Biscuit_Bass

It feels a lot nicer to play already. He did say he hadn't gone as low as he could because I'm so new to playing. I can always go lower if I feel like trying it further down the line, but it's quite a change from the stock setup the guitar arrived with. Liking it so far!

Yes that's right. Chris informed me upon collection that I can take it back for any adjustments within a month 👍

Aah, in fact it was you that suggested Chris in my other post wasn't it!

You also in the York area then? Seems like a good guy and knows his stuff. Being such a new player I don't really know what my style is yet but I did feel the stock set up was too high and just didn't look right even to me. Immediately feels nicer to play and I think I'll take it back to Chris in 6 months time if I feel anything needs changing.

Hi all, Just got my bass back from a very basic check and adjustment as the instrument is so new. Here's what's been done. Action was the same across all strings at first and has been lowered nicely I think. Does this seem a reasonable action for a beginner?

Hi all, Just wondering if there is a safe way to put a wall mounted stand on a piece of cavity wall/plasterboard that doesn't have any studding. The area where we'd like to have my guitar is where the bathroom pipework runs down inside a piece of cavity wall. Unfortunately no wooden stud to drill into. Can it be done safely? Cheers

I'm just doing what is comfortable for me and avoiding pain. I'd rather do what's comfortable and avoid any injury than force myself to learn 1fpf at this stage. I'm guessing the more I play the more my fingers will naturally loosen up and stretch more, then I can try incorporating 1fpf later on. For now, I just want to learn without hurting myself.

Had my 2nd lesson on Friday and was using 1-2-4 with no issues over the hour long lesson so it's definitely an improvement! Fingers have been a bit sore the following day and today though but I'm assuming that's just DOMS 🤣

Not yet, I'm getting it booked in soon though - the local luthier I spoke to said to play the instrument for a few weeks to get a feel for what I want to change and to let the instrument settle a bit. According to Yamaha's website the stock strings it comes with are D'Addario EXL170 / 0.045-0.100. Yeah I've stopped trying for now and am shifting my hand up and down instead. I don't seem to be getting any pain now that I'm relaxing more.

I think my issue at the moment, being so new to the instrument is the fact that I simply cannot do 1fpf. I'm sure it'll come, but it's just so uncomfortable/painful to even try at this stage. I'll keep trying occasionally, and hopefully as I improve I'll naturally fall into it as my fingers loosen up.

Plugged in. Very similar to these sounds, yes. Is it just something that happens or does my bass need some adjustment?

Wasn't sure what to call this topic but here's my question... When pressing the 5th fret on the G string I can hear in the background what I believe is the harmonic? It's the same sound I get if I lightly touch the same spot, but no matter how hard I press, i can still hear the harmonic coming through very faintly in the background. I also seem to get quite a lot of background noise from the other strings even though I'm not touching them. Is this a set up issue? Many thanks.

Thanks for the replies and suggestions everyone. I took the day off yesterday to rest my hands and picked up my bass again today. I just experimented with what felt comfortable for me. I tried something very simple (with or without you by U2) to get used to shifting my hand up and down the fret board, and then started learning the C major scale. I tried to keep my wrist straight and relaxed and experimented with different thumb positions to keep things comfortable and also kept things slow. As many of you have suggested, I'll take a look at the simandi technique and try using my thumb as a pivot more tomorrow. Things are feeling much more comfortable after practice today, so I think that's a good sign. I'm not going to get tied up with 1fpf and instead work on position shifting of my hand to achieve the same result with 1-2-4

I'm going to be phoning up on Monday to get it booked in for a set up. The person I spoke with said to wait a week or two and let the instrument settle before I take it in, but that's going to be the next step. The action does seem a little on the high side to me, but I don't really know anything about it so it's kind of a wild guess! I think the stock strings are "medium" but I might swap them for some lights, at least for now.

I've tried to position it fairly high up, to try and keep the wrist as straight as possible, with the neck at a 45 degree angle and in the same position seated and standing. My practice is largely spent seated, but I've tried to adjust the strap so that it is as close as possible to the same seated and standing. I'm trying not to spend more than 15-20 minutes at most practicing. That time is spent focussing on keeping my wrist and hand as relaxed as possible, paying attention to my thumb position and what works for me to reduce the discomfort as much as possible. I've seen a few videos saying to keep the thumb in line with the middle finger, but others saying to position it where it is sticking to the "neutral position" which might be pointing towards the headstock, allowing for a straightened wrist.

Hi all, So as a total beginner who's been experiencing discomfort in my fretting wrist (I have weak joints in my wrists anyway), I have started looking for videos/posts addressing the problem. The majorty of them say to slow things right down, and literally focus on fretting a single note with each finger in turn to first build up strength. For example, 3rd fret on the E string with index, middle, ring, pinkie in turn, before even thinking about trying to do 1 finger per fret. With the vast array of online tuition these days, many of them seem to be getting the complete beginner playing tunes as soon as possible (by the end of the first lesson in many cases). For me, I have found many of the basslines a bit of a stretch (literally) which has been causing me pain and discomfort because I'm focussing on playing the tune, rather than good technique and finding a comfortable way of fretting. So, should these online courses be cut into bite size chunks and more attention be paid to the VERY basics for a longer period of time? Of course I would like to be playing basslines ASAP but I feel like it's going to be much more of a benefit to sort out my fretting arm,hand and wrist to try and get it relaxed as possible in various positions. What advice do you all have and would you agree with the above? Many thanks

I would say it's more like a burning ache than sharp pain. Similar to when you hold your arms out to your side for a long time and your shoulder tenses up and aches badly. I'll practice fretting single notes as you suggest, and try for each finger in turn. You're correct about it being a 4 string. Yamaha TRBX304. I tried a couple in gear4music and the TRBX304 felt most comfortable and has a slightly narrower neck which helps, but still aching quite a lot. The guitar is also set up out of the box and to me the action seems quite high. Would that be contributing to my difficulties? I'm going to take it to a luthier after I've played it for a couple of weeks so any adjustments can be made. I'm thinking it might help to lower it a touch. Cheers

Thanks for the reply. Is that 45 degrees up and away from my body? Or just raised up by 45 degrees? Cheers

Hi all, So I haven't been playing long at all, literally a few days, so it may just be that I'm being impatient but here's the problem I'm having.... I try to maintain a straight wrist and a relaxed position with my fretting hand but I'm finding it extremely difficult to do... everything just hurts. Even starting on the 5th fret I struggle to place 1 finger per fret and I find my wrist bending in weird ways to try and reach the strings and it causes quite a lot of pain in my wrist as a result. Is this just my body not being used to playing guitar? Is this something a lot of new players experience and what are some good practice methods to try and help and keep everything relaxed? Many thanks

Hi all, Just wondering what you all use to clean the various parts of your guitar. Cheers

It would just be for an initial check/set up on a brand new guitar (my first bass) and that's only a 5 minute drive from me so sounds perfect!

Hi all, Can anyone recommend a luthier in York? I've spotted a couple about a 45 minute drive away but wondered if there's any in/around town that other members have used. Cheers

Thanks everyone for the replies. I'm liking the look of the semi rigid options so I'll have a closer look at some of those and see which I like.