TheLowDown

Every day for the last year and a bit during my warm up exercises, I've been practising permutations to the metronome at a current 200bpm, keeping each finger as close to the fingerboard as is possible while applying the absolute minimum pressure before fret buzz occurs. I think a lot of the technique for this transfers into other areas of the bass. As rightly stated by DiMarco, it really helps to make the flying finger disappear (within 6-12 months it will). The less the fingers have to travel, the less fatigue over time. It trains the fingers to develop equal strength (there is a tendency for people to concentrate on their strengths rather than developing their weaknesses, so often this means that people will avoid doing things that use their little finger, preferring to use the simandl technique instead)

Mine is like background noise so I'm unaware of it most of the time. Like breathing, as one person has said. It may or may not be directly as a result of diet, but diet affects stress levels and mood, of which definitely has an effect on the intensity of the ringing. High stress, loud ringing. So best to stay from sugary things and to reduce caffeine intake. Jaw issues can also make it worse.

I'm using them now, and not found any reason not to recommend them. Price is reasonable when they're on sale. I don't know what they're like for slap because I've no intention of ever finding out

My heaviest is a 6 string HB at 9.9lb. The HB 4 strings were somewhere between 7 and 8lb. Not sure about the 5 string. Being lightweight is important, but balance is importanter.

Nah don't worry. I would only have been offended if you'd said they were Fenders.

They're all Harley Bentons from the progressive range. Cheap Inexpensive and cheerful but they do me. The one on the left is this.

The white one. If I gave up bass but later decided to return, I would be less likely to want to pick up a fretless, a 5 string or a 6 string.

I would keep the precision and sell all of the jazzes given that's your favourite. What can the jazz do that the precision can't that you absolutely need? Probably nothing, so there's your answer. Doing a Marie Kondo with basses is always empowering because you'll be down to what you need rather than having lots of baggage around the house which could be sold and spent on something genuinely more useful. Before I sell something I always have a twinge of "What if I regret it later?", "But it's so attractive looking though", "What if it will comes in useful later on?", "What if....?", but experience has told me that I never miss anything I sell, and once it's out the door it's forgotten. Life goes on and the world keeps turning. I've mentioned elsewhere in a similar thread, I always ask myself "if this bass was the only one I had, would I be contented?" If the answer is not "yes", then it gets sold. It's often an illusion to believe that we really need something, and it's often the case that we keep things because we just want to own them. In my case, every one of my 5 basses is functional for my uses at this time - 4 string fretted, 4 string fretless, 5 string fretted, 6 string fretted and fretless. If I gave up bass, then all but one would be sold. They're good enough and each serves a specific purpose, and that's fine with me.

The difference in actual quality between inexpensive and expensive is usually minimal nowadays because of the costs of labour and high level of machining, so you really don't have to spend much to get a decent quality bass on a budget. What you could do if you're undecided between fretted and fretless is get 2 basses identical to each other, but one is fretted and one is fretless. Both of these are quite lightweight around 8lb or under.

Just listening to it now and really quite like it. The track 'No other feeling' reminds slightly of Rainy Milo. Thanks for the recommendation.

Just sell what you don't need. Lots of people get GAS and end up with about 200 basses, most being bought because they liked the colour that day or they had a crap day at the office and wanted something to cheer them up. I find it's refreshing to have a clear out, but beforehand I always have the feeling that I will miss them for one reason or another, but I never do. It's an illusion. And once they're sold I never give them a second thought. For each bass you should ask yourself if this was the only bass you had, would you be content? If the answer is NO, get rid. For the OP. I would put it to one side for a while.

You've cut down your range of choice by a significant percentage then. I doubt that there is many, if any, company that has an unblemished human rights record when you dig down through the supply chains, whatever BS they give you about their corporate ethics. I would go for a Harley Benton because they're inexpensive and I've never found a reason not to recommend one.

This? https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notes-sight-reading-trainer/id874386416

Money saved, unless you're a collector.

Still a big fan of Joy Division.

One exercise I do is to set the metronome to something like 13/4, but have it so that only the 1st beat is audible. Start off at a tempo of 90 and play a note when you think the 1st beat is, so you have to train your internal sense of rhythm to guess where each pulse is. In another exercise you can try guessing the 3rd and 12th beat. Or decrease the tempo. You can also try playing each of the standard basic building-block sudivisions such as these, but play the same one on each beat for several measures. After you've learnt them and got the timing right, play each one randomly when you're jamming. Hope it helps.

Incredible value for money, so I bought the B650 and B450 too.

If you can't hear intervals that well, so what. People aren't born knowing them, and it often takes work to become good. It's something that you can gradually improve upon. Think baby steps, then there's no mountain to climb. Personally I don't aim to be the best bassist there is because it's never going to happen and it's not important anyway, I just aim to become the best that I can and to enjoy myself along the way. The problem with a lot of people is that it's always tempting to compare with someone else (don't take too much notice of social media, kids. Full of fake and carefully pruned lives), and they feel demotivated because there is always someone 'better'.You may see people who seem to be good, but you won't see all the hard work and pain that they've gone through to get there, and it can give the impression as if it's come naturally to them. Good luck.

It's not. I didn't say that it's complicated. I said it's more complicated compared to 4 string. Big difference, except to some. Whereas Doddy says "I also don't think that it particularly complicates the navigation of the fingerboard. Once you've spent a bit of time learning the notes on the added strings there's not much extra thinking involved.". Ah that's OK then, so there is no added complication when playing a 6 string compared to a 4 string? Nope, because Doddy reassures me that: "At least nothing that an hour or two in the practice room learning the notes won't sort out.". Wow, that was quick!! Otherwise it shows that his understanding of the fretboard leaves a lot to be desired, and which perfectly explains his views. Anyone unfortunate to read Doddy's guide to the 6 string for advice is going to be very misinformed.

Well that's one reason why I chose unlined.

So I would be better using a fretwrap rather than trying to become the best I can be at muting. Fair enough.

I didn't say that either. 🤦‍♂️

I prefer to go higher rather than lower to avoid bending the wrist on my fretting hand, and tilt the neck at 45 degrees so that my plucking hand is kept as straight as possible. I'm not in the game to look cool, but to keep playing as long as I can without health issues.

I prefer not to use 'crutches' because I think muting should come from the player. The only time I think they come in handy is for tapping or slapping, but I don't go there.

That's not what I said. Sorry for my "ignorance". Please educate on where I'm wrong so I can learn from your greater knowledge?