Back From Retirement - Advice Requested Please!

[MrLenny1]

I have been using The Real Book bass clef recently.
Reading melodies is a great way to learn music.

 

[Artman]

Thank you everyone for the well wishes and advice. It is greatly appreciated!

I've narrowed down to the NS Designs WAV4 or the NXTa4. From what I can tell from watching and reading online reviews, the NXT4a sounds better to my ears. Just trying to decide it it's worth the extra $700.

Also considering the Boss Waza-Air For Bass. The simple setup and integration with my phone or tablet is very appealing.

Checking out Scott's Bass Lessons, as well as Damien Erskine's online courses. I just ordered a couple of Janek Gwizdala's books as well.

I did the SBL membership for a couple of years.
It’s quite a resource. The variety of topics and courses can be a bit overwhelming.
It’s helpful to choose one course, then don’t even look at others until you complete that one.

 

[blastoff]

there used to be a series of play along tracks by Jamey Aebersold. they were gold for solo practice. Jazz standards recorded by top musicians and you basically mute any instrument and play along. im sure they're easy enough to find nowadays but i’ve noticed that theres about ten million you tube videos of just that, any song you want minus an instrument. get a headphone mixer and you're on your way.
Also, ive owned many EUBs including high end NS and knutson, very nice instruments but they never felt very good- like an upright. theres just a a giant body missing that in my opinion really hampers the ability to play the thing comfortably. its in a tripod so you’re squeezing with your hand to fret, rather than your whole arm and body that upright ergonomics, if we can use such a term, demand. but, your mileage may vary as they say. personally id just stick with the electric bass and get a nice upright down the road. (although i did see Tony Levin recently and he just looks so awesome and sounds so great on his NS it made me want to give one another crack. i did notice it kept shifting around on the tripod though but he didn’t seem to mind) anyhow. good luck

 

[Vincent Van Low]

I'll try to make this as short as possible, but I wanted to include a little background to get the best advice possible.

I started playing bass at 12 yrs old (now early 40's). I spent all of my 20's and first half of my 30's doing most of the things...playing in multiple projects, touring, recording 14 albums, hitting up NAMM every year, etc. I spent a vast majority of my playing time in rock, metal, prog, with a little of hippie jam band mixed in. Ultimately however, trying to balance a fairly demanding career for my day job with music, getting burned badly by a custom "builder", plus a nasty divorce and the pandemic all ended up in me hanging things up for about 7 years. Other than picking up a bass for an hour or so every couple of weeks, I was essentially retired.

Fast forward to now. I have a new, better job that requires less of my time. I have a new partner who is amazing and incredibly supportive, and I find myself beginning to love music again although I still haven't really picked a bass back up.

Unfortunately, my partner was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia a couple of months ago. She is currently undergoing treatment and has a very long road ahead. I also find myself continuing to work full time to support both of us while splitting primary caregiver duties with a close family member of hers.

In the midst of all this, I have discovered that picking up a bass and practicing for an hour or two every night is incredibly helpful in allowing me to de-stress and decompress. Plus it's keeping me from drinking or medicating the night away. I also have found that my tastes have changed dramatically. I have discovered a love for Jazz and have been listening to a ton on Janek Gwizdala, John Patitucci, Damian Erskine, Charles Mingus, Dennis Chambers, etc. I am decided that if I am getting back into playing, that this is the direction I would like to spend most of my time exploring. Even if I never play a gig ever again, just having something else to focus on and improve on is incredibly beneficial to my mental health. Especially right now.

Sorry for the long winded story, but long story short, I need some suggestions on the following:

1. I'd like to get some instruction in Jazz. Due to my schedule being insane at the moment, I think online instruction would be best. Any recommendations? I would consider myself starting at a beginner level.

2. In-person instruction is a possibility, but classes would need to be flexible or a private instructor that is understanding of my situation and willing to work with me. Does anyone have a recommendation in the Seattle area?

3. Any recommendations on self-teaching books or videos for Jazz bass?

4. I need to re-fresh my music theory and definitely my music reading. I haven't read sheet music since playing upright in high school orchestra. Any recommendations on books for this?

5. Need some recommendations on an electric upright. I have been looking at the NS series EUB's. Again, I haven't played upright since high school and I'd like to get back into it.

6. Finally, suggestions for a setup for silent practice would be appreciated. Something where I could jam along with music or practice to backing tracks would be essential. On the rare occasions that my partner is home from the hospital, she needs her rest and I do not want to disturb her.

I appreciate any and all advice anyone can offer. I know I'm asking for quite a bit of help here, so I am grateful for your time if you have any information to offer. Thanks!

#4 sightreadingfactory.com $40 whole year amazing reading tool
#6 Ampeg SCR DI, had headphone with aux in, and I practice along youtube, silent but sounding good in my headphones, and you can raise the volume of yourbass or the aux inside your headphones.

Best of luck with it all friend.

 

[EddiePlaysBass]

Here's sending good thoughts and positive vibes for your partner!

