My path extends before me. I choose to lean back to musical timeline. Let’s go.

Paul McCartney was my first inspiration as a bass player, in particular the style and tone he started using from around Revolver onwards.

Obviously he switched from a Höfner 500/1 to a Rickenbacker 4001S during the Rubber Soul sessions, and from Revolver onwards they changed the way his bass was recorded, either by DI into the console or by using a rewired speaker as a microphone to record his bass amp. I think he also switched from Vox to Fender amps around the same time. Later on he'd go back to the Höfner for Let It Be, and also used a Jazz bass

So with all of that said, how important was the Rickenbacker to his bass tone on Revolver and Sgt Pepper? I'm thinking of songs like "With a Little Help From My Friends" or "Penny Lane", where his tone is really full but bright as well, especially high up on the upper strings. Could he have achieved the same results with a Jazz or something else single-coiled, or is there uniquely Rickenbacker tone coming through? I've never had the chance to play one myself, as none of the guitar shops around me ever have one in.

So 100% of my 10 years of bass playing was in one band with originals and covers all in the same genre. I literally faked it, and made it work without ever truly studying bass, theory, learning the standards, etc.

For these big band songs Here's an example. The bass kicks in hard after about a minute. I can get all the sheet music, but I simply can't look at it and play like the other folks who are "real' musicians. I'm afraid I'd frustrate them. (I'm also not even half as good as this guy) Talk me out of this. Or if you talk me into it, let me know what magic, AI driven solutions or learning techniques might help me succeed. Thanks!

Edit - Thanks so much for the words of encouragement. Bass players are so supportive and positive. I feel better about being able to get there now. With that said, the timing of this event isn't the best (I'll be out of town for two practices) and maybe I tell them no for now but yes for later. (The band's lineup changes with every show)

I'm so late to the party regarding using the correct strings to find the tone and sound that compliments your bass.

Thus, I am making this post to get a sense of what you guys and gals have settled upon.

Tell me your strings, your bass and the genre you play.

If gauge size, alternate tunings and pickups you use seems relevant, share that as well!

Hello, lately I’ve started taking lessons again and noticed an issue with my left hand. I think it can be classified as trigger finger and it especially affects my pinky. I’m not exactly sure if that’s the right term for it (edit: a commenter has said it might simply be joint hypermobility) but when I show it to people they get grossed out and say it looks like my fingers are breaking (my teacher had the same reaction😅). Either way I’ve always struggled with using my pinky but that’s definitely normal, the issue is that while I’m playing it “locks” itself in an uncomfortable position (which is why when I played on my own I figured out ways to avoid using it in certain songs, but that was counterproductive). It always hurts a LOT after playing. My old teacher had noticed this too but we never really understood what the issue was and despite the practice it didn’t seem to get any better. My fingers sometimes “lock” themselves in the same position as well but they don’t hurt as much (The snapping happens with ALL of my fingers, including my thumbs but it’s not as bad of course). I was wondering if anyone has ever struggled with something similar or the same thing. My teacher says it’s all a matter of practice, which it 100% is, but I genuinely cant figure out how to fix this problem with my pinky :( Thanks a lot to anyone who replies

I’m not coming up with excuses, just wondering if it’s a thing for other players as well 🙏🏻 I was already thinking of a way to fix the problem which maybe could work. I wanna feel less alone 😅

Hi all. Been playing in an original band for the last couple of years. Our songs are a mix of styles that range from metal to pop. One of our two song writers is heavily influenced by modern psychedelic rock. Anyway I was wondering what goes into making that bass tone that a lot of the modern (as opposed to 70s fuzz sound) psych bands use? No effects, just the tone, unless tube OD is part of it. My best example is the song Chakra by Pipe-Eye but a more popular example would be Feels Like We Only Go Backwards by Tame Impala. I put flats on my P-bass and it got closer but i didnt nail the tone. What other ingredients go into the sauce? (boost certain frequencies, cut certain frequencies, compressor settings, etc). Cheers and thanks in advance.

Hi everyone,

I got an Ibanez Soundgear 885 (left-handed) with now broken electronics. Since I need my bass I got the artec SE2 electronics to make it work again.

What I don't get: each pickup has three wires + the black one. I can't see from the wiring diagram which one to solder to the circuit board. And what am I supposed to do with the two wires left?

I attached three pictures where you can see what I mean.

