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Man do I suck!

#21
I try to use a bit of both when I'm practicing. I'll work on some grooves with the bass and amp and then I'll plug into my computer to record me playing along with songs.

Some of the benefits of using an amp are as follows:
- You don't get stuck with the bad habits of slamming the stings too hard as others have noted.
- It's a great opportunity to develop 'your' sound. It's nice to mess with settings on the bass and the amp to develop the sound you want in the live environment. (Remember that what sounds good by itself doesn't always sound good in the mix).

Some of the benefits of using headphones:
- You can catch those tiny nuances that you need to work on.
- If you have a computer setup going you can record your lines along with songs. This has given me some of the most valuable insight into my playing and at times has afforded me the "I suck" dialogue.

If laziness is a problem make your stuff accessible or just leave it all plugged in and ready to go. You shouldn't have to set up your gear every time you want to practice.
 
#22
My low end brethren -

I can't thank you enough for the replies and thoughts. I've tried to be more consistent with practicing through some kind of amplification, be it headphones on my computer setup or through the trusty amp with an eye towards playing cleaner and more precise.

I'm still amazed at how differently my playing can sound thru different mediums, etc., and it's led me down the path where I've found myself asking, 'How in the world does player x get his/her kind of sound?' I know I'm sort of getting off track here, but, most often, music that we listen to of our favorite bass players is that of a recorded nature thru headphones (think iPod), which I think kind of got me started in this whole thread (playing through headphones and recording on the computer setup). I wanted to hear my sound in a recorded fashion with headphones, similar to how I listen to artists. It sounds significantly different than through the amp, but I understand this has a lot to do with the electronics side of things, cabs, headphone freq. capabilities, etc. I think someone said it earlier, you can certainly be more sloppy playing live, or even just by yourself thru a house system in a large room brings a whole different twist to how you sound and how precise you have to be. I'm sorry for the wandering post, but I guess at the end of the day, to me at least, the 'phones seem to be the least forgiving reflection of how I'm really playing, which led me to say "Man, I suck!" :D But, alas - only parts of my playing suck, and if we all didn't suck to some degree, then we'd all be raking in the dough from our lucrative musical careers!
 
#24
It's really important to practice both ways. I spend a large amount of my time teaching and practicing acoustically. It really forces you to listen carefully. When you transition to the amp or cans, make sure you are getting the same sound out of the electronics that your ears are looking for acoustically. And that brings up the topic of electronics and gear- we want to eliminate the gap between our ears and the sound that comes out of the amp.

Regarding sucking- what a wonderful observation! It's always best to realize you have more to learn. Besides, young bassists who think they're hot sh*t IME usually just plain suck- don't know how to play rudimentary basslines, can't groove even on 8th notes, spend way too much time working on flash, etc...

My best students have been the most humble and the most hungry.

Listen to the experience of professional players. Practice with humility, and be aware that there is always more to learn!
 
#25
The fact that listening to yourself makes you think that you suck is good. Really. You are allowing yourself to listen critically to your playing and realize what you need to practice. Now, if you were arrogant and thought that you played with perfection, then the rest of us would think that you suck. :D
 
#26
I went through the whole down on my syself thing a couple weeks ago. And as several have already said
A we all suck to some degree. and B Its good to use as alearning tool.
Suckage is good. it means you know you have room to improve and are not willing to rest on your laurels.
It is also true that what you are playing and what you are playing it through can make a big difference. I like to drag myself out in the hot old shed for an hour or two to plug in and play loud. BUt when I want to work on my fingers I play my acoustic. Those things pick up every little mistake and sound like crap. But not so loud the neighbors know it. So if you have to practice quiet you may want to think about picking up a cheap acoustic/electric bass. I got one from the DEan outlet for $100. I dont like it plugged in but it'll be nice when I get my sailboat in the water and dont have any electricity.
 
#27
Have you ever been to a gig where the whole audience listens to the music through headphones??!! LOL!!! I think this is completely unnatural, the best sound you will ever get out of your bass will be through an amp.

I am a big fan of the Markbass Amps. Yes, I have a killer Jeff Berlin model with one whopping 15" speaker and 400 watts, but I also have the Micromark, with only one 6" speaker and 50 watts (which I just schlepped with me to Northern India, where I am working for a few months).

The volume on the Micromark can be turned way down, but it is still unmistakably a bass amp. It also has an "aux in" jack, so I plug my iPod into it to groove along with my favorite tunes.

Try something like this. You get the bass amp effect, but won't drive your neighbors / family up a tree. Nothing like that natural sound. I think long-term use of earphones affects your hearing as well. I go batty when I have them on too long.
 
#28
I agree 100% with the humble thing. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's pompous players - I mean it's one thing to be confident, but an entirely different thing to be arrogant to any degree.

I've been working on Victor's 'U Can't Hold No Groove', which is what I had been playing through the phones and recording at the time I started this thread. An obviously easy song to say 'I suck' on, but nonetheless, I am determined to continue to work on it until I get it down as best as I can possibly play it. It's coming along much better now, thanks to playing through the phones and the amp. I think I had read it somewhere in someone's sig, that music is in the nuances and details more so than in the actual notes being played. Man if that ain't the truth, I don't know what is. I'm not so much into the flash of how Victor (or any great bassist) does his thing, but just listening to the groove he creates, it's just unbelievable, and that's the kind of music I try to recreate (or create) when playing. I'll take being able to lay down a solid groove in the pocket over flash anyday, but I'll keep trying to practice the flash, too :D
 
#30
Yeah I boost highs when practicing and use phones and my picking style ends up very delicate. I try to remember that when plugging in, and the tone and execution resulting is much better. It's hilarious how much slop there can be with fingers, I think most people just dump the highs to compensate.
 

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