Best/worst advice you've ever gotten

[Souperman08]

Simple enough, what is the best and worst advice you've ever gotten related to bass playing? For me......

Best advice: Spend time messing around with you tone knob (On a P-bass), and pay attention to where you're picking (close to the bridge, close to the neck, in-between, etc)

Worst advice: "This amp has crappy lows and highs, so just play on the middle strings (A and D) and it'll sound good"


Lets hear what you guys have been told, I'm sure theres some funny stuff out there.

[DaLoCo]

Best: You need to have fun when you play the bass..
Worst: You have no music and should attempt anything to do with music (Ironically, I was selected for a world class choir three weeks later)

[stepswork4me]

Best: It's art, there are no rules.
Worst: You aren't supposed to do that on bass.

[AfroCubanFunkMa]

Best: when on tour eat and sleep as much as possible..
Worst: turn up..

[Rockmusician]

I have never had anybody give me advice on my playing.

[DiabolicLow B]

Best:
Know your parts but LISTEN to the band.

Worst:
You should change your strings before every show.

[thetawaves]

best: try everything at least once except Morris Dancing and incest.
worst: you should have the strap at LEAST this long *indicates knees*

[Danhole]

One of the guys from Deacon Blue told me to never get married and never f--- pigs.

That was my best and worst advice.

[MNAirHead]

When young I had a chance to work with a great producer..

Good Advice
1-"A band is in the selling biz... tickets, shirts, beer, wedding presents, etc."
2-People hear with their eyes
3-Selling and singing trumps chops.

Bad Advice
1-A huge rig helps sweeten the FOH sound
2-Recreate your stage sound for FOH

[xxfaux_punkxx]

Best - "SLOW THE F*** DOWN!!!" - my drummer.

Worst - you gotta start with 4 strings before moving up to 5. (I've regretted taking this advice everyday that I've been playing)

[bassman_al]

Best: use all 4 fingers on the fretboard, and treat your pinkie and ring finger as one in most situations. In other words, left hand technique on an electric should be the same (or very close) as if you were playing an upright.

Worst: your hands are too small to play bass. All the greats have huge hands.

[DwaynieAD]

Originally Posted by MNAirHead

When young I had a chance to work with a great producer..

Good Advice
1-"A band is in the selling biz... tickets, shirts, beer, wedding presents, etc."
2-People hear with their eyes
3-Selling and singing trumps chops.

Sounds like a sound engineer I played in a band with when I was fresh on the bass.

[Blacksack]

BEST ADVICE: forget music theory let your ears be the judge of what works and what sounds good instead of what note comes next in some scale

WORST ADVICE: i aint got any on me mate i wouldnt bag up for her anyway she looks clean and she's well into bassists get in there while you can we have to load out in an hour (roll on 3 weeks n i'm on a big coarse of antibiotics having tested posative for chlamydia)

[Peepaleep]

BEST: Spend the most time practicing what you're not good at.

WORST: While at a gig - "You can leave your bass here - I'll watch it while you run home and get another set of strings"

[KsToaDangr]

best: a good bass player doesn't just play a lot of notes. they also know when not to play.

worst: effects don't ever work on bass unless specifically designed for bass.

[Steve]

Best: Less is more.

Worst: You don't need to know what kind of chord it is, just play the root.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by bassman_al

Best: In other words, left hand technique on an electric should be the same (or very close) as if you were playing an upright.

If someone had told me that, it might have made my worst list.

IMHO

[BigOldHarry]

Best: Focus on the drummer - in the mix, he's your soul-mate
Worst: Get a heavy bass - it has more *sustain*!

[HeadyVan Halen]

Best: "Hey you see that guy back there? He's the drummer. Get in with him."

Worst: "Take a sniff of this...ain't did sh!t to me..."

[R. Laevinus]

Best: The more you put in, the more you get out. (i.e. the better a player you strive to become, the more fun playing is)

Worst: Theory is unnecessary for rock.