Previous AMAs

So today i went to tune my bass like i usually do using my clip-on tuner (BOSS TU-02, B setting, 440 hz). When I plucked my open E string, the display just constantly switches between a perfectly tuned E and a perfectly tuned B... Which makes no sense to me how can my tuner be confused between saying this is a perfect E and a perfect B?

Sometimes a whole note will stay on the same letter, but separate plucks will randomly show B instead of E. Other times it just like flickers between the two.

I changed the batteries recently so it shouldnt be the problem, how can this happen? Is it just that this tuner is too cheap and i need a better one or what?

Hello everyone! Me and my wife started playing bass (me) and drums (her) a few months ago. Now we're approaching a level where we want to play together, so we need to understand our options. The drums is an electronic one with line outs, and I already own a Focusrite 2i2 we can use to mix our inputs, and a Zoom B1X Four I can use as an amp. So, if I'm not wrong, I could look for a speaker to connect to the Focusrite and it should work fine. I also have a Harley Benton HB-20B bass amp, but I know it's a cheap one, and drums sound really crap through it; a small JBL Flip, on the other hand, sounds decent but not loud enough for us to hear ourselves properly. So, does anyone have any suggestions? I am on the right path, or should I do something different? Please mind that we live in an apartment, so we can't play too loud as well. We will move into an independent house in the future, but this will happen in a year in the best case scenario, so I'd say to focus on something that won't piss my neighbors off.

Thanks for any tip!

I saw both of these online used but in super great condition.

Nux mighty plug mp2: USD45 Laney rb2: USD111

Which will be better for just bedroom jamming. Will the real laney rb2 amp give better sound and tone?

Also looking for something that will both work with both bass and guitar.

Any band that made you want to buy your first ever bass ?

https://youtu.be/g4MjDL6Elek?si=5hz9R68nyX9D7Ywb

Hey what’s the technique used at 3:39 of this piece. I know it’s harmonic I’m just not sure how to get the harmonics that high up the neck. Thanks for any help.

After not being been able to play much at all in the last 6 years I am finally in a place where I can play again. I used to have an app to practice with that would allow me to loop short sections of songs, slow it down, and keep it on repeat so I could really focus on certain sections. I can't remember the name of the app and haven't been able to find a similar one. Do any of you use a similar app that you'd recommend?

Aguilar Tone Hammer 700 vs Darkglass alpha omega 900 through a markbass cab.

Coming back to bass after a hiatus. I can still hold my own, I'm pretty decent. But I was self-taught as a teen and built some shit habits and I stagnated pretty hard.

Any other experienced bassists care to share their time with formal lessons? How did it affect your playing specifically compared to self-teaching?

I just bought a Harley Benton rb414 ( ric clone). It has a 34' scale but really long bridge ( adds 3.5'' I ve read) .The manufacturer suggests super long scalestrings.

My plan is to tune it to C standard. Mostly for doom metal ( sleep / al cisneros style).

I am not able to find adequate strings in thomann for what I plan.i never realized that super long scale has so few options. The best solution is to to take a 5 string set minus the g string and tune it up to c. But I can't find a light set for super long scale. I ve ordered Daddario EXL170-5SL 130 100 80 65 (45). I did some tention calculations and seems like the 80 and 65 gauges will have too much tention.( In description they say "light gauge" but I don't know how that translates)

There is also a pyramid super long set but it's quite expensive and I doubt it will give me the sound I am after.Tentsionwise it looks good. There are also pyramid single string but there is no mention on their length.

Any suggestions on other options from thomann?Something hopefully that doesn't cost a fortune.

Pardon if the title is click-baity. Some context:

I set up my bass following u/logstar2 's method. No measurements. The bass plays like butter and to my liking.

I Arrived at the set up by patient1/8 turns of truss rod, and bridge saddles.

Then summer kicked in.

Temperature higher by 4C - 7C than yearly averages.

Irregular rains and fog, unpredictable humidity changes.

a.

The buzz is more pronounced on the D string, and on G - only marginally lesser,

AND when playing at the neck pickup. The buzz is less pronounced, sometimes no buzz when playing at the bridge pickup, or atleast not picked up by the pickup-amps.

b.

I play before bedtime, and the strings are sharper when checking the tuning the next morning after 12 hours.

So far, my only work around has been raising the action on D & G strings to contain the buzz. Usually half a turn suffices.

I dont know how far I can go with raising the action.

