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FINALLY bought a bass. Gretsch electromatic short scale. Feels awesome, sounds awesome (to me, knowing little about bass tones) out of the Mark Bass at the store. For now I'll be practicing out of my Vox Amplug (AC30) headphone amp because I don't have a bass amp. Just tried that out and it sounded absolutely fine for practice purposes. So... how do I learn bass?!
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Aug 12, 2018 00:33
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Hellblazer187 posted:FINALLY bought a bass. Gretsch electromatic short scale. Feels awesome, sounds awesome (to me, knowing little about bass tones) out of the Mark Bass at the store. For now I'll be practicing out of my Vox Amplug (AC30) headphone amp because I don't have a bass amp. Just tried that out and it sounded absolutely fine for practice purposes. Have you played guitar before or are you jumping into this fresh?
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Aug 12, 2018 00:39
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chitoryu12 posted:Have you played guitar before or are you jumping into this fresh? About two years of guitar, and regular continual practice. I got most of the way through Justin's intermediate foundation (but didn't quite finish it) to give you an idea of where I am with guitar. Edit: I hosed around with the bass for like 20 minutes but now I'm watching the studybass lessons. Hellblazer187 fucked around with this message at 00:49 on Aug 12, 2018 |
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Aug 12, 2018 00:43
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Hellblazer187 posted:FINALLY bought a bass. Gretsch electromatic short scale. Feels awesome, sounds awesome (to me, knowing little about bass tones) out of the Mark Bass at the store. For now I'll be practicing out of my Vox Amplug (AC30) headphone amp because I don't have a bass amp. Just tried that out and it sounded absolutely fine for practice purposes. Oh, it always sounds good through the Markbass 
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Aug 12, 2018 08:20
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Hellblazer187 posted:FINALLY bought a bass. Gretsch electromatic short scale. Feels awesome, sounds awesome (to me, knowing little about bass tones) out of the Mark Bass at the store. For now I'll be practicing out of my Vox Amplug (AC30) headphone amp because I don't have a bass amp. Just tried that out and it sounded absolutely fine for practice purposes. https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3587654
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Aug 12, 2018 12:33
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Sockington posted:Oh, it always sounds good through the Markbass drat right! All my cabs are home while we move to a new practice space, so I figured I'd do a "wall" shot  The MarkBass is definitely getting the most use. The SWR mini stack is going to be the practice rig.
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Aug 12, 2018 12:57
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First official bass practice... the first plucking exercises on studybass.com. Focus on alternating fingers 1 and 2, and muting the strings not being plucked. Lots more to concentrate on than I imagined... had to practice at 50bpm. Realize the need for a padded strap even with a smaller bass. Going to the mall today to see the new MI movie, will pick up padded strap there and maybe two of those beers that come with strap locks.
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Aug 12, 2018 17:57
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 It’s even more satisfying because it’s my favorite song.
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Aug 13, 2018 02:56
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I do have Rocksmith, I bought it for first but I kind of don't like it much. Maybe I'll try with bass though.
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Aug 13, 2018 04:00
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I just turned off Dynamic Difficulty and set the options to force max difficulty on all songs. I started having issues with songs not advancing in difficulty quickly enough even as I was acing what they put in front of me.
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Aug 13, 2018 04:44
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Anyone have some cool pics to share from recent gigs? I just played with a big band in this huge ballroom. We drove seven hours down (and are currently on the way back) for a nice crowd at this weekend-long dance shindig.   We got to wrestle with dance shoe salespeople for loading space and elevator space - how exciting!
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Aug 13, 2018 04:53
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Hellblazer187 posted:First official bass practice... the first plucking exercises on studybass.com. Focus on alternating fingers 1 and 2, and muting the strings not being plucked. Lots more to concentrate on than I imagined... had to practice at 50bpm. Realize the need for a padded strap even with a smaller bass. Going to the mall today to see the new MI movie, will pick up padded strap there and maybe two of those beers that come with strap locks. Good site? I'm finally picking up my amp tonight. First practice will probably be tuning.
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Aug 13, 2018 06:56
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Phlegmish posted:Good site? I'm finally picking up my amp tonight. I think so? Other people here have told me it is.
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Aug 13, 2018 12:50
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tarlibone posted:It's a wiring issue, quite possibly grounding. Certainly sounds like it. A nearly disconnected ground could do something like this. But, you could also have a partially shorted-out pot; I had one of those and it made my P-bass act weird like this until I fixed it. It was totally the wiring from the jack to the tone pot. It was brutal; I ripped it all out and cut new wires to use. Thanks! The GFS pickups are pretty good, and certainly better than the late 90s Squier pickups. Now to work on the general playability.
