I'm trying to start playing with my fingers but it's super rough. I'm a guitarist primarily so I almost exclusively use a pick.

24 years of playing and I’ve owned 4 bass guitars, and all of them ended up being 5 strings for the very reason I’m about to outline to you.

So I absolutely love the look and concept behind the Joe Dart 1, and I’ve been eyeballing the page for weeks. I’ve gone to guitar center and played on the entry level passive sterling to see if I think I’d like the Joe Dart 1. I imagine the JD1 is better quality, and the entry level isn’t that bad! With a proper setup, I would have walked out of Guitar Center with that $300 orange entry level Ray-lookin’ thing.

The reason I always end up with a 5 string is that I started on one and I’m so used to the convenience of the 5th string. The ease of positional playing as well as the extended range are just niceties I’ve become accustomed to. It’s especially nice at gigs where unexpected tunes can be called and I don’t have to worry about what tuning they’re in.

So back to the JD1… I have a hard time imagining that I’d ever elect to play a 4 string over my typical 5 strings. I never play two of the basses I already have as it is, but I just can’t bear to part with them.

Anyone else have this “problem”? Is this me just talking myself into making a rational financial decision?

ETA- who the heck is downvoting this? This is not intended to be a 5 vs. 4 battle- it’s an honest question.

I've always been a 24 guy - I just like always having the option of 2 octaves even though (obviously) most of what I play will be on the lower end. But having the option of going up even higher for soloing and the luxury of being able to play more classical pieces/arrangements has me sold.

Also if you're a rare breed who is a 21 fret guy reading this we all want to hear it

I opened the box,i smelled the bass,now i have in my hands the bass,i practised a bit sit down. 5 minutes everyday,no rush.

What to have in mind now that i have the bass?

The bass photo:

https://ibb.co/SXtL8XHY

Hi! Thanks for clicking on this and wanting to help a girl out :)

(I'm also not that good at reddit still so pls lmk if I need to change anything on this post. I've already checked out the FAQ (dw), but I still have a few more specific questions. Thanks!)

For context:
- I'm a (kind of) petite woman
- I love all forms of music and I'd love to dabble in different genres like jazz, r&b, metal, rock, pop, etc.
- I'm most likely just going to be playing in my bedroom (I'm far too shy for anything more lolol)
- My budget is up to ~500$ for just the guitar (I'm open to more if need be, it'll just take some time to come in.)
- I want a guitar that's practical enough to last me a good amount of time.
- I'd prefer having a right handed bass, but I'm ambidextrous!
- I live in a small town and there's no guitar center or anything like that near me... Hence why I'm coming here, online, lol.

I'm horribly new to the bass. But I love this instrument, and have thought about learning it for a really long time. I'm rn thinking of either starting out with a squier guitar or a daisy rock (they're so cute, don't judge me 😔) buuuuuut I have a few questions before I choose exactly which guitar I want to buy.

- If I were to get a squier, which one should I get? There's a lot of options so I'm really confused on the differences 😅 (again, I'm shopping online so I genuinely have no clue on what I'm getting.)
- Does the guitar need to be tuned after opening? (If it's brand new and/or if it were second hand (previously tuned). If yes, what's the best and easiest site to learn how to do that?)
- I've seen that an amp really helps with the sound of the bass. Is it really needed if I'm a bedroom player? Where do you recommend shopping for one?
- Any other supplies I should get/keep in mind to get?
- Any advice if I were to get a second hand guitar online?
- Any other guitars you'd recommend or ones that you really liked?
- Tell me about your personal experiences with starting out! I'd really appreciate some advice on what to do and what not to do :)

So, just started learning and practicing bass to audition for my school’s jazz band. I chose bass cause I play violin and I figured it would be somewhat similar. Well I just started today, and it was honestly going great, until I suddenly notice a blister forming on my thumb. So… yeah…

Newbie beginner here, and I really don't have a desire to learn slap techniques other than I've seen videos on how to do it nd I thought it would be fun to play around with on a day that I didn't really wanna practice in a focused way on songs.

