Bassists of Singletrackworld….

I know there are a couple of us around and I know that @Sharkattack considered starting this thread, so props to him!

I’ve been enjoying some Amos Heller and the Darkglass stuff

I’ve bought a Stingray and I’m off to look at a Squire Active Jazz bass off Facebook Marketplace later today.

The GAS is strong at the moment.

What’s new with you lot?

Am I allowed in here? 😀 I know I’m on the “guitarists” thread, but I’m the bassist in my work band. I’ve been enjoying the challenge of fretless recently. Really makes you listen hard and actually concentrate on what you’re doing.

I’m one of these! Why has there not been a thread before? Forever the forgotten ones… 😉

I’ve been enjoying the challenge of fretless recently.

Lovely!

Ah, I’ve been on a break from playing since quitting the reggae band I was with then moving house (gasp! Almost two years)

I’ve tinkled with the bass occasionally, but the Glockenklang/Barefaced rig is gathering dust.

This thread is a reminder to get back on it!

<Puts hand up>

Great idea for a thread!

Am currently playing my Epiphone Jack Casady, no band at the moment just amusing myself.

Did you see the Tim Commerford Stingray? It’s a thing of beauty in black.

I’m very novice but enthusiastic, a lockdown ‘project’. I’ve always loved the bass, from some of the very recognisable reggae and ska lines through to my indie guitar band days – Mike Joyce, Kim Deal, RATM……

I can’t play as in I don’t really understand keys and chords, although I did play an instrument as a kid so kind of get scales and arpeggios. I just find a tab and follow it, and enjoy making sounds.

Yes I’m here and still playing, kind of.

I started as a complete beginner in March 2020 when I was told to go home from work and stay in the house for the foreseeable future.

A few months earlier I’d collected an old Washburn bass from my parents house which I’d bought in 2002 and never learned to play.

For the first few weeks I wasn’t really sure how to get into it but once I had a routine and my fingers started working I was playing every day.

Then when flights and hotels and gigs started being cancelled and refunded I had a moment of madness and bought a Mexican J bass and an Orange Crush practice amp. I’d never even played plugged in before so obviously I got addicted to the sound of it and continued playing almost every day.

I kept it up for about a year and felt like I was making progress until… First baby arrived in June and put the brakes on absolutely everything!

Now I mostly stumbled around in a daze of sleep deprivation. I’ve had a few sessions but I already know I’ve gone backwards a bit in accuracy and speed. I can’t wait to get back into it regularly.

For any absolute beginners I would strongly recommend Yousician as a program for getting you up and running.

i got my first bass just over a year ago (a squier affinity jazz bass in tobacco burst with string action you can fit a bus under lol,but i get by on it).

am only a home player and not very good (same with guitar).

have learned a few bass parts from some of my fav bands etc but would really love to be able to improvise etc

never have been able to do it tbough after 20 + years of trying to play guitar (do not understand music theory,just goes straight out of my head when i try).

always wished i could be a musician,but do not have the ability unfortunately.

I’ve mostly been playing my cheap acoustic five, it’s a 35” scale I bought as an experiment a few years ago and restrung EADGC. I mostly ignore the C now as I’ve concluded I write better music with only four strings – but it’s occasionally handy when I’m playing chords way up the neck so the body is getting in the way if played as on my StingRay (which has taken over as my main electric bass).

I started trying to write an album and put a new band together as a response to pandemic life – unfortunately it’s taken a while to actually get the humans together, partly because I’ve been building a studio at work. It looks like it might be just vocals (lots of harmonies), bass and drums which I wasn’t planning (and wasn’t my idea!) but I’m excited about it. I’ve done about half the lyrics and melodies and all the riffs/chords/etc for about 15 songs. It’s quite dark!

“ always wished i could be a musician,but do not have the ability unfortunately.”

If you’re playing music then you’re a musician!

Hi fellow bassists!

I’ve tinkled with the bass occasionally, but the Glockenklang/Barefaced rig is gathering dust.

I’m on the lookout for a barefaced big twin or super twin if you’re selling!

