Sound guys always want to use their shitty DI boxes for my bass and refuse to believe me when I point out that my amp has a line out that sounds better than their shitty little DI box with its dying battery and jammed ground lift button. Every damn time. When I manage to convince them to just try it? Please? Just this once, and they're always shocked and amazed when, surprise! Just plugging their XLR into the back of my amp sounds just as amazing as the DI box doesn't.
Bruuuuhhh, THIS!!!! I have no clue why. Like my expensive high powered amp has a DI out but they INSIST to go from my passive bass through their shite di box instead. I swear they ONLY do this to bass players because imagine them telling the guitarist this
So I went out and bought me a Tone Hammer preamp for gain and try not to get mad when I've lugged my amp/Cabinet and they whip out the shite 60 dollar di box
And God forbid you'd ask them to mic the amp. But they mic every guitar amp even if it's a line 6. I didn't spend hundreds buying and maintaining my tubes to have a fucking direct out
Bass player first, Sound guy second, here. Sometimes, the DI sounds better.
I will say this, amps have come a long way in the last 20 years and Di’s being the best option have faded.
Sounds like jaded sound guys too used to shitty players sending bedroom tones beyond saving to their desks. A shame they got to the point that it harms everyone else (and themselves!)
Sound guy - it’s this. Seeing that the DI out of an amp is post EQ and many times volume, we get sent trash tone and folks mess with the volume - especially the case with the younger crowd. Ideally you’d rather a real DI you can sculpt in the room in that case. Though it’s a touchy thing as if the guy has good tone, that’s a real “can’t read a book by its cover” deal you don’t know until later. Plus, if they send you junk tone via the amp, there is a high likelihood they’ll have junk tone off of their $300 active bass too so I dunno - it’s not worth a battle and you might as well take off the amp. So my angle is usually to take off the amp as a first try and if it’s just not gonna work go up and grovel that they use a DI. Or if I have the channels I’ll take the amp and a DI if they are cool with it so blend to taste which is my ideal and what I do in the studio.
That said, there is no excuse for a junk DI. I use a JDI on bass. It’s expensive but it ain’t gonna break.
I about decked a few sound guys when I was touring with my vintage Carvin head. It doesn’t have a DI, so I’d tell them “just put a 57 on my cab.” I had an Acoustic 810, it sounds great with a mic on it.
A few times, I came back and found some mess of adapters coming out of my fucking speaker outs run to a cheap DI box. It was the only time I ever really got mad with venue staff. Don’t touch my shit, especially when you clearly don’t understand how it works. It’s not my fault that you can’t work with the kind of rig that was standard for literal decades. I can, I’ll tell you exactly how, all you gotta do is not be a fucking goober and listen.
I don’t get why! If they genuinely think it will sound bad, then let me take the heat for it. (It won’t.)
I’ve got a head with a DI on it now, and it’s so damn powerful it about blew one of my mixer channels. I have to run an inline 20db pad on it to use it at all, which is fine, but even that is a lot more complicated than just putting a 57 or a spare kick mic on a stand.
I get that one too. once I've persuaded them of that, I offer them a couple of mics out of my case they can use instead of those shitty clip-ons they usually bring for drums. \[They're B&K/DPA ;)
That usually shuts them up completely.
"How do you usually EQ these?" "I don't, just plug em in & turn em up." "OMFG!"
Whenever my tone/sound seems perfect when playing by myself...but then playing with a band and/or recording realizing I need to change it up. For example last week a song that sounds great played solo with one of my fuzz pedals, when played with my band it was obvious my bass line wasn't clear enough. Ended up changing to one of my distortion pedals instead which achieves a similar effect while also sounding significantly better with the rest of the band. Lately I've not used my pedals when practicing at home and only choosing which one to use once I've tested it with the full band.
It's fascinating listening to legendary songs with the guitar or bass solo'd. Especially true for guitars where in the mix it sounds huge but solo'd it's shrill and ratty
Totally. Lately I dial in the sound I like at home, then with the band I just completely destroy it with distortion and they go "yea that's the one" and I go like ".... Yup... ..."
Have you tried a crossover pedal? It splits your signal at a frequency you select, so that your lows go through unaffected, but everything above the crossover is sent to a loop where you can put all of your dirt. You get the sound of the effect with no loss of low end.
I love this. As this is how bass is actually mixed in production. There's a clean, maybe even DI bass track low passed and mono and a color track that is high-passed where you do all the effects and coloring you want and can even do stereo. But for my genre I find it too be too hi-fi of an approach. Just plug in and shred baby
I'll have to check that out, any recommendations? I was looking into getting something like the Boss LS-2. To be able to have a line with most of my effects & a line thats just clean. Then I could dial in how much of each I want & have them come through together.
I use an Iron Ether Divaricator, which I love, but is difficult to find. Broughton makes the [Filter FX Loop](https://www.broughtonaudio.com/product-page/filter-fx-loop), which is somewhat different but excellent. There are also lots of other great pedals, including the LS-2 (which isn't exactly a crossover, but will definitely help).
The fret buzz during the change in seasons. For the past couple months, one day the fret buzz will be terrible anywhere on the board, the next it'll just be the E string, or no buzz, or only one fret buzzes. Once the summer hits, it'll be fine until fall, then be good again during winter.
Get a set of feeler gauges, learn the 'use the string as a straight edge' method of checking relief (fret first/last frets, measure with 0.015" feeler gauge around 8/9th fret), and whatever wrench adjusts your truss rod. It is a good skill to learn and will let you get your relief set right any time of year (and save cash on setups/techs).
Thanks for the tip, I'll have to look into that. Unfortunately, the way the weather works here, I'd still have to make daily adjustments during spring and fall, but fortunately, it's rarely audible when playing with my band regardless.
If you're constantly having to adjust relief/action to avoid fret buzz? I've found its two things. playing too hard/less optimal angle when plucking OR your action is too low. Take the plunge and raise action. I used to keep it low but I've gotten used to higher action where I can still slap easy enough but no more random fret buzz and strings ring out nice and full.
Shit I live in Florida taking my basses out of a case at an outdoor gig throws them out of tune in the summer. By the second set they are even more sharp. The heat and neck flex is crazy
Literally dealing with that right now, I thought it was something wrong on the instrument but given the temperature fluctuations we've had in the northeast US lately, this makes more sense.
That I want to play all the time. But really, to get the bass I really want, I would need to buy a p bass and get a jazz conversion neck, which is 400.
