[quote name='EssentialTension' timestamp='1366820642' post='2057674']
If I do play a bass in a shop I almost never play songs. I play every note up and down each string and see how it sounds, acoustically first and then, maybe, plugged in.
Try playing by the neck, playing by the bridge, etc. etc. but not songs usually. I'm checking out the bass not doing a gig.
[/quote]
thats what i do too, but mostly because i forget everything i ever learned the second i pick up a bass in a shop.