What Are You Doing Differently Lately?

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #1 03-05-2007, 07:24 PM

Change is good. What have you been doing differently as far as gear, playing, practicing, etc. lately as compared to what you normally do?

For me:
Gear: Got a new fretless and I've been experimenting using just the bridge pickup, which I NEVER do. Something in this bass gives it a hell of a lot more umph with the bridge pickup soloed than pretty much any other bass I've owned. It's also a 35" fretless, and I haven't played a fretless with that scale in over a year. I'm also experimenting with using more delay/reverb/spacey effects for my solo recordings. I used to use a lot of these effects when I'd play by myself for everyone in my college's student commons as it would fill up a lot of space, but haven't used them much in many years.

Playing: Still plugging along with the four-finger thing, although I'm incorporating other plucking techniques at the same time now, and I'm also trying to memorize the fingerboard, which I have only done to a limited degree.

Practice: I've cracked open some Jamey Aebersold play-alongs and have been giving them a go. Not having much luck with the II-V7-I book, as the playalong CD just tosses you right in the fire and is a bit hard to follow in the book, but the other ones are allowing progress. I've also started trying to write out a solo looped bass version of Dave Brubeck's "Take Five." All of this is differnt from the "expand on what I already do" manner of practice and songwriting that I usually do.

How about the rest of you?

superbassman2000 · #2 03-05-2007, 07:54 PM

I have been doing some things differently lately as well...I have completely revamped my rig from my Sansamp RBI/Corwn XLS402 setup to an AMP SL-1/Soundtech PS802 setup, and I plan to add a madison 210 to the rig.

Also, I used to be a technically focused player, but since starting a bar band I have been shifting my focus from overplaying to concentrating on my performance as an entertainer as well as a musician...while I still believe that playing well is top priority, I started to notice a lot of my favorite bass players could move around and do stuff while playing, which made it fun to watch, so I've started to incorporate moving around and showing that playing in a band is the most fun thing I've ever done, rather than making it look like such a chore to play. Along with that I've started to play with an emotional edge, rather than playing a lick "because I can".

Also I've taken a cue from some of my favorite bass players (like Jack Bruce and Rick Danko) and started to sing while playing bass.

Oh, and I cut my hair too

Marcus · #3 03-05-2007, 09:54 PM

Gear: Since the down-payment on my birthday for a Sadowsky NYC, I've sold all of my extraneous gear, leaving me with only my Zon Legacy Elite 5, and Sterling played through a GK700RBII + Neo 112. At my apartment, I've been alternating between the two for different situations, shedding on both for hours at a time and I've really discovered the huge difference between a bass like a Zon, and a bass like the Sterling. The Sterling really has its own idiosyncratic tone, and the Zon can simply fit in any situation without being as overt as the Sterling. Since acquiring the GK setup, I've also stopped using my Sansamp BDDI as much as used to through my SWR setup.

Playing: I've had the great opportunity to find a monster guitarist at BU and we've been playing together every week. He is very fast, and loves progressive rock. He also has a ton of great ideas floating around that we've been working on that have been pushing me as a player, which is always a good sign. When playing with him, I try to follow his phrasings on more elaborate portions to achieve the technicality of progressive bassists, and when he is playing chords, I tend to play more melodically in attempt to emulate Tetsu from L'Arc~En~Ciel. It has been working out very well thus far, and we've got two gigs coming up as well as a Battle of the Bands performance.

Practicing: I've been experimenting with a combination of three-finger practice, and a modified Bill Dickens "Buddha Rope" approach. I use a "Buddha Rope" in conjunction with a metronome and proceed to play on each string going from 1st position to 9th, back and forth in quarter notes and eight notes using three fingers.

Like Superbassman, I also cut my hair. The Puerto Rican fro is gone and I have my hair pretty short now.

bassjus · #4 03-05-2007, 10:00 PM

Gear: I had been looking for a new amp. I really wanted to get a mesa boogie walk about scout because of it's size and amazing tone. I played a gig on saturday with my regular rig and fell in love with it again. It sounded like exactly what I was looking for, it's amazing what different sounds you'll get when your not in a basement practicing all the time.

Playing: Band is getting a lot more serious, and booking a good amount of gigs and hopefully getting a lot for the summer season.

practicing: I've been working a lot on my reading, also been experimenting with a pick. I've been really into phish lately so I've been trying to sound and play more like mike.

markjazzbassist · #5 03-05-2007, 10:22 PM

Gear: I've got a MMSR5 which is 2 firsts for me since i have only owned passive 4's. I'm really digging it and starting to get into the MM vibe and the 5 string vibe.

Playing: I'm not anchoring my thumb on the pickup all the time now, now i'm doing kinda half anchoring and half floating thumb. it's helped me to be faster and have better, more even tone.

