javasound

Several people I know have talked about this favourably https://www.amazon.co.uk/Edlys-Music-Theory-Practical-People/dp/0966161661 Disclaimer - Ive not read it myself, but I respect the option of the people I know who have done so !

Practicing with a metronome is the best thing you can do !! Work on intonation, but equally as importan tif you want to be gigging is timing. Try recording yourself and then listening back - are you keeping in time with the metronome, or are you racing / dragging. Dont try to play too fast - only u the tempo when you can play something at least 7 times in time/in tune. (theres some sort of research to suggest that once you can do something 7 times, its locked in). A useful exercise is to play something (e.g. a scale) at a slow tempo once, then repeat at double the tempo. if you can do this successfully (i.e. in time / tune) then up the tempo a bit. If you cant (and its really important to be frank with yourself) scale the tempo back a bit.

I have a Stentor Student bass, which I bought as a beginner. After a year or so I got a buzzing on the neck, so took it to a luthier. That was easily remedied, but at the same time I said 'do what ever you think it needs'. He moved the bridge and also the sound post - and its like a different instrument. I also had adjusters put in the bridge so that i could experiment with the action. Taking it to a luthier is the best thing i ever did, and i cant stress what a difference it made - I constantly get remarks about how good the bass sounds (and its the instrument, not the player !)

Apologies if you know the following already but ... Feedback is caused by the pickup attempting to amplify the sound from the speaker - which has already been amplified. You get a swiftly increasing cycle of amplification which produces the familiar feedback sound. Feedback is usually caused by over sensitivty to a particular frequency - and this is the frequency that the feedback produces - so if its a high squeal, there is too much top end, if its a low hum, too much bottom end. One thing you can do is to use a graphic equalizer to cut the frequency which is feeding back - and the more bands you have in your graphic, then the more successful this will be. So if you are getting a low feedback, try experimenting with cutting some of he low frequencies. The trouble with using a graphic to cut the feedback is that is very easy to end up with a thin sound - as you are taking frequencies out of the equation. The other thing you can look at is reducing your on stage sound. If you have a pa, put the bass through that as well as though your on stage amp. You can then reduce he volume of your amp so that it is loud enough for you to hear, but it doesnt have to be loud enough for the audience - they will hear it through the pa. A good preamp is a must - and as other posters have said, if you have a good preamp, then the amp is receiving a strong re signal, so doesnt have to boost it so much, which will mean less feedback potential. A final more radical solution - if you cant put the bass through the pa, put he bass amp/speaker in front of you pointing away from you towards the audience. This will reduce the feedback but of course you wont be able to hear yourself so easily. If this becomes a problem use a second amp set at a quieter volume pointing back at you. If you are using an amp purely for monitoring, then you can position it as close to you as possible. I use a MarkBass Traveller speaker (which is pretty small) on a stand so I can get it close to my ears which means I dont need it excessively loud. Hope this all helps

I've also come across the problem of getting far more tired at gigs than when doing the same amount of practice - and I think that (as suggested by other people) its down to playing too hard o nthe gig! Ive just done a couple where I didnt have proper foldback (they were only small gigs) and I definitely was playing too hard because I couldnt hear myself. Im going to go back to always taking my own amp for foldback, even if its a small gig - then I wont be playing too hard just to hear myself. (Im playing double bass BTW, not EUB ....)