Have you been to a GC? Or just a guitar shop.. That notorious question comes up.. "Hey there, you think i can have a patch cord and try out that bass?" You then plug in...you think to yourself...."hmm. lets tune... now, what song to play." What kinds of things do you play?

Usually in this order:

Generic funk line/run
master of puppets riff
tell me baby (rhcp)
the theme from Beverly Hills cop

I play the first three to actually test various stuff... the fourth is just to make ppl around me look up and go, "Is that beverly hills cop?" :cool:

i always play country bop by stew hamm. just for s's and g's

i always happen to bring up Classical Thump too, lol. i do it for a reason than showing off. i like to see how basses are with double thumbing..some are harder to do it on...Fenders seem easiest to me because the picguard takes away some distance from the strings and the body.

If I just pick it up for fun, I play a couple of jazzy riffs, a walking line or two, and maybe a scale exercise or two.

If I am trying it out to buy it, I play MANY scales all over the neck, so I can hear how it sounds through many positions. Many people compliment me on my sound (*thank you!!!), but I cannot show off. I would be able to try a bass MUCH better if they had a decent drummer in the bass room, who I could lay down a beat with.

MoP riff
Beat it - MJ

And maybe some random stuff I know.

Have you been to a GC? Or just a guitar shop.. That notorious question comes up.. "Hey there, you think i can have a patch cord and try out that bass?" You then plug in...you think to yourself...."hmm. lets tune... now, what song to play." What kinds of things do you play?

I always start with a huge slide up and down the E string followed by a ringing open E, just for kicks :)

Then I will do octave runs and the major scale up and down the neck to get a feel for the bass and its general tone etc.

Then I might poorly slap the E string and try some tapping. I do this in the hope the bass magically improves my technique, since I never practice them enough :D

Songs-wise I change up what I play depending on what I am learning at the time but these tunes seem to be staples for me when trying out a bass:

Intro to For Whom The Bell Tolls (Metallica)
Verse riff to Hail Hail (Pearl Jam)
The bridge to The Chain (Fleetwood Mac)
Intro riff to Blood Pus and Gastric Juice (Pungent Stench)
Bass part to Orion (Metallica)
Chorus to Under the Bridge (Red Hot Chilli Peppers)

Also if someone tries to jam along with what I am playing I immediately stop playing and move on to something else. Just a habit I have - I don't really feel comfortable jamming in a shop - We're there to test the stuff out for a purchase, not use their stuff for an impromptu jam session or worse a competitive wank session.

stairway to heaven? haha jkjk

usually, i'd play some scales, with a little bit of rhcp's higher ground, californication, and some double stops...

stairway to heaven? haha jkjk
...

lol as a matter of fact thats the piece im doing at the moment, ive seen it done chordaly but i think it sounds better tapped.

Those dammed blue collar
War pigs intro
summertime blues by blue cheer(:cool:)

If I want To "Wank" I will play jerry was a racecar driver(still need that 26th fret).

Those dammed blue collar
War pigs intro
summertime blues by blue cheer(:cool:)

If I want To "Wank" I will play jerry was a racecar driver(still need that 26th fret).
You can play that song and you can't bend the 24th fret 2 steps? :hiding:

What:eyebrow:

The guitar center where I live has a very bad selection of basses,nothing above a 23rd fret.

My apologies, I just assumed shops carried 24 fret versions nowadays as well :)

I do some tapping to show off a little and maybe some slapping in the low range on a 5-string (which is the most important part of the tone to me).

Some original compisitions that involve varying levels or grooving, slapping, tapping, and playing chords. Then, I run through some classics like I Want You Back by Jackson 5, the ending solo from Red Barchetta, New Skin by Incubus, and maybe Cosmic Girl by Jamiroquai. Covers pretty much any style I need and gives me a good feel for how well the bass will cover MY styles, as well as how versatile it is.

inagodadavida, carousel (just the first minute and half or so of that song), suck my kiss, the trooper; other random stuff i know or made up right then and there

I like to shred out on Nirvana - Come As You Are

The intro to Running With The Devil. (okay, not really...)

I'll do pretty much anything but I always judge by how good a bass's slap tone is first and I do this under a VARIETY of instrment and amp settings. I'll usually do chord type stuff to check for even string clarity and then fingerstyle stuff in a whole bunch of settings.

