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Photos for you -
Peavey RJIV Randy Jackson signature - never imported into Europe, so scarce this side of the Atlantic. Possibly the nicest bass Peavey ever made. Mine has Babicz FCH bridge. Hipshot drop D tuner.
Peavey Rudy Sarzo signature - this one has Glockenklang three band EQ preamp (not the Dynabass pre) and coil switching for both pickups. Both of these changes transform the bass. Hipshot drop D tuner..
GL Lasido Z1 - with Zeta Piezo bridge, Andreas Richter buffer stage with trim pots for each string and John East two band preamp.
Photos for you, if anyone's interested in this old crap.....
Peavey RJIV Randy Jackson signature. Possibly the nicest fretted bass that I've ever played...
Peavey Rudy Sarzo signature, with Glockenklang three band EQ and coil switching for each pickup. Another real gem
GL Lasido Z1 with Zeta piezo bridge, Andreas Richter buffer stage (with trim pots for each string) and John East two band EQ.
Anything you want to know, ask away....
My three most-used basses -
Peavey RJIV Randy Jackson signature
Peavey Rudy Sarzo signature
GR Lasido Z1
When I've got more time I'll go back to SBL and learn some theory. But then I think what's the point? I'll probably never play outside the house, I'm hardly going to compose any music.
How much do you know? Do you understand the notation of timings for instance? Would you be able to play a basic blues without any tab in front of you? I've no ambitions of playing in a band either, but I've learned enough in a year that I came play along to a 12 bar blues, even if it is just root notes and arpeggio combinations. Can spend ages just playing along to a backing track. A little amount of knowledge can make even starting off a lot more fun.
My three most-used basses -
Peavey RJIV Randy Jackson signature
Peavey Rudy Sarzo signature
GR Lasido Z1
Nice! Peavey at their best is so good (and even their stuff that doesn’t sound so great is usually super reliable). They did a monster 400W valve head a while back, and one of the first 1000W+ class D 1U power amps.
Does the fretless sound more like an acoustic or double bass as it doesn’t have magnetic pickups?
I seem to work sequentially with basses - I had a Hohner Jack (PJ passive 4) as my main bass for 3 years, then my ‘87 Warwick Streamer for about 8 years, then a custom 36” scale five for 13 years but I wasn’t playing so much through much of that and then a Stingray Special for the last 5 (but that’s lived in the studio and I’ve had a cheap EADGC acoustic five at home and more recently a Jack Casady Signature as my home bass).
I still have all the other basses and they do get used a fair bit but rarely for my own band/writing.
are the 3.5mm to 6.35mm ebay jack adaptors any good for plugging into the amp if i can scrounge some normal headphones off a mate?
This had to be the most difficult forum to post on - I apologise for my multiple posts, but there seems to be a massive delay between my posting something and it actually appearing.....
Nice! Peavey at their best is so good (and even their stuff that doesn’t sound so great is usually super reliable). They did a monster 400W valve head a while back, and one of the first 1000W+ class D 1U power amps.
Does the fretless sound more like an acoustic or double bass as it doesn’t have magnetic pickups?
The GR bass (which is basically Godin, before that brand existed, as such) should have had the Zeta preamp but that had died long before I owned it - when I bought it the outputs from each bridge saddle were run in parallel into the John East preamp, which worked after a fashion but there was no way of balancing string outputs and the input of the preamp was a lower impedance than piezos like to “see”.
I asked John East if he could build me a buffer stage with trim pots - he put me in touch with Andreas Richter in Germany, who had one already designed. String balance is finicky with the piezos - they’re very sensitive to how much you “dig in” while playing, to how far up the neck you are, to changes in string gauge, hand position - all of these things......
Soundwise - it sounds much as it does unamplified, in the basic character of the sound, you have to be careful not to dial in too much bass - it’s a bass that benefits from some sort of HPF (or an amplifier with the right sort of characteristics). It’s a swamp ash body, so it’s light (around 7lbs) even though it’s not chambered of anything.
If the Zeta bridge ever dies, then I suppose the Hipshot piezo bridge would be the way to go - although Zeta still make bridges for electric violins (and complete instruments, as used by Jean Luc Ponty) they don’t make spares for that bridge any more - they were always known for being fragile, and it’s forty years old, so......
