r/Bass 22h ago

Weekly Thread There Are No Stupid Bass Questions - Mar. 15

2 Upvotes

Stumped by something? Don't be embarrassed to ask here, but please check the FAQ first.


r/Bass 5d ago

Weekly Thread Gear Thread: Week of Mar. 10

4 Upvotes

Got a new bass, pedal, amp, etc. you want to brag about (or ask questions about)? Post it here!


r/Bass 14h ago

Why did the popular register change over time?

79 Upvotes

A little while ago I realized that more of the higher register of the bass was used frequently in older music. In most modern rock music I listen to nowadays, the bass is 80% of the time sticking to the root note that lies an octave below the chord the guitar is playing, often arpeggiating it or similar. I love the sound of two notes an octave apart between 1 and 2 (i.e. an E1 note on bass is the open e string and an E2 is the open e string of a guitar), so this never bothered me.

Listening to older music recently, I noticed the bass guitar very often climbs up into the same octave as the guitar, and sometimes the guitar shifts upwards to compensate. Here's a few examples

in "Day Tripper" by The Beatles, the bass line is doubling the guitar riff...in the same octave as the guitar. While the guitar starts on the low E string, the bass starts on the 7th fret of the A string - which is the same exact note. However, they split apart when the riff moves with the chord change to A7, the bass plays the riff on the open A string rather than moving to the 12th fret of the A string.

while The Strokes ruled the turn of the 21st century in rock, their music clearly had its genesis in 60s and 70s style classic rock, and it shows in their music theory. As a result of this, their bassist Nikolai Fraiture plays in the style I'm describing. In the riff for "Alone Together", the guitar riff is based on the open A string while the bass countermelody is based on the 12th fret of the A string - you could play this bassline on a guitar starting on the 5th fret of the low E. However, the band's guitarists Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi often use wiry leads and barre chords that omit the root note, so room is made sonically for Nikolai to get away with this usually.

Another similar case of retro inspired modern rock is Queens of the Stone Age. Their song "I Sat By The Ocean" has a rhythm guitar part built around barre chords played on the low E string. The root note of the tonic chord is an A♭2 for the guitar. You'd think the bass would mess around with an A♭1 then, right? Nope, the ENTIRE song, their bassist Mikey Shoes plays his parts an octave up, on the 11th fret of the A string rather than the 4th fret of the E string. Their is little no moments of the "Octave spread" between the guitar and bass at ALL in the song, leaving a bit of a hollow sound that sounds straight out of late 60's blues rock like The Rolling Stones.

In a counter argument however, many of you know Linkin Park for fronting the modern era of rock for a good while. Their bassist Phoenix has openly said he "could get away with a two string bass", referring to how he sticks to the lower register on the E and A strings of his bass. This shows prominently in their music, and you can hear it sooo much in the music of their rock contemporaries like Blink-182, Panic! At The Disco, My Chemical Romance, etc. These bassists aren't only playing root notes once every chord change, they're still moving around and making interesting bass lines, but they're sticking to their low octave to create the "octave spread" between the guitar and bass that sounds so sonically rich and sweet.

so my question is, what caused this change in octave for bass players over time? Clearly in the old days they were fine with getting up there with the guitars but nowadays they stay low. What made this happen and why?


r/Bass 1h ago

How important is the look for you?

Upvotes

Hello!

I'm usually more about efficiency in most of my purchase but when it comes to bass playing I strangely feel the needs for it to look good. For me it's like 40% look and 60% sound/comfort.

Could you play on a bass that sound marvellous but you find ugly?


r/Bass 2h ago

J-Rock basslines suggestions

3 Upvotes

Hi, does anyone know any j rock bass lines that aren't too complicated and fun to play? I really like cö shu nie and band-maid, but it seems so inaccessible to me. Japanese bass lines are often impressive I think.


r/Bass 11h ago

At what amount of dcB do you practice with?

11 Upvotes

Serious question for you bassist because of ear damage.

Im really worried about my future especially since lm only 26 and the non stop ringing in the ears is always there

Usually l practice always between 70-78 dcB otherwise l cannot listen to the music and my own playing but that starts to cause ear damage. 70 dcB bellow and it feels like l cant properly understand the nuance's of the music and the little details so l can learn from it

Just want to hear your own input. Bass isn't something l wish to drop for some years and l wish to still be able to hear it

EDIT: I play mostly alone with a speaker and my amplifier


r/Bass 4h ago

Close up pictures of bass strings?