Things that will make me put the bass down:
No clean and crisp high end snap
Consistant muddyness
Less than stellar tone control response
Hum, hiss, noize, cough

test versatility, (tune bass down, play heavy metal, push the bass's sound response, then tune back up and switch to light jazz, then funk and some rhcp.

then test its feel, by playing dream theater for a long time

oh yea
its fun

I walk it around in 'A' Maj to get warmed up....
do some more major scales..
then goof around with with some pentatonics

but no songs.. only patterns

ACAAA ACAAA AEAF#ADAC#ACAAA AGGGGA

I just start playing riffs from Iron Maiden's Killers album. If I am going to find any problems with the sound I desire, then those riffs should bring it out haha... mostly because of the quick rhythmic patterns combined with aggressive string striking. Anyways, I am sure that those people at GC need to be exposed to more Maiden riffs than The Trooper

Have you been to a GC? Or just a guitar shop.. That notorious question comes up.. "Hey there, you think i can have a patch cord and try out that bass?" You then plug in...you think to yourself...."hmm. lets tune... now, what song to play." What kinds of things do you play?

In A Gadda Da Vida. Louie Louie. Wipe Out. Y'know...all the usual things the kids now days are playing...

MM

Powerhouse by Raymond Scott. That's the 'factory'/'assembly line' music that appeared in dozens of WB cartoons.

LZ's Out on the Tiles
EWF's Power
Scales and I seem to always finish up with
"It's really nice, do you want me to put it back up on the wall? Thanks"

- I'll start off with some boxy funk stuff.
- Then usually do a walk or two in a major scale.
- I might throw in some Tom Sayer at this point.
- Then mess with some chords and harmonics.
- Then I might hammer out Come on, come over.
- Then a little Stevie with that bass and horn line in Sir Duke.
- At this point, if I'm digging the bass, I'll do chromatic walks all over the bass to test out high and low tones and see if I can sniff out the ever-feared dead spot.
- From this point it's anyones guess. I might do a Little Green Bag, maybe that great Kansas riff from Carry on my Wayward son, and there would probably be some RHCP in favour of Aeroplane or Around the World.

Usually Some slappy funk lines that i jam on. Then jazz lines, maybe SO What by Miles. Then chordal progressions (Double and Triple Stops) and then some RHCP and Primus, Metallica, Nirvana, Led, anything that comes to mind. Also Pink Floyd

I make shure its in tune than do 12 bar blues then ill do a rift from Anesthesia and, then what ever is stuck in my head, and ill finish with a rift from whatever song im working on writing :)

Whatever songs I plan to use it for... the set I am currently playing.
Lowest string as hard and as soft as I can. Dig in for 8ths and see how the dynamics are as I get softer. Some 3 note chords, 1,3,5..1,b3,5, etc...
Jonathan

Scales, some blues riffs, a little led zep maybe. I second the Kansas tune, "carry on my wayward son" is one of my favorite bass lines to play. Maybe "I wish" by stevie wonder.

It's usually Red Barchetta for me

I normally play some awesome songs i've learned in Orchestra, and also by myself. Here's a list!-

Crazy Train
In The Hall of the Mountain King
Carry On Wayward Son
Another One Bites the Dust
Wipeout
Animal I Have Become:bassist:

as well as some christmas tunes

and some classics such as
Eine Kline Nachtmusik


just to name a few.
i luv goin 2 music stores and showin off my mad skills!

When I'm buying a bass I'll noodle just a bit to check the feel.
If I'm buying a amp I give the bass to the sales guy and screw with the amp while he plays.
I don't go for hot doggin' in some GC or S.Ash.
I mean really.

I play either some Muse or random New Order or worship tunes...

It varies, but usually the Lemon Song or some other good ol' Jonesy bassline, some RHCP, Come On, Come Over, Roundabout, and the intro to Portrait of Tracy (all I can play of it, lol). Oh, and Red Barchetta. From there, it's whatever comes to my mind.

Day Tripper and Come Together by the Beatles then the melody to Stairway to Heaven. That usually bores the salesmen and they leave me alone. I follow-up with Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder and Synchronicity ll by The Police and finish with Freewill by Rush.

Sometimes I will slap a funk line like Jungle Boogie or do the theme song from Barney Miller.

If I hear a guitarist wanking and I know the song, I may just play along. If he comes over I will tell him he was playing in the wrong key :D

Usually a few scales, sometimes some Jet lines, a few Metallica lines and an odd Angel of Death by Slayer :)

A couple octaves worth of scales......a perfect 5th exercise I like to do...a few clarke-esques slappy things to test slap tone....some prince-ish type slap lines, a-la emancipation to test string balance....a few things by one of my own band's lines, and then Larry Graham's "if you want me to stay"

Jaco's Amerika and Portrait of Tracy.
Tool (most of their songs are played in drop-D so it's a good way to test out the bass' response!).
Harmonics and some chords.
Improv.