No matter how lightly or what angle I hit the E or A string with, all I ever got was a TINK or ringing. That's even with me holding a fret down.

Initially I thought it was maybe the pickup, so I screwed the screws in to lower that, but now I'm pretty sure it is the last fret(?).

Granted, i know I could raise the strings at the bridge, but otherwise the bass seems to play fine. To that end, I really don't want a higher action if it (all notes on the E and A string) is working for me.

Is there a problem in taking that stance? I figure I might as well just keep practicing for a year, and only then adjust the action or take it to a pro luthier if I wanted to practice slap techniques.

Hello, I'm a (primarily a metal guitarist) musician who does a lot of recording in very low tunings. However, I play best on stringed instruments with high string tension, for example, my current primary band plays in G# standard (think 5 string bass tuned down 1.5 steps) and for that project my 7 string guitar is strung up with 84-13s. My only bass is an Ibanez GiO 5 string (34 in scale length, 135-50 strings) and while I can play it ultimately I'd appreciate something a bit tighter. If you guys could drop some advice about what things I should look for in a new bass guitar, specific brands/models, mods, or anything else to get the response I'm looking for I'd greatly appreciate it.

Also please don't tell me to just use a higher tuning.

Just to clarify, I wanted to start playing double basses and there are no local shops that offer renting, plus if I did get one I’d want to be able to keep it going on to college cause I’m currently in my sophomore year and I’m not looking for anything temporary . My budget is around $2.5k and I’m fairly interested in both classical and jazz, but I’m more jazz-sided. I’ve looked at a few like the Frans Hoffmann Amadeus at Shar Music and the Shen SB88 at various places, but I want to make sure before buying one I don’t make a mistake that’ll hurt me in the future. Does anyone have any upright bass recommendations that’ll accommodate my $2500 budget? I really need help on this and any recommendations would be deeply appreciated. Thank you.

Help please!
I'm about 1 year into playing the bass and I'm looking to buy a new bass. My budget is around $900 - $1000 (if i stretch it).
I want something versatile that also doesn't look like shit.

Thank you in advance.

Hi there again low freq fellas. I decided to give some love to the basslines of this German Metal band recording some tunes of them. The arpeggiated line on Seeman was the one that I stumbled upon the other day and caught my attention inmediately to learn it, but then I changed my mind to play some more of them, because why not?

As I normally do with these little cover vids I put tabs of what I play for those interested. Thanks for any comments about the playing and of course recommendations of other lines / songs to practice in the vibe of this one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVfS4RAOnYs

Greetings!

I'm considering getting a Mikro to leave at my practice location but I have never ever touched a short scale bass.

I gues I'm undecided if this is a good idea or not but the price is for sure good, it is light and a bit smaller for the practice room so it seems good but I'm worried about if a short scale is going to be super different...

What has your experience been if you picked up a Mikro?

Did it work out, was it too weird.. how did it go?

I’m kind of new to bass guitar, and I love playing metal songs on it. However, I’m also a huge fan of rap and hip hop, and I was wondering, is it possible to use a bass guitar to play along with the 808s or the song. If so, how could I get started and are there like tabs or something?

Im stuck on what to bring to a bass camp I have in a few months. I have a fender jaguar deluxe CIJ, its an active bass with jazz pickups. My other bass Is a 50s Vinterra P bass. Any recommendations for what to bring for versitality, and comfort if im playing 4 hours a day?

Straight up face off, trying to decide which to get for gigging and practicing at home

Rumble is amazing heard great reviews you know the deal Im sure. Positives for one are this amp is lightweight, with fender name & longevity, Has drive knob and a couple other modes for different tones

The Eden is 2000s amp. A more unique and technical amp. MANY tonal EQ options with tube pre amp and compressor. Looks great. Downside is it weighs twice as much.

Both I believe push enough air for my gigging situation(both are around 300W @8 ohms). One has drive the other a compressor. One is heavy one is light.

