A new bassist looking for advice.

[tedious1]

The problem is i think im the only one in the entire county here (Constanta,Dobrogea region) to be this young and decide to pick up a bass. Let alone drummers. I initially wanted to become a drummer but i had no place to practice and the drums were hella expensive so bleh i called it quits. I may be able to find a guitarist with ease here though,there are plenty.

@Big Hoss - IIRC he has played live with a drum machine before, I've paged him (@username to page someone), hopefully he'll drop in and give you the benefit of his experience on that score. He seems to have a solid appreciation for both the upside and the downside of that route. It may not be your first choice, but at least the machine has good timing, controllable dynamics, and as long as you fire him when the bank account is full, you can almost ensure your next drummer is better! Never mind that you might be able to sell on the fired drummer to subsidize the new one...

Muse huh? Not my cuppa, but I will say you've got good instincts, basics first, pedals (and other toys) once the basics are down. On the basics, give serious consideration to splitting your practice time between finger picking and using a pick. Having both techniques under your belt is a good thing. You'll likely favor one over the other, but having both is nice, even if you have to woodshed (intensive practice) to get the one you don't usually use up to speed.

And never forget, this place is not a substitute for practice!

 

[bholder]

The drum machine thing is good, but that's also why I suggested free online jam tracks - just as regular as a drum machine or metronome, with some pitch / harmony context as well. They've helped me quite a bit.

 

[MojoPenguin]

Just pick it up and you'll be fine.

 

[GnarwhalNick]

I am rooting for that bass but im fluctuating between the Hartke and Ampeg when it comes to amps.


One more thing: I am skinny. Very. I do have some strenght in my right arm though and i recently started going to the gym.My concern is regarding my skinny fingers. Will they hinder me in laying down those sexy notes on the fretboard?

I don't know how others on here feel about these things but I use this every now and again when I don't have my bass accessible to me. it helps strengthen each finger individually with adjustable tension for each finger

 

[Arion]

I don't know how others on here feel about these things but I use this every now and again when I don't have my bass accessible to me. it helps strengthen each finger individually with adjustable tension for each finger

That thing is not that useful. There's no substitute other than playing on the fretboard. Just workout the weak fingers on the fretboard, but don't overdo it. And only so much pressure is needed to make the strings audible. And staying away from your instrument for sometime doesn't hurt I guess

 

[SneKisser]

That thing is not that useful. There's no substitute other than playing on the fretboard. Just workout the weak fingers on the fretboard, but don't overdo it. And only so much pressure is needed to make the strings audible. And staying away from your instrument for sometime doesn't hurt I guess

Yeah i guess (and hope) my fingers will get used to it in time.

Another concern now, do i need to use a short scale bass?
I don't think i do since i'm tall and i'd look like a giant holding a toothpick but gives me something to think about at night.

 

[drumsnbass]

Yeah i guess (and hope) my fingers will get used to it in time.

Another concern now, do i need to use a short scale bass?
I don't think i do since i'm tall and i'd look like a giant holding a toothpick but gives me something to think about at night.

Nope. But you do need to learn how to work the fretboard correctly from day one without becoming a contortionist. That is what Ed Friedlands book will teach you.

 

[nerkoids]

Hello everyone!
I am new to this site so I want to apologize if i post in the wrong forum category.

I decided to pick up the bass recently. Well,psychically since i dont have a bass nor an amp yet.
That's the thing.I need advice choosing my first bass and amp. After gathering some feedback i found that this bass is actually a decent one

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

That's all i have for now in terms of basses.So,my request is,please give me suggestions about gear, It will be highly appreciated.

Other specifications:
-I am 16 years old and fairly skinny in the hands ^^
-I like /all/ genres and i dont want to limit to one,as i find it it boring,kinda.
-While i am flexible i do have certain genres which i enjoy more than the rest,those being hard and alt. rock,grunge,and anything that has "punk" in it.
-Budget is anywhere up to 450,nothing more.
-I live in Romania,Europe so i have to shop online if i want decent stuff.Unless im in the mood for a flight to Poland or so.

Thomann.de is the place to shop for future purchases ;-)

 

[Gaolee]

I have nothing to add except welcome to the proper end of the musical spectrum. Without bass, there's no music. Without music, humans become extinct. Bass players are critical to the ongoing existence of humanity, so you are clearly a person of great value. And that's great!