I will usually start with a riff from a worship song, "All Day" which gets me over 4 strings pretty quickly and gives me a good feel for the neck. Then maybe some Hysteria, some 12 bar blues, maybe a little slap.

Lots of scales...and then to piss everyone else in the store off, I play For Whom the Bell Tolls REALLY LOUD. But you gotta know what it sounds like at high volumes before you buy it, right?

I don't usually have any agenda when testing a bass, just some noodling, funk stuff, metal stuff etc. All of the different styles of stuff I would play. But I always have to play some Frank Zappa song on bass just on principle...the world needs it!

Higher Ground. Over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over.


(just kidding).

first thing I do when testing out an electric bass is *NOT* play it. I give it an extremely thorough, almost anally attentive examination...checking for neck straightness, fret even-ness, quality of construction/assembly, etc. There are a lot of common basses that you find in stores all the time that I've never played, simply because they never passed this initial exam.

Then, if the place is quiet enough, I'll play it unplugged, just listening for even-ness of tone and feeling for consistency of resonance.

Finally, I plug it in and wank. I think the only recognizeable riff or tune that I ever play with any regularity is Alphonso Johnson's groove from behind the sax solo in "Black Market" ...something about that line can tell me more about how my hand fits around the neck and how comfortable it'll be to play than any other tune I know.

I sucked alot of cock to get where i am by regurgitator while staring at the sales chick...

usually a bit of anything and everything although i usually kick it off with im too sexy by right said fred just for giggles. Usually have some old Machine head and some opeth in there as well.

Wont Get Fooled Again
Black Dog
My Generation (just the solo)
John Entwistle-like lead lines base around octaves

Riffs that hit the low notes exclusivley, riffs that hit the high to really high notes. Something with some slides, maybe a tiny bit of tapping. Chords that cover all the strings from the two lowest to all four at once.

Some scales.

Sympathy For The Devil -- The Stones
Children Of The Grave -- Sabbath
Sour Girl -- STP
Little By Little and
Something On Your Mind or Just Won't Burn -- Susan Tedeschy. Just Won't Burn's great for testing out a bass, or an amp. Lots of low notes, open strings, walkups, sustained notes, slides...
Pressure Drop -- The Clash
Sleepin' The Day Away and
All Over Town -- The Knowbodys
Back On Track and
Forevermore -- Chrome Wheels

I nearly forgot...Couldn't Stand The Weather -- SRV. And Cold Shot. It has to sound good on those songs. Has to, has to, has to.

I like to play a bunch of different stuff.

Cherie :bassist:

NIB
Highway Star
opening lick to 'Victa'
Searchin' (skynyrd)
The Lemon Song
Thela Hun Ginjeet

- tune it & level all the knobs/buttons etc
- whack a couple of slap licks out to see if its remotely sounding nice to me
- if I like it I'll check every note on the neck (4 fingers chromatic exercise) which also warms me up nicely, listen hard to the thing though, look for dead spots and buzzes
- some fingerstyle funk (bridge vs neck pup & whatever the preamps got)
- American Life, cos its just such a nice riff
- Some tapping groove stuff, not too wanky though
- If I really like it and want to really find out how playable it is still then if its got 24 frets and at least 4 strings then Bach's Cello Suite No1 (best with only 4 strings, since thats how I figured it out), also tends to make people bug out a bit which is fun! :D

i usually play
roundabout
what is hip
and whats goin on

I play the songs I play. Why play something you don't normally play if you are trying out an amp that you might purchase?? :hmm:

When I'm trying a bass, I almost always play:

-Only Living Boy in New York (Joe Osborn, Simon & Garfunkle). IT covers the mid-neck area nicely, and has some high glisses to check neck & fret evenness.

-The last chorus of "America" (same bassist, earlier album.) Really works out the high frets. There ain't nothin' higher to play than that.

-Spiderwebs from No Doubt. Works the low frets well.

Those tunes give me a good feel for how playable the neck is.

Of course, I haven't bought a bass since 1976. I only play them in the store when I'm helping one of my kids buy a guitar, or when I'm at a multi-band gig and the other bass player(s) are swapping bass tips.

sadly i just improv to try things out, to 'feel' the instrument.

then i might bring out the pink panther theme :D

Seriously? I find myself playing fusiony kinds of things. Like...

Blue Wind - Jeff Beck
School Days - Stanley Clarke
Etc. etc...

MM

I check tuning first, and then I'll play random riffs(slap and pop riffs, riffs with picks, riffs without picks...you name it.) While I'm doing so I'll mess with the tone and volume settings.

