Been playing for 12 years - should I quit?

Everyone has limitations. Learn to embrace them and work within them. I can’t play very fast. These days my answer is not to worry about my top speed and simply play the speeds I can. I figure my top speed is 40 MPH whatever that means. It’s fast enough to make music and get somewhere even if some parts remain out of reach.

Personally, I have found that emulating others and playing their music, especially that of world class bands like Rush, to be ultimately unfulfilling. You never really get there. And it’s easy to forget those bands find often it difficult to play their own music and sound like themselves. Studio cuts are the very best takes captured in a very controlled situation and then often mixed and mastered by excellent sound engineers. They are an illusion.

I’ve pivoted to devoting my time to originals where I can play like me and sound like me. It just washes away these concerns and puts me in a different and more creative space where I can do no wrong. I merely focus on the challenge of doing my best to make the best music I can. That is, after all, what our musical heroes did isn’t it?

 

If you want to quit, quit. It is your decision to make, and it should not matter what anyone else thinks.

As far as the problems you mention, I have some possible ideas to consider.

1. Tone. I remember having similar thoughts. Back when I was still a kid, I would regularly go to a music store where a really good bass player worked. When I played a bass, the tone was smooth, loose, and unfocused. When he played it sounded punchy, tight, and focused.

Originally I played upright bass. Much of my technique on bass guitar was adapted from what I knew about upright. I used straight fingers on my plucking hand with bass guitar for many, many years.

Late in my playing career, my organization hired a very young bassists who was really a prodigy. He was about 19 and had more technique than I will ever have. I was really impressed by his great tone, and how expressively he could shape notes. A key difference is he used arch plucking fingers instead of straight plucking fingers like me. So finally I decided to try this technique and guess what, it worked. I was able to develop a more punchy and focused sound, and also gained more ability to shape the notes in interesting ways.

IMHO rather than striking the strings, you pull through the strings. By putting a bit more tension into the string, you get a stronger attack when the string pulls off the finger tip. I do want caution that you do not really need to wank super hard on the strings, you are just putting a little more tension on them.

Also by varying the angle of the pull and release, you can vary your tone.

For the record I had resisted using this technique previously because it was more taxing on my hand. But after dedicating myself to the change, I found that it did not take long for me to adjust. I still have a fairly light touch, so it's not necessary to use a lot of force all the time, although you certainly can use more force when you want to produce some gank, clank, or fret rattle.

A significant other change is I transitioned from anchored thumb to floating thumb. So essentially I made a pretty major change to the way I used and held my plucking hand. Floating thumb facilitates better muting, and I also experiment with some four finger flamenco style plucking, and well as double thumb slap.

2. Thumb pain on fretting hand. In the upright world we have this concept that we describe as using arm weight or pulling from the core. The idea is really to minimize the amount of force applied by the thumb. Rather than pinching the bass and strings between your thumb and fingers to fret notes, you learn to use arm weight or core strength to take the weight off the thumb. The force is transferred from your back all the way through to your finger tips; so the thumb is not necessary, and at most it provides a bit of lateral stability.

Some other factors that could relate to this problem:
A. The height that you wear the bass. I find that if I wear the bass too low that it is harder and degrades my facility with my fretting hand, and if I wear the bass too high it is harder on and degrades my facility with my plucking hand. So the ideal height can vary somewhat depending on the style of music you are playing.

B. The way the strings are centered on the bass has an impact on several factors related to your fretting hand. Some related posts I have written:
Is there a way I can play bass with my frets a bit too far apart?
LH - Use of ring finger vs pinky (one finger per fret?)

C. Setup: If the nut is not cut properly it takes more force to press the strings to the frets as you play closer to the nut. I have had to file the nut on many of the basses I have played over the years. My goal is for there to be even tension across all strings, and for there to be no perceived increase in tension as my fretting hand approaches the nut.

D. String type, EQ settings, type of amp and speaker, etc. If you don't have the type of tone that helps you hear clearly, you tend to overplay, which is taxing on the muscles. I use old round wound strings, but I adjust the amp to be pretty darn bright so I can hear the attack and overtones. I notice that when the strings are fresh that I don't need to crank up the mids and highs as much. My tone is actually still pretty smooth as I don't normal produce much gank.

I suggest that you Google and read about "masking frequency slotting".

Good luck with your decision and/or continued journey.

 

Tone is an endless quest. Trying to get Geddy's sound would require Geddy's sound man.
I always seek out a good teacher when I'm stuck on something.
They can help out immensely in a few lessons.
Several years ago I was a 50 year old bass player taking
lessons from a 21 year old bass teacher. It worked.

 

Lots of excellent suggestions already. A couple more:

Where is your speaker in relation to your ears? If it's on the floor, you may not be hearing the sound accurately.

Have you had your hearing tested? New hearing aids can feel like you've taken the wet blanket off your speaker cab.