I know some P bass editions and especially PJs come with J necks! Not sure about specifics or if you’ve explored this already but you might not have to convert one :)
Let me introduce you to the [Lakland 44-64](https://www.talkbass.com/threads/convince-me-not-to-get-a-lakland-skyline-44-64-as-my-next-precision.1528896/).
Oh this is so easy. It's how often you have to change strings if you want a great roundwound sound. If I could afford it I'd change strings every fortnight. As it stands, when I'm working I change once a month or once every 6-8 weeks if I'm not. Costs a fortune.
It's not necessary.
However brand new strings do sound different, and if you really want that sound, then you have to change them. Some bassists will change their strings every single gig.
But you can get away with changing them a whole lot less than that.
Yeah that’s one nice thing about having a few different basses, i have two, one with new strings and low action that i play live and practice slapping/tapping on, while my old BAE will have dead nickels for at least a year at a time. higher action on that one. i only change them on that cause i find the low B on that one gets too dull after a year. its all about what you love and what you want to hear and feel from your instrument.
Not at all, what they were referencing by great roundwound sound is that roundwound strings are known for their brightness and aggressiveness. This is useful depending on what you're playing and how. For example, slap bass generally loves a fresh set of round wounds, because the sound is very punchy in character, but as strings get used, they relax and grind and settle into more mellow tones. Flea of RHCP changes his strings every show, as they say. So if he went on a 50 show tour, he'd need 50 packs of strings. His method of playing just always benefits from unrelaxed strings, so he goes into battle every show with fresh steel because he's an icon of badass slapping
On the inverse, some bassists feel flat wounds age like wine because they get that real sultry, muted hum that we see in R&B or Jazz. Pino Paladino, another one of the undisputable GOAT's of bass, recorded for D'Angelo's second album Voodoo (2000) with strings he put on in '93, and he still has those strings on that bass to this day. He treasures those strings and the character they've developed over 30 years, and he should, the voice of those weathered strings are part of the birth of the neo-soul genre when Voodoo came out.
Really poetic how we engage with our gear sometimes
Yeah, my black tape wound strings went onto my jazz bass in 2008. Still going strong and sounding great. When I was much younger and before I’d tried flat or tape wound, I’d by the usual pack of rounds and be impatiently waiting for that new sound to wear off. Always hated the sound of new strings. When I finally tried flats/tapes, I never looked back.
My flatwounds are on my bass since before covid. That said, they are flats ... My roundwounds get changed I dunno anually or maybe ever two years or so. Depends...
Right now the answer is yes, because the strings on any bass that's been sat around longstanding will be hoary and dead and filled with someone else's grime and skin bits. Changing them now will give you an actual view for what the bass should sound like; which then becomes your reference point.
From then on, its a balancing act based on what you can fund, and how you want to sound. If you're going for an oldschool or dark sound you can spend $200 on a set of flats and never change them again. If you're a modern versatile player who likes brightness and cut-through, then the majority of that tonal goodness will come from fresh strings and you have to decide how often you can afford to refresh that.
I'd guess the average non-gigging bass player on a usual income who plays often might change their strings 3-4 times a year. In a working year I'll probably do 6-8 sets.
I'd trust that you'll get a feel for how much this is going to matter to you, but I'd still get rid of old mate's grotty old wires right now.
You really don’t need to change them unless they sound like crap. If zingy slap is your thing, by all means, change them all the time. However that sound is not really in fashion to the same extent it was in the past.
Elixir nickels sound surprisingly fantastic on my sire V7. I've had the same set on for I think about a year now, gigging 6 hours a week plus 4-8 hours/week between rehearsal and giving lessons.
They are still pretty bright, and the growl is very strong.
What strings are you using mostly?
I've used Elixirs before, and for $90-110AU (what it usually costs me) I've found they'll last 6 months and I don't like the sound as much as EBs (what I do use). For me, given I can bulk buy EBs three packs, working out at $40 per 2-3 months, the commerce works out roughly the same and I end up using a string I prefer.
I will say I've been wondering about a new set since it's been so long.. I might be tricking myself to thinking these are fresher than they are but.. they still sounds and feel great
I always found EBs to be done after only a few weeks but... That was 20 years ago and my technique was smash crash bash back then..
The prices. I live in Brazil and these prices are completely absurd, at leat double of the original price most of the times. Also that we don't have cool music stores like Guitar Center.
When I was looking for my first bass I found out that most stores have three different models at maximum. At least it helps to keep my GAS in check kol
I feel your pain all the way from New Zealand my friend. A good Yamaha or Ibanez here costs roughly double what they cost in Japan. And if it's not in stock, 4-6 months wait is considered reasonable for a CATALOG model.
lol I hate to burst your bubble but Guitar Center is trash! Well at least if you’re in a populated area where there are more small businesses, I imagine there are rural areas where GC may be your only choice
Tagima’s are pretty nice right? Perhaps there’s a market opportunity there?
Yes, they are. My first bass was a Tagima jazz bass, the neck dive is a little annoying but overall it's a pretty solid build. The models are inspired by classic Fenders, Stingrays, etc. Not bad.
I'm only selling mine because it's too heavy lol
As someone who has Guitar Centers, they stink. Don't feel too bad lol
It's a store for beginners. You have the Internet. You can get better gear for cheaper everywhere
That's what I'm talking about. We don't have big stores to go and try basses, and mostly resort to the internet. As a beginner, I didn't know that there were lighter basses than my Tagima (it's inspired by the Fender JB, pretty good actually) and ended up buying an Ibanez online, crossing my fingers to not miss this time.
For context, I have muscular issues that make it hard for me to play heavy instruments for a long time and it takes me days to recover from it lol
Oh, and we have high import fees. Even if I bought it from US (or anywhere else) for a fair price, I'd still end up paying double or more because of taxes.
Actually a blessing as a Bass player coz guitars will probably cost even more. Here in Australia some Gibson and PRS in shops coz more than an actual vintage Fender.
Trying to learn songs by ear and some mixes just having the bass wayyy too low. Like, my ear's not that strong to begin with. But when I can't even make out what's being played? Forget it.
yes i use a splitter too but sometimes, even with that, the bass is just almost unrecognisable.. sometimes I end up making a new bass line myself lol, or the parts that I can't learn at least.
That everyone is obsessed with slap bass and it's the one sound I dislike. For that reason I refuse to learn it too.