I'm not a great technician, so I'm never going to impress anyone playing solo. What I usually do is go for the goof factor. TV game show themes, commercial jingles, etc. I've got about 20 that I can "whip out" on a moments notice. I can't dazzle them with technique, but I sure can make 'em smile.

i always play country bop by stew hamm. just for s's and g's

Is that anything like Country Music by Stu Hamm? :rolleyes:

I've got a few:

Diamonds on the Soles of her shoes by Paul Simon.
88 by Level 42
School Days by Stanley Clarke
Prime Mover by Rush
some of The Aga of The Ladies and Glad To be Back From Paris by Jonas Hellborg.

i ask to go to a lesson room with the stuff i want to play
if i am serious and have money to spend

i cant stand how people wank on stupid songs to get attention
i play what i need to in order to make a decision
most places are cool about it
i can take the amp i want or the bass i want to a lesson room and just jam for a while and make my decision

anyone else do that

I'll slap a few lines from Low Rider or Shaky Ground, then do Crossroads, Sweet Emotion and Ramble On for fingerstyle, then a few walking jazz lines to see if the amp or bass has good jazz tone

Slayer, Tool, Stravinsky (totally serious here), Meshuggah

Some two hand tapping, odd-timed stuff, pinch harmonics...

The list goes on.

Arpeggios, to warm up.then some lemon song, ramble on, what is and what should never be, caroselambra..Zep stuff obviously, Beatles, queen, Floyd, eagles, not all at the same time but just stuff I have played when I do go to the GC. :bassist: one that I always play though is that Flea song cant think of the name right now though something like pee or little pea really eazy but fun to play. :bassist:

slap that funker!!!! :bassist:

First I usually play a classic piece that goes real fast, can't remember the name since I've played it as a finger excersice. Then I do some slapping like Higher Ground or Pow. Then I move onto stuff I usually play on gigs and such, so I usually play a bit of improvised blues and funk, then I move on to some other crap I just happen to remember. After maybe 15 mins of this I eighter buy it or move on :D

Funny thing, I was trying out some effects today and I was completely blank.

I didn't know what to play, but after a while I managed to blurt out the Ballad of Bodacious (by Primus) and H. (by Tool).

From here on out, I'll start playing Roundabout (by Yes) and I will not be held accountable for anything that might follow.

PastorofMuppets -- I don't usually think to go take the bass to another room. I just try and play a bunch of stuff that I know my band will play, or that I know will get brought up in jams. I want to hear the instrument on the songs that I know will get played over and over. Never occurred to me to go to another room at all. Heck, there's usually enough guitarists screaming away in the store that no one notices that lady trying out the bass over in the corner. ;)

Cherie

Nothing amazing :D
Generally Dani California, Sweet Child O Mine, Scales and maybe the parts of Anthesia i remember... I don't turn many heads :hmm::smug::bassist:

i play a few scales to warm up then a few fast n fancy runs then i'll play a couple of my riffs and play a couple a song from my bad
if i like the bass i'll play with myself while no one is looking and the guitar dude is wrapping it up;)

For a bass guitar: arpeggios and scales from side-to-side and top-to-bottom on the fretboard so I can hear how the thing sounds. Usually slowly and carefully as I listen to the details of the tone, letting some notes ring out and decay, sometimes faster for checking out playability.

I am almost certain I have never played a song or a recognizable riff in a music store. I think it stems from the "Stairway to Heaven" bit in "The Blues Brothers" movie.

i usually warm up with Higher Ground, or some random pentatonic run thingy, then...

For Whom The Bell Tolls
Cult of Personality (the Doug Wimbish bassline)
Glamour Boys (living colour)
some random Pantera melody

then to test how fast i can move my fingers around on the bass, ill usually go metal with it...

Before I Forget-Slipknot
Now You've Got Somethin To Die For-LOG
Laid To Rest-LOG
Redneck-LOG
and then....

LA GRANGE!!! :bassist:

If I only had a brain

If fretted: Crossroads is always first, then Stride (by whom, I do not know), then Damn Blue Collar Tweekers

If fretless: Fisticuffs (Primus), Stride

Besides those, I run scales, my normal warm-up exercises, and basically just feel the bass up in various and sundry ways. If there's any imperfection at all, I'm going to find it. I'm a big fan of the neck dive test, which most basses do not pass.

I usually just improv while tinkering with tone and such. I usually I draw a blank and end up defaulting to something I've known forever. lol I don't really care about turning heads. If it's a bass I plan on buying I'll slowly check out every fret on every string and make sure there's nothing dead or weak.

