Then, on to the next part.
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Mar 29, 2015 17:25
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Develop your ear muscles with interval training. The rest will largely figure itself out after a few weeks or months of solid interval training. e: can you read music yet? Otis Reddit fucked around with this message at 17:40 on Mar 29, 2015 |
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Mar 29, 2015 17:28
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Hi - shameless self promotion. I'm selling a bunch of Thomastik 5 string string sets and Acousticore 4 and 5 string sets. I haven't put them up for sale elsewhere yet because I would prefer they go to goons. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3709959 Regarding Chromes, the tone is just too harsh for me and they feel too tight. They are my least favorite flat string. I'd go LaBella if you think you like them but find them lacking. TI is my favorite though (not just cause I am selling them, I love them. Played all the flats and can't beat these. Some tapewqounds are definitely tied though they are a different sound and not comparable).
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Mar 30, 2015 21:38
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The tension I don't mind, at least as far as this particular set goes. I guess they might be starting to calm the gently caress down, but the high string still sounds like hot plinky garbage. I'll keep banging away on them and see if it goes somewhere cool. I'd rather take this to term and never have to wonder "what if I gave it just a little more time?" I'm a little curious about the TI's, I understand the tone is to die for, but I've heard they were floppy. I gave a set of Labella white tapes a trial run in both standard and light gauges and I absolutely despised them, couldn't handle the right hand feel. I guess the question there is are they floppy on an absolute scale, or just in comparison to other flatwounds? So far my preference in right hand feel has been the "standard" (not medium) gauge rotosound 66's, especially after about 2 weeks of play time, but the chromes in 100-40 aren't atrocious in feel, they just sound obnoxious. Tapes can be neat, when I got this bass back from being defretted I had the Roto 88's installed and those were kind of cool but I wanted to experiment.
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Mar 31, 2015 00:39
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Just snagged a used Ampeg stack for relatively cheap (SVT-VR and the 810AV cab), and I couldn't be happier with the purchase. I've been bridging the channels for some amazing juicy tone, it's incredible how much I can alter the character with the two EQs the the toggles! The VR sounds nigh-identical to a mid 70s SVT which is exactly what I dreamed about too.
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Apr 4, 2015 08:36
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Dyna Soar posted:it's a fine line to tread, ergonomy vs. looking cool https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2RlnEBHt5s Juaguocio posted:I like a fairly high action too, because fret buzz is The Enemy of good bass tone. It really depends on what kind of tone you're after! I set my basses up where if I dig in and play harder than I typically do I can get a little buzz, as it's just another thing you can use to wring expression out of the instrument.
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Apr 6, 2015 01:04
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Super Rad posted:Just snagged a used Ampeg stack for relatively cheap (SVT-VR and the 810AV cab), and I couldn't be happier with the purchase. I've been bridging the channels for some amazing juicy tone, it's incredible how much I can alter the character with the two EQs the the toggles! That's awesome, have you tested how loud it can go yet? I've always dreamed of getting a VR but I can't justify it (yet)
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Apr 6, 2015 01:13
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I successfully tuned my first bass by ear! I'm wicked proud of myself! So usually I play blues and funk bass, as well as jam-band bass (think like Grateful Dead). Lately I've been playing with some dudes who are into thrash metal, and I've been trying to keep up. My problem is I always seem to "stutter" whenever there's a change. For example, if a blues bassline goes from F to G, I have no problem, but for some reason if a thrash bassline does it then I always stutter during the switch. Any tips, or just something I gotta practice out?
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Apr 6, 2015 13:29
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Is your problem mostly do to right hand technique at the usual thrash speed?
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Apr 6, 2015 14:24
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Are you talking about the notes F and G, like a line with a bass line that has a bunch of F G F G G G G G F G F G G G G stuff in it? Or do you mean the keys of F and G? I'm asking because not much thrash metal involves bass lines where keys are all that important. Usually, you're doubling a guitar line or something like that; there's not much scale-running going on. If it's the notes, then be sure you're using your first and fourth fingers. There's a tendency to use one finger per fret, but in the lower positions on a bass, and especially at high speeds or where strength is required (like in thrash), that can be awkward. It'll cramp your hand and in general isn't really fun. If it's your right hand (picking/plucking hand), then it's just something you'll have to practice. The old method works the best: start slow until it's perfect at the slow tempo. Then, work your way up. Remember: if you can't play it slow, you can't play it fast.
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Apr 6, 2015 16:16
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Doomy posted:That's awesome, have you tested how loud it can go yet? I've always dreamed of getting a VR but I can't justify it (yet) I haven't tested how loud yet since I'd like to keep our neighbors from our throats, but at just noon on the dial it gets loud enough that I'd rather not stand directly in front of the 810.
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Apr 6, 2015 16:40
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tarlibone posted:Are you talking about the notes F and G, like a line with a bass line that has a bunch of F G F G G G G G F G F G G G G stuff in it? You're right. My fingering was just very awkward and caused discomfort in my hand, but using the first and fourth helps a lot. Thank you!
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Apr 6, 2015 17:32
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