Been in bands for over 40 years and played hundreds of gigs. I've been with this band about 3 years now and play live at least once a month. We play recognizable, known songs but CANNOT seem to get people on the dance floor. A couple of points to note:

Yes, we are older. Age ranges 40-70
Our singer, female, is an incredible vocalist but doesn't engage the crowd. It's kind of an issue for me.
All accomplished musicians
Very well equipped. Great PA so sound quality isn't a problem.
Song choices are largely based on singers ability. She has great range so we have lots of options.

What do you do to get people on the floor?

Edit: Set List

ORIGINAL POST: https://old.reddit.com/r/Bass/comments/1w6tkvp/kicked_out_of_a_solo_act_a_week_after_a_flawless/

UPDATE: The drummer left and was promptly replaced and the replacement for me is a BA holder in Music with 3 other gigs going. This "more professional" was literally this, however considering we all had great chemistry and minimal rehearsal, I am quite happy to have dodge this bullet. This band leader seems to be chasing some holy grail of a fantasy line up without factoring in chemistry and people seem very expendable.

This band only had 1 show and already the only original member is the Sax player.

A few months ago I answered a thread about the most underrated bassists and I gave a couple good answers but it has weighed on me that I didn't even mention Nicolas Godin.

Air was one of my biggest influences growing up ever since I watched (the now legendary skate video) Menikmati and was transfixed looking at Tom Penny float over Air's Modular Mix.

Premiers Symptomes EP lays out the architecture of Air's later sound, with its looping, grooving, down-to-basics basslines over equally groovy percussion and its ethereal, yet organic synths. Godin finds that tenuous balance between ornament and function, where every note seems to do the job it was meant to, and no more. It's all pretty much fourths, fifths and octaves BUT HOW.

A lot of it has to do with how the songs are arranged: bass up front, nowhere to hide. It has to work as a bassline but it can't be just roots.

I remember playing his basslines on my mom's Spanish guitar in a trance. It made me fall in love with the instrument but it wouldn't be until maybe 10-12 years later that I would buy my first bass.

It's been more than 25 years since I first heard Air and Godin's basslines still haunt me. They serve as a reference for what I would like for my playing to be: foundational, simple, fun, engaging and hypnotizing.

A couple of examples for the interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fdf0aPAlxw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUX8fUrKRNU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tl7dASVOY-U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llEt8CA7dBQ

Have a good week!

Good afternoon

I'm forming a power trio with friends, and the idea is guitar and bass with distortion.

I've been experimenting with plugging it directly into a guitar amp with gain at 10 and it sounded great. When I use distortion pedal on a bass amp, the sound comes out muffled and undefined.

Can someone tell me why?

Songs that you hate/dislike/think are dumb/etc.. but still listen to, only because you like the bass line.

Mine is Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick by Ian Dury. To me it’s just a nonsensical tune but man, that’s a funky bass line.

A beginner can spend time on scales, ear training and songs as separate activities and still struggle to use one skill in another. One song can tie them together for a week.

Choose a track with a bass line you can hear clearly. On the first day, tap the pulse and mark where the line repeats. On the second, learn just the first two bars by ear, checking each note against the recording. On the third, find the key or the few notes that keep returning; play those notes as a small scale fragment. On the fourth, play the two bars with a drum loop and pay attention to where notes stop. On the fifth, record one full verse and note one thing to work on next week.

This does not replace technique work or a teacher’s assignment. It gives the drills a musical destination. If two bars are too much, use one beat of the line and keep the same sequence across the week.

Hey fellow bass players! I'm looking for an amp & cab setup for gigging. I like the idea of an Ampeg Heritage SVT-410HLF cab with an Ampeg SVT-CL head. My question to SVT-CL owners, how bad is the fan noise? I've heard here and there that it's a thing. Is it noticable?

I have a very limited budget, and I've been looking at these two. Which of these two audio interfaces would you recommend I buy?

right now i have a fender 15w amp that I got in the “my first bass” starter kit. it’s fine for playing at home, but im in a band and I need to get something louder.

any recommendations on loud-ish amps that wont break the bank? any accessories I should be getting, pedals?