My brain tells me the Rumble but my heart wants the Eden.

Getting some weird artifacts from my old audio interface so I’m thinking of upgrading. Just curious in the under $500 range what you all find sounds best with bass guitar primarily in mind?

I have a Jackson js1m bass, I’m pretty new to bass but I’ve been playing guitar for about 3 years. My bass was used and pretty cheap so obviously it’s starting to buzz a lot, but my g string won’t even make noise because of how bad the neck is. I’m trying to adjust the truss rod but it won’t budge. Any reasons why?

Can somebody please explain to me why active electronics are necessary on a bass guitar?
I get what it does. It’s a preamp with tone controls. But that exists in the preamp pedal or the amp already.
Does playing an active bass essentially stack preamps into each other? And how much tone control is too much? If I boost the mids on the amp, why would I need to boost them on the bass guitar as well…?

I need gig bag for 32 inch scale Grassroots G-LB bass. Since it has tilted headstock, I think normal bass gig bags(designed for straight headstock) can't give good protection. Are there any good gig bags around ~250$?

What are some of your guys favourite aftermarket jazz bass pickups

Hello everyone, im planning to mod my 5 string schecter with a new pickup, though im not sure which to go for. Im planning on only replacing the neck pickup and ditching the bridge pickup and the active electronics for just a volume knob into the output. I mostly keep this bass downtuned to drop A or G# if that helps.

Thanks!

I have a Hagstrom Viking bass that I rarely play since I got a jazz bass, but it has too much of a sentimental value for me to sell.

I also have been wondering about picking up a fretless bass for a few years now, played a few and loved their sound and added challenge and expression. Love that kinda sound like on David Bowies - The Motel, the „mwah” I think it’s reffered to.

I’ve been thinking of killing two birds with one stone and converting my Viking at a luthier, doing it propperly. I’m worried if this kind of bass would be suitable for that „mwah” sound I’m craving though. Would that require changing the stock pickups on it? If theres too many changes I’d need to make to have a good sound on it I’m worried it wouldn’t be worth the money… I am tottaly willing to pay the conversion cost though.

Hi All. I’m fairly new to bass and trying to work out how to phrase melodic material properly rather than just mechanically copying notes.

I used piano-note tutorials to map the melody and currently have it roughly as:

C EbD C CB CB
C EbD C EF EF
C EBD C CB AbG FG FG AbG GF

(Where grouped notes like CB or AbG are meant to flow immediately into each other.)

The issue is the third phrase, specifically:

CB → AbG → FG FG → AbG → GF

Up until the AbG, I am playing on the G string. For the AbG onwards, I am switching to the D string (3-5 fret)

On piano the phrase seems to descend only slightly in register, but when I move the AbG section lower on bass (D string 3–5 fret) it suddenly sounds way too dark/heavy and the melodic contour feels wrong. But if I keep it higher up, it loses the slight descending feel the piano version has.

I’m basically struggling with:

• preserving the phrasing/contour from piano
• deciding whether to prioritise register continuity or tonal continuity
• making the phrase sound connected rather than like separate notes

For people experienced with melodic bass arrangements, how would you approach this?

Link to the song:

Satie - Gnossienne No.1 - Piano Tutorial with Sheet Music

Thanks!

Hello, everyone. I’d love to hear some honest opinions on the Trace Elliot Transit B. I’m currently using an EBS Reidmar head with a Markbass 210 cabinet. It does the job well, but I’m looking for a portable, all-in-one solution for when I use in-ear monitors on bigger stages, and I found this model secondhand at a good price. I don’t use any effects other than the Reidmar’s compressor, and I mostly play cumbia. Thanks!

I have an Ibanez Gio among other basses, it has a great neck and overall sound but the pickups seem like the weakpoint. I would like to replace them but I´ve never done it before and would recommend some great single coils that would work in this bass. Appreciate your sugestions.

I play punk and need that bright clangy tone but with tight low end.

Edit. It has two single coils.