TheLowDown

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