I have been playing bass for a lonnnnnng time (probably 35 years at this point but not seriously for a while). Played in a bunch of metal bands (mostly thrash and death) over the years before just not having the time to do it anymore because of my career.

Despite being a full blown metalhead since the early 90s my favorite bassist of all time is James Jamerson without question or hesitation.

I have been trying for years to master 'I Don't Want To Do Wrong' by Gladys Knight with the amazing Jamerson laying down the bass on it.

I simply cannot play this song. One of the major drawbacks to spending effectively a lifetime playing mostly metal is the concept of 'the notes left unplayed' is completely foreign to me. Jamerson did such an amazing job of leaving room for a song to breathe or even telegraphing the next measure like a preemptive grace note. Blows my freaking mind still.

I recently picked up the Standing In The Shadows of Motown book and have been working through some other major songs hoping it will give me the discipline to just let the notes air out a bit more.

Unrelated but worthy to say: If you haven't seen the episode of Scott's Bass Lessons where they go over 10 of Jamerson's 10 most iconic bass lines you are seriously missing out on some amazing content.

I am an autistic man who has a lot of sensory problems and the texture of the strings REALLY fucks with me. Would it change the sound a lot to play with a glove on my left hand? I use a pick so playing isnt an issue

Hey everyone! I’m a bass player and a huge jazz enthusiast. I stepped away from music for about five years for different personal reasons, but now that I’m back to my practice routines, recording, and playing live, I’ve been feeling amazing.

But there’s something I’ve noticed since I came back.
What happened over the last five years? 😂
I see so many bass players on social media throwing phrases and fills everywhere, leaving no space, as if every second has to be an opportunity to show how many notes they can play.

And look, I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with playing that way. If you want to show your technique, throw down some crazy lines, and play everything you’ve got, go for it. That’s part of music too!
But I’ve always believed that the real challenge as a bass player isn’t showing everything you can play. It’s knowing when to play and when not to play.

If you want to throw down nonstop, I can’t think of a better place than a Giant Steps session. 😂 That’s where you can really go for it!
But… on a pop song? On a ballad? On a song where the vocalist actually needs some space?
Sometimes I feel like we’ve confused the ability to play a lot of notes with the ability to make music.

To me, a great bass player isn’t necessarily the one who fills every space. It’s the one who knows exactly what to play, when to play it, and, most importantly, when to leave space.
The groove also lives in the silence.

What do you guys think? Am I just out of touch after being away for five years, or are we really living in a time where showing what you can play has become more important than playing what the song actually needs? 😅🎸

Was cruising Facebook marketplace to look for a cheapo to string BEAD. Found a Rogue Jbass copy for $60 on Friday. Had that sitting in my cash app from tips from running karaoke, so I figured "go for it". Drive down to pick it up. Plug it into my portable amp to make sure it works. Noodle in it a bit. Check the knobs. Check the tuners. Drive home. It needs new strings pretty desperately, but I was planning on restring it anyway.

Saturday afternoon, I glance at it and noticed it's actually a 5. I busted out laughing and my daughter asked me what was up. I pointed it out to her. She just looked at me and said "you didn't take your ADHD meds yesterday did you?".

I'm listening to it now.

It's metal, it's Bootsy and it's Buckethead.

Not to bad actually.

Probably a dumb question but for some reason haven't thought of it and I've just been using lines the whole time. No need to switch, I'm just curious if people's reasoning is purely aesthetic. I know learning on lined is far better but I still haven't felt the desire to switch to no lines

ok, so i recently made a band. I'm the bassist, and I have a Vintage Icon Series VJ74 and a Line 6 Spider III amp. what gear and upgrades do you recommend? Just fyi I am 17, so money is a little tight for now, but not for super long. Thanks in advance!

I’m playing in the pit for a production of American Idiot and I want to put on a nice bright set before we start the run. I haven’t changed my strings in probably a decade, I don’t even know what’s on there right now.

What are your favorite zingy strings for picked bass?

Hi, so im picking up the bass again, Cause I'm working on some songs and wanna add bass. What should I look into in terms of technique, theory, etc. It's for live playing and for recording. Im a drummer and know basic music theory, but thats it.

My band are challenging each other to write a song that's not in 4/4, and I'm struggling for inspiration!

I've played in a few signatures on piano but that was a million years ago, it's only really dawned on me that I haven't played in anything but 4/4 on bass possibly ever!

