My trip are all short trips (2-4 days) as I am in account management and I fly to almost all of them. The local ones are day trips only. I end up slogging through emails and reports every evening when I get to the hotel and I'm beat from travelling so I just don't even think about lugging an instrument with me. If I have free time which is rare, I find a GC and sit there for an hour. I envy you guys that have the time to practice on the road.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
How to practise Bass while travelling
- Thread starter activebass
- Start date
Wow - that Status Streamline looks (and sounds) gorgeous. It is very expensive though. I'd be a bit worried that it might be damaged in transit.
I've been using the Hofner Shorty for travel, which you can get for less that $200. Simple headphones, headphone amp, and patch cable is all you need. Add any decent smartphone jammed with a few 1,000 MP3's and you have a ton of tracks to play to - and of course if you have the laptop, you have the recording studio and mixer to boot.
See these threads for more real-world detail about the Hofner Shorty:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/hofner-shorty-bass-air-travel-any-comments-998439/
and
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/hofner-shorty-goes-flying-1032795/
Best of luck!
Well...... I guess you owe me an apology.
For introducing me to the Hofner Shorty. I went ahead and bought one and am awaiting delivery! Ha!
Thank you also for the links to the threads. I will look at them when the Shorty arrives and maybe get the Planet Waves Dare strap.
In the end, I wanted to practise while travelling and the Kala - though quite fun to play - didn't really give me meaningful practise.
I almost bought a Steinberger Spirit, but at less than half the price and living in a city where ball-end strings are hard to find, the Shorty was a no brainer.
Thank you!
That's what I did too, but you know...music stores close at some point and with the cities I travel too, staying in the hotel room and playing bass keeps me away from temptation and spending a lot of money ;-)
I travel every week and know what you mean about wanting to travel light. You can get out of the plane and not worry about picking up luggage, but not having a bass to practise made me live with having to pick up luggage.
You know what? It was ok in the middle and higher registers, but in the low end it was a bit muddy.
I have since traded the bass. I liked the Kala and it did inspire me. I can't explain it, but the feel of it and the upright sound made me play more creative lines, but I wanted an instrument to practise, so I traded it and bought a Hofner shorty.
I'm an account manager in the IT industry too. I find that I have quite some downtime in the evenings and so instead of spending money going out (even though I would get reimbursed, it's more productive to practise the bass.
Hello! Fellow bass player / business traveler here, OP (activeplayer), any chance I can convince you to take a picture of the gig bag next to a laptop briefcase? Or maybe what is the length of the gig bag? Thanks!
Hey
great thread. I'm posting here mainly to establish a sub on the thread and make it easier to find. Lots of good info to check up on.
I do project managment work for industrial process operations / upgrades. I typically fly everywhere and am usually on the road for a week to two weeks at a clip, generally about once a month.
Runnerman I hear you about being burned out at the end of the day. There are days that I work a 12-13 hr day at the jobsite, or others that I spend 4-5 hours on the PC at the hotel doing work stuff after a normal 9-10 hour day. Sometimes I just crash and go to bed after dinner and 2 beers.
That being said I usually take my travel guitar with me: a Taylor Big Baby in a tkl hardcase that shows plenty of wear. Its heavy and awkward to carry though the airport and I generally have to gate check it but its nice to sit and unwind with some fingerpicking in the hotel room. I try to get that in at least once or twice a week and it seems to make it worth the aggrevation.
Last week I was in Orlando and stopped in at Bass Central, its where my Stingray came from. I played a U-bass. I'm very interested.
Tough to justify 1000. for a bass to noodle around in the hotel room though. How many who have bought a U-bass are using it on gigs when not on the road for work? Other than scale length, are there other issues to be considered?
I'm sure there's a U-bass thread, but havent found it yet.
thanks
great thread. I'm posting here mainly to establish a sub on the thread and make it easier to find. Lots of good info to check up on.
I do project managment work for industrial process operations / upgrades. I typically fly everywhere and am usually on the road for a week to two weeks at a clip, generally about once a month.
Runnerman I hear you about being burned out at the end of the day. There are days that I work a 12-13 hr day at the jobsite, or others that I spend 4-5 hours on the PC at the hotel doing work stuff after a normal 9-10 hour day. Sometimes I just crash and go to bed after dinner and 2 beers.
That being said I usually take my travel guitar with me: a Taylor Big Baby in a tkl hardcase that shows plenty of wear. Its heavy and awkward to carry though the airport and I generally have to gate check it but its nice to sit and unwind with some fingerpicking in the hotel room. I try to get that in at least once or twice a week and it seems to make it worth the aggrevation.
Last week I was in Orlando and stopped in at Bass Central, its where my Stingray came from. I played a U-bass. I'm very interested.