I have a delightful Musicman Sterling that hasn’t come out of its case in the last 2 years and hasn’t really been played since my last band broke up 6+ years ago. Now I have two children and a house with paper thin walls I don’t really get time to even think about playing 🙁

Picked up a mini amp a couple of years ago to replace my ashdown stack that got sold and I’m not sure I’ve ever actually used it.

I’m currently learning a couple of tunes to audition for a band – some super funky stuff here:

It’s not helping with the GAS – I have a Yamaha TRB1005 which is my main bass, but I’m really fancying something a bit different, and watching Paul Turner there is making me crave a Jazz Bass, even though I’ve had them over the years and never got on with them!

I have a delightful Musicman Sterling that hasn’t come out of its case in the last 2 years and hasn’t really been played since my last band broke up 6+ years ago. Now I have two children and a house with paper thin walls I don’t really get time to even think about playing

There’s some great practice tools around nowadays – get yerself a Zoom or Phil Jones headphone and you’ll be away without making any noise at all!

Or, I’m always happy to take unused basses off people’s hands, you know, as a charitable service…

currently converting my old 70’s jetglow ric4003 into a mutant beast inspired by Al Cisneros signature bass. It would make the purist weep but sod ’em 🙂

in the meantime making some seriously dirty stoner and drone stuff using my Warwick, gibson, epiphone and kingdom basses.

The kingdom is a cheap as chips thing, with some added bits like seymor duncan pickups I had kicking about and high mass hipshot bridge.but it has a super narrow neck, so great for full on deathmetal and thrash

“ I’m on the lookout for a barefaced big twin or super twin if you’re selling!”

I can help with that! 😉

Hello, complete novice here. Always loved the bass and picked up an Ibanez SR300 a while back and have never really gotten into the practice habit. Any tips?
If I’m honest I just loved the RATM bass lines bitd and am just happy making some noise 😁

@Jakester that charitable service is admirable! I do have a £4 charity shop acoustic guitar that might be suitable 😉

Phil Jones headphones sound interesting… Maybe what I really need though is a new bass (I did always hanker after a proper Jazz)

Always happy to help….😉

PJ does a quality headphone amp:

https://philjonesbass.net/cms/index.php/product-ha-1/

But if you already have an amp with a headphone output, these are great:

https://philjonesbass.net/cms/index.php/product-h850/

“ I’m on the lookout for a barefaced big twin or super twin if you’re selling!”

I can help with that! 😉

PM sent👍

This is Bass Corner, which needs to be used more! The cab is a Super Twin iirc

I’m rocking a Mexican P Bass with Seymour Duncan quarter pound pickups into a 1972 Orange OR120 (Bench tested at 195W) into a Marshall VBC412 cab. Which also happens to be my guitar rig!

Probably going to try and dual amp it with a 200W Sound City mkiii head which is essentially a Hiwatt.

Have also completed both the rock and funk bass lessons on Fender Play.

Time to find a band!

for all you fellow bass players, if you haven’t heard OM, its worth checking them out for the most divine noise a bass player and drummer can make (doesnt really fit into any genre) sounds simple, bugger to play well

or for some super chunky overdrive bass a bit of shrinebuilder

a timely thread.

Currently playing a Dingwall NG2 five string and a Yamaha TRB1005 as backup. My four strings are both Ibanez, an SR1400 and an Ergodyne EDA900 from the early 2000’s.

Amp wise I’m on a Quilter BB802, paired with a Barefaced Supercompact. Awaiting delivery of another Supercompact to go with it. Both are ace!

Pedals – Darkglass Microtubes X Ultra and a Mk2 Empress Bass Compressor. Absolutely brilliant pieces of kit.

Back to gigging next month, looking forward to it. Been ages!

Another lockdown bassist here. I’d played 6 string for a few years but never really progressed beyond mediocre. Got a knackered old Encore off eBay and learnt using the free fender lessons on offer. Found I could relate to bass much better than guitar (I sing bass in a couple of choirs) and for enthused.

A modest windfall and I upped to a Modern Player Jazz (Chinese fender with twin hum buckers) and loved the neck so much but wanted a more versatile brighter tone and eventually got a Mexican Jazz.

