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What do you do when you're without bass

#21
Well if my tech that already set many of these mentioned 22 asks me 20/30 min (full ordinary setup/neck polishin'/anti static pots sprayin'), but due to severe schedule tells me 2/3 hours (back after lunch break) or rather 2/3 days (back after weekend) at a 2/3 weeks request I'd equally change retailer

Cheers,
Wallace
 
#24
Get a backup bass

If that is not an option work on other elements of your musicianship...

Listen to lots of music more closely than you ever have. Don't just focus on the bass but also focus on each instrument one at a time and note how it fits in the song and in the band.

Watch instructional videos on YouTube

Do time exercises with your metronome

Work on your sight reading

Study some theory (do you know all of the key signatures? can you spell out any chord? )

Do virtual practice. Visualize the bass in your mind's eye and "play on it". Run some scales, play some arpeggios, play some simple songs, locate notes on the bass (ex. find every E note is on the bass)

Compose some music

Play around on another instrument

Or if you've already been doing all of this - just take the two weeks off. Sometimes that helps breathe freshness into your playing.
 
#28
dtripoli said:
1) Buy a cheap craigslist bass, $95
2) Buy set up tools: screw driver & allen wrenches, $5
3) Learn to work on bass with the cheapo
4) For $100 you'll have a bass to play and practice on while your other bass is being repair

If you don't feel like doing all that just get play guitar and shred for 3 weeks
Click to expand...

I'd give fairly decent odds are that the bass you set up will play better than the "professionally set up" one, too.

The good: you now own a $95 beater bass that you can leave in a practice space or whatever.

The bad: you quickly fall in love with your beater bass and are afraid to leave it in the practice space.
 
#29
3234718 said:
rxfunk, where exactly are you getting it setup? A small shop or a big retailer? Is it guitar center?
Click to expand...

Its a small, local shop, there's one luthier, and he's the only person who works on instruments, there's another guy in there who I think does amps, amd then there's like two salespeople. He does the setup and intonation. I think it takes so long, just because he's the only one doing them, and he always has like thirty instruments from customers, and he sets up everything before they put it out to sell.
 
#31
dtripoli said:
1) Buy a cheap craigslist bass, $95
2) Buy set up tools: screw driver & allen wrenches, $5
3) Learn to work on bass with the cheapo
4) For $100 you'll have a bass to play and practice on while your other bass is being repair

If you don't feel like doing all that just get play guitar and shred for 3 weeks
Click to expand...

I'm actually planning on this, just gotta find the right beater bass.
 
#32
Junk420 said:
- pack a bong and do a cartwheel
- do pelvic thrusts at people while they are eating in the food court
- eat an entire pie and punch yourself in the stomach
- put on headphones and run around like you're an airplane in public
- shake your penis at passing motorists
- dye your hair red and see what its like to be a ginger for a day
- stop at the middle of a crosswalk and do an air bass solo
Click to expand...

There are NO wrong answers on this list..
 
#36
You can always build one out of random household items. Last year when I was in the process of moving, I began to miss my bass. To remedy this, I made a crude 1-sting upright out of a giant cardboard box, some weedwhacker line, a guitar tuning peg I found on the floor of a friend's basement, a piece of a door frame, various screws, nails, tape, and scaps of wood. The string was tuned to A with probably a 45"-50" scale length. The "bass" was actually loads of fun, but I was moving and needed a giant box. The rest is history...
 
#37
RxFunk said:
I'm actually surprised something like this didn't come up sooner:D
Click to expand...

It did ;)

Junk420 said:
- pack a bong and do a cartwheel
- do pelvic thrusts at people while they are eating in the food court
- eat an entire pie and punch yourself in the stomach
- put on headphones and run around like you're an airplane in public
- shake your penis at passing motorists
- dye your hair red and see what its like to be a ginger for a day
- stop at the middle of a crosswalk and do an air [DEL]bass[/DEL] guitar solo
Click to expand...
 
#39
joebar said:
study music theroy
figure out songs i hear in my head and break them down-keeps me sharp
Click to expand...

+1
All jokes aside, even when you do have your bass, theory will increase your talent tenfold. Always find the time to practice memorizing key signatures, practice saying from memory all the major and natural, harmonic, and melodic minor scales up and down, same for when you're practicing. Even get into some different modes if you're feeling it.
 
#40
Go to guitar center and play bass there. Go to local mom-and-pop Guitar shop play bass There. Go to expensive boutique guitar store play basses you can't afford there. Go over to friends House who Has a bass and play bass. Go to open mic or open jam and see if someone will let you borrow their bass and bass out there. Put ad up on craigslist saying that you are a bass player with a bass in the shop and you will play for anyone who provides a bass. Buy a bass off musicians friend.com play it for three weeks and then return it. Go see Rush live Run up on stage and grab geddy lees bass and jAm out until security arrests you.
 

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