I don’t get the chance to use it as much as I’d like, although the band that I’m in play some Jack Bruce stuff and I sometimes use it for that - nobody notices that it’s fretless, to be honest. Over the years I’ve played fretless bass in all kinds of “inappropriate” situations and nobody’s ever had any objections.
If you ever get a chance to buy one of those Peavey RJIVs, then just do it - it’s a rare bass superbly constructed - neck through, three band EQ with variable mid and treble shelving (via a switch on the PCB), active p’ups (which some say are rebranded EMGs - they certainly look and sound like it). I like the Sarzo almost as much, but they’re very different and the RJIV is more versatile. You could use it at any gig, any style, and make it sound good.
are the 3.5mm to 6.35mm ebay jack adaptors any good for plugging into the amp if i can scrounge some normal headphones off a mate?
Yep, but treat yourself to a pair of AKG headphones. The AKG K52 is a closed back (so doesn't annoy anyone else) has a decent length cable and comes with a jack adapter. They're studio quality reference 'phones and cost 30 quid on Amazon. They're also light and comfy with a self-adjusting headband.
It is quite comical how the posts appear to not quite be in chronological order - it’s like it’s been infected by the plague of social media algorithms…
On the bass front, I’ve been doing a pedalboard sort recently - it’s been a state of messy limbo with leads all over the place and the Velcro falling off so I have to carry it around like a tea tray! I bought a very silly pedal because it was cheap for what it is, took the board apart, rearranged it around the new pedal and then realised that the new pedal is too niche in its uses and too huge to claim a permanent space on the board.
It’s the enormous one in the middle here:
Yep, but treat yourself to a pair of AKG headphones. The AKG K52 is a closed back (so doesn't annoy anyone else) has a decent length cable and comes with a jack adapter. They're studio quality reference 'phones and cost 30 quid on Amazon. They're also light and comfy with a self-adjusting headband.
thanks, just ordered those.
and to think I wrote this about our trebley friends a couple of weeks ago
As well as what the amp and cab sound like, most guitarists don't send the signal from the guitar to the amp, it goes through one or more effects pedals on the way that take the electronic signal and perform all sorts of sophisti****ery with it to give a modified sound. Look at the guitarists thread on here and marvel at their pedal board obsession. Most of the signature guitar sounds you recognise are only partly the guitar - if you can find a BBC documentary Lenny Kaye - On Guitar it delves into this or there's loads on youtube. Or ask a guitarist friend (but block out most of the day for the answer)
Bill Bailey does a great sketch about what happens to U2 when the Edge’s effects fail.
I’m still getting to grips with my HX Stomp. Way more than I actually need, but so easy to try different things out. Favourite is chorus, followed by some mild fuzz or distortion. Also have a Darkglass Vintage Microtubes, but run the drive fairly low and use it just to colour my tone a little.
I'd be happy to just be able to pluck the right string or feel happy with my hand position on the fretboard 😁
Have you followed any basic exercises? Get a metronome app, there are loads of free ones. Practice just playing a note over and over again on the beat. You’ll be bored of that after two minutes, so look up some beginner tabs. Another one bites the dust and Come as you are, are both easy and recognisable. Both very short but you’ll already know the timings and so all you have worry about is the notes. It will take time, but don’t get frustrated and keep at it. I’m playing stuff I couldn’t imagine when I started 15 months ago.
Back in the day, of course, we bass players didn’t use much in the way of effects - I’m including the likes of Jack Bruce, Andy Fraser, Felix Pappalardi, Mel Schacher, Richard McCracken, all early influences/ contemporaries of mine.
I still use next to nothing now - my board just consists of Boss OC-2, TC Corona Chorus and Vortex Flanger, EBS two band compressor (which is always on) and that’s it. I use TC Electronic RH series heads (which have great compression and tube emulation anyway) so I don’t feel I’m lacking anything. I can’t be doing with multi-effect processors - have had a few and given up with them.
But then I’m not only old school, I’m just old, been playing for 55 years and old habits are hard (or impossible) to break.
Have you followed any basic exercises?
been at work for 5 days so tomorrow is first of 4 days off so my practice starts in the morning.
