I have a Yamaha TRBX 174, their entry level PJ bass. I’ve played it to death, but I keep coming back to how much I love the tone of EMG DC35 pickups. Especially when paired with a dark glass onboard pre-amp.

Now I’m not made of the kind of money where I can just go swap out my Yamaha for anything that comes with EMGs, or buy EMGs + a dark glass tone capsule, but I do have a friend with a massive woodwork shop and a willingness to help me route for pizza + beer.

I can route out the body for EMG, enlarge the control cavity, then make a pick guard to cover the slightly uneven cavities. Scrap steel from work + a layer of insulation to keep it from further damaging the body.

I would drop in the Darkglass at a later date.

Total cost is 210$ in parts and 40$ in snacks. It kind of sounds just like a fun time and worst case the EMGs can just go in another guitar right? Risk being This is my only guitar and if I fuck it up I can’t buy another for a couple months.

https://youtu.be/CdGp56X4up0?is=tKK8T760a2SW4SD_

I’m trying to get this specific bass tone and I can’t seem to figure it out yet. I use an ampeg SVT8x10AV cabinet, with a burgera veyron BV1001T tube bass head, B1X four zoom petal, and a jazz bass.

Hey!

I've been playing bass for about 6 years, but I never really immersed myself in the technical side of things, but I've decided to buy a multieffect pedal that is kind of a jack of all trades. The darkglass anagram was suggested to me but it's a bit out of my budget, and I heard that the stomp could be a cheaper alternative.

Would it be a good idea to buy it? I don't really want to build a giant pedalboard since my style is more simplistic, but I think it would be useful to have an effect ready on the occasion that I need it

What are your thoughts?

Could anyone who has experience with the stomp help me out?

Thanks in advance!

Hi I have an ibenaz gio soundgear jazz bass and I'm trying to restring it with 66 long scare standard gauge swing bass (45,65,80,105) when I try to tune it it sits right against the fretboard and sounds horrible. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong or if I need to adjust the action (the action was fine with the original strings) please help me out as this is my first time restring

I've been playing electric bass as a hobby for 10+ years

My band is currently working an acoustic set we can use for smaller venues.
The keyboard player whipped out an accordion for it and it's awesome

the situation makes me want to get a double bass
I love orchestral music, I love jazz, I kinda always had in the back of my mind to get either a double bass or a cello

Never really laid my hands on one, don't necessarily have the time to study much for it, and it'd be an issue in terms of space inside the house

I have the budget to make myself a gift, if it's money well spent
(goddamn adult life, when money stops being a problem and everything else is lol)

I'm not really considering electric double bass, if I'm doing this I'm finally getting my hands on an actually acoustic instrument, it's a big part of what I'd like about it

anyone who plays both, or who had an itch like the one I'm having, please help me clear my head and make up my mind about this

cheers

Bonjour, j'ai appris la guitare électrique avec Justin Guitar. Il est extraordinaire. Est-ce qu'il existe la même chose pour la basse ?

Disclaimer - I'm only talking as a 4 string bass player.

Ok. I did some head scratching and was thinking of a way to memorise it all in regards to pentatonics and uding them for on the fly improv... In no way do I claim it's a revelation or anything. If at all - it's just me trying to put it all into a visual framework to enable me to memorise and access it on the fly without getting lost. Now I am asking for people to look at my idea and maybe give it some critique? However I do ask if you critique - can you just say where my idea falls apart? I'm working on ironing it out...

But if it's annoying I can take it down... As a person who thinks visually in geometric pattern approach to anything that needs memorization I came to the following approach. If we talk in general then mode shapes as Charles Berthoud (from his Patreon) mentioned are traveling along the neck. If we visualize them abstractly then any given minor pentatonic mode can be generalized as the following shapes:

Legend: |-| represents section on fret board between frets

1 st mode

|-|-|

|-|-|

|-|-|-|

2 nd mode (lowest note 3 semitones above root)

|-|-|-|

|-|-|-|

|-|-|

3 rd mode (lowest note 5 semitones above root)

|-|-|

|-|-|

|-|-|

4 th mode (lowest note 7 semitones above root)

|-|-|

|-|-|-|

|-|-|-|

5 th mode (lowest note 10 semitones above root)

|-|-|-|

|-|-|

|-|-|

Also noticed that there is a mirror symmetry around the 3rd mode which essentially is a "box" or rectangle. In other words 5th mode is a mirror inversion of 1st mode. 4th respectively of 2nd. Using this approach and knowing each fret is a semitone I found it easy to get the correct fret numbers of any mode of any minor pentatonic. Say for example take 4th mode of C minor. Root note is A string 3rd fret. Lowest note of it's 4th mode is fret 10 on A string. Using the shape diagram (which should be memorised) 10 fret -> 3 frets above on first string (in our case A string) is fret 13. Same for D string. G string it's only 2 frets above - i.e. 12 string. And indeed it matches the tabs for 4th mode for C minor:

G string 10 - 12

D string 10 - 13

A string 10 - 13

To jump to a major pentatonic it appeared to be extremely easy actually. The second mode of the Minor pentatonic gives you first mode of its relative major pentatonic. So 5th mode of any given minor pentatonic gives its relative major 4th mode pentatonic and so on. In other words one could also say for any given minor pentatonic it's relative major pentatonic root note is just three semitones above that minor key root note.

Offcourse this all works neatly on a 4 string and I'm only talking 4 string bass. I've yet to come up with something similar for other key modes such as Lydian Phrygian and etc.

As I said - I'm posting here NOT as an intent to preach. I'm a noob - I'll say straight. The only reason I'm posting this all is I'm needing a few fresh pair of eyes to look at this idea and give a fresh review/critique. I don't have local bass or much musician friends locally for that matter to discuss all of this in depth. Many thanks in advance for your patience in reading this whole load of thoughts 😁

tbh the standard ric strings are a bit expensive and I prefer stainless steel anyway. i heard rotosound strings are good

Is there any ai tool can convert the audio into a bass tab?

One thing I've noticed with bass is that knowing the notes isn't always the same as feeling locked in with the song. I can understand a bass line on its own, but playing along with a full track sometimes feels completely different, especially when the drums get busy or the groove isn't as obvious as I expected.

I've been thinking about how much of bass playing comes down to timing, listening, and learning when not to play. It's easy to focus on hitting every note correctly and forget that the bass is also there to connect the rhythm section.

For those who've been playing for a while, what helped you develop that internal sense of time? Was it practicing with a metronome, playing along with recordings, jamming with a drummer, or something else entirely?

I'm curious what actually made the biggest difference for you.

​

I don't want to waste a person's time by showing up to a jam sesh not knowing what I'm doing. I mean I can still improvise over backing tracks and it doesn't sound to bad but I just wanna show up and let them know that I'm really good at it.

Btw I'm not a complete noob to music just a noob to being knowledgeable at any basic music theory and time signature.

Hi guys. I’ve been getting conflicting information regarding a drop in replacement for a Squier vintage modified jazz bass. Does anyone know from experience which set would work?

My boyfriend and I are starting an acoustic duo of sorts playing covers of contemporary pop music (think upbeat stuff like Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Chappell Roan, etc). He plays acoustic guitar and I play bass, and we both sing (no drums, just a few auxiliary percussion moments we both cover). I’m currently using a Peavey Grind bass into an MXR compressor and Fender rumble amp, and although I like the sound overall, I feel like I could have a sound that serves the overall sound better (I also own a Spector but like the Peavey more in this context).

Since this isn’t a common musical group instrumentation I’m having trouble finding advice geared towards this. What would your setup be if you were in this situation? I’m open to any kind of changes in pedals, the bass I’m using, and changes to the amp (though I’d like to keep using this amp if I can). I play bass lines of course but also a lot of melody parts if that changes your answer.

Acoustic basses seem like an option at first but I think I would need an amp to be heard still, and at that point it seems to make more sense to just us an electric. I’m thinking about picking up a Fender Mustang, partially because I think something that sounds closer to a p bass would work well, but mostly because I’m finally accepting I have small hands and want to try a short scale bass, haha. I think getting at least an EQ pedal as well would help me dial in the sound? Have also been looking at hollow body and fretless basses, but I’m curious what other people think.

Also, if you have any recommendations for music artists who play in a similar kind of group please also share their names!! TIA

I'm not very knowledgeable on strings for the most part. However, I've always loved using these strings. These are my default set of strings for all of my basses. They feel very light, sensitive, and responsive. I love how I hardly need to exert any force when I press down and it feels like I can play for long periods of time without getting tired. It's kinda like how some gaming keyboards feel so fast and responsive because the mechanical keyboard switches are really light compared to regular office keyboards.

That being said, I don't know if these strings are actually considered as "light" for Bassists. I've pretty much only used these set of strings and I never bothered to explore other brands such as Rotosound, D'Addario, etc.

If these aren't considered as "light" by most bassists, I'm willing to explore further and find something even lighter.

Hola, seré sincero desde el inicio, no me interesa aprender el bajo o guitarra de manera profesional (o no por ahora) pero le tengo unas ganas a rocksmith muy grandes.