I am currently starting to learn to sight-read, by using the Hal Leonard Bass Method. I also bought in the past the Rufus Reid book The Evolving Bassist but realized I need to learn to read first

Since I forgot how to embed links, here you go:

Amazon.com: Hal Leonard Electric Bass Method - Complete Edition: Contains Books 1, 2, and 3 Bound Together in One Easy-to-Use Volume (Hal Leonard Bass Method): 9780793563821: Friedland, Ed: Books

Amazon.com: The Evolving Bassist - Millennium Edition: A Comprehensive Method in Developing a Total Musical Concept for the Aspiring Jazz Bass Player: 9780967601502: Rufus Reid: Books

 

[oren]

For online jazz bass I recommend Bob DeBoo’s courses at Open Studio - you can start with the free content he has on YouTube and if you like it you might find it worth investing in the membership. He’s primarily an upright player, but the musical content is appropriate for either upright or electric.

if you’re looking for in-person lessons in Seattle, I’d check to see if Chris Symer, Jon Hamar, or Michael Glynn are taking students - they’re all really good jazz players and I know they do teach lessons. They’re all three on the faculty at the Jazz Workshop at Centrum in Port Townsend, which is a great jazz camp, run by bassist John Clayton.
Good luck with your playing, and I hope your partner’s treatment goes well.

 

[thebassgrognard]

I've been using Rufus Reid's book to learn sight-reading and I've found his etudes to be the best step-by-step method I've tried. Amazon link (not an affiliate)

 

[jd56hawk]

Nothing better for silent practice than this...nothing!
WAZA-AIR-B wireless bass headphones.

Good luck with all you're going through.

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

5. Need some recommendations on an electric upright. I have been looking at the NS series EUB's. Again, I haven't played upright since high school and I'd like to get back into it.

Stagg makes a decent electric upright bass EDB-3/4 which could be obtained for around $800 new.

6. Finally, suggestions for a setup for silent practice would be appreciated. Something where I could jam along with music or practice to backing tracks would be essential. On the rare occasions that my partner is home from the hospital, she needs her rest and I do not want to disturb her.

You may want to start with one of these mini-amps.

 

[mark286]

For at home practice you can't beat headphones and Computer>interface>whatever amp modelling software you want>YouTube

Yes, this works well for me too. Its very simple to set up and you can easily mix your bass signal with the YouTube video (or any audio that's playing on your computer -- Spotify, iTunes, etc.).

You can also run pedals into the interface if that's your thing. You can use headphones or speakers that are connected to your computer (I use a pair of JBL studio monitors now, but I also had great results with a set of Klipsch computer speakers with a subwoofer).

The amp modelling software available for computers is the bee's knees and also easy to use (even by me, and I'm old). I'm having a lot of fun with Bias FX2. It is super fun with guitar with all the available amp and pedal models, but it has some good bass amp and effect models too (although for bass, plugging straight into the audio interface is just fine).

 

[Malak the Mad]

6. Finally, suggestions for a setup for silent practice would be appreciated. Something where I could jam along with music or practice to backing tracks would be essential. On the rare occasions that my partner is home from the hospital, she needs her rest and I do not want to disturb her.

I live with a professional artists who...

1. ...works from home.
2. ...is prone to vicious migraines.
3. ...is very A.D.D.
4. ...can suffer from either/both #2 and #3 with a lot of loud, extraneous noise.

...so, being able to practice silently is "in my best interests", if you catch my drift.

To that effect, I practice with this BOSS TU-88 monitor/tuner/metronome, as well as use it during setups for my tuning and intonation. I can plug in any headphones, as well as any outside source of music that can squeeze through a headphone jack. (i.e.: computer, mp3 player, phone with a 1/8" jack, etc...)

Weirdly, BOSS discontinued the TU-88, so when I had a chance to buy a second unit, I grabbed it for redundancy's sake.

https://www.boss.info/us/products/tu-88/

 

[hbarcat]

For silent practice get yourself a decent pair of headphones. Going cheap on phones will deny you of an enjoyable listening experience.

There are multiple threads here on TB of people asking advice on which headphones to get and the same handful of phones always shows up as highly recommended because they're of decent quality and are suitable for the purpose without being too expensive.



BEST VALUE HEADPHONES:

AKG K240 ($80)
Sennheiser HD280 ($100)
Shure SRH440A ($100)
Sony MDR 7506 ($100)
Audio Technica ATH M40X ($120)
Beyerdynamic DT 770 ($160)
Audio Technica ATH M50X ($170)

 

[Topkat13]

Great post! I hear Scott’s bass lessons has a good jazz section. Ed Friedland has an instructional book Building Walking Bass lines…it’s been a good one for me. There are tons of cats online that offer lessons. There’s a local dude here in Nashville named Tim Marks. Smoke’n R&B player and can do jazz. Plays on a lot of records. Give him a shot? + there’s a lot of good stuff on YouTube. The big thing is you’re really enjoying “playing” and that’s the main ingredient! Good luck and kind thoughts for your partner!

 

[King V]

Hey All!
First of all, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has chimed in on this thread. I wanted you all to know that I appreciate the well wishes, as does my fiance'. All of your advice has been incredibly helpful. I also wanted to mention that I have received some incredibly generous offers via DM as well. I know it has been a long time since I have been around the TB stomping grounds, but it is comforting knowing that the community here still seems to be as strong as it ever was.

As it stands right now, I placed an order for a NS NXT4a and a pair of WAZA-AIR-B wireless bass headphones that should be arriving in just a few days. I also believe that I have someone lined up for some virtual instruction with some impressive credentials who reached out to me here via DM. I've ordered up many of the books suggested in this thread as well.

Again, I cannot thank everyone enough. The last 2 1/2 months have been life altering and the 6-12 months are going to be a hard fought road. I very much appreciate everyone's input in helping me maintain some mental health while I do my absolute best to support her physical health.