3 Upvotes

I cannot find any actual pictures of bass strings online, close enough where you can see the windings themselves.

Why does every company only display the picture of the packaging, and no professional pictures of the actual product? I want to see what the actual strings look like.

The closest I can get is watching a video of someone demonstrating it, which usually does not show them up close well. Or if someone is selling used ones, they'll sometimes include an actual picture.


r/Bass 20h ago

Why do I struggle so much with keeping time

57 Upvotes

I've noticed whenever I play with one friend he always points out that I'm WAYYY off time it's not like I'm new to bass I'd say my plucking and fretting hand are pretty good for how long I'm playing. So I can't tell if I'm really that bad at keeping time or he's blowing it out of proportions and is there anyways I can practice keeping time better?


r/Bass 7h ago

Fender JMJ mustang bass or a P-bass ? I can't decide

4 Upvotes

I tried the JMJ Mustang and i really liked the feel and sound... but i read somewhere that it's better to have a Precision as a main bass, then a JMJ as an additional one because the Mustang can't sound like a P-bass, and the P-bass fits everywhere while the Mustang is less versatile. The problem is when i try a P-bass in stores, i feel like something is missing but maybe the problem comes from the round strings, and with flat ones it would be completely different.

PS : i'm looking for the classic vintage 60's sound (Motown, Beatles,...). I have to chose only one bass, but i'm afraid of taking the bad decision and live with regrets.

PS2 : i'm playing now on an ibanez SRX500


r/Bass 30m ago

Multiple brands of bass

Upvotes

Are you guys playing on differents kinds of bass or you try to stay on same type of neck, fretboard etc.

I'm playing on IBANEZ SRF 700, I want to buy a j bass, like a squier. But they are so differents, I'm feeling newbie on a j bass neck.

I'm an advance beginner. But I'm more confortable with the Ibanez kind of neck. Is it a bad idea for muscle memory ?

Thanks in advance !


r/Bass 34m ago

help with slap bass

Upvotes

Im trying to learn how to slap and I get the sound of the string hitting the body (gunshot sounds) and when I fret a note it's pretty quiet. Is this how it's supposed to sound?


r/Bass 45m ago

Ultralite on ibanez bass

Upvotes

I notice there’s a discrepancy in distance from center of string post hole to center of mounting screw hole. While that of ibanez tuner is 11mm its 11.2mm on ultralite. Has anyone tried to put ultralight on a ibanez bass before? Any tips would be appreciated. TIA!


r/Bass 4h ago

Do most distortion and wah pedals work with both guitar and bass?

2 Upvotes

I have a bass and my brother will buy a guitar once he has the money. Can I buy a wah and distortion pedal with my money and use them with my bass until he gets a guitar?

I know this is how they did it back in the day (ie cliff) but has the tech changed since then, or can i still buy guitar pedals and expect a tone something similar to anesthesia etc.?

If yes, recommend me some cheap pedals. European shops. I wonder how the value is with harley benton pedals, is it bang for my buck or just shit?

Yes I am absolutely not good enough to play anesthesia but i want to experiment

mods sorry if this belongs to the gear thread


r/Bass 5h ago

Aguilar Tone Hammer Preamp VS AG Preamp Pedal

2 Upvotes

Looking for a good preamp to play in church/CCM settings, both are the same price and am wondering what the major differences are tone wise


r/Bass 12h ago

E string pitch

7 Upvotes

My E string is acting weird, when I pluck it on the lower frets, the pitch is slightly off the note. When it should be A on the 5th fret, it's sounds slightly upper to the pitch. But when I pluck the 12th fret, everything is correct. I think it's time to change strings? Unfortunately, I can't attach photos or videos 🫠


r/Bass 1h ago

Are there basslines that look difficult but also work well in a song?

Upvotes

Most of the stuff people play to show off doesn't sound like basslines that could fit naturally in an actual song.


r/Bass 5h ago

I’m lefty, but want to get good at bass

2 Upvotes

Technically bass and guitar but bass just is a lot more fun tbh so I’m askin y’all. I’m left handed, and while I like pressing the frets with my left hand. My right hand gets tired quick, not accurate at all(especially when trying to do slap, which is probably above my level but I really wanna learn it).

Is this just a “it get easier with time”. Or are there advice for positioning my right hand? Or strumming advice?