 

If you are unhappy and want to quit then quit
No one here or anywhere else can make that decision for you.
You will receive a lot of good advice here …whether you choose to follow any of them or trying them is also up to you only

 

Have you thought about growing your RH nails a bit? Might get you the tone you want from the technique you already have, and bring back the 'connection'...

 

I've been playing guitar and bass since I was a teenager; I'm in my late 50s now. I've never been in a real band, though I've been told by several others I'm good enough to be in one, and I'm only an intermediate player. Even if I'm not at the level I'd like to be, it still gives me enjoyment. To me, that's all it matters.

 

Been playing bass over 45 years,never gave it a thought about quitting! Enjoy it too much! Not the greatest player,but enjoy the style,and technique developed over the years. Have always played Southern Gospel music,some bluegrass,mostly gospel music at Church. Traveled on weekends,with Gospel Quartets,filled in with some groups that needed a bass player,at different times. Never ever thought about quitting. Enjoy it while you still can. My thoughts from the heart!

 

Nah, don’t quit. It’s your favorite instrument!

Try to enjoy the journey.

 

You should never be satisfied. Two questions:

1. Do you enjoy playing?

2. Speak to others you play with. Do they think your tone is decent?

If the answer to 1 is yes, why quit? If there truly are tone issues, try some lessons, and explain your concern to the instructor.

 

“But I have never been happy with my tone”


Ha! no no….you’re definitely one of us.

 

My brotha. I feel ya. I’ve been playing for 26 years and I’m STILL tone chasing. I’m pretty set on my basses as they were rather significant investments and I’m beyond happy with my amplification.

Strings “can” make a HUGE difference. I love the sound of fresh strings. Clean, bright and zingy is real close to heaven for me. Unfortunately, strings are pricey so it’s hard for me to maintain that sound long term. Clean hands every time and string boiling are part of my routine, but they still only last so long.

I’m happy with my tone (for the most part) while I’m playing but am rather disappointed when just messin around at home. I strive for that tight bottom end and slightly aggressive midrange type of tone that’s popular with with many gospel style players. My 2 mains can EASILY get there… however… it’s still not to the caliber of what I’m want ie Andrew Gouche, Alain Caron, Melvin Lee Davis, John Myung’s tone on Train of Thought and A Change of Seasons amount countless others and nearly everyone I’ve heard playing a MTD or Ken Smith lol.

Don’t quit. Please man. If you LOVE to play, PLAY!!! Tone is, subjective. In the heat of the moment (FOR ME) my tone isn’t nearly as important as the feeling and rush I get when I’m playing with killer musicians who simply want to play with other killer musicians.

 

Play bass if you enjoy playing bass. Quit playing bass if it does not bring you joy. Life is finite. Make the most of it and don’t fill your free time with occupations that you do not love. Simple.

But try buying a bunch of pedals and also try to fire a drummer. These help.

 

i certainly wouldn't quit if you enjoy it so much. All the suggestions here are spot on!..Might try using a particular pedal to achieve your tone. I dont use them myself, as my basses and amp provide all i need...but dont give up.

 

Short scale with a pick is pretty nifty. Not sure if it’s the best for Metal, but it can certainly be bright. Try a pick for another 12 years and see where you get. If you haven’t seen him before, look up Bobby Vega on you tube for pick inspiration.
If it’s no fun for you, why bother? Only you can answer that question.

 

As far as your tone goes it sounds like you are letting perfect be the enemy of pretty good.

You don't want a perfect tone but a reliable tone.
one that is consistently good enough across a variety of situations
that's why P-Basses are the default workhorse bass: reliable, effective tone.
Will you sound as awesome as Steve Harrris on vinyl? of course not.
You don't have his gear and more importantly his engineers and their gear.

If you give up perfection you may find things are pretty good

to me it sounds like your not positioning your neck for optimal access. Check my avatar . See the angle of my bass? Getting the headstock closer to my face eliminates a unnecessary stress on my left arm/hand, makes it easy to thumb-on-back-of neck and access frets 1-5. Everyone is different , so the maxim is position your bass to suit your body, not the other way around. Copying Famous Guy is rarely the solution. I get that your trying to serve your picking hand but there must be some room for adjustment if it kills your left hand.

That said, technique issues are best solved with a decent instructor in person, but barring that you can
consult the holy trinity of beginner bass technique videos

 

I'm not in a band that needs a bass player with a gigantic pedal board, but I love to play through it anyway because a dialed-in clanky/dirty sound gives me so much joy.

There are multiple ways to get the tone that you are describing that perhaps you have yet to explore: strings, setup, pedals, amp, cabinet, technique, etc.

Not that long ago, I reconciled that there would never be an "end" to the quest, which freed me to fully embrace (and enjoy) the journey. I hope that you find a way to continue on your path, and may your journey bring you joy and fulfillment.

 

Get some in person lessons from a legit instructor. It will be the best money you're spent in your quest. Ad good ear plugs if you're playing loud.