The E & A strings buzz, but very rarely. they stay put most of the time.

Please Help!

So I'm a fairly solid intermediate player now.

One thing I'm still struggling with is this.

I can play syncopated 16th (e.g. bridge of 'I Want You Back') with a metronome.

However when I'm playing something like this to the backing track where there's an instrument like guitar that's not playing on the same part of the grid, my counting of 16th gets distracted and I get lost rhythmically.

I can play Disco Ulysses by Vulfpeckat full tempo and generally can feel note placement well, but coming in on the 'e' of 4, holding it over the bar then coming back in at the right time is really doing my head in because of other parts that throw off my count.

If we're talking about I Want You Back, I can play the whole thing very well, including the fast arpeggio part of the bridge, but the first part of the bridge which is 2 bars I have been trying to nail for a while and I'm still not there.

It's not often that I get stumped like this and it seems to me that this has highlighted a weakness that if I can overcome, will make me a much better player.

Any tips or words if encouragement appreciated

[ the issue at ~2:00]

Recenty i bought Ibanez BTB625EX BKF and when i play there is a annoying sound. There is sound when i pluck string and sound of pressing fret and it plays note too at the same time. Its annoying af on higher notes and its unplayable. I never had that problem before, so i think its not technique. Maybe i should buy flatwound strings?

I have a backup bass of mine in the shop right now for about $300 worth of work. I got a call from the tech that the work is done but he informed.me that there was a mishap with a drill press that led to him drilling through the fingerboard near the 21st fret (it's a fretless bass so not technically a fret). The bass is not a high end bass and has a number of dings and scrapes already, it's a player and not a showpiece.

He's offered to build a custom neck for me to the specs of the original neck at no additional cost and actually reduce the total cost of the work already done, which might seem fair but I feel like this would be me asking too much of him. I can probably live with a gouged fingerboard as long as it doesn't impact playability, especially if he's willing to discount the work that he did perform, but how would you proceed in my position?

Curious which has proven to be more efficient with progress ?

Hey yall, I just bought a michael kelly 5 string bass from a sam ash that was was having an out of business sale (very sad IK). It came with a very warped neck which made it even cheaper. I am not sure how to go about buying a new neck for it and I’m looking online and Im very unsure about sellers. Does anybody have any good advice for someone in my position, thanks.

Where can I find the official/correct bass tabs for songs? I've been using Songsterr, but I've noticed not all of their tabs are accurate. Any recommendations?

Who are the bassists that have influenced/inspired you and your style of bass playing the most?

I’ll start with mine:

Eric Avery (Jane’s Addiction)

Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Justin Chancellor (Tool)

Les Claypool (Primus)

Peter Hook (New Order, Joy Division)

Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)

I'm trying to recreate Ryan Martinie's bass tone on his warwick thumb on my strandberg and dingwall but neither come close to that thunderous low end and full tone. Is this down to the Warwick thumb or the rest of his gear setup?

Here's some tone clips:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTb-awg6XF0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is5Y17wa1I8

Here used Ampeg SVT Pro amplifiers before switching to Warwick Xtreme 10.1 Amp Head Warwick WCA 411 Pro cabinets.

He could also snap a tree with his fingers and my low gauge low action guitarist hands don't come close to that. Could a lot of the tone be in his hands?

Is there anyway I could recreate that fullness digitally with either Neural DSP Darkglass or parallax and experimenting with cab IR's?

Who are some people that have influenced you and your style of bass playing, despite the fact that they themselves are not bassists?

Here are some of mine:

John Cage - composer, music theorist

John Frusciante - guitarist

Mike Patton - vocalist

(Also, if you would like to say what the non-bassists also do/play as I did, I would strongly encourage it!)

Hi there! I’ve decided to go back to music after almost 32 years. I used to play viola and violin (classical music and jazz), having completed the Suzuki method then. I just turned 50 and decided to take back that music pathway and do something new. I feel fascinated about bass and I’ve been learning about the instrument parts, the different bass choices, and also checking some instruments locally and online. My goal is simply learn to play good, have lots of fun while feeling a beginner again, and eventually join a jazz / rock band a few years on. Having said that, I’ve got offered a used Bartolini Cort C4 Plus ZMBH (https://www.cortguitars.com/product/item.php?it_id=200) for US$ 370. Would you consider this a good fit for me to begin learning? If not, would you have any recommendations on getting to learn? Thanks in advance!!

