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Scott’s bass lessons

Tryggerm

Tryggerm

Jun 28, 2013
11
20
#1
Anyone taken any of the Scott Devine online bass lessons, or familiar with his programs?
I’m an old guy who’s been playing bass on and off for years but never worked All that seriously on my technique. I get by okay, but I’d like to expand my abilities and it looks like this could be a good option. Whaddaya think?
 
#2
I paid the one year subscription fee a few years ago. There's alot of content, but I didn't renew the following year once I found a great teacher to take Skype lessons from. I was kind of like you in that I had been playing for a few years, but had never properly studied. The thing that ultimately steered me away from all of those paid subscription services is that IMO, there is no substitute for being able to interact with a teacher, especially since you mentioned technique. Nobody on on any of those videos is going to tell you you're doing something wrong (you may not even realize it), give feedback/suggestions, or answer any questions you may have. Plus, the videos aren't going to be on your case if you show up having not practiced like an actual teacher would.

Alot of people obviously really like it and I'm sure quite a few TBers would tell you how great it is, but it wasn't for me.
 
#3
Most people I've read about seem to swear by them and highly recommend them, such as the "fretboard mastery"(or whatever) and so on.

Personally i won't be going that route because, for me, they're more expensive than they're worth, and I would prefer to learn in my usual random/haphazard way.
 
#4
Being self taught I have found it worth the full years cost in the first month because I was able to find a course that directly addressed my issues. The new players path is great on technique and pretty good on theory so I think it is worth at least the first year if you are a good in class learner. If you are a visual or tactile learner might. Not be as effective but could still be worth a try.
 
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#6
I've been a member of SBL and it's honestly amazing if you have the dedication to really take advantage of it.

My issue, and the reason why I liked SBL, is that when I'm in the mood to learn new things I generally pull up youtube and start working on something, only to go down a rabbit hole and start chasing "shiny objects". I might start out with the idea of improving my slap technique and then before I know it I'm watching a video on Marcus Miller and realizing that I'm not anywhere near ready to take that on yet.

Because SBL has courses that are designed to bring you along slowly, it sort of takes that issue away, for me at least. It's very comprehensive, and there are sometimes when I'm a bit advanced for a specific lesson and I might skip ahead a bit, but in general I go at the pace of the lessons.

SBL does have a ton of content, so sometimes I found myself popping around taking multiple courses at the same time and at times I found that I wasn't really pushing myself to retain the information as much, so I opted to cancel my membership and now I just purchase the courses that come out that I really want to focus on. For instance, the Fretboard Mastery course, which is going on currently, is great and if you keep up with it the new lessons will come out weekly and allow you to keep up with it. Again, this is great for me because I can't skip ahead and it forces me to really concentrate on the lessons for that week.

It really all depends on how things work for you, but you'll never run out of content, the teachers are great, the information is organized and it will 100% make you a better player. There's a 14 day trial so it's worth it to give it a try at least.
 
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#7
SBL (free stuff) is ok. I don’t like his “you must play this way and only this way” on techniques and I REALLY don’t like him telling us mortals to not switch between 4 and 5 string basses. He says you must to play one or the other and not go back and forth even though he does it himself. I checked out at that point. There are some good things though.
 

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