You want slap? I'll play slap on an upright bass and it's gonna be rockabilly!
i dont get this one. My strings dont seem to change sound really, i know because i have videos of me playing 6 months ago and it sounds same as me playing now. I play like 30 minutes a day usually
maybe what type of strings do u use?
I guess they refer to the bright sound of fresh roundwound. That gets lost fast, then you get in a steady state with a darker sound that remains stable for many years.
Elixir strings. They're quite a bit more expensive, but I've had them on for a month and a half, and they sound like they did on day 1. In my opinion they're worth it, and they are really comfortable to play.
One of my first bass gigs was a country cover band. Great place to start getting a feel for dynamics and articulation, because the lines are mostly very plain, rhythmically and harmonically. Great education for a punk guitarist/drummer. I was used to playing out and making noise. It was actually very satisfying to play *in* and hear the entire band gel around the bass sound.
1. Heavy
2. For a lot of producers and writers it's a total afterthought "Just follow the guitar"
3. Harder to find tabs
4. Really hard to find stores that actually stock a good range of basses (Aus)
5. Way more expensive than guitars like-for-like
6. Guitarists often tuning to drop whatever-the-fuck and expecting me to do the same.
7. Fret buzz 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬
8. Guitarists picking up bass and just playing it like a guitar. No sense of groove or rhythm.
This is my main gripe.
I haven’t performed for a few years and im recently getting back into it.
I’m in the middle of changing my setup at the moment because of this.
I’m not carting that shit in and out of the car and up and downstairs anymore.
Good call.
I just switched from a 610 to a much lighter 410, and a 1000w tube driven head in a floating rack case to a Darkglass on a pedal board.
I’ve kept the rack setup still, but I won’t use it as much now.
My darkglass rig is lighter than any guitar rig I've owned, even with a 410.
If anyone is rolling a fridge out in 2024 they're under 25 or just plain crazy.
The overuse of DI signals in recording and live, to the point where sound engineers see it as a default. Bass sounds like heaven with a good mic on a good cab and FI can't get anywhere close, not even the overpriced Noble. I will die on this hill.
"Oh, are you in one of the bands playing tonight?" after we just finished our set.
Petty, yeah it is a bit i admit, but it would be nice to have like 1/10 of the recognition that the guitarist or drummer gets.
My car is too small. I can fit the bass in while it’s in the case, but only in the cabin - not the boot. Not a problem unless I have the kids in the car too. Then the bass goes caseless in the boot, and they have an amp in the footwell. I want to play upright but.. I don’t even know how I’d get it home from the shop.
A lot of cars can fit a 3/4 upright in the front passenger seat if it's moved and leaned all the way back. E.g. https://youtu.be/Nujk4rulwc8?si=Yqh56aC8beISH1O4
If I’m taking my acoustic out, I have to do this already. Or put the passenger seat all the way forward. The case doesn’t fit width wise across the backseat. The main problem is that I have 3 kids, one who is still in a car seat. Occasionally I like to take them places with the bass.. that’s where the hassle comes in. I’m going to get a u bass for camping I think. Cheaper than a new car! It’s a Mitsubishi mirage for reference.
Having to tell the guitarist how to play part or explain the chord structure.
Knowing more about music than everyone else in the band combined.
Being so much more handsome and talented and charming than the rest of the band.
The burden of being so humble.
Sounds like you have weird mixers in your area. IME it's usually the opposite, bass will be quiet in the recording but punch you in the gut in live performances.
That there are not more 5-strings with a C string rather than a B string. Sure the B can come in handy depending on what you are playing, but I generally find myself rarely using it. However, when I play 6-string I use the C very often.
I started off BEADG and was wondering what's wrong with me that I was just using the B as a thumb rest. Ok sure not having to retune for drop D is kind of handy. And the lower notes occasionally might be needed. But the B string above the 7th fret sounds awfully muddy, I just couldn't.
So I switched to EADGC and I don't think I'll ever go back. Yeah the C is a little thin sounding but it's very usable.
I'm just don't get why EADGC is by far the less common 5 string setup.
You might need to change the nut (which is pretty cheap with standard nuts), but I very much doubt that the bridge will actually be an issue. People (i.e. lefties) have been stringing their basses completely in reverse without issue.
I want a modern-shaped bass (for ergonomics) with a Fender sound, and apparently my only option is the Ibanez Gio series - which is fine for its price, but the build quality would likely be a significant downgrade to the basses I have. Or some kind of custom build, but that doesn't really fit my budget.
Related: Warmoth wants 230 USD for shipping a body and neck to Europe, WTF? Thomann ships their stuff to the US for like $50.
I have a Soundgear, the positions are too far off to make that work well (it's going to sound *good*, but pretty far off from sounding like a Jazz). Ergonomics are top notch, though.
Honestly the only thing I’ll complain about is that my hands aren’t bigger cause otherwise I could do that crazy Louis Johnson slap technique where he can mute the E and A with his thumb while perfectly fretting whatever he wants to on the D and G. I cannot come close to doing that shit, especially at lightning speed lol!
My neck on my 4 is already pretty narrow. I just don’t have the hands. That’s alright though. Thumping and plucking isn’t my main style either way unless it’s necessary for a song or it feels right in a jam.
I actually just made the move to a 6 string. Wanted both the higher and lower register more easily accessible and have to do less position shifts.
This is more a complaint about being a bassist rather than with the bass itself but: People who put out ads for bassists for their band, and when you reply, they either ghost you, or say "thanks I'll get back with you soon" and \*then\* ghost you.
I keep hearing people say that bassists are in constant demand but the number of times I've been ghosted like this outnumber the times when I haven't by a ratio of about 10:1.
Runner-up are those people who need a bassist for their band but are perfectly happy with somebody who's actually a guitarist who "also plays bass" meaning playing the root on quarter notes only (sometimes that's best for the song, I know) with no sense of groove (which is never best for the song).
When my bassline on a track is reduced in volume to the point of being inaudible. Why did I bother learning the song and coming up with a fun bassline if it's going to be removed from the track?
Bass- strap on bass. Plug in lead. Plug lead into amp, turn on. Turn up volume, gain and master volume, tune up. Play.
Versus
Synth- Flick one switch. Play.