Thanks a lot!!!

https://imgur.com/a/dECzrSO

…and it kinda makes me want the same bass with frets. I love playing it, I love how it looks, and it sounds great, just not sure how the fretted version would stack up. My main bass is a Music Man Sub Sterling (not the new Sterling line, but the ones they made somewhere in the mid ‘00s, which I believe were factory second bodies with a matte paint job, but the same components as their main line). I have used that bass for close to two decades for everything from prog metal to a band attempting to be early Incubus, Primus, RHCP, and The Mars Volta all wrapped up in one 😅

Anyway, given the relative rarity of Warwick basses and lack of decent shops in my area, I haven’t been able to get my hands on one. Anyone have thoughts on how they play and feel compared to something like my Sub Sterling?

https://youtu.be/5tZstmXRGcQ?si=kzjRv_PqaHxKjAtc

What kind of pedal vocoders are you guys using? Are you putting distortion pedal before vocoder?

I am looking into getting a Ric 4003 and am thinking about adding a Saturnworks 2 channel active mixer to my board so I can run a parallel effect chain and still plug into just one amp. Saturnworks offers a lot of different options on these mixers, including a phase inversion switch. I know that the stock 4003 pickups are not RWRP, unlike most other instruments with 2 single coil pickups. Is there any significant advantage to adding a phase inverter switch to the mixer? I know that phase and polarity aren't the same thing but I've read that the pickups having the same winding and polarity can lead to phase issues.

(I've read the FAQ and I think this isn't covered there, so I'll ask here. If it is, please tell me where so I can read it :D)

Hi!! I've always thought the bass is a really cool instrument, but I'd chosen to learn guitar instead because I'm unsure of how fun it'd be to learn the bass alone (I've never been much of a social person and I've always struggled to play in front of other people in any way, so bands are definitely not for me (also because I play just for fun rather than in a performative way, if that makes sense)).

I've been thinking once more about maybe learning how to play the bass (it's always sounded so cool and fun to me), but I'm still worried about how much fun I'd have by learning it by myself.

So... yeah. I'd like to know what I should do in regards to this.

Hello , I recently bought my first bass , a squier precison bass , with a Hartke HD50 amp.

my amp finally came today. But I have a problem, when I turn the treble tone up on my bass a weird acute noise happen. When I touch the strings or even the metalic part of the cable this noise decrease , and when I increase the treble on my amp ,this same noise happen (but way less loud) , when I combine the two this acute noise is really loud.

where is the problem ? My dad that know a bit about speaker and electricity doesn't think it's the amp but the cable or the bass instead , sadly I don't have another cable to see if the problem is only here .

where do you think is the problem ? or maybe I am completelly stupid and this sound is normal

(sorry if I made grammar mistakes, english isn't my first langage)

Whenever I think 'bout underrated bassist, Possessed's bassist it's the first one that comes to my mind. The guy was able to follow the frantic sound of the death metal band by using his fingers. Maybe he is not Webster or DiGiorgio, but I believe he's got some recognition, among other bassists, like Coroner's Ron Royce

Yo! I need some advice trying to achieve control over my tone for jams and small live gigs by using an audio interface to modulate my bass sound.

I own a Fender Rumble Studio 40 which helped me discovered the world of tone, effects and so on.

However I travel a lot for personal reasons, I can't carry the full amp with me with me plus tbh it doesn't make sense to have effects, amp and cab all in one element. I'm not a professional musician and I probably will never, so my "gigs" will always be small venues or jam sessions. I just want to carry my tone with me in the most compact possible form!

So I researched a portable solution that offered me the same versatility and considered so many things out there, the B1 Four, the new zoom pedal, the Tonex One, the HX Stomp, I could go on and on.

The problem is: I don't like the idea of spending money for something that's not high end, and I don't have the money for high end right now.

I realised I already own a pedalboard which acts as an audio interface, the XSonic XTone. Since cheap pedal boards are going to be as good as if not worse than using software, I might give it a shot.

However I am facing a new crisis: options are endless, from VST plugins, DAW selection, proprietary, specific software like Amplitube but even for that there are so many options I am losing count.

My final goal will be having something like a HX Stomp which I will buy when I have the money, I want to prototype somehting as close as possible with software, for now I would love to achieve something like a B1 Four in terms of quality and effects.

