Triumph_Rock

Yes indeed, it has huge tonal variations. My Vox Amplug2 bass headphone amp arrived today, which I wasn't expecting much from, but that has really impressed me, I like the drum/rhyme machine on it. So now I can practice my bass anywhere in the house without bugging everyone

Yes, I've been taught scales. I was also asked to draw the neck and placement of the notes. I've already memorised the fretboard down to the 5th fret, including sharps and flats. My tutor accompanies me on guitar, playing the corresponding chords to what I'm playing, so that I can hear the chords, the relationship between the bass guitar and guitar tonally and keeping time with another instrument.

Thanks, I'm not at the full tempo of Sweet Child of Mine as played GnR. My tutor at the moment is happy to let me choose to play the song as GnR did or to play root notes after the intro, without the fills. Its me picking the tough option. Well Corvid 19 second lockdown has put end to my bass lessons in person, hopefully he will do it over Skype.

I am very green to playing bass, I've only been learning seriously since July 23rd. I started learning on Jamplay, but started learning with my bass tutor on the 10th of October. My tutor is very happy with my progress. I'm sure he will teach me what has been mentioned by Dad3353 eventually. Every teacher has different ideas and approach to teaching, thats why I was told its best to find the teacher that suits an individual. One reason I picked mine, is because he walks the walk so to speak. I asked this question here, to see if there is anything I hadn't of thought of to try, and to see if some of my ideas are good ones or not. And I have got a wonderfully diverse collection of answers.

I haven't said anything at all about my bass tutor on this thread. He's a nice guy, and I'm sure if I ask, or if he see's I'm suffering he will teach me what is required, he is extremely knowledgable. But he is very very busy, and out of lessons hard to contact. As he is in an internationally famous metalcore band.

Thanks, thats just what I needed!

Thanks for the great hints and tips guys, they are really helpful. The issue I'm having, is not being dependant on the tab, and completely memorising the song to memory, and then playing it through with out making any mistakes. I think the route for me to go down, is not to learn via tab, which isn't normally 100% correct anyway. So I think the route for me is to learn via ear. Being very green to learning bass, this may be a hard skill to pick up in the beginning, but I imagine will pay for itself in the future. So I think I might try and find some audio software for my laptop, which can alter the tempo of the song to slow it down, and maybe if possible isolate the bass line. Anybody know any good software for this?

Thanks again for all the replies. It is slowly getting there.

Now see I've got the intro down, it's the rest of the song I'm struggling with. I would be the opposite to everybody else 😄

Thanks for the fantastic ideas, will start to experiment. The song my tutor has me learning is Sweet Child of Mine by Guns N Roses. Which I think is mainly played in D, C, G chords.

Have to say, finished reading the book tonight, was a fantastic read. Had me smiling and laughing, picked up plenty of tips.

Hi Everyone, Is there a trick or technique for learning a bass line of a song ? I'm trying hard to learn the bass line for my first hard rock song, but am struggling to memorise it from the tab, listening to the song and reading the lyrics? Interested to hear all your thoughts?

Deep Purple - Man Alive

Just read the sample on Amazon. Enjoyed it so purchased the book, perfect company with a beer on this wet and windy night !

Dunno if this counts! But here's my Sterling by Musicman Stingray Sub 4 HH. Really should take better photo's! Can't at the moment as I snuck it in the house! 😉

There's a good Fender Precision bass, made in Mexico, for sale in Guitar Mania, Ashley Road, Poole, Dorset. £400.

Thanks for the comments guys. @hooky_lowdown I can see why you thought it was about a chocolate bar! 😄

So I have only ever owned one bass guitar. I've read about neck profile, neck finish, radiused fret boards, read loads of manufacturer specifications. But having only really had my hand on one bass, it was hard for me to translate what this meant in the real world, so to speak. So this morning, I went to have my bass guitar lesson. Asked my tutor some questions. Afterward I thought to try some of the local music shops to get my hands on so that I could learn. So today I have tried Fender Precision ( Mexican ), Fender Jass ( Mexican ), Vintage Musicman copy, Musicman by Sterling StingRay Ray34, Music Man by Sterling StingRay Ray4 HH. To try all these basses out I had to travel to two shops. Out of the Fenders, I preferred the precision, because of the satin neck, and the pickups are definitely higher output than a Jazz bass. I nearly bought that in the first shop. I showed some restraint, and thought no I'll wait and contemplate over the potential purchase. So then I went to the second shop. Where I tried the Sterling's. So I spent some time comparing the Ray34 and Ray4 HH. I actually preferred the tones of the Ray4 HH because I could hear more tone choices from the Ray4 HH. I huess more tone of the Ray4 HH is probably down to having two humbuckers. What I really liked about the Ray4 HH and Fender Precision, was the satin necks. Wow they play a lot faster than a painted neck or high gloss neck. The Sterling Ray4 HH, sounded more powerful, and sounded like it had more variation in tone over the Fender to me. And you know when you get that "feeling", you know its the one, that real happy fuzzy feeling, yep thats what the Ray4 HH gave, so I knew I had to take it! I've already been playing my Ray4 HH. Very happy indeed. Photo, sorry for the poor quality the weather and lighting is rubbish hear today! The colour looks way cooler!

Thanks for the graphs, I guess if an audio taper pot is logarithmic, is 65:35, the bend/curve in the line isn't severe, so not to far off from linear? I guess a 50:50 pot if it exist is for all intent and purposes linear? Or have I missed the point? Trying to learn, so I make an informed choice.

Hi guys, I'm putting together a plan to upgrade my bass guitar. I have a Westfield EB3. I read an article on Premier Guitar, about modding passive electric guitars, for better tone adjustability. Pretty much the article states that modern pots, have a 80/20 taper? That old pots from the 50's and 60's had tapers of 70:30, 60:40, and 65:35. Unfortunately Hamer that made the audio taper pots with 65:35 are out of business. Centralab pots from the 50's or 60's had a taper of 70:30 or 60:30. I have found a modern reproductions of the old Centralabs from the 50's and 60's. My question is, does anybody know where I might still find Hamer audio taper 65:35 pots? Also does anybody know of an article for figuring out if my Westfield is wired parallel or series?

The primary reason I came up with the idea is to replicate the original Gibson set-up but with less pots. That was my reason for asking to see if it is possible?

Hi guys, I'm probably going to get my EB3 modified. I'm looking for general advice from Westfield, Epiphone, and Gibson EB-3(L) owners. Has anyone replaced there pots on a Westfield EB3 with two push pull pots, and then put a 4 way selector? I was thinking with two push pull pots and a 4 way selector, it would be possible to replicate the original Gibson Eb3 set up and sound on my Westfield? My idea is to use two push pull pots to control the volume and tone for each humbucker? So only using two pots instead of Gibson's 4. Is this possible? How would it need to be wired? David