I always play it unplugged at first. All I'm testing is how smooth the feel is and how responsive it is. This will tell me a lot. When I'm doing this I'm not really playing anything, just some sort of guitaresque solo usually. If it passes this test I will pretty much always buy it. (I don't try out basses I can't afford.) When I think I'm going to buy I play Weezer's Only In Dreams plugged into an amp. This actually is great to play with pickup tone. And then I might play through some of my old bands songs. If I get to my originals it's a done deal and I'm just playing with the sales persons head.

if i like the bass i'll play with myself while no one is looking and the guitar dude is wrapping it up;)


:eyebrow:


As for me I normally just play stuff that I play live.

I start noodling around on the strings a little bit, eventually playing a certain blues solo that my bass teacher wrote out for me to play a while ago to see if I'm comfy playing that on the bass, and I might play some Primus, or I might improv to some SOAD or something. See, I WOULD play some Dream Theater, but I kinda can't.

i like to do
Hard to Consentrate - RHCP
A few little slap grooves - Myself
Trooper - Iron Maiden (gets some good looks =])
Cant Stop - RHCP (ive litterally had other bassist in the room adn guitarists across play this with me after ive played it ><)
and whatever comes to mind really.

usually i play along to whatever they have piped in the store (GC),then
the intro to no place to go - charlie daniels band,then
don't want you no more/not my cross to bear - allman bros.

Whatever lets me check how the bass is made, if there are dead spots on it, the sustain/decay, how it handles basic technique tones, if it takes more of a modern sound or classic, the different sound witht the different configs, all with the amp on flat.

I'm there to try a bass, no to get anyone listening... I don't really play anything at all, apart than maybe some pentatonic scales which do the best for me to check playability, I need to focus on the bass and it's pros & cons, not in a pointless arpeggiofest.

I'll generally play a collection of my own pieces to get a feel for how she plays in different positions. Since I have to retune the bass to play most of my stuff, it's difficult to play any cover riffs. The only one that I sneak in once in a while is the middle section of "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Iron Maiden ("...and by the light of the moon..."). My fingers have alwyas played that line when they don't know what else to do.

I like to do the Gene Simmons solo from youtube and then point all over the place so while they are looking at what I am pointing at, I can run out with bass in hand =)

Mostly I check for dead notes on the bass.

I like to do the Gene Simmons solo from youtube and then point all over the place so while they are looking at what I am pointing at, I can run out with bass in hand =)

LOL

I usually just thump around and feel stupid because i don't know any songs really.
then contemplate kicking the idiot play stairway to heaven, higher ground or schism in the head.

Usually I do The Awakening, the Les Claypool version, then I actually go into the lines used by basstasters.com just because they seem to do great for side by side comparisons.

Dark Eternal Night intro, some riffs in songs of ours and some Metallica-riffs. That does it for me!

I like to crank it up and feedback for about 5 minutes then I scratch my finger nail up and down it. If I am at Guitar Center, I would much rather fart thru the PA. That place sucks on the weekends.

i run scales up and down the neck while checking for dead spots.
then i run through various tunes that have techniques i use often.
and i do admit i noodle a bit just for fun :)

Depends on the sounds I'm checking out. To check on the crispy stuff, usually Roundabout to see if I can get that CS sound going. For a different sound, Birdland to check harmonics and a bassier sound. Then I'll try to dial in a funky sound with some original grooves.

In all, I'll spend no more than 2 or 3 minutes checking out the amp - I hate to play in music stores.

I was in my local music store this morning. A guy was checking out a bass and what was he playing?

"Yankee Doodle"

:rolleyes:

Chic's good times (rapper's delight)
Generic funky walking line,
Generic jazz line,
Generic punk line with pick,
Incubus's Battlestar Scratchtachica
And Portrait of Tracy if I'm feeling flash.

12 bar blues
sunshine of your love
smells like teen spirit
hey joe

I don't have cash to spend on basses, hence no reason to pick up basses at stores and play... :hmm:

well
usually its a bit of
Lady Marmalade
groovy basslines there
higher ground
portrait of tracy
and maybe if i have time some of my songs