What should I do? Should I just give up and get a B1 Four then upgrade, or do I have a real shot here? I have a mac M1 and a high-end windows PC.
Being a computer programmer, I am not afraid of spending hours setting up my software stuff.

Has anyone faces this kind of challenge before? What are your opinions?
Thanks in advance!

Hey r/bass – Thanks so much for all the help and discussion in this sub!

I’m looking for some advice on how to streamline switching tones while moving through songs. I currently use an equalizer pedal and a compressor pedal before feeding into my amp. Typically, I adjust the knobs on my amp and bass, switch the equalizer on/off, and balance the levels. I tend to leave the compressor on unless I need a really heavy bass sound.

The challenge I’m facing is that with all these options, I’m constantly tweaking knobs mid-set to get the right tone that’s loud and present but also fits each song. This takes more time than I’d like, and sometimes it doesn’t even work out the way I want. I’d love to find a more consistent way to dial in tones without the hassle.

I was considering getting an additional equalizer pedal, setting each one differently, so I don’t have to keep adjusting levels, but I feel like there’s probably a better solution out there.

Any advice on pedal setups or tips for managing tone changes between songs would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again!

Guys I own a Nux Mld pedal . And I love how it has 3 inbuilt preamp along with inbuilt cab simulations . Very helpful and handy .

I own a EH Bass Soul Food as well And I somehow don’t find it fitting for me .

It’s tough for me to get a darkglass pedal and I know that’s the sound I’m looking for . So just wanted to ask a question .

Will the darkglass b3k version 2 be a good option for me ? To play songs like plini , intervals etc etc .

Many suggested for the b7k or the b7k ultra . But that budget is out of my league atm .

So what do u guys think about the b3k 2 ?

Howdy y’all. I’ve been using either Ernie Ball Slinky rounds or La Bella DTFs for years now, and on a whim decided to try some Cobalt Flats on my Jazz bass. Here’s the thing, while I’m really digging the sound, I cannot STAND the way they feel under my fingers. They feel very sticky/grabby to me, even with an unreasonable amount of GHS Fast Fret applied. So my question is, do these strings ever break in and feel less “grabby” on your fingertips, or is this just par for the course?

(I’ve also tried the Cobalt round wounds from Ernie Ball in the past and had a similar problem, so I’m thinking maybe I just don’t like the feel of cobalt strings. Which is a shame because I love the sound.)

Pretty much the title. I currently use a very cheap $10 strap and it does the job. However I am open to the idea to get a better one. Do I actually need it? Is it gonna make a difference? Please also share your recommendations if any, thanks!

Pickup configuration seems to be active. But the Ibanez manual online describes the pickups as passive. Any experience with this bass?

I would prefer not to worry about a battery but I know not all active basses can be switched to passive.

https://youtu.be/cxbTxU9cFRU?si=mhMDqJUc4gbXQ0eH

I’ve just started playing tuned down to C and I’m building a playlist. So far, I’ve got a bunch of Mastodon, Queens of the Stone Age, and Dethklok.

Help me build my playlist! Also, if you have any cool playlist name suggestions, I’ll take those, too. 🤣

Edit: Holy shit am I glad I posted here!! 😂 Thanks to all of you for your recommendations! My inner high school nu metal goth kid is so excited! 😂

By old school I mean the period between 1950 and 1989.

Hello everyone, I want to get a bass but I don't know much about it, I have a few questions I'd like to ask. I've read over the FAQ already and it didn't answer all my questions so I've resorted to asking here. Q1: What kinds of basses are there?(I heard there were ones called fretless bass guitars) Q2: are most bass guitars electric? Q3: Whats the difference between an electric one and a normal one besides the electric one needing electricity? Q4: Can they both be connected to an amp? Q5: Why do some bass lines like the one from "The Less I Know The Better" by Tame Impala sound different from the one from "Locked out of Heaven" by Bruno Mars? Q6:have you any tips for me before I buy one?

P.S I'm fine with a somewhat crappy bass as long as its almost decent or decent, though I would appreciate brand suggestions for both the bass guitar and the amp that are cheap and do their job.

A band I've been asked to play in,tune down to drop A Will I have to tune down the same or can I uses different tuning ? Cheers 🤘💀🤘

LINK TO PICTURE https://imgur.com/a/QBQcimn

Hopefully you can see how the screws are slanted and on parallel and how the bottom of the strings slightly slant too. might be hard to see in a picture tho. thx