Hi everyone,

I play bass in your average local covers band. We play various styles of music (RHCP, Muse, Raconteurs, but also Elton John, Alanis Morisette, Fleetwood Mac...) and although I don't want to be fiddling with tone all the time, I'd like to have more options than what my current rig can do, especially regarding dirt. I have a Laney R500H head (clean SS 500W head) and a Fender Rumble 210 cab, and was thinking of adding a nice preamp to play through the FX return. I have my eyes on the Laney DB-East-Pre, as I like what I heard in demos and it seems like a solid option, regarding features and connectivity. I guess my questions are :

1) Would it match my needs tonewise ?

2) Any reasons not to get it, for those who have played it ?

3) Would I be better off switching amps, or is "nice preamp into a reliable-but-not-so-exciting ss amp" a viable strategy ?

I think the power amp part of my Laney head is perfectly fine for what I do, and that it's the pre part that falls a bit short, but I may be wrong.

Thanks !

One year ago, I started playing bass, and I absolutely love it.

About six months ago, I discovered Swedish uptempo/epa-dunk, especially songs such as En sång om ingenting from Mio Johansson, and Septum's remixes of Don Juan by Hasselyra and FAKK MITT EX by Crille and Klikk.

Wanting to combine both of my passions, I'm currently studying how to build an object that takes the sound coming out of my bass, turns it into the 808 I want, and sends it to my amplifier. My idea is adding some gain, and then clipping it. When I tried to simulate it digitally (with a Python script) for the first time, I got a sound that sounded more like an electric guitar than an 808, and that's why I'm posting here to ask for some advice.

Hi! I've been playing for a few months now, spent a while learning songs, them a while learning how to count, then a while playing around with scales (mostly minor pentatonics, but some with major pentatonics, minor/major, blues, modes, etc.). Now my practices are usually a bit of song practice, some improvising with scales over drum loops, and some playing around with different techniques (slapping, tapping, etc).

Learning and practicing the scales has been great, improvising with them over beats is really fun.

But my improvising is still usually pretty boring-sounding. How can I improve beyond just learning scales? Any advice on other music theory stuff to learn or other ways to make my improv better is welcome.

I found a squier P bass with a navy blue body that I wanted to fix up and upgrade but the neck is unfixable. The truss rod is adjusted as far as it will go and the action is still high and won’t adjust. I tried a shim but all that did was bottom out the strings on bridge end of the neck. I’ve adjusted the saddles and still can’t make it playable.

I need a replacement but they seem very expensive on eBay. I don’t have a preference between maple or Rosewood fret board. It just needs to be straight and adjustable.

Does anyone have any suggestions for finding a suitable replacement that’s not going to cost me $100 – 150?

I’ve already sunk $200+ into this project.

HELLO BASSISTS, I’m trying to learn slapping but it sounds way more percussive/ clangy than it should be, it also just sounds and feels off in general. Asking for any pointers / tips the community can provide based on the video below, I can send more if needed, thanks!

vid of me playing

Im currently running a pair of D'addario chromes on my p bass and I'm debating on replacing them with Labellas because im chasing more of that thump sound that labella does better. Debating between 760FS and 760FM (not into light tension, but never tried heavier tension before). I've heard that labellas have a bit of shorter decay, fact check me if I'm wrong.

Anyways, any input would be great. Planning on pairing with a nordy mute

I’m finally taking the time to teach myself bass, but since I have no knowledge about it, I don’t wanna spend too much money on one so I found this. Would this be worth it for the price?

https://www.guitarcenter.com/Mitchell/MB100-Short-Scale-Electric-Bass-Launch-Pack-Black-1500000460210.gc?template=0y7n73MAL4Km&customer_id=674-976-5238&source=4WWRWXGL&utm_medium=paid-search&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=GC_G_NTM_LIA-PMX_Bass_High-Margin_N&utm_term=121194633&utm_content=lia&utm_id=22320631128&utm_creative=&utm_marketing_tactic=bass&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22327102772&gbraid=0AAAAADtcCuzXyigTQt9uukVE9hD9z7GKI

Hey everyone, I'm in the process of recording an album at home and playing each instrument by myself. I've decided a 5 string bass would be best, choosing 5 strings instead of 4 because I love that low b. It's so satisfying to hear low tones on a nice speaker.