Grand Funk: Got This Thing on the Move
Taste of Honey: Boogie Oogie Oogie
Black Sabbath: N. I. B.
Cream: Crossroads
Van Morrison: Wild Night

m

hahaha

i usualy just mess around with no rhyme or reason, but if i catch someone looking at me, (wich i usualy do when i turn up the amp to 5) i do some mad/random/loud/horible slaping down the neck and start rippin out "rock lobster" as hard as i can while bangin my head sporadicly. then i just follow that patern up the neck till i hit the top, turn down the volume and play "continental soldier" and people usualy just shake their heads and look away...:scowl:

but seeing as i usualy go shoping with my guitar playing buddy, we'll usualy jam sum foo fighters, metalica and maiden, and then, just to show boat, i'll bust out my pick and start playing guitar riffs from cuthulu dawn (CoF) and kissing the shadows (CoB).

on that note, i dont usualy buy anything without an arse load more of the usualscales & whatnot

I like to shred out on Nirvana - Come As You Are

wow... that was the first time i've ever heard the words "shred" and "nirvana" used in the same sentence.

the GC here is so lawless that you don't ask for jackall, you just plug in...


last time i was there, i was testing out various Ampeg and GK cabs...

for punchy:
Naked In The Rain - RHCP
Freewill - Rush

for warm/round:
Israelites - Desmond Dekker
Steppin' Out - Steel Pulse




Have you been to a GC? Or just a guitar shop.. That notorious question comes up.. "Hey there, you think i can have a patch cord and try out that bass?" You then plug in...you think to yourself...."hmm. lets tune... now, what song to play." What kinds of things do you play?

Ornithology-Charlie Parker, to test the neck speed/show off
Slappy Funk Riff, to test the slappability
A bunch of jazz heads, for fun-
-Stop and Play with Tone Controls for a few Minutes-
that stupid Cliff Burton Solo i play to much
Stanley Clarke's School Days
the ending to Bach's Prelude to the Six Suites, for dead spots
_Stop Play with tone Controls some more_
A Bunch of TOOL songs

My Usual Routine
-Mike

Dethklok - deththeme

Tool - schism

As blood runs black - in dying days

Dio - holy diver

Metallica - Orion

Electric wizard - Whichever song I remember at the time

Yah...woo!

Stevie Wonder, signed sealed delivered,
the tempt's, my girl
Swervedriver, Blowin' cool
John Prine, crazy as a loon
Jeff Beck, goodbye porkpie hat
Funky Broadway
Alpha Blondy, Jerusalem
Rancid, Journey to the end of the east bay
whatever my band is playing at the time,
or if i am looking for a particular sound for a specific song, i will try that song with a wide selection of basses

Some random scales and Stone Roses "I Wanna Be Adored".

something like disco inferno with my fingers...
then octaves from 1st fret to 12th...
then slap something like aeroplane or a bit of level 42

I play Wynona's Big Brown Beaver by Primus. I also play the beginning of Portrait of Tracy by Jaco, Can't Hold No Groove by Victor Wooten and sometimes a two-five chord progression.

To be honest I think playing "songs" when trying out gear is a waste of time and misdirected. When you are trying out gear you want to know what it sounds like, the versatility and range of the instrument or amp/speaker or other component and how it feels in the case of an instrument.

What you should be trying to do is have some etudes or ideas of your own together when you try something out. You really want to see how the gear you are trying responds to you and the different techniques you use. Trying to get Les Claypool or Victor Wooten's tone while trying something out is going to leave you with a false impression of what you are doing with your gear when you try and apply your own voice to it later on. Which is pretty much what happens when you go in there playing songs.

Personally I start by checking out any instrument acoustically before I even plug it in. Then I assess how it feels and take set up factors into account, intonation action and so on. Then I try to us an amp setup that is close as possible to my own setup and go through a series of different techniques and technique based etudes. I start with the settings all "flat", test it in active and passive mode, see how it sounds with bass, treble and mids boosted and cut, try different pickup settings and see if I can get different tones. I will go through fingerplaying, slap, tapping, sweeping, harmonics and generally try to find out how the instrument or amp responds to each of those techniques based on things I might do myself. Also with amps I will set the setting to flat and boost and cut as I go, I will also take at least one of my own basses in to try it out.

I don't think songs give you a good frame of reference because the moment you start playing songs you are distracting yourself from the sound of what you are trying out and comparing to the sound you have of that song in your head. Also I think in part the "look what I can do" factor really detracts from you making an informed and subjective decision about the gear.

I am almost certain I have never played a song or a recognizable riff in a music store. I think it stems from the "Stairway to Heaven" bit in "The Blues Brothers" movie.


Did someone record over your copy of the Blues Brothers with some bits out of Wayne's World?

The first line of Blitzkrieg Bop, if it handles tht, it handles me :p

The Trooper! :bassist:

mostly a bluesy-funky riff with a few fills and a walking line.

Freewill by Rush, Dazed and Confused by Zepplin, and some various scales and progressions. Sometimes whatever I might be working on too.