Get a metronome app, there are loads of free ones. Practice just playing a note over and over again on the beat.
got one on my tuner so i'll try that, thanks.
got my guitar strap today, funny how it changes things you wouldnt expect. standing up, the fretboards directly flat rather than angled up a little on my knee if you know what i mean. it means i cant really see the lower strings that well when i need to play 3rd fret on D string for instance. i'll really need a lot of practice at left hand and finger positions, 2 finger strumming, identifying which string to play etc before trying bass tabs.
i also dont understand the relevance or importance of 'triads' say, or 'perfect 5ths', and why theyd help create tunes. (yes ive been reading a lot, and watching videos 😀 )
Have you followed any basic exercises?
been at work for 5 days so tomorrow is first of 4 days off so my practice starts in the morning.
Get a metronome app, there are loads of free ones. Practice just playing a note over and over again on the beat.
got one on my tuner so i'll try that, thanks.
got my guitar strap today, funny how it changes things you wouldnt expect. standing up, the fretboards directly flat rather than angled up a little on my knee if you know what i mean. it means i cant really see the lower strings that well when i need to play 3rd fret on D string for instance. i'll really need a lot of practice at left hand and finger positions, 2 finger strumming, identifying which string to play etc before trying bass tabs.
i also dont understand the relevance or importance of 'triads' say, or 'perfect 5ths', and why theyd help create tunes. (yes ive been reading a lot, and watching videos 😀 )
You don’t need to understand those things yet. It’ll come in time. I’d also forget about the strap and just play sitting for now.
Don’t forget that the point of this is to play music, even at this stage. The main riff of AOBTD is all on the E string. Come as you are is three frets on two strings. Find some beginner tabs, it doesn’t have to be complicated.
Back in the day, of course, we bass players didn’t use much in the way of effects…
Actually a lot of my FX influences on bass date from the late ‘60s and ‘70s. Larry Graham with Sly Stone and solo for epic fuzz bass, and Geezer Butler with Sabbath using fuzz and wah. Bootsy Collins and the other P-Funk bassists for all sorts of FX madness, particularly envelope filters. Bernie Worrel and Stevie Wonder on keyboard bass (mostly Moogs). Anthony Jackson’s phaser with The O’Jays. And as I’m running a clean rig I’m using pedals for overdrive and distortion rather than three full Marshall stacks like Jack Bruce in Cream! There’s a lot of ‘90s tonal influences too - I feel my music listening tastes skip most of the ‘80s (apart from the stuff that doesn’t have that ‘80s sound!)
But there is a good reason behind the giant pedalboard - I’ve ended up with a band which is just vocals, bass and drums so it’s down to me to fill all the space that would normally be occupied by guitar, keys, horns, etc. The pedals all fill different sonic spaces and combine in loads of cool ways. It has been quite hard on the brain operating the mothership but I’m getting there!
My default tone is completely clean - there’s a lot of sounds I can get from the bass with just my hands, no knob tweaking at all. But I do like having a great fuzz available. And in most bands I’d be very happy with octave, fuzz, distortion, envelope and phase. The compressor is a new addition, partly because I want to get my head around it more, partly because I’m revisiting slap bass, and partly because I think it could work well on a dry send from the board when recording (so running an FX DI and a dry but compressed DI).
I was going to make a small board for the funk project I’ve decided to start after this alt/prog/post-grunge rock trio has recorded its first album but the more pedal experimenting I’ve done, the more certain I’ve been I’ve already got the right pedals on the big board, I just need to ignore the superfluous ones!
You don’t need to understand those things yet. It’ll come in time
I agree with clubby - at the moment focus on being able to pluck the right string using the right fret, until it is something you can do that without thinking about it.
FWIW Triads are just groups of the three basic notes in a chord that harmonise well together, for example for C major: C (the root note), E (the third), G (the fifth). They form a regular pattern on the fret board from whatever chord/root note you want to play with and will be useful in making up bass lines to specific chords.
I bought a used Sterling Sub 4 back in September - I am still very much a beginner even though I tried bass for 6 months a couple of years ago. Ive been getting 1 lesson a month from a local lad, he has stressed the importance of learning to play scales both major and minor - you learn the fretboard and notes and it stretches and strengthens your fingers (especially the pinkie). Im getting there with them. Im trying to learn to read music too, as I quickly realised that tabs dont give enough info on timing or rhythm, etc - just the 2p of a complete novice 🙂
I bought a used Sterling Sub 4 back in September
More importantly, how are you getting on with the SUB?
Franco, I think its great. But I am a total newbie, so Im not really qualified to judge. I got it "used" rom a wee shop in Stirling - it still had the cellophane on the pickguard and control nobs. If you are anywhere near Inverclyde, you are welcome to come give it a test.