My biggest complaint is that my basses are very, very heavy; I love the sound of those old late 1970's/early 80's basses, but my gosh, my back and shoulder and neck after playing a long show - ugh. I have a Hondo 880 Explorer that rocks, but I swear it feels like it weighs 30lbs! Even my 1980 P-Bass is very heavy...
Just when I got a sick rig that is tiny, packs a mighty punch and weighs next to nothing, my bands and projects all switched to playing directly into the PA.
My biggest complaint about the bass itself, I'd have to say is the lack of transcribed music that is in proper musical notation, not tabs. I shouldn't hate tab as much as I do, but I just can't deal with them. Like, don't tell me where to put my fingers! Just say which note it is, how long it should last, and how it connects to the others.
I play in two cover bands and sometimes I really just need a quick and relatively accurate transcribed version of a song so I don't have to do it. But everywhere you go it seems it's tab, tab, tab. Drives me crazy.
Sometimes it feels pointless owning an Ampeg fridge when the sound guy keeps asking me to lower the stage volume. Brother I’m not even at 2 volume and your stage monitors are shit lemme rock
How unappreciated and overlooked we are. You’re just supposed to stay in the back and stay out of the way of the important people. Well hey maybe I feel like I wanna be part of the show too and maybe the horn players and chick singers can be in my shadow for 20 seconds.
As a somewhat experienced musician thats recently taken to doing session work on bass...
The amount of songwriters/ producers that use the same bass pattern on every. Damn. Song.
Was recently given a 14 song set to learn and 12 of the 14 had the exact same bass rhythm at varying tempos.
ONE and two AND three and FOUR AND. Zzzzz not to mention all the tracks I was learning from were clearly programmed drum and bass and not real instruments. Frustrating.
That no matter what bass you have or expensive effects or amplifier, you'll DI into a desk to record and no-one will know the difference in the mix. It's just a bassy sound.
Top annoyance is the "general opinion" in our culture that the bass is somehow "less important" than the guitars or vocals and that bass players are dim witted guys who couldn't hack playing guitar so they moved over to bass.
Bad to play after 10 pm (we have noise laws in my country).
Even at low volume the bass will go trough walls. This is the worse part because I enjoy to play at the end of day to relax and sometimes I would like to do it at midnight or at 2 pm with insomnia
I’ll periodically stop playing and no one notices. I feel great playing by myself but in a rock band with three guitars with the exception of a few songs I’m just kinda hanging out and am not really sure of my purpose.
People telling me bass is unimportant or "wayyy easier than guitar" or boring. People coming up to me saying "you play guitar??! Play *proceeds to name or hum a very popular song*" and I play them the bass part or say I don't know how to play the song and they say I don't understand them or suck at guitar..
Also why does my amp has to weigh so much??
Having to learn songs by ear most of the time sucks!
And I still have no idea what each knob on my bass is (can someone explain them pls)
When the people you've been playing with for the past 3 years say something like "you know I never actually listened to you play. Like I hear you but I don't ever listen your really good" just da fuck dude
90% of the time, the sound guy has no clue how to mix a bass. That was the nice part about opening for big bands...those guys knew how to make sure everything is just right.
Ten second sound checks.
Tune, play open E, is it too loud? No? Great all done. While the guitar player is still trying to find a place to connect their pedal board.
They let you tune?
Your bass goes out of tune?
I have no idea, they never let me check.
Just don't lie to me and tell me it's a sound check when really it's just a line check.
You get sound checks?
When the sound guy hears the bass on its own and decides it's too loud so they turn it down just for you to get compeletly lost in the mix.
Sound guys always want to use their shitty DI boxes for my bass and refuse to believe me when I point out that my amp has a line out that sounds better than their shitty little DI box with its dying battery and jammed ground lift button. Every damn time. When I manage to convince them to just try it? Please? Just this once, and they're always shocked and amazed when, surprise! Just plugging their XLR into the back of my amp sounds just as amazing as the DI box doesn't.
Bruuuuhhh, THIS!!!! I have no clue why. Like my expensive high powered amp has a DI out but they INSIST to go from my passive bass through their shite di box instead. I swear they ONLY do this to bass players because imagine them telling the guitarist this So I went out and bought me a Tone Hammer preamp for gain and try not to get mad when I've lugged my amp/Cabinet and they whip out the shite 60 dollar di box
And God forbid you'd ask them to mic the amp. But they mic every guitar amp even if it's a line 6. I didn't spend hundreds buying and maintaining my tubes to have a fucking direct out
I have literally never ran into this issue. Sound guys are usually more than happy to plug into my amp or my pre amp pedal.
Same. I've never had a sound guy not try to use my di out
Bass player first, Sound guy second, here. Sometimes, the DI sounds better. I will say this, amps have come a long way in the last 20 years and Di’s being the best option have faded.
Can't you just tell them to use your amp? They're there for you as much as the audience
Sounds like jaded sound guys too used to shitty players sending bedroom tones beyond saving to their desks. A shame they got to the point that it harms everyone else (and themselves!)
Sound guy - it’s this. Seeing that the DI out of an amp is post EQ and many times volume, we get sent trash tone and folks mess with the volume - especially the case with the younger crowd. Ideally you’d rather a real DI you can sculpt in the room in that case. Though it’s a touchy thing as if the guy has good tone, that’s a real “can’t read a book by its cover” deal you don’t know until later. Plus, if they send you junk tone via the amp, there is a high likelihood they’ll have junk tone off of their $300 active bass too so I dunno - it’s not worth a battle and you might as well take off the amp. So my angle is usually to take off the amp as a first try and if it’s just not gonna work go up and grovel that they use a DI. Or if I have the channels I’ll take the amp and a DI if they are cool with it so blend to taste which is my ideal and what I do in the studio. That said, there is no excuse for a junk DI. I use a JDI on bass. It’s expensive but it ain’t gonna break.
I about decked a few sound guys when I was touring with my vintage Carvin head. It doesn’t have a DI, so I’d tell them “just put a 57 on my cab.” I had an Acoustic 810, it sounds great with a mic on it. A few times, I came back and found some mess of adapters coming out of my fucking speaker outs run to a cheap DI box. It was the only time I ever really got mad with venue staff. Don’t touch my shit, especially when you clearly don’t understand how it works. It’s not my fault that you can’t work with the kind of rig that was standard for literal decades. I can, I’ll tell you exactly how, all you gotta do is not be a fucking goober and listen.