No se absolutamente nada de instrumentos pero quisiera aprender lo básico y por lo menos no sonar desafinado, si recomiendan rocksmith para aprender algo? No se si quiero guitarra o bajo pero quiero jugar y aprender lo básico. Escucho sus recomendaciones

One thing I find interesting about learning bass is how you can get away with bad habits for ages before they start causing problems.

Could be playing way too hard, relying on the same few patterns, gripping the neck like your life depends on it, or never practicing with a metronome.

Sometimes you don't even realise you're doing it until you try to learn something new and suddenly everything feels harder than it should.

What’s a habit you had as a bass player that you eventually had to break? Might save someone else a bit of frustration.

I already play guitar and I want to get into bass. I’ve done some amount of research and I’m thinking of getting either a fender precision or a 5 string Ibanez (or a 4 string one you decide) I feel really conflicted, any recommendations?

Ich würde gerne mit meinem Effektgerät Korg AX5B den Sound des Basses im Lied The Fate of Ophelia von Taylor Swift einstellen. Kann mir hier jemand helfen oder auch einen anderen Tipp geben?

What is the most important lesson you have received, or something that has unlocked your mind?

I did read the FAQs and saw some of the amps on there are discontinued. I am a singer in a prog rock/metal band, and the guys finally talked me into doing the geddy special (aka singing, keys, and bass). I just purchased an Ibanez SR405EPBDX 5-string, but of course forgot that my guitar amp isn’t going to cut it for bass.

I need something that will be loud enough for practice sessions with the band (live drummer). Nothing too crazy until I decide I’m at a point to upgrade later on, but something that doesn’t sound like I’m running through a toaster. If I was looking to spend less than $700, what would you all recommend for me?

(I’m also open to any advice you might want to give! I did play guitar for 4-5 years before dedicating my time to singing so I have some knowledge, but this is a whole new field)
Thanks :)

Is there a widely available good bass under 250 dollars I am not so rich so can't go higher, ik it's very low

Hello!

I am a beginning bass player. I've played guitar for 6 years and am getting myself a Gretsch Streamliner Jet Club short scale bass. I just can't decide what I want for an amp and was hoping for some thoughts!

For my guitar, I have an orange Crush 12. This is plenty loud for me as I just do bedroom practice. What I'm deciding between is getting a headphone amp or a regular amp. If I were to get a headphone amp, I've narrowed it down to the Zoom B1X Four as it has a lot of cool features and it would be my first pedal/processor! But I'm also thinking about playing out loud and I'm not sure how serious I want to take my playing. I have a couple friends that play drums, guitar, and bass guitar and I'm trying to convince them to start some sort of cover band with me just to fool around in our friends' basement. I'd probably be playing guitar if we did that as we already have a bass player, which I suppose is why I'm so conflicted! I'd love the idea of playing a bass in a band as the times I've picked one up at the music store a lot if it has flowed pretty naturally. I'm even getting some of the plucking down and I love the rumble feeling from the amp. But I know I'd practice more at home if I got a headphone amp because I live with my family still and I usually don't have free time until later.

At my local music store I have an offer for a $99 Fender Rumble 25 in like new condition. It's flawless. I'm only concerned about this not being loud enough. I've read that a lot of people prefer the Rumble 40, but that seems like a much bigger purchase for something that I'm not even sure that I'd use to the fullest potential. Would a Rumble 25 be sufficient enough for me to play with my friends as well as have at home for a nice practice amp?

Hey gang - hoping for some advice here. Really struggling to choose between the ibanez mdm1305 and the mdm1605.- I know the specs like the back of my hand but I guess it's maple/ash Vs rosewood/alder...

I want this bass to be my #1 for neosoul/Motown/RnB, slap and funk/soul. My other bass is a Jet JPB300, a p bass with flats. That'd be mostly my backup

Does the 1605 cover the snap of the 1305 better than the 1305 covers the warmth of the 1605? I want this #1 bass to be as versatile as possible but also be able to do that jazz snappy bright punchy muscular tone if that makes sense?

I’ve been learning to play since January and have never played with others before. I was recently invited to join a group to jam some reggae, and I’m as excited as I am nervous. I have a rumble 25, everywhere I see online says I need at least a 40, if not 100 to play with others. When I play in my room, I have the amp volumes barely turned on and it’s blasting my ears.

This may be a dumb question or just me not wanting to make another purchase, but would a bigger amp be necessary? How loud is it actually going to be? Do you guys wear ear plugs? Thanks in advance

Is it just a quality difference thing or is it a possibility that my bass is simply set wrong? Lol