I got it "used" rom a wee shop in Stirling
Joanie's? Always fancied a look there, but I usually only pass that way on a Monday when they are shut.
cancelled yousician this morning, it wasnt for me.
thought id try the 14 day free trial with SBL and it implies that i can pay the $199 annual fee AFTER the 14 day trial. however, when i go to put card details in and 'pay', the bank app says im paying the $199 now. when i went through these stages with yousician, the payment confirmation said £0. can anyone confirm that i wont be charged yet? id rather just not pay now than chase a refund later if i cancel.
will also have a look at bassbuzz.
thanks
The thing that strikes me (especially after reading some of these posts) in how big a thing bass “education” is these days - and drum education too, for that matter and how much money some people must be making out of it.
A friend of mine, who only decided to learn to play bass when he was fifty-something, has spent a small fortune with tutorials from SBL and others and yet (and this is the bit that I struggle to fully understand) he has zero interest in ever actually playing with other musicians, let alone in front of an audience.
Hell, when I was 15 and starting to play electric bass, having played double bass at school, getting out and being in a band was the prime motivation for hours spent studying bass parts on albums. No interweb, no social media, no transcripts - nothing but our ears really.
can anyone confirm that i wont be charged yet? id rather just not pay now than chase a refund later if i cancel.
I can't remember, sorry, but their support was just fine to deal with when I finally cancelled. No drama. For what it's worth I found the SBL stuff really useful for the forum as well as their course. It's easy enough to think you are playing well but once you record something and stick it on the forum people come back with useful stuff and you discover your timing isn't anything like as tight as you think it is. This was especially true when you were trying to play in the 'holes' left by the drums or trying to be a bit laid back. I really liked it as a course although nothing beats being 15 and in a band
@clubby
Yes it was Joannies. Nice wee shop with loads of guitars mostly. Young boy working there was very knowledgeable.
I'd love to play in a band again. Problem is, it's a very different proposition at 52 than it was at 17. For lots of reasons!
I'd love to play in a band again. Problem is, it's a very different proposition at 52 than it was at 17. For lots of reasons!
Ive been getting 1 lesson a month from a local lad, he has stressed the importance of learning to play scales both major and minor - you learn the fretboard and notes and it stretches and strengthens your fingers (especially the pinkie)
Interesting - I spent quite a while on that last bit and then read something from Carol Kaye (and I reckon she must know something) about how she uses the pinkie, effectively instead of, but supported by the third finger. IDK if it's technically right or wrong but now I rarely use a flying pinkie now and while reach might not be quite as far my fretting quality is better, less buzz, etc.
I have arthritis in fingers so may be a function of that too.
It was somewhere in these tips, but can't find it now.
https://www.carolkaye.com/www/education/tips1.htm
Tip 2 might be useful for Sadexpunk, teaching a bit about major and minor and intervals and why chords are more useful for bassists than scales. Although knowing the patterns on the fretboard of scales also helps (2-4--1-2-4--1-3-4, etc.)
For scales, I’ve found it more important to know the intervals of the major/minor scales rather than the notes themselves. The patterns are the same, so just pick your starting note. Same with arpeggios. Was watching a lesson on walking bass yesterday and the differences between various 7ths. The lesson had just 4 shapes to learn. Once you learn the shapes, that gives you notes that work together in any order, over those particular chords.
It might sound daunting starting out, but it’s easier than learning every scale but note.
how she uses the pinkie, effectively instead of, but supported by the third finger
That I believe is called the Samandl technique used by double bass players.
I however ‘use my little finger, effectively instead of, but supported by my third finger’. 😉
try this to help with 2 finger picking - start slow, get the left hand working first, then start to introduce alternating pointer and middle finger on the right hand - you be up to full speed in no time!
Billy Ocean - Red Light Spells Danger (bass tab)
I'd love to play in a band again. Problem is, it's a very different proposition at 52 than it was at 17. For lots of reasons!
Try it at 72........
The differences are, for me, compared to when I was younger (even your age) -
Far fewer live music venues (where I am at least) - when I was young we used to have a tourist season and every other decent sized seafront hotel would have live bands on several nights a week, plus there were a few larger venues too. You could earn shedloads through the summer......
I don’t have real mates in my band - they’re good friends, but I don’t do anything with them socially outside of the odd gig and rehearsals. Back in the day bandmates seemed to have far more in common than they do now - given the opportunity, two of the guys in my band would play nothing but Stones and Status Quo stuff, which I refuse to do, especially Quo.....