Tough to justify 1000. for a bass to noodle around in the hotel room though. How many who have bought a U-bass are using it on gigs when not on the road for work? Other than scale length, are there other issues to be considered?
I'm sure there's a U-bass thread, but havent found it yet.
thanks
Hey Jeff. Try the Kala SUB (Solid Body UBass). You can get it online much cheaper than a hollow body uBass and my friend usesbit for accoustic or jazz gigs where the crowd are not picky. It sounds like a double bass.
Just use Vox AmPhones headphones to plug in to the bass and you can hear what you are playing
Just use Vox AmPhones headphones to plug in to the bass and you can hear what you are playing
Hi 1EyeBass.
I personally like the Vox bass headphones a lot. It's really good when i want to.play late at night at home or when I travel. Just plug it into your instrument and play. The sound is good and you can change the tone and even add abit of effect.
My main gripe is that Audio Technica, who manufacture the phones for Vox used a very thin cable AND it is not detachable. Meaning if it breaks, you can't easily replace it.
Am still very happy with the purchase
It appears some pros have the same idea regarding diminishing the footprint of their bass(es) to better facilitate their travel needs.
In a post here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/fodera-club-part-xxv-1045797/index15.html#post15413447
Jason DeSalvo talks about Tom Kennedys use of an Emperor 5 Standard Fodera with its bolt-on (and thus removable) neck for traveling.
Regards,
Allen
There's a fretless for sale here right now for $200.
Look around.
Many of us gig and jam with them.
Plenty of issues and solutions, hence 7,000 posts on the mega-thread here: [URL="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/kala-ubass-megathread-part-7-a-1041046/index11.html"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/kala-ubass-megathread-part-7-a-1041046/index11.html[/URL]
No love for visualization? I realize it's not as much fun as actually playing in hearing the sounds, but it doesn't require you to pack anything at all and is very useful for training the brain and improving speed. Works for professional athletes, works for professional musicians.
I've tried several of the kala ubasses and I have yet to find a fretted model that has good intonation across the neck. It's frustrating, because it is such a cool concept, and such a cool sounding bass.
Lastly, I don't really understand why there aren't more affordable Steinberg like, small body, no headstock basses on the market. Well actually I suspect I do - not enough sales to make it worth it - but still it would be nice to have an inexpensive travel toy on which to practice.
I've tried several of the kala ubasses and I have yet to find a fretted model that has good intonation across the neck. It's frustrating, because it is such a cool concept, and such a cool sounding bass.
Lastly, I don't really understand why there aren't more affordable Steinberg like, small body, no headstock basses on the market. Well actually I suspect I do - not enough sales to make it worth it - but still it would be nice to have an inexpensive travel toy on which to practice.
Visualization is what I currently do when learning new songs I learn the structure of the song and picture the baselines in my head, and it actually works very good, by the time I get home and pick up my bass I just need to find the right note, which probably takes 3 sec, and then I'm good to go. But practice is good for the tough parts and to get into the groove of the song.
I originally bought my Steinberger XL2A, used, in the late 1980s when they were falling out of style, for precisely this sort of thing.
I don't travel as much for my day job as I used to, so what I do now, whether it's a long working trip or a long vacation, is pack my little Vox AMPlug headphone amp, a pair of semi-decent earbuds, and a mini stereo patch cable. I've been very successful at borrowing or renting a basic practice bass wherever I've gone.
One time, on one of the Hawaiian islands, I walked into the only music store in the area and asked if they had a second-hand bass they'd be willing to sell me, with the understanding that I'd sell it back to them a week later, for some small and to-be-negotiated-in-advance loss. They then said "oh, you want to do a rental", and I said, yes, but you don't do rentals, and the manager said, essentially, "we do now", and let me rent it for something like $30 for the week. For a few trips a year, that beats schlepping and worrying about my own bass when I fly. In your case, if you're really on the road all the time, your uBass approach of is probably a good one.
I don't travel as much for my day job as I used to, so what I do now, whether it's a long working trip or a long vacation, is pack my little Vox AMPlug headphone amp, a pair of semi-decent earbuds, and a mini stereo patch cable. I've been very successful at borrowing or renting a basic practice bass wherever I've gone.
One time, on one of the Hawaiian islands, I walked into the only music store in the area and asked if they had a second-hand bass they'd be willing to sell me, with the understanding that I'd sell it back to them a week later, for some small and to-be-negotiated-in-advance loss. They then said "oh, you want to do a rental", and I said, yes, but you don't do rentals, and the manager said, essentially, "we do now", and let me rent it for something like $30 for the week. For a few trips a year, that beats schlepping and worrying about my own bass when I fly. In your case, if you're really on the road all the time, your uBass approach of is probably a good one.
I take my U Bass everywhere. Flying it's just a carry on. I use it also as a back up. With amp, iPad or just by itself I can be anywhere. Now to get fretless one!
