| Drum machine versus metronome depends on your goals. I find drum machines to be very bad for people who are working on timing. A full blown groove covers a multitude of sins because there's a lot going and as long as you hit the 1 with the groove you can think you sound OK. So if all you want is to practice timing, just get a 'nome.
The key is to NOT use it for every beat. You don't want it to KEEP time for you, you want it to check YOUR time. So, set the 'nome to only click on 2 and 4 to start (of course if have a drum machine, set it for a snare hit on 2 and 4, and kill everything else). Then play with that. If you can't play a part and hold the groove with just a click on 2 and 4, then you can't play the part and you can't hold that groove. With the 'nome on 2 and 4, YOU have to supply the solid down beats on 1 and 3. This is what bass players are supposed to do- provide the time, not follow it.
There's a lot of variations- having only one click on 1, one click on 2, etc. that'll test your mettle too. But to get your time together, do the 2 and 4 thing and do it painfully slow. Most people's timing problems come from playing sloppy. If you can play something at a ridiculous tempo, like playing "Get Ready" at 50 BPM, then when you work your speed up to where it belongs it'll sound right.
So, to get your timing together:
A. KNOW cold what you're trying to play. Don't worry about playing in time when you're still working out fingerings and what the line should sound like. Get the physical part together.
B. Start playing it slowly.
C. Use a metronome to monitor your time, not to dictate it for you.
John
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"Without space, music is just noise piling up on itself." TRK
Lakland Owners' Club # 248
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