I played along to covers off YouTube and found I really enjoyed myself. One of the choirs was doing an arrangement of Don’t Stop Me Now and Bohemian Rhapsody and the pianist bullied me into recording the bass lines. That was quite a learning curve less than a year into the instrument, but somehow I pulled it off.

The confidence grew, and the other choir wanted a bass for the church worship band. The guitarist can’t play barre chords, so a lot of it is in D 🙄 , but hey, who needs an excuse to get a 5 string? A classic Vibe Squier jazz V quickly followed.

Now having lessons to take it further, and am just getting to grips with Muse-Hysteria. Love a challenge.

If anyone’s interested here’s the choir singing some Queen. I sang all four parts for the others to learn from and got my few minutes of YouTube fame fumbling my way through Deacon’s best bits! Starts at 5m32s

“Any tips?”

I think everyone has their own route to bassatisfaction but mine was roughly like this:

Play along with lots of stuff I like. Put together a band to play covers of this stuff in rehearsal rooms. Recruit a drummer who likes writing songs and start playing originals, some basslines written by him, some by me. That was over a couple of years. Started contributing to the writing with riffs and lyrics etc. That band ran for a few more years, gigged a bit, recorded a bit. Never “made it”!

Started another band intending to write originals but everyone I recruited just wanted to get out gigging and I didn’t have the solo writing expertise. Played a few covers gigs and then I quit, just hated performing covers (sometimes I wish I didn’t, it looks really fun if you like it!)

Spent a load of time writing and recording on own so I could start a band and have it do what I wanted it to do. Then found some people, but not a singer so I ended up singing and playing bass – turns out I’m quite good at that technical challenge but my voice is an acquired taste at best, with a slightly dubious sense of pitch accuracy… Anyway that ran for a few years and petered out as my new business hoovered up my creative energy for some years.

Now I’m kind of repeating that but with new music, a different direction but the same drummer, and not me singing!

That was an essay! I think what I’m getting at is we PLAY music and we should enjoy it and embrace whatever route we most enjoy. Strive for competence and any brilliance will emerge.

Top tip – never put your bass away, keep it ready to play! Just grab it and play something you’ve learnt, or figure stuff out, or noodle or whatever. Sometimes I play tons, sometimes I don’t pick it up for weeks. Nowadays I almost always find a new song appearing when I come back to the bass after some time off.

thanks CGG, so a question. Do you understand the structure of the basslines you write or noodle around with or just go with what works by ear. My personality is one of trying to understand how / why things work, yet I really don’t have time to try and work it out.

Good to see so much activity on here

@chiefgrooveguru I’m on the look out for a barefaced cab too if you have more than one for sale.

My current list is
Fender MX Vintera 60s Jazz Bass
Fender US P Bass (2018)
Fender MX Mustang
Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray (2006)
Squire Standard Jazz Bass (2001) which I’ve replaced the control plate and pots on and I’m using to lear how to setup etc
Yamaha TRBX604 – superb lightweight active/passive bass with amazing tone
Ooops, that’s at least 3 too many 🙁

On the amp front, I’ve got a couple of Fender Rumble modelling amps (40 and 25) and TC Electronics mini stack. I’m really looking for a darkglass or aguilar mini stack though.

I’m on the look out for a barefaced cab too if you have more than one for sale.

If I remember the guitar thread, I think he might…..

@oldtennisshoes

I’ve got the Squier Mustang and I’m looking to restring it after 18 months. It’s short scale but through body so do I need medium string length?

To get the most out of it you need to know why the notes you play fit in with the key, or more importantly why some won’t work/fit.

Take the time to understand what key a song is in, and which chords belong in that key. The instrument is conveniently strung in a way that the notes in most keys can be found in box patterns once you know where to look for the notes. It can be a bit uphill at times, but a knowledge of the theory is kind of essential.

I’ve got the Squier Mustang and I’m looking to restring it after 18 months. It’s short scale but through body so do I need medium string length?

I’m not 100% but I’d go for short scale (30 inch) strings – there’s usually enough length to string them through the body.