To be honest I think playing "songs" when trying out gear is a waste of time and misdirected. When you are trying out gear you want to know what it sounds like, the versatility and range of the instrument or amp/speaker or other component and how it feels in the case of an instrument.

What you should be trying to do is have some etudes or ideas of your own together when you try something out. You really want to see how the gear you are trying responds to you and the different techniques you use. Trying to get Les Claypool or Victor Wooten's tone while trying something out is going to leave you with a false impression of what you are doing with your gear when you try and apply your own voice to it later on. Which is pretty much what happens when you go in there playing songs.

Personally I start by checking out any instrument acoustically before I even plug it in. Then I assess how it feels and take set up factors into account, intonation action and so on. Then I try to us an amp setup that is close as possible to my own setup and go through a series of different techniques and technique based etudes. I start with the settings all "flat", test it in active and passive mode, see how it sounds with bass, treble and mids boosted and cut, try different pickup settings and see if I can get different tones. I will go through fingerplaying, slap, tapping, sweeping, harmonics and generally try to find out how the instrument or amp responds to each of those techniques based on things I might do myself. Also with amps I will set the setting to flat and boost and cut as I go, I will also take at least one of my own basses in to try it out.

I don't think songs give you a good frame of reference because the moment you start playing songs you are distracting yourself from the sound of what you are trying out and comparing to the sound you have of that song in your head. Also I think in part the "look what I can do" factor really detracts from you making an informed and subjective decision about the gear.

Best post yet! I too approach checking out a bass from a different perspective. The very first thing I do is check to see how the neck profile feels in my hand. If it doesn't have that fit, I go no further. If it does seem like it could be there, I will play it unplugged for a few minutes. If after that time it still appeals to me, I leave it alone, and come back at least a few days later at an odd hr when the store is most likely at it's quietest. Again I pick up the bass, and if it doesn't immediately feel there, I walk. If it does, I repeat the first process again.This time however, I play every note on the bass (still unplugged) slowly and deliberately to check the loudness and uniformity of the notes, as well as listen for dead spots. If a bass sounds good unplugged, it will sound usually as good plugged in. Only after it passes that test, will I bother plugging it in to see if it has that magic. This may seem like a waste of time to many, but I am NOT going to the store to audition. I am going to look at a possible instrument to purchase.
As mentioned by someone earlier, when checking out an amp, I usually play very little. Instead I ask a sales person to play my bass as well as one in the store of his choosing. I really am not interested in his/her ability, but rather their willingness to help play what I ask as I set and change gain, eq, etc. A really young salesman at GC helped me one night for almost an hr playing for me as I checked out a LMII. He played whole notes, sustained notes, finger style, slap, walking, and even some chords for me, all on my asking. I could not have been more appreciative for his help. After my session with him, I purchased the amp without even playing one note through it myself. I found out all I needed to by being able to tweak the amp and listen with both hands free while the bass was being played, and having the ability to walk around and listen to the eq changes I had made. Again, I did NOT go there to audition, I went there to buy an amp.
A funny story comes to mind. Back in the 90's I went to a musicians flea mkt and rented a space to sell some items. I had one real nice piece to sell. It was a vintage MM Stingray ash/maple in mint shape. I swear to you at least a hundred people played that bass that day. 99 of them played some wanky slap crap that made me want to puke. One older gentleman sat down and played some wonderful melodic lines for about five minutes. Guess who bought it?

Those dammed blue collar
War pigs intro
summertime blues by blue cheer(:cool:)

If I want To "Wank" I will play jerry was a racecar driver(still need that 26th fret).

Wow, racecar driver, nice job man. I just learned John the Fisherman. Cut the back of my middle finger up pretty bad. Fun song though. And the top song; 'those damned blue collar', I just want to know if you mean 'Those damned blue coloured tweakers' by Primus. If so, nice job again.

if i try a fretless its always Portrait of Tracy or a really poor "Uh, whats up next now?" version of Teen Town

other than that i just noodle

though if im at the local instrument shop i spend most of my time just talking with the dudes who work there, i used to work there so i know them all personally