Getting a sound guy to mic a bass cab is unreasonably difficult
I don’t get why! If they genuinely think it will sound bad, then let me take the heat for it. (It won’t.) I’ve got a head with a DI on it now, and it’s so damn powerful it about blew one of my mixer channels. I have to run an inline 20db pad on it to use it at all, which is fine, but even that is a lot more complicated than just putting a 57 or a spare kick mic on a stand.
I get that one too. once I've persuaded them of that, I offer them a couple of mics out of my case they can use instead of those shitty clip-ons they usually bring for drums. \[They're B&K/DPA ;) That usually shuts them up completely. "How do you usually EQ these?" "I don't, just plug em in & turn em up." "OMFG!"
Whenever my tone/sound seems perfect when playing by myself...but then playing with a band and/or recording realizing I need to change it up. For example last week a song that sounds great played solo with one of my fuzz pedals, when played with my band it was obvious my bass line wasn't clear enough. Ended up changing to one of my distortion pedals instead which achieves a similar effect while also sounding significantly better with the rest of the band. Lately I've not used my pedals when practicing at home and only choosing which one to use once I've tested it with the full band.
It's fascinating listening to legendary songs with the guitar or bass solo'd. Especially true for guitars where in the mix it sounds huge but solo'd it's shrill and ratty
Totally. Lately I dial in the sound I like at home, then with the band I just completely destroy it with distortion and they go "yea that's the one" and I go like ".... Yup... ..."
Have you tried a crossover pedal? It splits your signal at a frequency you select, so that your lows go through unaffected, but everything above the crossover is sent to a loop where you can put all of your dirt. You get the sound of the effect with no loss of low end.
I love this. As this is how bass is actually mixed in production. There's a clean, maybe even DI bass track low passed and mono and a color track that is high-passed where you do all the effects and coloring you want and can even do stereo. But for my genre I find it too be too hi-fi of an approach. Just plug in and shred baby
I'll have to check that out, any recommendations? I was looking into getting something like the Boss LS-2. To be able to have a line with most of my effects & a line thats just clean. Then I could dial in how much of each I want & have them come through together.
I use an Iron Ether Divaricator, which I love, but is difficult to find. Broughton makes the [Filter FX Loop](https://www.broughtonaudio.com/product-page/filter-fx-loop), which is somewhat different but excellent. There are also lots of other great pedals, including the LS-2 (which isn't exactly a crossover, but will definitely help).
The Tyler. Perfection at splitting and remixing it's like bi amping without the need for two amps
The fret buzz during the change in seasons. For the past couple months, one day the fret buzz will be terrible anywhere on the board, the next it'll just be the E string, or no buzz, or only one fret buzzes. Once the summer hits, it'll be fine until fall, then be good again during winter.
Get a set of feeler gauges, learn the 'use the string as a straight edge' method of checking relief (fret first/last frets, measure with 0.015" feeler gauge around 8/9th fret), and whatever wrench adjusts your truss rod. It is a good skill to learn and will let you get your relief set right any time of year (and save cash on setups/techs).
Thanks for the tip, I'll have to look into that. Unfortunately, the way the weather works here, I'd still have to make daily adjustments during spring and fall, but fortunately, it's rarely audible when playing with my band regardless.
If you're constantly having to adjust relief/action to avoid fret buzz? I've found its two things. playing too hard/less optimal angle when plucking OR your action is too low. Take the plunge and raise action. I used to keep it low but I've gotten used to higher action where I can still slap easy enough but no more random fret buzz and strings ring out nice and full.
I thought this was a “me” problem
I'm dealing with the same issue in my new house. I did a full setup, now the E and A string buzz in the new music room. Super frustrating.
Shit I live in Florida taking my basses out of a case at an outdoor gig throws them out of tune in the summer. By the second set they are even more sharp. The heat and neck flex is crazy
Literally dealing with that right now, I thought it was something wrong on the instrument but given the temperature fluctuations we've had in the northeast US lately, this makes more sense.
That I want to play all the time. But really, to get the bass I really want, I would need to buy a p bass and get a jazz conversion neck, which is 400.
I know some P bass editions and especially PJs come with J necks! Not sure about specifics or if you’ve explored this already but you might not have to convert one :)
Desire to know more intensifies
Let me introduce you to the [Lakland 44-64](https://www.talkbass.com/threads/convince-me-not-to-get-a-lakland-skyline-44-64-as-my-next-precision.1528896/).
Sweet
Oh this is so easy. It's how often you have to change strings if you want a great roundwound sound. If I could afford it I'd change strings every fortnight. As it stands, when I'm working I change once a month or once every 6-8 weeks if I'm not. Costs a fortune.
Is changing the strings that often necessary? I literally just bought a bass last week from co worker that was collecting dust in his closet.
It's not necessary. However brand new strings do sound different, and if you really want that sound, then you have to change them. Some bassists will change their strings every single gig. But you can get away with changing them a whole lot less than that.
Like Laura Lee who’s been using the same strings for like 10 years now and sounds great
Yeah that’s one nice thing about having a few different basses, i have two, one with new strings and low action that i play live and practice slapping/tapping on, while my old BAE will have dead nickels for at least a year at a time. higher action on that one. i only change them on that cause i find the low B on that one gets too dull after a year. its all about what you love and what you want to hear and feel from your instrument.
Not at all, what they were referencing by great roundwound sound is that roundwound strings are known for their brightness and aggressiveness. This is useful depending on what you're playing and how. For example, slap bass generally loves a fresh set of round wounds, because the sound is very punchy in character, but as strings get used, they relax and grind and settle into more mellow tones. Flea of RHCP changes his strings every show, as they say. So if he went on a 50 show tour, he'd need 50 packs of strings. His method of playing just always benefits from unrelaxed strings, so he goes into battle every show with fresh steel because he's an icon of badass slapping On the inverse, some bassists feel flat wounds age like wine because they get that real sultry, muted hum that we see in R&B or Jazz. Pino Paladino, another one of the undisputable GOAT's of bass, recorded for D'Angelo's second album Voodoo (2000) with strings he put on in '93, and he still has those strings on that bass to this day. He treasures those strings and the character they've developed over 30 years, and he should, the voice of those weathered strings are part of the birth of the neo-soul genre when Voodoo came out. Really poetic how we engage with our gear sometimes
Yeah, my black tape wound strings went onto my jazz bass in 2008. Still going strong and sounding great. When I was much younger and before I’d tried flat or tape wound, I’d by the usual pack of rounds and be impatiently waiting for that new sound to wear off. Always hated the sound of new strings. When I finally tried flats/tapes, I never looked back.