Hey there im going to get straight to the point I'm looking for a bass that's good for rock metal blues just a workhorse ig my budget is $800 any recommendations are greatly appreciated

Can you use it alongside other pedals? Like say I wanted a dedicated compression pedal or something, could I use that pedal along with the multi FX one? So one dedicated compression pedal along with the multi FX for everything else?

For reference I’m going into freshman year of high school and I’ve gotten the amazing opportunity to go to a Jazz Camp over the summer! I will do an audition when I get there and I’m wondering if Portrait of Tracy is a good song to audition with? I’ve been told by a friend (who did Jazz choir many many many years ago,) that it’s better for me to do a Jazz standard rather than an “unknown” piece in their words, like Portrait of Tracy. And this is not a question of skill, despite my subpar bass playing lol, because I can play a majority of this piece and I understand the chords and general “things” happening in the song and I’m thinking I might improvise on it aswell. But is this a good song? Or should I go with something more classic? Sorry for the long texts and I appreciate any responses. Thank You

Hello low frequency fellas!

Having some fun at home trying this tune from this great rock band which became popular from the late 90s to early 00s. For those who are more familiar with the discography of the band which other tunes do you recommend to try out with the bass? I ask since I might be sleeping on some deeper cuts (I know the obvious answers like "Are You In?" etc) Thanks in advance for any good recommendations.

As I did in previous videos of this type, I included tabs on screen of what I am playing in case some people find them useful.

Thanks for listening.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-JZ1EKN8CEk

Found this Squire on FB for $60. i believe it’s an affinity bass but can you guys confirm? It’s missing the bridge pickup and has a slight buzz when connected to an amp.

I plan on taking it to my local guitar shop for a setup and repairs.

What's considered better for bass? A wider strap with less padding or a thinner strap with lots of cushion? My jazz bass weighs 10.5 pounds and I'm not the biggest fan of my current strap.

I just wanted to let my fellow consumers know that this series of basses appears to have some problem with the bridge. The allen keys that come with it don't work, so you cannot adjust the height. Now I've seen people claim that they're simply shipping the basses with the wrong set of keys. I've seen 2 people say they are shipping with a metric set, but an imperial set of keys should fit. Annoying, but a set of allen keys isn't too expensive. The problem is I got a set of both metric and imperial keys. None fit.

There are a couple possibilities here. The worst case scenario is the Jackson is shipping these basses with stripped bridges so no allen keys will work. Another possibility is that I stripped my bridge with the incorrect keys they sent me and now the correct keys won't work. The final possibility is that there is a key that will fit, but it's not in common sets, so I'd have to rely on the expertise of strangers to find it.

Regardless, I just wanted to let everyone know that this is a problem. I've emailed Jackson about it and I'll edit my post to show their response if I get one. Hopefully they will fix this issue in the future so that people who buy these basses won't go through the stress I did.

In the meantime, I'm going to purchase a Hipshot KickAss bridge. I had one before and they never let me down. It's a shame, because these Jackson bridges don't look cheap or anything. Very disappointing.

I have a CV 70s p-bass that I ordered as B-stock from Musician's Friend. I went to adjust the saddle height and found approximately half of the screws had their Allen heads stripped. I ordered some "standard" saddle height screws from Fender, foolishly assuming that they would be standard, but they are not. Does anyone know what I could search to find the right screws?

Hey guys, I picked up a bass a little over a month ago (yamaha bb234) and I love it to bits, I'm getting more comfortable with playing bass lines by ear, but I fear my fundamentals are a bit shaky. I can recognize pitch (not able to tell what note it is though) from certain bass lines and mimic them, as well as come up with my own however I don't really know *what* I'm playing if that makes sense. I know the patterns for major and minor chords (the extent of my music theory knowledge lol) but I don't really know how to progress from here in terms of self teaching. I guess I'm asking for a structured way to make progression. I wish I could learn under a teacher but I can't afford that atm :( so what would be some important things to learn if I want to become a better bass player irrespective of the genre i.e. different genres have different styles of playing the bass but they all root from foundational knowledge that I want to solidify so listing some topics to study would be greatly appreciated thank you all :)

(Sorry if my bad English I am french) I was watching a movie called Un monstre à Paris with my younger cousin and their was a song called La seine. It has a sound really cool. It sounds to me like a rickenbacker I don’t know though. Thanks if anyone can identify based on the sound https://youtu.be/9Z-NbQvhzKM?feature=shared