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Aug 15, 2018 00:57
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Hellblazer187 posted:I think so? Other people here have told me it is. I'll check it out. I've been watching this guy so far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7m9QGj9GjIY Some useful plucking tips - play through the string, not at the string, use the next string as a backstop, it's OK to rest your thumb on the E string for support. I've been getting decent at it, Next up is fretting a string while simultaneously keeping the other strings muted, which seems like it'll be really complicated. Phlegmish fucked around with this message at 10:30 on Aug 15, 2018 |
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Aug 15, 2018 09:37
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Studybass is grrreat. The videos they have now look decent too Muting isn't that hard - generally you just let your fretting hand lay against the strings, so when you fret a note your finger(s) mute the strings above it. ("Above" as in the higher pitch, thinner strings - like if you're reading a tab) The strings below the one you're playing are muted by the plucking hand. Any plucking video should get into this - resting your fingers and thumb on certain strings, so there's only ever one string vibrating at a time. Your two hands "surround" that string, and as you get used to the basic playing technique it just becomes natural. (Guitar should be played the same way too but hey!) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yBU3tDJUc4Q
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Aug 15, 2018 11:18
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Thanks for the video. I have a regular 4-string, so I'll try practicing the ringfinger method. I guess I should also rest my thumb on the surface of the pickup when I'm playing the E string, and not on top of it, or it'll take too much time to mute.
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Aug 15, 2018 11:53
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Yeah I do the ring finger thing - and I had to check by picking my bass up too, which goes to show how comfortable and natural it ends up! You'll find a technique you like with the thumb, I wouldn't worry about it. I would say that putting it on top of the pickup gives you something to push against though, like when you rest it against the E string. Helps keep the hand in place, which is helpful when you're starting out. I do that, or on the side of the neck if I'm up there, but if I'm playing somewhere without a thing to rest against I can just put my thumb against the body, or not anchor it at all. Just try and be consistent at first, whatever you choose
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Aug 15, 2018 12:30
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Yeah I can tell StudyBass is going to set me up in the right direction. I'm still doing fundamentals exercises, so the plucking with muting and then the fretting exercises. I'll probably move into common patterns and songs next week or the week after that. I resolved that I wasn't going to let guitar practice slide when getting a bass so I'm doing 20-30 minutes only of bass for now and continuing with 30-40 minutes of guitar (and occasional singing which I'm v. terrible at). November - January my work is super slow so I'll probably practice both an hour+ in that time. I resolved right away I was doing the moving thumb rather than the ring finger. Edit: Also, I have to say how much I appreciate the alpha tab thing he does. I'm going to be adapting this for guitar as well, re-tabbing anything out in that system. If I'm using tab I might as well learn notes while I'm doing it. Hellblazer187 fucked around with this message at 16:14 on Aug 15, 2018 |
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Aug 15, 2018 15:48
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baka kaba posted:Yeah I do the ring finger thing - and I had to check by picking my bass up too, which goes to show how comfortable and natural it ends up! Cool, and resting your thumb on the pickup doesn't slow you down too much? That's what the guy in the video was saying. Might depend on the music style you're playing? I've been liking that English guy on YouTube I linked earlier, but I think I'll start over with studybass.com just because the lessons seem pretty in-depth and with a strong theoretical component. I know very little about music theory.
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Aug 15, 2018 17:11
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The Science Goy posted:That would be best answered by a local luthier who can do the work, but a loose ballpark estimate would be $400-1000 USD for a new endpin/bridge/strings, depending on what replacements are used and whether there is additional damage from neglect. I would expect about $600 USD to be the median price. Brought it home, the strings are hosed, the endpiece too, and the bridge. Otherwise it's a good looking instrument, worth posting some pics here? Or should I just start calling luthiers? The gig bag for it is atrocious, only one handle. Real b hauling it up three flights of stairs. I'm hoping I can just use pics to get an estimate b/c the idea of hauling it every which way in NYC to get an estimate sounds hellish. e: to the beginners, have you thought about getting actual lessons from a human being? Sitting across from a critical professional on a weekly basis has turned me into a turd player into a gigging one in a relatively short time.
