What are you struggling with?

[Glenn]

Maybe she was I bit too breathy also.

[John_E]

@Barney

She’s lying to try and impress you in the hope that you will ask her out. Happened a lot to me when I was in my 20s.

I believe this is now called Facebook and Instagram

[joergkutter]

@antonio

Oh, and I had a chat with an attractive lady

@antonio

4. plays jazz piano

Drop that slapping and learn how to walk now

[MikeC]

@joergkutter

@antonio

Oh, and I had a chat with an attractive lady

@antonio

4. plays jazz piano

Drop that slapping and learn how to walk now

Now that’s some valuable advice, @joergkutter!

[antonio]

I knew I would get solid advice here!

Now , I’m off to practice walking bass…

[MikeC]

@antonio

I knew I would get solid advice here!

Now , I’m off to practice walking bass…

Good man. That’s the shortest distance to a jazz pianist’s heart

[TheFrator]

@Celticstar

I agree with what @joergkutter said about how little pressure you actually need, assuming your action and neck relief are setup properly.

I use a strap sitting or standing and can fret notes without putting my thumb on the back of the neck at all. I do not play like that but it proves how little pressure you need to fret a string and get a clean note.

I didn’t practice at all yesterday but throughout the day I focused on relaxing my hands when doing mundane things. And doing so definitely transferred to fretting the bass. I’ve also worked on not being so forceful with the frets and I’m starting to subconsciously apply the right amount of force.

I carry a lot of tension in my hands probably because I workout a fair amount and having loose hands is not wise. Thanks again for the tip @joergkutter

@antonio

Super nice bass you have, that had to be said, too!

Thank you!

[Celticstar]

@John_E

I believe this is now called Facebook and Instagram

[Wombat-metal]

My struggle today is with rounds. I have a set of DR Pure Blues n my TBass, and it really sounds good, however, it’s tearing up my plucking hand to the point I bleed when I practice. I really don’t want to slap on flats, and my picking is atrocious (but I pick fine on my guitar). I’m just fighting it. Ugh

[MikeC]

Sorry to hear about your rounds-plucking problem.

I’m a lifelong rounds guy when fingerpicking guitar, and a finger plucker on bass. Not sure why rounds are tearing you up.

Maybe just backing off on your attack and turning up your amp might help?

[howard]

Yeah - this does not seem normal. I never even got callouses from bass, much less bled.

[2ideas]

Hi … my struggle is that playing live is SO different to practicing at home, it feels like all my technique goes out the window. The small practice amp speaker - so controllable and articulate. Once on a stage with more power, bigger speakers, lively room more adrenaline and perhaps nerves etc, I tend to over - play, ie put too much energy in. Its a different world. Ive been doing it a while, and still looking for good technique on stage

Follow up: Since posting this, I was watching a video on youtube by Ivanbass, on improving live sound, and got me thinking about how I am rarely in the PA on gigs, as they are not usually huge places, but I would probably benefit from DI to the PA, and lower stage volume.

[antonio]

Hi @2ideas!

I know what you mean, a loud amp or setup makes you hear all those small things much better. On my practice amp, I play so quietly that the neighbours don’t get bothered… which is far too quiet to hear resonating strings or check my muting.

Maybe you can try to play more with headphones or in ears to check for that. And please watch your stage volume to avoid hearing damage

Cheers,
Antonio

PS: have a look at the threads “Introduce yourself” and “Show us your basses”

[Celticstar]

@2ideas

Once on a stage with more power, bigger speakers, lively room more adrenaline and perhaps nerves etc, I tend to over - play, ie put too much energy in. Its a different world. Ive been doing it a while, and still looking for good technique on stage

Just keep it simple.

Check out the video of @travis.thepadre.reed at an open mic session in the An Adventure thread on the forum. He’s doing it the right way to start, and having a blast by the looks of it. IMHO.

[Wombat-metal]

Today’s struggle is recording/ Spent about 3 hours trying to record my bass and have little to show for it, just one wav file where the bass is so low you can barely hear it. The software is not intuitive, and yes I look at the helpful videos here and elsewhere

[Barney]

If you’re using GarageBand @Wombat-metal I can help you. If it’s PC then I have no idea.

[JerryP]

We’re all here to help. Give us some insight as to how you have things set up.

[Wombat-metal]

@Barney

If you’re using GarageBand @Wombat-metal I can help you. If it’s PC then I have no idea.

Nope, PC, thanks for offering

@JerryP

We’re all here to help. Give us some insight as to how you have things set up.

Pretty simple setup. Bass plugged directly into s Scarlett 2i2 which is connected to Presonus Studio 1 6 on my laptop. I was trying to catch the sound of the bass with as little sound modification as possible.

[Barney]

I use the Scarlett Solo. Similar controls.

So troubleshooting then. The inst / gain knob controls how hot the signal is going into your DAW. When you play a note the ring around the knob displays a colour. Green is good, orange is starting to break up / clip and Red is too hot and it’ll be distorted.

You’re aiming to have the gain set to when it’s mainly green when you play but if you pluck a string really hard it’ll go orange.

That ensures you have enough signal going into your DAW that you can work with.

The monitor knob controls the overall volume in your headphones / monitors. It has nothing to do with how loud the signal is going to the DAW.

If you know all of this then move on

[antonio]

Hi @tgross,

Welcome to the forum! I hear you with that struggle, sometimes I get lost and the kickdrum would be a nice marker. Have you considered counting bars or how many bars you play to find more guidance?

Also, post here to introduce yourself to the forum in general: Introduce Yourself! (2023)

Cheers,
Antonio