UPDATE: I am a guitarist that wants to audition for a bass position in a band. What are some things I should really (not) do?

mailjozo · 2012-05-31T04:27:37.642183+00:00

THAT would completely drive me crazy. I don't think I could deal with playing with my fingernails. I would have to disagree on the merits of switching to using my fingers... for the style of music I play it doesn't offer me a lot of benefits, and would take a way a lot of the percussive aspects of my playing. Like I said, part of the reason I still use a pick is that the tone I get out of it isn't something I was getting with my fingers, and my band asked me to switch back.

mailjozo · 2012-05-31T04:23:08.244777+00:00

Yup, same here... I play pretty hard, though, so sometimes my picking technique is more like punishing the string... LOL

whalesir · 2012-05-31T04:21:34.694289+00:00

It's not that complicated, really. The knobs are volume, treble, bass... the switch next to the volume control is a pickup selector... the center switch changes between series and parallel... and the last switch changes the preamp and switches it between active and passive modes. All the way down is preamp on with treble boost, center is preamp on with flat settings, and up is preamp off. It's ridiculously versatile.

mailjozo · 2012-05-30T20:30:43.958406+00:00

It's funny that how you describe playing bass with a pick is how I play guitar with one.. LOL Maybe that's why I'm confused. I think it's only in certain genres of music that guitarists would tend to play that way... but in my genre (metal / prog rock) a guitarist has to be very precise like that.

The only thing I really do with my bass picking is play closer to the bridge when I want the high end of the notes to come out more. But I play chords and stuff on the bass as well, and do pick harmonics like I would on a guitar... hahaha.

bmgj91 · 2012-05-30T20:21:15.216569+00:00

Thumbs up for that one. Adding a compressor to my setup was one of the best things I ever did. Evened out my tone and makes everything nice and smooth. I totally love the sound of my rig now.

mailjozo · 2012-05-30T13:17:59.638687-07:00

Just so I can understand... what is different in how a guitar player uses a pick, versus a bassist?

I ask because I did 30+ years on guitar, and switched to bass about a year ago (not my first time, but I have been playing bass exclusively for over a year now).. I really don't notice anything different about how I use a pick on bass other than varying the tone by where I pick on the strings. I'm not really sure how I approach it differently, and I certainly don't play bass like a guitarist playing bass. I'm a total in-the-pocket player.

mailjozo · 2012-05-30T20:03:40.748250+00:00

Picking like a guitar player. (learn to use your fingers)

Not sure this is such great advice. Playing bass does not require you to use your fingers, and there are legitimate reasons to play a bass with a pick. I find that there are two things a lot of bassists are really snobby about, and I violate both of them... using a pick, and running massive amounts of distortion... but this works with the music I play. I've done it both ways (with and without a pick, and with and without distortion), and in both situations the band asked me to go back to using a pick and distortion. It gives me a much punchier, meaner tone. I cannot hit strings that hard with my fingers without doing major damage to myself.

The big thing is that there's no "right" way to play. Play the way that suits the music you do.

lilparra77 · 2012-05-30T19:54:40.257653+00:00

Me too... makes playing a 5-string a little uncomfortable sometimes, but I don't care.

willjames123 · 2012-05-30T17:31:32.898144+00:00

Check out one of these: T.C. Electronics BG-500.. You can actually get one for under $600. It's compact, sounds amazing and packs a huge wallop. Add a decent bass-oriented distortion unit, and you've totally got that tone.

I just replaced an Ashdown setup with 4x10"s and a single 15" with this thing... it's louder, tighter, and cleaner, and I can fit my whole rig and 4 people in my car all at the same time.

whalesir · 2012-05-30T10:09:46.526830-07:00

G&L Tribute series. Uses the same electronics as the US made ones, plays and sounds amazing. I love mine (L-2500 Tribute Carved Top), it's the best bass I've ever owned.

speenerdcc · 2012-05-30T10:07:30.563281-07:00

I use a T.C. Electronics BG-500 combo... It's 500 watts and runs a single 15" and a tweeter. I think it's all the amp I'll ever need for anything, it sounds amazing and it's louder than crap. The signal out of the DI on the front sounds exactly like what's coming out of the speaker. Only weighs 70 lbs and fits in my car real easily. It cost me less than $600 brand new including tax.

whatfellfromthemoon · 2012-05-30T17:01:18.667380+00:00

Having no strings on a bass for a matter of a few minutes is not going to cause any noticable issue with it. There is nothing wrong with taking them all off at once, and the tech isn't abusing your bass by cutting them off. Keep the old strings? LOL Just keep a spare set and replace it every time you change strings.

seosayli · 2012-05-30T08:45:42.081021-07:00

This is NEWS?

DramaticTechnobabble · 2012-05-30T15:41:01.155436+00:00

Pro-life arguments I hear tend to revolve around the notion that a completely new and unique person is created at the moment of conception.

They always say how that person could be the next Einstein.... and forget how they could be the next Adolf Hitler.

Self_Education · 2012-05-30T14:55:45.280774+00:00

If you think you were solid in your atheism before.... you're going to fine tune it like a laser beam after reading the Bible cover to cover. It seriously is the most ridiculous crap you'll ever read and is mindbogglingly amazing that people can believe it is true.

ForgiveandForget101 · 2012-05-30T14:49:21.292551+00:00

if Jesus, my savior, doesn't let such respectable people as you into heaven just because you didn't know him

I'd say I know more about him than most Christians, so I'm not sure that's going to give me a pass. Personally, if the God of the Bible is real and the people who claim they are going to be in Heaven really will be there, I'd rather burn in Hell. Nothing could be more annoying and torturous than spending eternity with the likes of them. The unfortunate side of being an atheist is that I won't be able to spend eternity telling Christians they were wrong.

I know science is real, not because of a feeling in my heart.... but because it's been proven to me beyond a shadow of a doubt. It ENCOURAGES me to question it, and does not demand I believe.

TheGummyBear · 1 day

Bertha Butt?

thegayestfaggot · 1 day

I live in Seattle, and we don't say "aboot".

stumark · 1 day

It's Ray Comfort, so it's got to be pretty far up there on the laughability scale.

deathofthesun · 1 day

Dude, I'm as old era as they get... never heard of most of those bands.

Xarthok · 5 days

Same here.. I've been a fan of theirs since Killers came out.

Crump12 · 5 days

I love the sound of a guitar with lots of distortion on it. Ever since I first heard Black Sabbath back in like 1970-something, I have been hooked.

Taintmash · 5 days

He had to have been super high to be laughing like that.. LOL

deathofthesun · 5 days

Nope... and looking at the answers, a good chunk of these bands I've never even HEARD of. Man, I am metal fail.

mroo7oo7 · 5 days

Prep H and tooth paste both come in similar tubes - how do you know it was not an accident? Do you always turn on the light when going in your medicine cabinet at night?

I dunno about anyone else, but I can tell the difference between them in the dark. Prep H smells awful... I'd know as soon as I opened the tube, whether it was dark or not, whether it was toothpaste or Prep H.

DrEvyl666

TROPHY CASE

DrEvyl666

TROPHY CASE

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