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Aug 15, 2018 17:21
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Phlegmish posted:Cool, and resting your thumb on the pickup doesn't slow you down too much? That's what the guy in the video was saying. Might depend on the music style you're playing? It depends on the style and song. Generally you're always going to have your thumb resting on either the pickups or the lower strings depending on which one you're plucking, as it provides an anchor. You pull your finger through the string and let it stop on your thumb (if you're plucking the E string) or the next string (if you're plucking any other string). This also keeps the lower string muted, as your finger dampens any accidental sound on it. This is obviously a moot point for any other technique. Picking is basically identical to regular guitar playing, while slap bass is a more complicated technique that has your hand hovering over the strings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En1U1P9di64
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Aug 15, 2018 17:22
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Phlegmish posted:Cool, and resting your thumb on the pickup doesn't slow you down too much? That's what the guy in the video was saying. Might depend on the music style you're playing? Nah, your hand basically moves up and down as you go from string to string anyway, the top of the pickup isn't a lot further. Honestly I think when I'm playing fast I'm more likely to just put it wherever, whatever feels right at the time - and your forearm is often kinda anchored to the bass body anyway. But either way, playing bass involves some pretty big hand jumps when you're skipping strings, you learn to do 'em all quick. Like I said, just pick a technique and stick with it, get a foundation down, then you can try a variation and see if you like it more! You'll know what you're doing at that point Hellblazer187 posted:Edit: Also, I have to say how much I appreciate the alpha tab thing he does. I'm going to be adapting this for guitar as well, re-tabbing anything out in that system. If I'm using tab I might as well learn notes while I'm doing it. Yeah they have some real good study tools like that - I like the fretboard learning exercise too
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Aug 15, 2018 17:31
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chitoryu12 posted:Picking is basically identical to regular guitar playing, I don't know if you should approach bass pickstyle this way. I find I move my wrist and fingers more when picking guitar, whereas with bass I try to keep them in a steady position and generate motion with the forearm, à la Gary Willis. This video series has been posted a bunch of times, but it's a great resource for all styles of bass: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRrmxH1wVlE
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Aug 15, 2018 20:23
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Well, fudge. I've had a wrist issue cropping up here and there when playing guitar. Not sure if I'm doing something wrong. I don't think so - I think I'm just a computer toucher with chronic inflammation from my bad diet and susceptible to these things - but not sure. Anyways, adding a bass practice on top of my guitar practice has made it flare back up again, so I'll be doing plucking exercises only the next few days, or just nothing at all. Bummer. Usually with 1-3 days of rest it goes away for a few months. One time I decided to "play through" it and it hurt for like 3 weeks so I don't do that anymore.
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Aug 16, 2018 16:47
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Time to work on your fretboard knowledge, music theory, transcribing, sight reading... 
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Aug 16, 2018 19:48
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Which hand is it? If it's your fretting hand, you could practice open string plucking to build up speed.
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Aug 16, 2018 19:57
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chitoryu12 posted:Which hand is it? If it's your fretting hand, you could practice open string plucking to build up speed. yep, it's my fretting hand. So, yeah I'll be doing the plucking exercises on studybass. And yeah, fretboard knowledge, which I need for guitar also, etc.
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Aug 16, 2018 20:55
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My band played a gig tonight. We have a few songs in 6/8 and 12/8 time. One of the heavy 12/8 songs is about Q. = 78, and another heavy one is Q. = 128. Because of a miscommunication involving the singer calling out the tempo of the slow song to the drummer (not on mic, thankfully) too quickly and the drummer getting a tiny bit confused, we played the 78 BPM song, which has lots of 16th notes in the riffs, at about 128 BPM. We aren't the kind of band to re-start a song, because that would be too easy. Adding to the fun, the faster song has a couple of parts--including the intro--where instead of the standard 12/8 accent structure (XxxXxxXxxXxx), there is a rhythmic vertical hemiola, so the accents are XxXxXxXxXxXx. The faster song is built for this, so it sounds nice and heavy and on purpose-y. The slower song has none of this structure, so it just sounds wrong. And it did. Well... one of the good things about having a good drummer is that he figures stuff out, and he figured out what happened after the intro... but we were trapped in that tempo because slowing it down would have been like admitting we were wrong. You know, just like restarting a song would have. Turns out we can play that song at that tempo if we get rid of most of the 16th note chugga chuggas. At a certain point, the lead guitarist, who was next to me on the small stage, looked at me to see if I knew what was going on. I shrugged, and we both laughed, because what can you do? (Don't say "restart the song" or "slow it down." Why? Because shut up, that's why!)
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Aug 17, 2018 05:58
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That's funny my bands just see what song is next and then play that song
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Aug 17, 2018 07:42
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tarlibone posted:You know, just like restarting a song would have. Dude never restart the song, unless its a catastrophic break down, yall did the right thing.
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Aug 17, 2018 07:54
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CheesyDog posted:That's funny my bands just see what song is next and then play that song
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Aug 17, 2018 09:51
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Tell your singer I hate him
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Aug 17, 2018 21:00
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A singer dictating tempos to the drummer? Yeah, no. Stay in your lane, please.
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Aug 17, 2018 21:03
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tarlibone posted:My band played a gig tonight. *audience member comes up to you after* I really liked that song! The singer looked great!
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Aug 17, 2018 21:10
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Agrikk posted:A singer dictating tempos to the drummer?
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Aug 17, 2018 21:26
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have fun with your Magma cover band
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Aug 18, 2018 13:07
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A vertical hemiola normally can be taken care of with a few sutures and some bed rest.
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Aug 18, 2018 13:39
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So I've been continuing with studybass.com, he talks about pressing as closely behind the fret as possible without being on the fret. Why can't I just press on the fret itself?
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Aug 19, 2018 19:29
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Phlegmish posted:So I've been continuing with studybass.com, he talks about pressing as closely behind the fret as possible without being on the fret. Why can't I just press on the fret itself? sometimes it'll make a bad buzzy sound instead of a note
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Aug 19, 2018 19:33
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