TheLowDown

My best was a HB 6 string bass. Fantastic value for money and introduced me to 6 strings, and it's only around 9lb in weight.. For me it's a great learning opportunity and reason to push myself even harder.

I never bothered to learn to play slap because I never found it very musical.

101 Bass tips by Gary Willis. There's nothing in there that you can't find out online but there's some really useful tips that are explained in detail. I always prefer the practical approach.

Yeah, I understand. Many people say that the weight of the bass gives it a feeling of quality and of being substantial. My back, however, doesn't care for such things.

I listen to everything for the sake of learning different genres for the bass, but for pleasure most of those genres don't tend to get listened to.

I always liked Joy Division. Ian Curtis really suited the music, but he couldn't sing for toffee. A classically trained or even a good singer would have been very much out of place.

Favourite rock, eh? As an amateur geologist, I would have to say labradorite.

I personally wouldn't worry about it because it doesn't affect playability. With wood you will always get some sort of variation. I could probably understand it if the bass was expensive because it would affect resale value, but otherwise I don't think it's of much importance. But that's just me. It's almost like a mark of distinction, so it may be something that you grow to like.

The one major thing that really puts me off is heavy weight. Things such as the pickups, the strings, and even the fretboard can be changed if necessary, but often the weight and the weight distribution is not that easy to change. I tend to prefer a lightweight bass, but it's shame that the weight is rarely mentioned. Another thing that would put me off is side markers on fretless basses that are in the same place as that of a fretted.

That's a good price. I paid a little over £15 for the EXL170s

I believe much of it is brand name, custom makes, and frills. Fender, for example, charge much more than they're worth because of their history. Yet their quality is not that good in comparison to the likes of Ibanez, Cort(who make most of the basses in the East) and Sire. When there is a genuine reason why something is priced more, it will be often be because of the electronics, not because of "quality finishing" and other marketing terms.

I think a 3.75inch wide soft leather strap is ideal. It grips well even when used on a 6 string. When i see them on Amazon or eBay they rarely show the underside and tghe edges, but that's the most important part as it shows the material that will grip(or not).

I love inexpensive basses too. Manufacturing is at such a high level these days that you can get a really good quality instrument for under £200.

"Don't play the butter notes". -Miles Davis as quoted by Herbie Hancock.

The way I see it, at its simplest level use the Mixolydian for dominant chords, Locrian for (half) diminished chords, Dorian for minor chords, and Ionian for major chords. The others(Lydian for major chords, and Aeolian and Phrygian for minor chords) are used for 'colour'. You can get an idea of the different colour of each mode by playing them all from the same root note. Don't think of Ionian starting on C, Dorian beginning on D and so on. If you remember and understand the modes in terms of their scale degree and how it is different to the major scale. For example Dorian is the major scale but with flat 3rd and flat 7th. I personally wouldn't focus too much on modes, but just be aware that they're there as a tool to be used for musical colour, especially if you want to solo. Practicing 7th chord arpeggios for major, minor, dominant, and half diminished chords is far more important imo. That's most of what you'll ever need for almost all gigs and in almost all genres.

Thanks for the welcome, guys 👋.

Hey all, I'm Jeff. I've been playing the bass now and again for a little over 15 years and picked it up again earlier this year during lockdown. Still learning and improving - no gigs but I'm hoping to join a band when conditions are more favourable. I play a 4 string, but very recently picked up a 6 string to experiment with chords and solos one day. Happy to meet you all! J