 

[bholder]

That thing is not that useful. There's no substitute other than playing on the fretboard. Just workout the weak fingers on the fretboard, but don't overdo it. And only so much pressure is needed to make the strings audible. And staying away from your instrument for sometime doesn't hurt I guess

I've been trying to practice with the lightest touch, least amount of muscle force necessary, while still playing challenging passages requiring stretches and repositions. If I don't pay attention, I sometimes end up just gripping with too much force, bad for the wrist. It really helps my accuracy to relax a bit and try not to vice-grip the notes as much.

 

[Scraunchy]

I think that's a good choice there. A whole lot better than my first bass

 

[Arion]

I've been trying to practice with the lightest touch, least amount of muscle force necessary, while still playing challenging passages requiring stretches and repositions. If I don't pay attention, I sometimes end up just gripping with too much force, bad for the wrist. It really helps my accuracy to relax a bit and try not to vice-grip the notes as much.

Finger strength, yes. But the fretboard isn't equal all over. That thing looks something around the 12th fret.

 

[Arion]

Yeah i guess (and hope) my fingers will get used to it in time.

Another concern now, do i need to use a short scale bass?
I don't think i do since i'm tall and i'd look like a giant holding a toothpick but gives me something to think about at night.

I had started a thread on this a couple of days back, we're in the same boat :
Short scale?

 

[GnarwhalNick]

That thing is not that useful. There's no substitute other than playing on the fretboard. Just workout the weak fingers on the fretboard, but don't overdo it. And only so much pressure is needed to make the strings audible. And staying away from your instrument for sometime doesn't hurt I guess

Note that I said when I don't have my bass accessible to me. I practice on the fretboard every day, but sometimes when I'm at work I use the grip trainer to give my fingers a workout. I don't over do it. My pinky used to be useless until I mixed practicing on the fingerboard with the grip trainer. So it was a little useful for me!

 

[Big Hoss]

@Big Hoss - IIRC he has played live with a drum machine before, I've paged him (@username to page someone), hopefully he'll drop in and give you the benefit of his experience on that score. He seems to have a solid appreciation for both the upside and the downside of that route. It may not be your first choice, but at least the machine has good timing, controllable dynamics, and as long as you fire him when the bank account is full, you can almost ensure your next drummer is better! Never mind that you might be able to sell on the fired drummer to subsidize the new one...

Muse huh? Not my cuppa, but I will say you've got good instincts, basics first, pedals (and other toys) once the basics are down. On the basics, give serious consideration to splitting your practice time between finger picking and using a pick. Having both techniques under your belt is a good thing. You'll likely favor one over the other, but having both is nice, even if you have to woodshed (intensive practice) to get the one you don't usually use up to speed.

And never forget, this place is not a substitute for practice!

Huh? Oh sure, wake me up...

Okay here's the poop. My band is a bunch of old guys, and we mostly play private parties. Drummers that are willing to work with us, that we want to work with so far have been zero. So we started out with...

#1. Hydrogen drum machine on my Linux laptop. It worked until we started gigging in hotter weather. The laptop would get too hot and end up shutting down mid song. We have since...
#2. Moved on to a Beat Buddy. Amazon.com: Singular Sound BeatBuddy the First Guitar Pedal Drum Machine: Launchpad. At $299.00 they aren't cheap, but they aren't stupid expensive either. Pretty flexible, and they work well for what we do. FWIW. The one we use is the one the guitarist bought simply to practice with... No cash out of my pocket for once.

IF you can, find a real flesh and blood drummer to work with though. It's kind of a pain to try to program some improvised licks into a drum machine on the fly.

Something else to consider. A drum pedal / machine will need a way to get the sound amplified and out. In our rig, we put it through my Rumble 500 stack, but it isn't what I would prefer. If you dedicate say a 15" powered loudspeaker, even if you went something as cheap as say a Harbinger Vari V2115, you are still out what is it now $250.00 additional bucks plus the cables. You can get a fairly decent used drum set on Craigslist for $600.00 or so.

Long story short, unless you absolutely have gigs to play and no drummer to play with, I would try to work with an actual flesh and blood drummer.