“ @chiefgrooveguru I’m on the look out for a barefaced cab too if you have more than one for sale.”

I’ve got a factory full of the bloody things (but they’re all allocated to customer orders). My secret identity did indeed slip out over on that guitarists thread. 😉

“a knowledge of the theory is kind of essential”

Only “kind of” essential though – if you have a great ear and can basically play what you’d sing then I don’t think you need know any theory but could still be a brilliant bassist. I find theory helpful but as a beginner it can make things rather daunting.

Also, a bassist with a great sense of groove and a great tone who had learnt their parts by rote will sound far better than a bassist who’s been busily learning theory but not learning how to sit in the pocket and drive a band.

I meant a really basic knowledge, like how to find the root of the key and where to find the roots of the other chords in the key. Even if you can’t name the i, iv, v chords, you can go to them through learning fundamentally how the patterns work. For example, once you understand how a minor blues scale works you can play it in any key without thinking about it (other than finding the root on the E or A strings)

“ Do you understand the structure of the basslines you write or noodle around with or just go with what works by ear.”

I noodle around with a mix of fingers or ears leading the process and the theory helps with sticking points. I’ve been doing quite a bit of rewriting/arranging when cycling to/from work, taking what I’d come up with on the bass and improving it either in my head or by humming/singing it.

Some of my recent writing is delving into quite challenging harmony/rhythms, like changing odd time signatures, beats being added or removed on turnarounds, syncopations and polyrhythms, strange modes or scales, odd modulations, etc. I don’t know what I’m doing at the time, I’m just going where it takes me but I often vaguely work it out afterwards to help me remember it (I record everything on my phone, currently have 720 voice memos on there which are mostly song fragments, and the faster chordal parts can be hard to decipher).

I’ve got a factory full of the bloody things (but they’re all allocated to customer orders). My secret identity did indeed slip out over on that guitarists thread

Can’t believe I missed this at the time! A mate of mine had the Gen1 Compact (and a Midget to go with it for bigger gigs), I couldn’t believe just how good they sounded. And how smug he was at load in/out. They make my Markbass stuff seem heavy.

“ I meant a really basic knowledge, like how to find the root of the key and where to find the roots of the other chords in the key.”

Yes, there’s a lot to be said for knowing the intervals up and down the neck and across the strings. You can do so much with just knowing the octave, fifth both ways, maj and min third both ways and moving chromatically. Interval or scalar numbers like this are easier than notes and the weird way chords are written in conventional notation.

I’ve been working on something really odd at the moment. The bouncy dancy chorus is in A, going 1///m3///m2///m6/5/

(A phyrigian I think)

and then I think it’s modulating to D and then kind of like 1///1/m2/1/3/2///2/m9/8/10/m10

Total WTAF?!!

I’ve been a bass player since I was sixteen, so that’s fifty plus years….
I sometimes wish that I’d had the balls that Paul Turner had and left the same small island and tried to make it out there in the big, bad world, instead of forever being a big fish in a small pond.
But I didn’t, because I also had other stuff that I was ok at (motorcycle trials and later, sled dog racing) and I spread myself too thinly, which doesn’t work….

However, I’m still gigging, both here and from time to time in Greece.
Gear, if anyone’s interested –
1986 Peavey DynaBass
1991 Peavey Palaedium
1991 Peavey Foundation with EMG p’ups and EMG 18v electronics
1994 MM Sterling fretless
1996 Yamaha RBX 375
1998 Yamaha BB404 (DiMarzio ultrajazx p’ups and Omega bridge).

Trace Elliot GP12SMX preamp
2 x Mackie M1400 power amplifiers (1 in use, one as back-up).
TC Electronic BH 800 head
TC Electronic BG250 combo.
2 x Peavey 410 TX cabs. (re-ported and with Eminence drivers)
2 x Peavey 115 BX cabs ( with Eminence drivers).

The Trace GP12SMX has been with me since ‘93 and I don’t think that I’ll ever part with it, nor will I part with the Palaedium or the MM Sterling (because that was a gift from my wife)….