Most people my age don’t seem fussed about going out to see bands (unless it’s some Tribute band) and young dudes don’t want to see old farts getting on for their grandparent’s age, do they?
So, although I’m technically probably the best I’ve ever been, with the gear I want the opportunities just aren’t there, certainly outside of a city anyway.
Tip 2 might be useful for Sadexpunk, teaching a bit about major and minor and intervals and why chords are more useful for bassists than scales. Although knowing the patterns on the fretboard of scales also helps (2-4--1-2-4--1-3-4, etc.)
a lot of reading there and ive for to admit i just dont get major/minor, 5ths/7ths/minor 7ths etc yet but then again its early days.
im watching vids as well as practicing tho and have been spending most of my time trying to stretch fingers, playing frets 1, 2, 3 and 4 with all 4 fingers on all 4 strings. havent got the dexterity that they seem to have on the videos, i need to shift my hand, and its awkward for my pinkie/little finger ;-). hopefully itll improve with time.
The patterns are the same, so just pick your starting note. Same with arpeggios.
been going over the major arpeggio constantly, will also do minor this afternoon. really dont know what it all means, but they all say theyre important so i keep practising. havent moved onto practising scales yet.
i intend to subscribe to bassbuzz eventually but im just working through all the free stuff first, theres a load of free vids on 'studybass', 'SBL', 'talkingbass' and 'truefire'.
try this to help with 2 finger picking - start slow, get the left hand working first, then start to introduce alternating pointer and middle finger on the right hand - you be up to full speed in no time!
nice one. was too fast for me but just figured out how to slow youtube down so ill keep practicing that for my 2 finger plucking. im finding i cant keep them alternating if im concentrating on the frets, but then i think well does it really matter? do what comes naturally even if you keep doubling up on a finger from time to time.
one surprising thing i learnt, that makes total sense actually was not to aim for the middle of the fret but just nearly on it to eradicate buzz. as i logical thinking type of person, i should really have worked that out for myself that the note will be from bridge to where it touches the fret, so anything further back than that is likely to produce more vibration/buzz.
thanks all, im enjoying it. ill be looking for a new guitar soon 😉
I wouldn’t overcomplicate things to start. Just learn riffs and songs and have fun playing along. To get your right hand comfy with going faster just do root note stuff, constant eighth notes like AC/DC etc.
The theory can come later! Just enjoy getting into the groove!
I wouldn’t overcomplicate things to start. Just learn riffs and songs and have fun playing along. To get your right hand comfy with going faster just do root note stuff, constant eighth notes like AC/DC etc.
The theory can come later! Just enjoy getting into the groove!
That's exactly what I suggested to be honest.
Time spent playing is way more valuable than time spent clicking around YouTube looking for music lessons. Especially in the earliest days when you have fingers like wet spaghetti.
yep, will do. ive been hands-on more than watching, i just watch videos when theres other people in the house or i just fancy a break and to learn something. and tbh, im hoping the videos help with hand positions, learning the fretboard etc.
what are the best websites for riffs and tabs?
cheers
I haven’t done much of that since about 1997, so I’m not very up to date! But I don’t think you can beat buying an actual transcription book with both tab and notation, and learning most/all of an album you really like (that isn’t too hard - and many rock songs aren’t).
The two books I remember learning pretty much all of were Appetite for Destruction and Blood Sugar Sex Magik. There is a LOT of bass playing on those albums - but I was a first year uni student who wasn’t doing very much engineering but got v obsessed with bass!
A list here that I used.
https://www.noteflight.com/profile/63e29759b9cc7f244ebe251a4601b4c45cd6f3bc
There are also beginners tab lists on Guitar Pro, but most don't give timings which is much harder as a beginner.
I agree with chief, there's a lot to be said for physical books. Loads available second hand, just make sure they contain tab as well as standard notation. I picked up the Ultimate Bass Songbook, for about a tenner and it has plenty for every level. Look on the Hal Leonard site to see if there are bands you like, then check eBay or secondhand book sites. Many of theirs have access to online audio as well.
Ultimate guitar is usually my first port of call when looking for tabs. They have user submitted tabs and pro versions which you have to pay for. They vary in accuaracy and usually there will be more than one version of each song submitted by different users. The ones with the most likes tend to be the most accurate.