Hobbies

[krsmith16]

“Cheaper than Peef”

That has a special ring to it. I think everyone should start using it in everyday conversation.

 

[rome8180]

I like medium or even thin gauge myself. But most guitarists I know swear by heavy gauge.

 

[physicsfactor]

I have never been able to play bass well with a pick.

 

[rome8180]

I only do it for certain situations (fast metal picking, recordings where I want a particular crisp sound).

 

[rhfarmer]

I play almost exclusively with a pick. I like 'em thicc.

As for GAS, I don't feel like I'm missing anything, and I don't really shop for stuff. Once you have a great cabinet with great tone, you're set. I used to have all the pedals and shit, but good tone wins in the end. You may not like my sound, but I have a sound

 

[rhfarmer]

I will add, if you are playing out, it's smart to have a back up rig--at minimum a head or combo unit in case your main unit goes on the fritz.

I also have a second guitar ready, which I either use for tuned down songs or for back up in case something happens to my main guitar.

ETA, so basically, there's no need for GAS, until you have acquired 2 of every instrument, requisite amp and head, cable, strap, etc., that you might ever want to play.

 

[TS9]

I've gone through phases of GAS but it's not a permanent thing for me. I used to have a pedal fetish, and I was buying and selling them like crazy, but I've moved away from that. And I only have two proper amps – a Fender Deluxe Reverb and a Vox AC-15 – that I don't even play through all that much anymore.

I'm not an analog purist, so a couple years ago I invested in a Line 6 Helix, which is beyond sufficient for my meager recording and occasional live needs. Having that pretty much zapped my desire for physical amps and pedals, at least for the time being.

Guitars themselves are another story. I am constantly looking and convincing myself I need more. I currently have 11 of them, including one that I built, as well as some pretty niche iterations like an electric 12-string and an old acoustic that I keep in high-strung or "Nashville" tuning. A handful of my guitars are fairly pricey, but I'm pretty good with setups and intermediate-level maintenance and repair, so I commonly buy used or mid-priced guitars and fix them up.

 

[rome8180]

@rhfarmer I just got a Ampeg Pf50t. It's a 50 watt tube amp modeled on the classic Ampeg portaflex amps. The sound is incredible in its clarity (though you can also get a nice overdrive if you crank it). 50 watts doesn't sound like much, but paired with the right cab it's surprisingly loud. Plus a clear sound with a lot of mids cuts through the mix well. And I am mostly playing at home anyway.

All that said, I still want an SVT Classic with an 810 stack. To me, this is the holy grail of bass amps. If I could find a solid state I liked even half as much, I would go that route because it's a lot cheaper. But I don't think one exists for what I want.

I also want a V4B with a midsized cab (maybe a 212) so that I don't have to lug around a refrigerator sized setup all the time. I might try that before the SVT actually. If it's loud enough for my needs, I'll stop there. Maybe.

 

[rome8180]

This is the only thing making me happy right now. Easily the best piece of musical equipment I've ever owned.

 

[rome8180]

Man, I would estimate over the last three months I've played bass an average of four hours a day. I've gone through various phases of huge improvement and various phases of hitting my head against a wall. I suddenly had a big breakthrough today about the way I pick (which part of my fingers), which part of the strings I pick, and how I keep my tone knobs. Now I wish it wasn't 10 pm here so I could explore my discoveries further.

 

[TS9]

Sounds like it's time for you to head to YouTube and watch videos titled "HOW TO GET THE ONLY BASS TONE YOU'LL EVER NEED!!!" and listen to some braying idiot tell you everything you've painstakingly figured out is dead wrong.

 

[rome8180]

I am specifically thinking of one dude (a British guy who does Scott's Bass Lessons) when you say that. He's got 630,000 subscribers despite being sort of shitty at his instrument, only liking Precision basses, and playing with a weird white glove.

 

[TS9]

I am specifically thinking of one dude (a British guy who does Scott's Bass Lessons) when you say that. He's got 630,000 subscribers despite being sort of shitty at his instrument, only liking Precision basses, and playing with a weird white glove.

Haha I've seen the glove guy. I agree, he's not a particularly noteworthy player. Certainly not good enough to pontificate about it the way he does.

 

[rome8180]

I mean, he can play fast. But that's not the same thing as well. I like people who can lay down a coherent groove.

 

[rome8180]

Here's something I made tonight instead of watching the game. It's all bass except for a drum loop. It sounds pretty good if you listen on headphones, but pretty distorted if you listen on your computer speakers.

@rhfarmer and a few others might enjoy it. I've been working on a bunch of "all bass" tracks under the band name Bass of Ace.

 

[rome8180]

It sounded WAY better before I exported it. Oh well.

 

[childress22]

I like the first Bass of Ace one on your Soundcloud, too. Without the drums the layered basses seem to take up more space.

 

[rhfarmer]

@rome8180 you're inspiring me to lay down all the songs that are floating around in my head.

I'm always torn between learning insane bass lines like "Show Me How To Live" by Audioslave and recording my own stuff and improving it over time.

Your stuff is lovely, and it's pretty clear you should be learning how to play guitar as well. Your ideas are slightly confined by only playing the bass.

 

[rome8180]

I like the first Bass of Ace one on your Soundcloud, too. Without the drums the layered basses seem to take up more space.

Thanks. That one was recorded on Garage Band instead of Logic, and without any kind of preamp, so it sounds pretty shitty. Thinking about re-recording it to sound better.

A lot of the other songs on there are just stuff from my high school band from 20 years ago.

 

[rome8180]

@rhfarmer but guitar strings are just so damned close together. I get that they're that way so the neck isn't eight inches wide, but it makes hard to play.