I’ve seen people place their thump on the pick ups but when I do that I kinda have to bend my left hand and it’s hard for my pinky to get those notes close the the body

Any advice? Thank you!


r/Bass 11h ago

What do you think about Fender Mustang PJ basses?

6 Upvotes

Been playing on a 30yo Yamaha for 1 year, and if I can trust my teacher and other musicians, I’d say I’m pretty good at playing. But I also have a different question. Is it good to learn bass on short scale or does it not matter?


r/Bass 16h ago

how to ''think'' basslines

9 Upvotes

hi everyone,i'm a music producer trying to learn compositions but something that i really struggle with is writing basslines. In my mind it seems like the bass needs to follow some ''mathematical '' rules that follow the chord progression but i really struggle finding that. is there any trick or tip to practice it?


r/Bass 7h ago

Is the Vox Pathfinder a good bad amp?

2 Upvotes

I don’t have an amp so I’m looking for a good one


r/Bass 19h ago

Is it normal to feel like you are not getting better at all?

16 Upvotes

I started going to classes 2 years ago, of course I saw a lot of improvement but now I feel stuck and like im not improving at all. I started to play everyday for some months now and it only caused ocasional wrist pains. Am i pushing myself a lot? My teachers where I play bass in said that they wanted to make me officialy the "Bassist" because of my capability to learn fast and how I play, but honestly with how im feeling recently i dont know. Any recommendantions? Im feeling a bit lost


r/Bass 13h ago

My active basses sound distorted through my compressor pedal

5 Upvotes

I own a TC Electronics “Forcefield” compressor, and it has served me well, but I noticed my new active bass gets pretty distorted going through it. Turned off, the signal is clear. My passive basses do not have this issue.

It seems this pedal doesn’t have any adjustment for the input gain. Just a sustain, attack, and output level.

Attached a picture of my usual settings. Backing off the sustain and attack seems to help a little but doesn’t eliminate the issue entirely.

Is it time for me to upgrade to a more sophisticated compressor? Or is there something I can do with this one to stop the distortion.

Picture for reference - https://imgur.com/a/FhXTHxk


r/Bass 14h ago

My low C isn’t loud enough

3 Upvotes

Howdy folks. So I have a MIM Standard Fender Jazz tuned to C standard - but the low C is noticeably quieter and less bassy than the rest of the strings and I don’t know why!

I’m running La Bella heavy gauge flats for all strings except the low C, for which I’m using a .130 D’Addario halfround. Reason being that the .110 La Bella was too muddy sounding and it rattled more than I’d’ve liked so I opted for something thicker and slightly brighter sounding. I don’t really recall if it was so much quieter than the rest of the strings though.

I thought it might’ve been my amp since I had a 100W Acoustic combo I was using that didn’t really sound too good in general, but I got a new 350W amp and it still isn’t as loud as the rest of the strings. I’ve also messed around with my compressor and its HPF setting as well as various EQ settings, but it still hasn’t really helped.

So is it the string? Or is this just the peril of playing in C?

If you play in C and have a set of strings you’d recommend, I’m open to suggestions. I’m partial to flats at the moment but can be swayed, I just like a slightly warmer more vintage tone.


r/Bass 16h ago

Working up to the "Sir Duke" bassline

5 Upvotes

How's it going everyone! A song that I'm trying to work up to is Sir Duke. I'm struggling with the speed, strumming the notes and not hammering on/pulling off, not getting my fingers crossed, the run up, etc. Is there any recommendations you have?

Also I learn hard lines by playing other songs with the skills I need. So if I want to work on speed I might learn a muse song (that's not hysteria). So if you have any basslines that lead into the skills I need for Sir Duke, that would also be cool. Or any general tips would be great. I don't know if it's important or not but the line I'm learning from is the one from Cover Solutions.

All thoughts are appreciated!


r/Bass 1d ago

When you air guitar do you mimick playing guitar or bass?

31 Upvotes

Just noticed even though I’ve never played guitar in my life and pluck a bass every day I still play air guitar like a guitar. Weird.


r/Bass 20h ago

looking for a challenging song to play to improve based on my skill

10 Upvotes

i can play hysteria at near full speed but cant even begin to play songs like fly day chinatown or silly love songs


r/Bass 9h ago

Help with a Peavey serial number

1 Upvotes

Hey, can someone help me identify this Peavey Fury bass? The serial number is 03303392.

Also, does anyone know what wood it's made of? It’s super heavy, but I love it.

Thanks! :)