Hey folks, for those new to the diary, I am a middle aged musician enjoying a bit of a musical renaissance, including finally picking up the bass as a secondary instrument. I am learning *pretty* much on the fly, generally gigging either in a duo/trio, and am documenting my gigs with brief writeups. I have links to past entries below!
This was a peculiar one. I happened into a neat seafoam green Fender Mustang PJ bass that I had *no* business buying, but that I couldn't pass up. $300 with a gator case, strung with flatwounds. I felt like I stole it!
My regular collaborator was asking about us possibly busking, and I needed to finally pony up for a proper bass amp to start *practicing* between gigs, so I bought a BOSS Bass Cube on sale for about $185.
So I decided to try the new rig tonight! Mustang=>Cube=>PA. No pedals.
It was frigging amazing. I am sure it will give me bad habits, but the shorter scale was so fun, as was the lighter weight. I ended up sitting down halfway through what ended up being a four hour set, and that helped a lot also. Our drummer tonight was the most fundamentally sound of the ones I have played with, and we locked in pretty good most of the time. He was playing a digital drum kit, and honestly, I loved it. I was able to play an entire gig without earplugs in. It was wonderful!
Lots of reggae again. I didn't have much agency in song choice tonight, which is something I will be correcting going forward. I did more vocal harmonies than ever, and felt more comfortable singing/playing than I have yet.
I liked the fact that the Mustang just had two knobs, with no active preamp. I love my active Fender, but this thing is just *fun*. Honestly, I could see myself liking a traditional Mustang with the single pickup also. I am not planning on making this my main bass, but I am fairly certain the thing is sticking around, plugged into my Cube, ready to go!
I am going to get a footswitch to add extra controls to the Cube, and might just call that a rig honestly. The Cube seems *very* well suited for what I am doing, and is loud enough to use as an amp for lower volume gigs.
In terms of playing, I used a lot more empty space, both with mutes and by ringing out notes, particularly octaves. I found myself finding notes more easily. I have been doing some scale research, and I think it's paying off. I am finding that the best moments come when I stop thinking about it, and just play by feel.
I also find I am developing my own style for sure, for better or worse! My biggest failing is that I can "play" riffs and fills in my head, but don't have the musical vocabulary yet to play them in real time on the bass. It's like I know how to "write" the language, but can't speak it yet!
1st entry: Bass Players | Played my first bass gig tonight
| Facebook
2nd entry: Bass Players | First off, Merry Christmas | Facebook
3rd entry: Bass Players | Third bass gig tonight | Facebook
4th entry: Bass Players | Another gig tonight | Facebook
5th entry: Bass Players | Another entry in my running gig diary | Facebook
6th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-6.1645734/#post-28323213
7th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-7-or-along-came-a-drummer.1646312/
8th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-8-there-goes-the-drummer.1649424/#post-28411461
9th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-9-drummer-redux.1650998/
10th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-10-the-takeover-jam.1653436/
This was a peculiar one. I happened into a neat seafoam green Fender Mustang PJ bass that I had *no* business buying, but that I couldn't pass up. $300 with a gator case, strung with flatwounds. I felt like I stole it!
My regular collaborator was asking about us possibly busking, and I needed to finally pony up for a proper bass amp to start *practicing* between gigs, so I bought a BOSS Bass Cube on sale for about $185.
So I decided to try the new rig tonight! Mustang=>Cube=>PA. No pedals.
It was frigging amazing. I am sure it will give me bad habits, but the shorter scale was so fun, as was the lighter weight. I ended up sitting down halfway through what ended up being a four hour set, and that helped a lot also. Our drummer tonight was the most fundamentally sound of the ones I have played with, and we locked in pretty good most of the time. He was playing a digital drum kit, and honestly, I loved it. I was able to play an entire gig without earplugs in. It was wonderful!
Lots of reggae again. I didn't have much agency in song choice tonight, which is something I will be correcting going forward. I did more vocal harmonies than ever, and felt more comfortable singing/playing than I have yet.
I liked the fact that the Mustang just had two knobs, with no active preamp. I love my active Fender, but this thing is just *fun*. Honestly, I could see myself liking a traditional Mustang with the single pickup also. I am not planning on making this my main bass, but I am fairly certain the thing is sticking around, plugged into my Cube, ready to go!
I am going to get a footswitch to add extra controls to the Cube, and might just call that a rig honestly. The Cube seems *very* well suited for what I am doing, and is loud enough to use as an amp for lower volume gigs.
In terms of playing, I used a lot more empty space, both with mutes and by ringing out notes, particularly octaves. I found myself finding notes more easily. I have been doing some scale research, and I think it's paying off. I am finding that the best moments come when I stop thinking about it, and just play by feel.
I also find I am developing my own style for sure, for better or worse! My biggest failing is that I can "play" riffs and fills in my head, but don't have the musical vocabulary yet to play them in real time on the bass. It's like I know how to "write" the language, but can't speak it yet!
1st entry: Bass Players | Played my first bass gig tonight
| Facebook2nd entry: Bass Players | First off, Merry Christmas | Facebook
3rd entry: Bass Players | Third bass gig tonight | Facebook
4th entry: Bass Players | Another gig tonight | Facebook
5th entry: Bass Players | Another entry in my running gig diary | Facebook
6th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-6.1645734/#post-28323213
7th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-7-or-along-came-a-drummer.1646312/
8th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-8-there-goes-the-drummer.1649424/#post-28411461
9th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-9-drummer-redux.1650998/
10th entry: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/diary-of-a-bassist-10-the-takeover-jam.1653436/