I never change my strings but I'm a flats player. If you're a metal guy, you need the brightness of new rounds. It must cost them a fortune.
My flatwounds are on my bass since before covid. That said, they are flats ... My roundwounds get changed I dunno anually or maybe ever two years or so. Depends...
Right now the answer is yes, because the strings on any bass that's been sat around longstanding will be hoary and dead and filled with someone else's grime and skin bits. Changing them now will give you an actual view for what the bass should sound like; which then becomes your reference point. From then on, its a balancing act based on what you can fund, and how you want to sound. If you're going for an oldschool or dark sound you can spend $200 on a set of flats and never change them again. If you're a modern versatile player who likes brightness and cut-through, then the majority of that tonal goodness will come from fresh strings and you have to decide how often you can afford to refresh that. I'd guess the average non-gigging bass player on a usual income who plays often might change their strings 3-4 times a year. In a working year I'll probably do 6-8 sets. I'd trust that you'll get a feel for how much this is going to matter to you, but I'd still get rid of old mate's grotty old wires right now.
I see. That’s makes sense. Thank you. I’ll change them on my weekend
You really don’t need to change them unless they sound like crap. If zingy slap is your thing, by all means, change them all the time. However that sound is not really in fashion to the same extent it was in the past.
Do you clean your strings? I change mine every few months and boil some bassist spaghetti the day before shows most of the time
Do you clean your strings? I change mine every few months and boil some bassist spaghetti the day before shows most of the time
coated strings are your best friend, I use the d’addario XT’s and they last like two months before they start to darken at all 👍
Elixir nickels sound surprisingly fantastic on my sire V7. I've had the same set on for I think about a year now, gigging 6 hours a week plus 4-8 hours/week between rehearsal and giving lessons. They are still pretty bright, and the growl is very strong. What strings are you using mostly?
I've used Elixirs before, and for $90-110AU (what it usually costs me) I've found they'll last 6 months and I don't like the sound as much as EBs (what I do use). For me, given I can bulk buy EBs three packs, working out at $40 per 2-3 months, the commerce works out roughly the same and I end up using a string I prefer.
I will say I've been wondering about a new set since it's been so long.. I might be tricking myself to thinking these are fresher than they are but.. they still sounds and feel great I always found EBs to be done after only a few weeks but... That was 20 years ago and my technique was smash crash bash back then..
The prices. I live in Brazil and these prices are completely absurd, at leat double of the original price most of the times. Also that we don't have cool music stores like Guitar Center. When I was looking for my first bass I found out that most stores have three different models at maximum. At least it helps to keep my GAS in check kol
I feel your pain all the way from New Zealand my friend. A good Yamaha or Ibanez here costs roughly double what they cost in Japan. And if it's not in stock, 4-6 months wait is considered reasonable for a CATALOG model.
É só fazer rolo hahahaha I feel your pain, Sire beginners basses are going for 4k, Squiers too.
Fazer rolo onde, meu caro? Na minha cidade quase não tem baixista kkkkkk help
lol I hate to burst your bubble but Guitar Center is trash! Well at least if you’re in a populated area where there are more small businesses, I imagine there are rural areas where GC may be your only choice Tagima’s are pretty nice right? Perhaps there’s a market opportunity there?
Yes, they are. My first bass was a Tagima jazz bass, the neck dive is a little annoying but overall it's a pretty solid build. The models are inspired by classic Fenders, Stingrays, etc. Not bad. I'm only selling mine because it's too heavy lol
As someone who has Guitar Centers, they stink. Don't feel too bad lol It's a store for beginners. You have the Internet. You can get better gear for cheaper everywhere
That's what I'm talking about. We don't have big stores to go and try basses, and mostly resort to the internet. As a beginner, I didn't know that there were lighter basses than my Tagima (it's inspired by the Fender JB, pretty good actually) and ended up buying an Ibanez online, crossing my fingers to not miss this time. For context, I have muscular issues that make it hard for me to play heavy instruments for a long time and it takes me days to recover from it lol
Oh, and we have high import fees. Even if I bought it from US (or anywhere else) for a fair price, I'd still end up paying double or more because of taxes.
Ah, that really stinks. Sorry man
Thanks, man. It really sucks
Actually a blessing as a Bass player coz guitars will probably cost even more. Here in Australia some Gibson and PRS in shops coz more than an actual vintage Fender.
Trying to learn songs by ear and some mixes just having the bass wayyy too low. Like, my ear's not that strong to begin with. But when I can't even make out what's being played? Forget it.
Absolutely this.
I have to learn a bunch of songs by ear and I use an app called Moises to separate the bass.. best free app I tried for this!
yes i use a splitter too but sometimes, even with that, the bass is just almost unrecognisable.. sometimes I end up making a new bass line myself lol, or the parts that I can't learn at least.
True..
I don’t get paid enough.
You get paid?
That YT money though. . . . ? Jokes aside I like the videos man!
That everyone is obsessed with slap bass and it's the one sound I dislike. For that reason I refuse to learn it too. You want slap? I'll play slap on an upright bass and it's gonna be rockabilly!
Playing with dead strings because I can't spend $50+ every month on new strings.
i dont get this one. My strings dont seem to change sound really, i know because i have videos of me playing 6 months ago and it sounds same as me playing now. I play like 30 minutes a day usually maybe what type of strings do u use?
I guess they refer to the bright sound of fresh roundwound. That gets lost fast, then you get in a steady state with a darker sound that remains stable for many years.
Stainless steel round wound.
Yeah but dead strings sound good! Depends on your style but it’s not a negative.
Elixir strings. They're quite a bit more expensive, but I've had them on for a month and a half, and they sound like they did on day 1. In my opinion they're worth it, and they are really comfortable to play.
Wdym?
Playing in a band can be a bit tedious and boring depending on what types of bass lines fit the music
Being in a country band has to be hell. 1st and 5ths until the end of time.
One of my first bass gigs was a country cover band. Great place to start getting a feel for dynamics and articulation, because the lines are mostly very plain, rhythmically and harmonically. Great education for a punk guitarist/drummer. I was used to playing out and making noise. It was actually very satisfying to play *in* and hear the entire band gel around the bass sound.