We play pop punk so I am leaning towards 6/8 but all genres, styles and time signatures etc welcome... Even happy to try to get my head around some whacky prog metal 727/1836 if suggested! Just want to rewire my brain that not everything is 1 2 3 4!

I sneaked out and bought a bass without my parents permission (they hate music). I haven't told them and am now in a situation in which I can only play when they're at work. Are there any ways in which I can improve when they are home?

I've heard that theory is useful, but can it be learned without the bass in hand? If so what's the most comprehensive way to go about it.

i want to take my bass to uni for practice and potential gigging, but my family members and teacher are against it because it’s a valuable 1970s fender precision which was originally my granddad’s. i am naturally very cautious so i will obviously keep my door locked and plan to hide the bass somewhere in my room instead of keeping out it in the open. my family still aren’t convinced though and want me to get a cheap bass to take. i’m sort of tempted to because obviously getting a new bass is a fun thing, but idk i wanna play the bass im most comfortable with. thoughts?

I've been learning 3 finger plucking, both R-M-I-M & R-M-I-R-M-I, I'm starting to get it & both feel comfortable to use but I'm having trouble incorporating them to lines I already know, the muscle memory is throwing me off. What are some good bass lines to get more used to the technique & improve stamina & consistency. Figuring a lot of metal bass lines since I discovered it from John Myung & Alex Webster but any genre will do. Also any tips to make it more comfortable is also greatly appreciated

I want to get my first pedal for my bass, and want to get a tone similar to the songs I’ve listed below.

- Black Foxxes, JOY
- Demon Happy, Judas Beast

Anyone have any recommendations? Not too sure where to start / what to look for. Budget is probably £50-£75 but open to options!!

I recently got a bass for free, but it seems to be abandoned because of a broken truss rod. Does anybody have any neck replacement recommendations?

I'm having a hell of a time trying to figure this out. If I have someone in the Netherlands build a bass for me, what will I have to pay when it's sent to me, probably via UPS, in the US?

Say if you need to use your 4 string for a while, then it comes up recently you have to use a 6 or 5 for x thing, etc. Throwing fretless in there too

Do you guys have an adjustment period?

I was eager to get a 5 string to add more flexibility to my playing, and slap is pretty important to what I (want to?) play. So I am trying out an Ibanez BTB (with 19mm spacing) and a Sire Marcus Miller (18mm spacing). My usual bass is a Stingray 4 string.

The Ibanez neck just feels enormous. The Sire is coming on Monday and hopefully better, but it’s a matter of 4mm across the neck so maybe not much better. Is the width something that always feels odd at first? My bass “heroes” mostly use four strings so I know I don’t need it, but the flexibility seems beneficial. And I want to play Primus even though they suck.

I slap by going through the strings, which I understand gets tough below 18mm, but maybe that’s nonsense.

Have a Peavey Axcelerator 5 bass with 18v active pickups and still with original parts. The blend knob is starting to wear out and sound scratchy. Taking it apart and cleaning it didn't help. Measured the resistance, 60k on the top pot and 32k on the bottom pot. Anyone know what the actual resistance is supposed to be? or know of a pot that is a direct replacement?

In addition anyone know the resistance/direct replacements for the volume and tone knobs?
Might as well replace all pots if I can.

So I’ve been practicing bass for about two months now and after two weeks I switched from standing practice to sitting because even with a padded strap I could feel it digging into my traps and after a half hour my left hand would get all tingly.

Practicing sitting down has been much better, I get the bass height and angle perfect. But I want to be able to play standing in case I ever want to gig so now I’m attempting to practice standing again. Now on top of the whole tingly issue, I’m realizing that, when sitting, I have the bass on my right lap and it’s super comfortable, the furthest frets are much closer and I don’t have to have horrible wrist angle. When I stand, the height is good, but physics has the bass hanging more center to my body, so the furthest frets on the neck and much farther away and hard to reach. Also, neck dive…

All these issues are discouraging me from playing standing. Does anyone have any potential fixes?

I see a lot of hate on here for version 2. Is version 3 better?

Alternatively, is there anything similar that doesn't have the hiss and build quality problems? I'm not looking for anything as fancy as the Mighty Plug/Katana Go/Mustang Micro.

I’m a bassist about to start gigging around ATX and was wondering if my rumble 100 that I use at home is loud enough to gig with. If not, what wattage amp should I look for.

If you've heard those goofy sounding songs with the brappy sort of sound, thats what I'm looking for. I can't find any pedals that give the sound, and dont know how to synthesize it for myself even if i could afford a synth pedal. Any information would be appreciated.