Practice: I'm not doing finger strength exersizes anymore. I used to do 15-30 minutes of different fingering exersizes and runs, but i decided to just stick with playing alone, with a metronome, or with music now.

gkbass13 · #6 03-05-2007, 10:41 PM

for some reason i feel that my chops have died down a bit since switchign back to 4 strings, so ive been doign a lot of practicing as opposed to playing, when i practice. ie-finger eercises, etc...

James Hart · #7 03-05-2007, 10:58 PM

Gear: I jumped in full swing to the 7 string and have been working on both bass and guitar techniques on it. In the same thought... I've switched up to an old Peavey 1820 cabinet... ported Black Widow 18" for punchy thick lows and a pair of sealed 10" guitar drivers for that guitarish crunch to the top.

I also started making payments on an Engelhardt EM-1 that I should receive the last weekend of march. I'll be hunting for a Jazz & theory teacher for that.

Practicing: I've been working again on Scott Hubbell's books http://www.myspace.com/hubbee7 as well as stepping into the guitar realm

Playing: I've rediscovered the 70s distorted prog bass I grew up on and have been slowly reclaiming some of it as my own.

labgnat · #8 03-05-2007, 11:02 PM

got a 5 string bass, and using a lot of palm muting and just playing down strokes with my thumb, getting some fun thump.

Bocete · #9 03-06-2007, 12:02 AM

I try to groove more, work a lot on my left hand strength, and I seem to shower less often

steve21 · #10 03-06-2007, 12:04 AM

Gearwise, selling my 6 and moving to a 5 probably.

Play wise: I'm trying to function more in making the theory and stuff applicable to music.

Practicing is just trying to make the most of practice time.

G · #11 03-06-2007, 05:56 AM

Gear: Still waiting on Skjold #2, the dual pickup bass. Trying to downsize my rig - thinking about a Markbass LMKII and some 210 or 2x112 cabs. Recently switched to all planet waves cables, and I now have a pedal tuner (which runs out of the tuner out on my volume pedal).

For most of my gigs in the future, I have to come up with a rig that I can fit pretty much under my chair, that can still provide enough sound for the orchestra pit and has a nice DI for the house. THat is, in addition to providing support for a rock band on the side.

Playing: My two focuses lately have been reading and breathing. Both of which really break down when I get nervous/excited/whatever.

Practice: I have been working on all scales/all modes/all positions and quite a bit of two hand "Roscoe Beck style organ" tapping.

Great thread!

**MAJOR METAL** · #12 03-06-2007, 12:00 PM

Figuring out how to get my amp to work correctly like it did in the past.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #13 03-06-2007, 12:04 PM

At least it's not shocking people like that Carvin was at the RI GTG

SteveC · #14 03-06-2007, 12:34 PM

Playing more, dealing with my gear less.

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #15 03-06-2007, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveC

Playing more, dealing with my gear less.

Speaking of which, you still owe me a feedback

pointbass · #16 03-06-2007, 01:01 PM

Gear: I've actually gotten rid of a lot of stuff over the past 1/2 year, anything that was idle is gone. The only new basses I've added are a Barker fretless 5 and a Dean Stylist hollowbody. Gig-wise, the FBB 7 gets the huge % of playing time, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Playing: I've been gigging a lot the past year, between working with a busy classic rock trio and my jazz/fusion trio. I've also gotten into playing with a female pianist/singer as a duo. Actually, I'm busier playing than I really want to be ....

Practice: Almost all of my practice time is spent with my FBB fretless 6, working hard to get my intonation tighter in the upper registers. I've been reading down big band charts playing the trombone parts on the 6, and I'm just getting started reading the trumpet charts .....

lowphatbass · #17 03-06-2007, 03:47 PM

As my house mate situation has changed recently I've started leaving my basses out around the house.

WANKFEST!!!!!!!

SteveC · #18 03-06-2007, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bryan R. Tyler

Speaking of which, you still owe me a feedback

I do? For what, I don't remember?

**Bryan R. Tyler** · #19 03-06-2007, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SteveC

I do? For what, I don't remember?

Berg HT112.

AmazingGracePlayer · #20 03-06-2007, 04:55 PM

Gear: Since I'm pretty much gearless right now, I went to Guitar Center, played some basses that I thought I'd never get a chance to try - Flea's Modulus (God it sounded horrible, I'll explain later), a few Ricks, and a Conklin.

Technique: I tried using picks to play for the first time in my life... My guitarist gave me one of his 30,000 picks, so I took it, picked up the Modulus, and started picking out some blues. I don't know if it's the fact that it's a Flea bass, or if it's because I'm using a pick, the tone was absolutely dreadful. It sounded like I'm hitting a metal pipe with a metal pipe...

Technique #2: I tried a new way of slapping, I slap the strings near the bridge, actually, very very close to the bridge. The sound was similar to that of flamenco shots, the attacks were articulate and clear, and when slapping a power chord, there seemed to be just as much power as a flamenco shot-ed power chord.

Practice: in terms of practicing I did something very different... I didn't practice for quite a long time. One because school's got me all caught up, two it's because I have no bass.