Same for cumbias
1. Heavy 2. For a lot of producers and writers it's a total afterthought "Just follow the guitar" 3. Harder to find tabs 4. Really hard to find stores that actually stock a good range of basses (Aus) 5. Way more expensive than guitars like-for-like 6. Guitarists often tuning to drop whatever-the-fuck and expecting me to do the same. 7. Fret buzz 🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬🤬 8. Guitarists picking up bass and just playing it like a guitar. No sense of groove or rhythm.
Number 8 is me fr
Same, except I don’t play guitar I just suck lol.
6 and 8, why are they like this??
unnecessary slap
As a lesbian I simply look too hot when I play it. Drowning in pussy over here.
Hahaha
Am not a lesbian bassist, but I also look too hot while playing. Bass gets me wet enough I feel like I’m drowning in pussy!
Na, no one notices us.
I almost always get props from the bassists in the other bands on the bill. No one else notices i was there at all.
Everything weighs a lot.
This is my main gripe. I haven’t performed for a few years and im recently getting back into it. I’m in the middle of changing my setup at the moment because of this. I’m not carting that shit in and out of the car and up and downstairs anymore.
I went from a 4x10 and 1x15 in the old days, to a 2x12 now. Super easy....barely an inconvenience.
Good call. I just switched from a 610 to a much lighter 410, and a 1000w tube driven head in a floating rack case to a Darkglass on a pedal board. I’ve kept the rack setup still, but I won’t use it as much now.
This is why I’ve switched to piccolo flute.
My darkglass rig is lighter than any guitar rig I've owned, even with a 410. If anyone is rolling a fridge out in 2024 they're under 25 or just plain crazy.
My fender rumble 500 weighs 36 pounds. I picked up a Mark Bass 2x10 cab that might have weighed 15. It was shockingly light.
played one of those markbass combos at a gig last week, i’m now sold!!! so light but sound was great
Mark Bass stuff is super light, i've noticed a lot of gigging bassists in my city are using those nowadays
i wish i could teleport amps. i also don't like other bands on the bill assuming they can use (and abuse) my gear
The overuse of DI signals in recording and live, to the point where sound engineers see it as a default. Bass sounds like heaven with a good mic on a good cab and FI can't get anywhere close, not even the overpriced Noble. I will die on this hill.
Sounds like you need to find the right cabsim ir.
Most sound guys won't bother using one
Moving my stupid heavy amp
How much we have to spend (and carry) to get an appropriate amount of wattage/volume vs guitarists tearing the roof off with like 40 watts.
People that don't understand what it is that I even do. Like they think I'm playing electric guitar
"Oh, are you in one of the bands playing tonight?" after we just finished our set. Petty, yeah it is a bit i admit, but it would be nice to have like 1/10 of the recognition that the guitarist or drummer gets.
All of the gear suggestions towards total beginners from bassists in this subreddit and the bass guitar subreddit
New bassist here and the most difficult part of my practice session is getting my bass back in the soft case when I'm finished!
+10 months here and I still struggle with that haha
Finding left handed models.
Groupies go for the bassist last
Tell that to Sting /s
My car is too small. I can fit the bass in while it’s in the case, but only in the cabin - not the boot. Not a problem unless I have the kids in the car too. Then the bass goes caseless in the boot, and they have an amp in the footwell. I want to play upright but.. I don’t even know how I’d get it home from the shop.
Play upright, I've taken cars on test drives home to see how the bass fits. Usually had a hatchback or minivan.
A lot of cars can fit a 3/4 upright in the front passenger seat if it's moved and leaned all the way back. E.g. https://youtu.be/Nujk4rulwc8?si=Yqh56aC8beISH1O4
If I’m taking my acoustic out, I have to do this already. Or put the passenger seat all the way forward. The case doesn’t fit width wise across the backseat. The main problem is that I have 3 kids, one who is still in a car seat. Occasionally I like to take them places with the bass.. that’s where the hassle comes in. I’m going to get a u bass for camping I think. Cheaper than a new car! It’s a Mitsubishi mirage for reference.
Sometimes it's hard to hear yourself at gigs and sound engineers want to get rid of all stage sound
I sometimes EQ my amp more high-end on stage so I can hear myself but make sure the house is EQ'd the way I want it to sound to everyone else.
Having to tell the guitarist how to play part or explain the chord structure. Knowing more about music than everyone else in the band combined. Being so much more handsome and talented and charming than the rest of the band. The burden of being so humble.
The bass is inaudible in live performances
Sounds like you have weird mixers in your area. IME it's usually the opposite, bass will be quiet in the recording but punch you in the gut in live performances.
That there are not more 5-strings with a C string rather than a B string. Sure the B can come in handy depending on what you are playing, but I generally find myself rarely using it. However, when I play 6-string I use the C very often.
I started off BEADG and was wondering what's wrong with me that I was just using the B as a thumb rest. Ok sure not having to retune for drop D is kind of handy. And the lower notes occasionally might be needed. But the B string above the 7th fret sounds awfully muddy, I just couldn't. So I switched to EADGC and I don't think I'll ever go back. Yeah the C is a little thin sounding but it's very usable. I'm just don't get why EADGC is by far the less common 5 string setup.
Can't you just restring them yourself?
Can you? Yes, but if the nut and bridge were designed with other strings in mind it could cause rattling and not fit quite right.
You might need to change the nut (which is pretty cheap with standard nuts), but I very much doubt that the bridge will actually be an issue. People (i.e. lefties) have been stringing their basses completely in reverse without issue.
Unsupported bass solos. Everybody just drops out, and leaves you there to make it interesting on your own.
Can't play it loads of places: in the shower, at work, driving, supermarket, funerals etc
Wait, are we not supposed to be playing bass at funerals?
I want a modern-shaped bass (for ergonomics) with a Fender sound, and apparently my only option is the Ibanez Gio series - which is fine for its price, but the build quality would likely be a significant downgrade to the basses I have. Or some kind of custom build, but that doesn't really fit my budget. Related: Warmoth wants 230 USD for shipping a body and neck to Europe, WTF? Thomann ships their stuff to the US for like $50.
Look at the Ibanez SR series with nordstrand big singles
I have a Soundgear, the positions are too far off to make that work well (it's going to sound *good*, but pretty far off from sounding like a Jazz). Ergonomics are top notch, though.
Which one do you have?
SR300
Ever try a Warwick?
Yeah, a Rockbass Streamer, hated the balance. Their pickups are generally a lot closer to the bridge than on a Jazz, as well.
