I was musing over the old maxim "less is more", and trying to think of other snippets bass wisdom that seems contradictory on the surface - things that were not so obvious to me at first blush. I realize some of it is just "clever" word play, but whatever...
Here's a few I recall, with explanations.
-To play fast, practice slow
Speed is a function of accuracy, and you gain accuracy by practicing slowly.
-To EQ for more bass, turn up your midrange.
The bass knob usually affects frequencys that are generally too low for good musical articulartion, and can really make for boomy mud. By boosting the low mid range (300-500 hz) , you get a bassy sound that is articulate and musical.
-If you can't hear yourself, turn down.
When your at rehearsal and you can't hear yourself, turning up your volume just results in volume wars. better to ask everyone else to turn down. If it doesn't "sound right" unless you crank it, get a smaller amp
Same to your guitarist.
-Rehearsal is not for practice.
Rehearsal is for the whole band to rehearse the whole song as a unit, and tweak individual parts as needed. If one guy doesn't know his parts, he's wasting other's time. Practice is for individuals, at home, working out and perfecting their individual parts. It's a matter of definitions, really.