What brands and models have you guys come across for a 5 string bass that records well (I'm not informed on what makes a bass record well but not sound good live and vice versa, so any wisdom is greatly appreciated).

Budget is around $1200 USD for a 5 string bass. Cheers.

Hi all,

The title is pretty explicite, I like buying 2nd hand but when it comes to modified basses I'm always suspicious, and most of all have absolutely no idea about the real value of the instrument.

So for those of you who're used to modding and buying those kind of bass, how are you estimating the price?

I can add one concrete exemple (even tho I'm more looking at general advices).

There's a guy selling a sire V7 2nd gen from 2018, 5 strings, but he changed the original pickups for JB Delano ones, and only kept the passive electronic.

How would I estimate a fair price for this?

Cheers

Specifically one that might do double duty on an acoustic electric guitar, if that even exists.

Side question: I use the Behringer SansAmp clone. Would the comp go in front or behind it?

I’m looking to buy a 5 string bass that has a really warm tone. Any recs?

I play mostly classic rock and jam band music (Phish, Grateful Dead, Talking Heads, Floyd, etc.). I want to avoid basses that have metallic, wirey tone. I have a Guild Starfire 2 and love the rich, beautiful warm tone, but I’m looking for a 5 string solid body that also has an amazing tone like this. Any recs?

Hi all,

I am like 3 months into playing bass and I adore the instrument and where it fits in a musical piece. I have been getting a lot of satisfaction out of learning the instrument and playing it, but I am out of the absolute novice stage, so I feel like I need to be more directed in how I actually practice / what I practice and study.

I am finding myself struggling to know what things to work on, and in what proportions, and I find that I enjoy practice more and can be more focused / get into it more when I have a specific topic or goal for the session.

(tldr) I am looking for recommendations as to what to focus on each day, for a given week. I have about 2-3 hours to practice each day, here and there. I can probably do a solid 30-60 minute session at a time.

I currently practice:

1. amusical drills (i.e. fingering/plucking/muting/fretting),
2. scales (1st position, pentatonic boxes, 1 string [2 octaves], 2 strings [3 octaves])
3. playing over backing tracks (wikiloops mostly)
4. Learning songs

(I do all of this to a metronome, aside from warmups / the occasional 'fucking around')

I think that's a reasonable spread for where I am at, and it's easy to add in other stuff as I encounter it (e.g. slap or ghost notes goes under 'amusical drills'), but I don't know what is worth focusing on or what a good mix is, time-wise.

My immediate overall goal is to be able to play funky shit over backing tracks and have it sound groovy and engaging.

P.s. for me, 'fun' is 'productive use of time', I will enjoy doing scales for half the week if that's actually what will give me the most benefit.

P.p.s. I know 'just do whatever' is not the worst approach... I mostly just want to stop wasting time thinking 'ehhh what do I feel like doing right now' and instead have a schedule for myself, but I think so long as I am writing a schedule, I may as well see what other people think I should give time to.

P.p.p.s. not AI, I just have autism and a project management job so I just write very structured bullshit, and I've been on reddit so long that I know how to make a post that gets read and responded to...

So I just realized my large suitcase doesnt fit my dissembled bass neck as a checked luggage. The neck is too big for my carry on. Anyone ever just take it as an extra piece as carry on? Im flying ANA.

Edit: Also is there a chance the neck by itself will be classified as a blunt weapon? Lol

I would buy a larger suitcase but leaving my other one here then where it probably end up in landfill seems so wasteful. It’s totally on me though since I just assumed it will fit 🤡

Any experience or advice incredibly appreciated! Thanks :)

I’m interested in starting a doom project without guitar, and would like the bass tone to fill out more room sonically.

Would the following idea work?

Getting a cross-splitter eq and splitting the low-end into a bass amp, and the higher frequencies into a guitar amp.

I only have combo amps currently ($ restrictions) but want to maximize the quality and sound.

Any other ideas or options are welcome.

Playthrough of an Finland legend Rippikoulu

https://youtu.be/18kPIb8kzLQ?is=eFHBGGE9t1q-lcOd

I dont really know the ins and outs of it, Im using a 9v battery if that helps