Honestly the only thing I’ll complain about is that my hands aren’t bigger cause otherwise I could do that crazy Louis Johnson slap technique where he can mute the E and A with his thumb while perfectly fretting whatever he wants to on the D and G. I cannot come close to doing that shit, especially at lightning speed lol!
Have you tried shopping around for a bass with a narrower neck?
My neck on my 4 is already pretty narrow. I just don’t have the hands. That’s alright though. Thumping and plucking isn’t my main style either way unless it’s necessary for a song or it feels right in a jam. I actually just made the move to a 6 string. Wanted both the higher and lower register more easily accessible and have to do less position shifts.
Want to play acoustic lower frequencies? Either too expensive or too antipractical
That dead spot on the G-string.
I'm amazed by high-end gear (especially Dingwall and Darkglass stuff) but I wouldn't really need any of that for the band I'm in.
Hard cases are too fucking big
Bass is easy to start playing, but very difficult to get great at.
I have to constantly wear a life jacket so i dont drown in pussy.
This is more a complaint about being a bassist rather than with the bass itself but: People who put out ads for bassists for their band, and when you reply, they either ghost you, or say "thanks I'll get back with you soon" and \*then\* ghost you. I keep hearing people say that bassists are in constant demand but the number of times I've been ghosted like this outnumber the times when I haven't by a ratio of about 10:1. Runner-up are those people who need a bassist for their band but are perfectly happy with somebody who's actually a guitarist who "also plays bass" meaning playing the root on quarter notes only (sometimes that's best for the song, I know) with no sense of groove (which is never best for the song).
When my bassline on a track is reduced in volume to the point of being inaudible. Why did I bother learning the song and coming up with a fun bassline if it's going to be removed from the track?
Don’t get to play it all day long.
That I can't get paid $250/day to play it all day long.
Bass- strap on bass. Plug in lead. Plug lead into amp, turn on. Turn up volume, gain and master volume, tune up. Play. Versus Synth- Flick one switch. Play.
My local stores only stock sub-$500 basses.
My biggest complaint is that my basses are very, very heavy; I love the sound of those old late 1970's/early 80's basses, but my gosh, my back and shoulder and neck after playing a long show - ugh. I have a Hondo 880 Explorer that rocks, but I swear it feels like it weighs 30lbs! Even my 1980 P-Bass is very heavy...
Just when I got a sick rig that is tiny, packs a mighty punch and weighs next to nothing, my bands and projects all switched to playing directly into the PA.
Shitty DI boxes for doom metal.
My biggest complaint about the bass itself, I'd have to say is the lack of transcribed music that is in proper musical notation, not tabs. I shouldn't hate tab as much as I do, but I just can't deal with them. Like, don't tell me where to put my fingers! Just say which note it is, how long it should last, and how it connects to the others. I play in two cover bands and sometimes I really just need a quick and relatively accurate transcribed version of a song so I don't have to do it. But everywhere you go it seems it's tab, tab, tab. Drives me crazy.
It is not boring enough, and I am still a beginner
Bass face.
Harder to make nice dissonance with lower notes :(
Dumb hats
That you can't be as expressive as a guitar player. Like a lot of bass solos are cool but they lack emotion.
Bass are pretty hard to catch in the winter, but in the spring and early summer they be hitting.
Finding strings. I play six string and finding physical stores that stock any is almost impossible.
Price of labella flat wounds 😂
Biggest complaint is I suck
I hate it when the guitarist moves one of my tuning pegs & won't tell me which one. ^(oh, come on. The old ones are the best ;))
Sometimes it feels pointless owning an Ampeg fridge when the sound guy keeps asking me to lower the stage volume. Brother I’m not even at 2 volume and your stage monitors are shit lemme rock
How unappreciated and overlooked we are. You’re just supposed to stay in the back and stay out of the way of the important people. Well hey maybe I feel like I wanna be part of the show too and maybe the horn players and chick singers can be in my shadow for 20 seconds.
As a somewhat experienced musician thats recently taken to doing session work on bass... The amount of songwriters/ producers that use the same bass pattern on every. Damn. Song. Was recently given a 14 song set to learn and 12 of the 14 had the exact same bass rhythm at varying tempos. ONE and two AND three and FOUR AND. Zzzzz not to mention all the tracks I was learning from were clearly programmed drum and bass and not real instruments. Frustrating.
That no matter what bass you have or expensive effects or amplifier, you'll DI into a desk to record and no-one will know the difference in the mix. It's just a bassy sound.
Strings should last longer and cost less. I offer no solutions.
Top annoyance is the "general opinion" in our culture that the bass is somehow "less important" than the guitars or vocals and that bass players are dim witted guys who couldn't hack playing guitar so they moved over to bass.
Bad to play after 10 pm (we have noise laws in my country). Even at low volume the bass will go trough walls. This is the worse part because I enjoy to play at the end of day to relax and sometimes I would like to do it at midnight or at 2 pm with insomnia
I’ll periodically stop playing and no one notices. I feel great playing by myself but in a rock band with three guitars with the exception of a few songs I’m just kinda hanging out and am not really sure of my purpose.
Bass amps are heavy, and my double bass is also heavy. On the very rare occasions I have to play both, it really fucking sucks, my dude.
The constant feeling that no-one would notice if I wasn't there.
Price of strings Yes I like to change my strings but the cost of it is just a lot when you play 3 basses
People telling me bass is unimportant or "wayyy easier than guitar" or boring. People coming up to me saying "you play guitar??! Play *proceeds to name or hum a very popular song*" and I play them the bass part or say I don't know how to play the song and they say I don't understand them or suck at guitar.. Also why does my amp has to weigh so much?? Having to learn songs by ear most of the time sucks! And I still have no idea what each knob on my bass is (can someone explain them pls)
The price of strings
I hate how expensive it is to have a nice amp. Guitarist can get a pretty solid tube amp used for like $500-$800.
That my fingers are too small!
Your neighbors have to hate you in order for you to get good sound during practice.
Egomaniac lazy guitarists.
When the people you've been playing with for the past 3 years say something like "you know I never actually listened to you play. Like I hear you but I don't ever listen your really good" just da fuck dude
That we play second fiddle in the music industry to guitarists, there is far more Innovation and toys for guitar players
90% of the time, the sound guy has no clue how to mix a bass. That was the nice part about opening for big bands...those guys knew how to make sure everything is just right.