What to do when trying out basses???

[BadBass]

I am going next week to Overwater Basses in Carlisle to meet Chris and try a few basses out. I am going to try a few 6ers they have in. I have been before, and just played around for a bit, playing a few scales, arpeggios, then onto riffs I know, messing around, played a couple of pieces I have played in the past from memory...but I felt quite embarrassed just sitting in a room with two professional bassists who were playing away on other basses. I can play some pretty fast licks etc, so I am not that bad, as I can impress professional bassists with what I can play sometimes, but I am just wondering, what do you all play when trying out a bass, what should I look for when playing, what should I do to test the bass out???

I have asked some ridculously easy questions, which I can answer to be honest, as I am not a complete novice at all, but I just want to see what you all say???

Thanks,

[Growler]

This is what I do (you're milage may vary):


1. Make sure the bass is adjusted to my normal string height and in tune
2. Play scales and other basic exercises. It's a good way to get used to the feel of the neck, strings, body shape (how your playing forearm lays with respect to the body). Plus it'll give your hands a chance to warm up. Play up and down the fretboard as this will also give you the chance to find any fretbuzz, or deadspots. Play both sitting down and standing up, I've played basses that are great sitting down but aren't so good standing up. Adjust the EQ to your heart's content at this time

3. Next, play some tunes you know VERY well. I usually don't play anything fast as I'm more concerned with how the bass sounds and feels rather than how well I can play something. Towards the end I'll pick up speed as I become more comfortable with the feel of the bass.


Bottom line is, I really don't care who else is present or about impressing them. I'm not auditioning for a band It usually takes me about a week of practice to really setting in with a new bass (and was about a month or so when I switched from P style necks to J Style necks).

[Bassist4Life]

I wouldn't try to do anything flashy for the sake of flashy. Play things that you would play in a real-world situation.

I don't know if you already did a search, but check out this thread.
What do you play when you're in the store?

This is my specific post in that thread:
What do you play when you're in the store?

Joe

[JimmyM]

I play long notes on the open strings to listen for clarity. And I never use an amp until a bass passes this test. I just put my ear up to the body and listen that way. Then I just play some fun stuff I like to play. Then I put it back on the rack and realize that I have enough basses at home.

[Zebra]

Just play things you'd normally play. There's no sense in playing stuff that you never play on your own to "try out" a bass.
Other that that, check things like build quality, dead spots, construction-- just look it over from top to bottom if you're really interested in buying it.

[All_¥our_Bass]

Play the imperial march!!

Okay not really (But I CAN play it).

Tune, check setup, make sure it feels good by playing bits of songs in a variety of styles. Once I know it's something decent I'll go over to the amp + effects area and mess around.

[iplaybassguitar]

PLAY ON YOUR AMP...im surprised no one else mentioned that...do the same thing when your trying out amps too, bring in your bass...you dont want this new bass sounding really sweet cuz your playing it on a top of the line gk and then take it back home to your 10 year old peavey and have it sound like crap

[infamas]

^^^^^^^

MOST IMPORTANT OF ALL. I dont care if you regularly play through a 16 X 10" setup. BRING YOUR AMP. The bass may sound great through the 87474 dollar setup in the store, but through whatever you have at home, it might sound awful.

[WillBuckingham]

Play each fret on each string. Let the note completely decay, and listen to how it decays, and the consistency between the notes. This will take a few minutes, but will reveal every dead note, and weird note. Even high-end basses will have a spot or two that act weird. The Db's on my pedulla do some weird stuff (they resolve to a perfect fifth a few octaves higher in about 1 second).

[Snarf]

Originally Posted by BadBass

I am going next week to Overwater Basses in Carlisle to meet Chris and try a few basses out. I am going to try a few 6ers they have in. I have been before, and just played around for a bit, playing a few scales, arpeggios, then onto riffs I know, messing around, played a couple of pieces I have played in the past from memory...but I felt quite embarrassed just sitting in a room with two professional bassists who were playing away on other basses. I can play some pretty fast licks etc, so I am not that bad, as I can impress professional bassists with what I can play sometimes, but I am just wondering, what do you all play when trying out a bass, what should I look for when playing, what should I do to test the bass out???

I have asked some ridculously easy questions, which I can answer to be honest, as I am not a complete novice at all, but I just want to see what you all say???

Thanks,

Why are you making testing out a bass a competition?

[BadBass]

Originally Posted by Snarf

Why are you making testing out a bass a competition?

[Bruce Lindfield]

I think the real answer is not to be self-conscious and to do exactly what you would want to do, if nobody was there!

[cowsgomoo]

Originally Posted by BadBass

I am going next week to Overwater Basses in Carlisle to meet Chris and try a few basses out. I am going to try a few 6ers they have in. I have been before, and just played around for a bit, playing a few scales, arpeggios, then onto riffs I know, messing around, played a couple of pieces I have played in the past from memory...but I felt quite embarrassed just sitting in a room with two professional bassists who were playing away on other basses. I can play some pretty fast licks etc, so I am not that bad, as I can impress professional bassists with what I can play sometimes, but I am just wondering, what do you all play when trying out a bass, what should I look for when playing, what should I do to test the bass out???

I have asked some ridculously easy questions, which I can answer to be honest, as I am not a complete novice at all, but I just want to see what you all say???

Thanks,

professional bass players are probably the last people you should bother trying to impress with 'pretty fast licks'... and what are they going to do even if they are impressed? give you money? invite you to their next barbeque?? the approval of a professional musician is worth precisely nothing unless they're planning on giving you a gig

not that you should use your bass-checking-out time to impress other people... you're supposed to be giving the bass a chance to impress you

if you're not a novice you already know what you're looking for in a bass... just go and test it for those things...

[IotaNet]

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

professional bass players are probably the last people you should bother trying to impress with 'pretty fast licks'... and what are they going to do even if they are impressed? give you money? invite you to their next barbeque?? the approval of a professional musician is worth precisely nothing unless they're planning on giving you a gig ... you're supposed to be giving the bass a chance to impress you ...

This is one of the best posts I've ever read on Talkbass.

HUGE +1

LMAO @ "give you money? invite you to their next barbeque??"

[fraublugher]

play every note on the neck slowly and listen for fret buzz , raised frets . if you find some and you want the bass , make
sure they fix it to your satisfaction first .

they should let you set it up the way you like it while trying it out .