Yeah, tbh the pedals are mainly for guitar and I don’t use many effects with bass, anyway. Just some compression and occasionally a little overdrive, but I can live without.
Generally I agree with this but it depends on what I’m playing. I’m doing one atm using OD, flange, delay, and reverb.
Don’t try to learn them all. Pick a solid core that you will be most comfortable playing by the time things start. (Looks like they gave you that.)
For improvisation, I’d just worry about real simple stuff in a common structure. If they’re mostly classic rock, know the basic 12-bar blues progression. Maybe have a sense of how to grab a few extra color notes within that framework. The box shape of Root - 5th below - flat 7th will carry you very far.
Ask if they drink. Bring a 6-pack to share if they do.
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One piece of advice is to be on time
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As my old Flight Sergeant used to say
“Gentlemen, on time is late, early is on time”
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My current go to bass pedals; a bit of grit or sweetness and some modulation, plus a Leslie simulator if I want it. I have a wah pedal I can add also.
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I would suggest remebering to breathe and relax. Avoid any weed or booze. Enjoy the rush.
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Another thing. There will be people in the audience who have wanted to learn how to play and you may be what finally gets them motivated to pony up and jump in. Above all else, the experience will open doors in your mind and body.
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I’m not a huge country fan (it’s not in my top-3 genres) but a good song in any genre is still a good song. I love the mood of Seminole Wind.
Bring a bottled water or something to drink.
My, play with a drummer and guitarist once a week sessions around similar to this. Songs without complex rhythms work best on the beginning - Where most of the notes are relatively evenly spaced 1/4 and 1/8 notes, and it’s easy to hold the groove and stay with what you can comfortably do for a few weeks. After you get comfortable playing with others is the time to try more difficult stuff. Listen to the drummer for (usually) the 1 & 3 on the bass drum, the 2 & 4 on the snare and the hi-hats on every 1/8 note. Most drummers will do something to indicate changing between sections (intro, verse, chorus, bridge, outro etc).
As someone else mentioned - watch the rhythm guitarist for when the chord changes are happening.
Playing with others has really made me grow as a bassist. Hoping you have a blast and can’t wait to do it again!
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Thanks again for the advice, everyone! Someone had an emergency so the jam’s postponed until next weekend, but that’ll give me more time to work on Mary Jane’s Last Dance (I have the main riff down but the chorus needs work), and maybe the two “bonus” songs. The other three songs I have memorized at least on a basic level, though I’m not necessarily hitting all the little grace notes and fills.
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Update: did the jam last Sunday and it was fun! Hopefully I’ll be invited back. There were three others this time, two guitarists and a drummer. They said that there are a couple others that also sometimes come, it’s somewhat variable.
I didn’t know most of the songs, but they told me the chords and I just stuck to root/third/fifth/octaves and a rhythm pattern that I thought sounded right. Knowing the fretboard helped, and I leaned on the stuff from Module 15 a lot. I obviously did much better on the songs I practiced, though.
Next time I’ll bring a notebook, it would help a lot to be able to write down the chord changes.
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So, I think I might have joined a band? Another guy contacted me through my Craigslist ad and watched my YouTube videos, and I met up with him and another guy today. They haven’t played out since Covid and are trying to put a band back together, but used to play at a bunch of bars and clubs in the area.
They still need a drummer and maybe a keyboardist, but they’re going to send me a setlist and a handful of songs to start learning, and we’ll get together in about a week and start practicing. Thanks again for all the advice, everyone!
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That’s awesome, congrats! Definitely let us know the set list.
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Awesome-sauce!
Curious, how long since you started playing and/or started the B2B course? More than the second lesson as the joke usually goes?
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It’s been a little over a year from start until now. I started B2B in the first week of September 2025 and aimed for about a module per week, and ended up finishing in 5 months. Since then I’ve been learning full songs and working on the Groove Trainer over on Talking Bass (nearly done with Volume 1 BTW), and also did a second pass of B2B but with a pick.
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Here’s the songs we’re going to work on for next week. Decent picks, 3 of them I wanted to learn anyway:
- Keep your Hands to yourself
- All Right Now
- Hootchie Cootchie Man (in E)
- Wicked Games
And regarding pedals, they asked if I used them when I met with them the other night. I said I had a couple I sometimes used and they were like “Great! Bring them!” They said they preferred bassists that used effects and could vary their sound for different songs. Now I’ll have to mount them on a board, I’ve never had to transport them before.
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Ive always loved Wicked Game. Not sure why. I think I’ve only tried playing once, though.
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Obviously not my approach, but this method of pedalboard minimalism is awesome.
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