Narcissism

Rotosound solos are pretty sweet

I was fortunate enough to be in bands that didn't have an ear for bass. So the only time they actually knew what I was playing was when we sat down and recorded a demo. Often times it'd be like "That's the bass line? All this time I thought you were just playing flashy versions of the root notes!" Its okay, I got them back. To this day, I have no idea what the singers/screamers lyrics were Could be puppies and jellyfish for all I care!

I found an Ibanez SR series bass with oval inlays, natural finish and Bartolini pickups. I normally dislike bartolini just because of the name on the pickup in giant letters, but I got over that with this bass... It sounded perfect no matter which amp I plugged it into and it played perfect. If I find a 5 string version of it, my next paycheck might disappear rather quickly!

[quote name='BottomEndian' post='845195' date='May 22 2010, 11:55 AM'] No, seriously... [/quote] ...why? Are they afraid the bassist will look too cool for the rest of the band?

Its fine for the instrument to drop tunings without changing anything in the setup. However, you may get a little bit of relief in the neck, and you may get a little more fret buzz than you're used to. It all depends on the humidity, and what kinda shape your bass is in (thin neck, thick neck, ebony fretboard, glossed over fretboard, etc.). I used to tune to drop C (ACGCF) with my old bands. But I play in E standard (BEADG). I did have to change my setup a little bit with the dropped tuning 1 step on all strings, and 2 steps on one string. I have a cheap carvin neck with an unscarfed headstock though... A more high end bass wouldn't have the problems I had. I say give it a shot at the dropped tuning for a day or 2. If you don't have any playing problems at the end of the 2 days, then your bass has fully adjusted and you won't have to worry about adjusting your setup. If you have problems playing, then when you tune it back to standard, it should go roughly back to normal if not all the way back to normal. Wood's a little unpredictable like that. But good luck! let us know how the gig goes!

In my touring days, I played through a 4x10 with 2x15/1x18. That got me the sound I wanted, but when it came time to play with the band, my sound was... stale. It didn't work with the band, and I could tell during live performances. As mentioned earlier, filling in the frequencies that the rest of the band isn't covering is crucial. Turns out I had my mids up too high, and that was butting heads and repeating the frequency that the guitars were in. It went well with the vocals though. After I turned my upper mids down, I compensated with room balance and lowering the compression. I also changed the way I was playing a little bit. I lined up my lower notes during slower parts tight with the drummer, and that helped quite a bit. I don't have any gear advice, as I've only owned a small amount of it. But i do wish you luck! Be sure to post some clips once you get settled

as long as you can get the bridge saddles to be 34" away from the nut, you shouldn't have a problem.

You know, most people's first bass isn't the most interesting piece of equipment. Remember, you're looking for something to learn on. When I started, I got an instrument that wasn't the greatest to play. When I decided that I was dedicated to the instrument and that I wanted to continue to play, I bought a better one, and the difference in my playing ability was notable. Perhaps you should aim for an instrument that you're comfortable learning on, rather than an instrument that you want to show off. I mean, if you have something to show off, but you can't play it, then what's the use, right?

Typically, Ibanez will put a "G" in front of their lower end models. So the SR is going to have higher standards built into it than the GSR. Same goes for RG/GRG, S/GS, AX/GAX for their guitars. Active electronics require a battery and have more output/headroom. However, some will say that they come out "stale" or "generic." I personally disagree, but whatever. Passives have less output, don't require a battery and stereotypically have more response with the wood that they're plugged into. The previous is arguable, but that's my personal take on it. The BTB is a very nice bass IMO. You're gonna have to go out and try em all out and see which one you want to invest in though!

That GSR200 isn't a bad bass. I still have mine from 11 years ago... God I'm getting old... I've modified the hell out of it, and it started out as a GSR100, but turned into a 200 when I added the J pickup. The one I have is also made of Alder... I think they converted to basswood around 2002 or something like that... so the sound may have changed a bit. For what you're getting into, pretty much anything with a P/J configuration in a beginner package will give you a pretty wide range of sound. Later on, you can look at humbuckers, extended range pickups, etc. I say take a look around your local shops after you've got your first cheap bass and have a feel for what the instrument plays and sounds like. Then you can start really looking at what you're trying to get out of an instrument by playing in the shops through different amps and effects etc.

Its embarrasing, but I learned Don't Stop Believing by Journey. I never got around to it when I first started, and I just kinda realized "Hey, I should know this." I've been doing that a lot lately. Slow Ride Lots of Boston songs I've been in a lot of metal bands, and I never really went and learned the old fashioned bar band stuff

I'll give you a few options, and then i'll tell you what i do: Flatwounds are preferred on a fretless bass as they do less damage to the fretboard. Lots of people also like that "dead" sound you get out of them. There's also pressurewound strings, which are roundwound, but then "pressed" so that the ridges are flat instead of round. They do about the same amount of damage as roundwounds, but to a slightly lesser extent. Rotosound makes some very nice sounding ones! Here's what I do: A lot of people might not agree with this, because it is a sacrafice in sound, but I put pinstriping under my strings. I use rotosound pressurewound strings, and I really don't like the idea of replacing my neck or fingerboard every few years due to gouges in the fretboard. So I put the pinstripes in for live gigs, and take em out for studio time. I use a little bit of orange oil to get rid of any adhesives, and follow it with a fretboard conditioner. In the end, it does come down to preference in sound, feel and overall taste.

[url="http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w13/darthnako/The%20Bass/?action=view&current=Fin1.jpg"][/url] The one I built [url="http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w13/darthnako/?action=view&current=IMG_1000.jpg"][/url] The one I modified [url="http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w13/darthnako/?action=view&current=P8300020.jpg"][/url] What I play em' through! The rig is out of commission right now due to housing (close quarters neighbors) but in a few months, we'll have a house and all that will change! Right now, it makes a pretty good sub for my surround sound. I'm also looking for a new bass head. This Bassman 400 is okay for making noise, but I'd really like to go all out and get that 1200W Mesa head I've been looking at!

Hi! I'm a pretty experienced bassist. I've toured quite a bit, made a bunch of demos, 2 albums, and even built a few! Though I'm not the most creative musician, I've always enjoyed playing shows, throwing knowledge in the direction of those who request it, and overall, just having fun with the instrument. I've built a 5 string fretless, I still have my first bass (which i've modified the crap out of), and I have a few bits of nice gear with some crap gear on it that I'm upgrading from. You know how it is when you have an instrument, and you want to hear it, but not spend too much money, so you just buy something cheap to work for now and then upgrade as you go? Well, I've got a 1,200W 4x10 Ampeg cab and a 400W head that doesn't quite give me the sound I want. The goal of me being here is to trade ideas so I can upgrade my instruments, parts, gear etc. until I have what I belive to be my "rig." I'll see you out there! *thumbs up*