God Must Be a Boogie Man

Best post yet! I too approach checking out a bass from a different perspective. The very first thing I do is check to see how the neck profile feels in my hand. If it doesn't have that fit, I go no further. If it does seem like it could be there, I will play it unplugged for a few minutes. If after that time it still appeals to me, I leave it alone, and come back at least a few days later at an odd hr when the store is most likely at it's quietest. Again I pick up the bass, and if it doesn't immediately feel there, I walk. If it does, I repeat the first process again.This time however, I play every note on the bass (still unplugged) slowly and deliberately to check the loudness and uniformity of the notes, as well as listen for dead spots. If a bass sounds good unplugged, it will sound usually as good plugged in. Only after it passes that test, will I bother plugging it in to see if it has that magic. This may seem like a waste of time to many, but I am NOT going to the store to audition. I am going to look at a possible instrument to purchase.
As mentioned by someone earlier, when checking out an amp, I usually play very little. Instead I ask a sales person to play my bass as well as one in the store of his choosing. I really am not interested in his/her ability, but rather their willingness to help play what I ask as I set and change gain, eq, etc. A really young salesman at GC helped me one night for almost an hr playing for me as I checked out a LMII. He played whole notes, sustained notes, finger style, slap, walking, and even some chords for me, all on my asking. I could not have been more appreciative for his help. After my session with him, I purchased the amp without even playing one note through it myself. I found out all I needed to by being able to tweak the amp and listen with both hands free while the bass was being played, and having the ability to walk around and listen to the eq changes I had made. Again, I did NOT go there to audition, I went there to buy an amp.
A funny story comes to mind. Back in the 90's I went to a musicians flea mkt and rented a space to sell some items. I had one real nice piece to sell. It was a vintage MM Stingray ash/maple in mint shape. I swear to you at least a hundred people played that bass that day. 99 of them played some wanky slap crap that made me want to puke. One older gentleman sat down and played some wonderful melodic lines for about five minutes. Guess who bought it?

I like the point you make about coming back. I don't believe in love at first sight either and you often need a second "date" at least before you know if you really want to buy something, I find.

When Got my Epiphone Thunderbird, I played my favorite Who songs; "Boris the Spider", "Overture", and "Baba O'Riley". I also play random scales and jazz noodling. my philosophy is: 'If it sounds good, do it'

Depends on what I've been working on but sooner or later the following make an appearance.

Funky Broadway
Memphis Soul Stew
My Girl
Going to A Go, Go

Xanadu by RUSH.

schism riff from tool to test the high end sounds. some low marilyn manson style riffs to see what kinda growl ya can get from it. some finger style interpol to test how melo it goes.

fiddle with the eq and play with pick and without.

Joy Divison "She's lost control" is nice piece to check how instruments highs are sounding.

I've only bought one bass so far and that was when I didn't know much so I played come as you are by nirvana like 50 times and played random notes, decided I liked the feel of the Ibanez SR 300 more than any other and bought it. It sounded better than my $125 bass I got off of ebay though and I know different tones and feels now so I'll probably be able to buy a bass more effectively next time. (Not that I'm ashamed of my bass now, it's a lovely one. I picked lucky.)

I usually go in bout an hour after they open. Don't wanna be the first and seem desparate. I pick one of the most expensive bass's there nad usually start off by wanking on stairway to heaven. if no one is looking at me, then I reel off some my name is mud while walking really starngly back and forth. I stop and look around, if still no one is looking at me, then I try my best at slapping through the fire and flames just like I do on my GH3 Wii at home. If that doesn't work I usually just set it down at an angle so that if anyone sneezes, it will fall over. Oh and I make sure its still plugged in. Then I randomly look around at strings or pedals or whatnot until my Mom is done shopping at Dillard's and picks me up.

"Aeroplane" by RHCP -- for that big slide up to "G" (on the A string). That alone tells me a lot about the character of the neck, and also the balance (in terms of frequency).

I like the point you make about coming back. I don't believe in love at first sight either and you often need a second "date" at least before you know if you really want to buy something, I find.

I used to be a real impulse shopper and wasted a lot of money on crap I didn't actually, need or physically could not play and then therefore sold a lot of gear. Nowadays I go back and try things a second or third time with at least three days between the "auditions". I've picked up some mighty fine instruments (including my beloved Highway One P-Bass which has become my "number one") by being patient and listening to things with a fresh perspective.

When I try out new gear, I ask to take it first to a quiet area (such as the acoustic room or recording) so I can actually hear what the bass sounds like acoustically and I usually play all over the neck, checking out for sustain and dead spots. If the bass does not "speak" to me acoustically, it probably won't speak to me when plugged in. I can also focus on the feel of the neck and check out the intonation in a quiet area as well.

I then ask for a cable and plug in with the EQ set flat and play scales, notes, etc., looking for dead spots and wolf tones.

I also bring one of my straps with me as I have a chronic back problem and need to see how the instrument will feel when strapped on. If I can't physically play the instrument without discomfort, then why bother purchasing it?