on those days you just feel like selling all your gear...

Take a break.
Sounds like you are having a "Tone Suck" day.
I have days where no matter where I twist knobs things sound like poopie. Switching basses doesn't help me either. Could be ear fatigue, could just be dissatisfaction.
Honestly it happened to me more when i first started bass and I was spending more time trying to mimic some tone off an album. I've kind of evolved a tone that sounds like me no matter what I play through. So generally I'm happier now because I've accepted what i sound like and work more on content and technique.

Time away from an amp helps too. Just pickup the bass and practice unplugged.

Hate those days man, a second hobby helps fill the time and keep me from fixation on "how much i suck."

 

Everyone is subject to an "aw $#!+" day. When you have one, push through if you are on a deadline, or give it a break if you aren't. If your amp won't deliver the tone you want, see if you can find it in playing position or fingering. When i'm having a really crap day, my MO is to fall back to what i know absolute best to give myself a couple minutes of "pep talk". I may be sucking at what i'm working on, but i can still walk it all day, that kind of silly ego pump. I've also got a Phil Jones Big Head i use when i'm traveling, or when i've lost the bubble at home. It's great for practice in general, but also forces me to go easy on my bass to avoid a lot of non musical noise from playing too hard.

Or you can sell all your gear. But that usually just results in sore knees from kicking yourself in the butt for the next month or so while you get more gear.

 

I've been going through this cycle for years...and sometimes it does feel good to sell off the lot, start from scratch and really dig in on a project. I think there's alot of danger in sitting back and becoming an observer because that's when the self-doubt and comparisons creep in. Sometimes tunnelvision is a great thing!

I'd suggest consolidating your gear to relieve some guilt, remove the focus of what you can't do/aren't cut out for and identify then focus on your strengths completely with your current band or new project.

 

how about if you play more and post less?

 

You could take your own advice whenever you feel snarky.

 

Play what you know. Play unplugged, just you and your bass. Sing a little. Walk away for a while. Any and all of those things work wonders.

 

Humans aren't very good at multitasking......
Human multitasking - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

I sold a ton of gear years ago.

I'll never do it again. It's not gonna go bad just sitting there, and if it's not out of financial need, keep it.


Go fishing and forget about it for a bit.

When you come back, it'll be waiting.

 

True enough, as humans we tend to overestimate how many things we can do effectively at one time.
Fortunately, zoning out in front of the TV with a bass in hand and trying to play along to each and every music cue
can make for some highly useful ear training while simultaneously allowing the player to indulge in being a vegetative slob. To me, that's win/win.

 

I've been playing since 68-69, I've played the bass with many of tv shows and commercials!

 

Well then there is just a SLIGHT chance that we have jammed together (that is, I played along to you!)


There is some GREAT electric bass happening on TV. My girl is big on the REAL HOUSEWIVES shows and there are TONS of bass-driven cues on there, presumably because the frequency sits comfortably under the wall to wall femme dialogue. There are some sick licks on display, and trying to replicate them on the fly is really instructive.

A night of Bravo usually is enough to remind me the electric bass isn't going anywhere soon, it's just too damned useful and expressive a sound.

Your war stories are welcome, of course, and nice to meet you - thanks again for the on-the-fly lessons!

 

Join or start a band.
Sell one amp and one bass.
Make something catch fire, something with a lot of plastic in it.

 

I hope you don't think I actually played the bass on those programs....sorry if I was not very clear.

I practiced bass while watching those shows!

 

LOL. Ok, you mean to say, "I own a TV, too, and likewise practice to it."
Yes, I misunderstood you to say you are a commercial bassist.

I know a bunch of career musicians in Los Angeles, some have worked for over 30 years,
but none have done much straight commercial work to my knowledge - so I was genuinely curious.

I know several film and TV composers and most of those scores are one-man operations, so it is quite likely that the staff composer on a housewives show simply straps on his five string and lets rip when given the chance, as opposed to bringing in a "session player" as such. Those days are largely passed, I suppose.

 

I'm not Carol Kaye.....

 

I felt like this most of the time when I was a regularly gigging gui**** playing in jambands. the only solution was to learn some songs that were outside of my wheelhouse.