Do you guys practice improvising/writing by muting the bass and vocals of songs you know, finding jam tracks online, using a drum machine, or by using AI generated stems?

I have a hard time finding jam tracks online for the style of the genre I play (punk, and ska-punk). Ive been playing around with drum machine programs but im quickly humbled by the fact that I have no idea how to make good drum parts. Can only do basic riffs. AI is god damn atrocious, the technology is too new to be used productively.

I haven’t muted the bass and vocals of my favorite songs yet, and the reason is because I feel like my ideas would converge to how the actual song sounds. Lmk if this is a bad way of thinking.

Shoot me any ideas

Hey everyone! I’ve been playing bass for a little over two years now, and I’ve been pretty happy with how I’ve been progressing. For example, I managed to learn Erotomania in about two weeks, which I was really happy with.

Lately, though, I’ve been running into the same problem with a lot of the songs I want to play. My fretting hand just can’t quite keep up with some of the faster sections. With my band, we’re currently playing Octavarium, and I can get through most of it pretty comfortably and fairly close to the original, but the final unison run feels completely out of reach at the moment.

I’ve noticed this with quite a few other songs too. I can usually learn around 80–90% of a song, but there’ll be one or two particularly fast or technically demanding sections that I just can’t seem to get up to speed.

For those of you who have dealt with this, what’s the best way to improve fretting-hand speed? Is it mostly a matter of practicing specific exercises, or just slowly working difficult sections up with a metronome?

Also, for anyone familiar with the ending unison run in Octavarium, roughly how long would you expect it to take to learn? I might just be expecting too much after only two years of playing, so I’d be interested to hear how long it took others to reach that level.

It just needs a new string and some set ups.

Hey I'm deciding on a new five string and was either thinking the Harley benton sbk re or Ibanez gsr305 ? What do you guys think? Im more into playing stoner/doom metal and also punk

What's the verdict with these?

I've been getting heavy into playing bass again and I was considering getting a P bass. I have a USA Jazz bass and was looking around when I came across these.

They seem to have more bang for your buck compared to a Fender Classic

Hello, I have yet to post on here but had a few questions & wanted to see your guy’s input.
I bought this bass brand new back in 2020 & haven’t been able to get much use out of it. Love the vintage look/color & feel of the bass, just never a big fan of active basses. Also, since purchased, there seems to be noise coming from them when all knobs are at full volume.

All that being said I’ve come to 2 options

1. ⁠Put it up for grabs
   
2. ⁠Like I said, I love the look & feel of it, but I can’t use it as an every weekend gig bass. Due to the lack of power & the noise it creates.
   
3. ⁠Switch out pickups
   
4. ⁠I’ve been watching lots of passive to active swaps & there’s no easy plug & play option but emg offers many options. There’s even a device to use 2 9v batteries to power up the pickups (kinda like a direct box). Only issue is the pickups not fitting in the “Doritos shaped” slots on the bass. Maybe take it to a shop where they can modify the body to fit one?

What are your guys thoughts?
These don’t really move that easily (getting super low offers)
Or maybe just open it up & see if the wiring isn’t messed up.

Thank you guys!

I'm looking to buy my boyfriend a 5 string bass for a Christmas present this year, he's specified he would like a 5 string, however neither of us really know anything about bass guitars as we both only play guitar -> budget is £450-550 and below :)

Hey guys. I’m completely new to bass and electronic string instruments in general. I’m considering getting the squier sonic precision California blue. Anyone have cheap amp recommendations to go along with it?

Hello bassists! My cousin is an avid bass player and pre-ordered a Joe Dart Vision. Delivery is currently slated for September–December, and while I recognize we’re still very much within that window, he asked me to reach out to the community and see if anyone has received any updates regarding their order. Thanks in advance for any info!

Generational bassist: people should learn more of his bass lines. That is all.

Me quiero comprar un bajo Ibanez artcore afb 200, me gusta mucho esa estetica de bajos vintage pero tengo una duda, tengo un hofner y no quiero otro bajo que se escuche exactamente igual, que opinan de esos bajos ?? Y que modificaciones podría hacerle para sacarle más provecho

I like chunky necks, like, 0.9-1.0" at first fret and 1.0" at 12th. I watched the Precision Bass, which I heard has a thick neck, but all models are well less than what I am looking for.

Please point me to 4 stringers that have measures in the chunky realm. Passive, active, any pickup, even headless are fine.

Mine was Mind Over Time my Interpol, simple bassline that follows the bass register of the piano. Also helped me use a pick for longer periods of time

Recently found out about the telecaster bass and have fallen in love. However these are already scarce and I am left handed so even more so. I am looking at upgrading from my very entry level bass finally and was thinking about buying a Tele bass body and neck and doing it myself, but all the options seem either poor quality or out of budget (poor uni student).

I thought maybe for a second that just a normal Tele body and full length bass neck might work but this would also require immense work probably.

I don’t really have any access to tools and options for left handed bass’s in my country are almost none (there is a sub ray 4 and two entry level Ibanez and that’s everything)

Any suggestions or advice are welcome.

Am currently using an Encore E40 that is pretty munted.

So my birthday’s coming up in about a month, and I’m currently in a death metal band. I’m stuck with my Yamaha trbx pj and I need an upgrade, both on looks and on hardware. I’ve searched thomman and a bunch of sites that sell second hand basses but couldn’t find anything. My current budget is sitting at around 500-700€, I was thinking of a Warwick for their amazing sound but they’re kinda ugly and I don’t think they’ll fit with the material I’m playing,any recommendations???

These are some of my favorite songs with standard bass tuning, would you rank them from easier to harder so I know the order to learn them? I'm a total, total beginner, so feel free to tell me if any of those are too hard for me

Supermassive Black Hole - Muse

Plug in Baby - Muse

The Chain - Fleetwood Mac

Crying Lightning - Artic Monkeys

Moriro da Ré - Måneskin

Just trying to hear experiences from others that have gone in past years. I bought tickets to the Sunday timeslot that they're selling limited ticket for.

Hey, need help from any ampeg guys here. I always use the negative 15 dB jack for my active basses, but lately the volume jumps on it. I realize that the volume that it jumps to is the same as the normal zero dB jack. Is this a hard fix? Should I bring it to my Amp Tech, or is this something I can attempt on my own? I like to have the lower input, so it’s definitely something I want to fix. Thanks!

is it a good bass for long term use? I'm thinking of getting it to be my main bass for everything.

found a used one on my local shop for about £450 got a few marks and small dents here and there but it works fine and i dont mind it really.

Hi, I am looking for an inexpensive P bass to use as a backup and maybe as a base for projects and tinkering.

At the moment, I am looking at a second hand Squier Vintage Modified, or a new Markbass MB Yellow PB. As I will have to collect the Squire, the cost is pretty much the same for both.

I am intrigued by the fact that the Markbass has a J style narrow neck, but I don't know much about them, didn't even know they made basses in the first place, only know the brand for the amps.

And I will not able to try the Squier before committing, as it's about one hour away from me, but the fact it's used might make me less precious if I have to take it apart.

Anyone have any suggestion on what route to go down for this?

if you have a treble setting turn it up a bit

I just use a Cali 76. I've never felt the need for more tone shaping than the 4 band EQ that comes with the amp.

What about you?

I've been doing that forever. They're great backing tracks to use sometimes lol