I have my Ampeg BA108 amp, which is starting to show a few weaknesses and is really limited in terms of power and sound quality.

I found 3 used amps that caught my attention.

A Fender Rumble 100 for 250 euros. (practically new)

A Rumble 200 for 280 euros. (3 years of use)

A Hartke A100 for 160 euros. (more than 10 years of use)

My budget would push me toward the Hartke, but I’m worried about the age of the components such as the capacitors, etc. The weight also concerns me. On the other hand, I love the look, the 7-band EQ, and the 15-inch speaker.

I came across the Rumble 100 listing and considered it because the price seems reasonable for the quality of the product.

Then I found the Rumble 200, which currently seems to have the best value for money, with the 15-inch speaker, built-in overdrive, manageable weight, and the possibility of playing later with a drummer or several musicians.

So I’m hesitating, knowing that at the moment about 80% of my playing time will be in my garage at moderate or even low volume.

I play blues, funk, rock, and jazz.

Thanks in advance.

Hello bass community, I have a somewhat silly question.

I started my musical journey as a bassist, studying at a fairly low-budget conservatory in my city.

Eventually, I managed to get my own bass — a cheap one — but after studying for three years, I decided it was time to take the next step, enroll in a university, and take music seriously.

Originally, I had two main focuses. Electric bass was the instrument I dedicated most of my time to, in order to properly understand music theory. Eventually, I explored the broader world of music through a DAW. I bought an audio interface and a MIDI controller, and someone gifted me a budget electric guitar, which I really enjoyed because it allowed me to keep exploring.

Now that I’m about to begin my university studies and this is becoming serious, I’ve been wondering whether I should buy an amplifier or invest in studio monitors and listen to my bass through my interface>a virtual amp>and the monitors.

I’ve seen studio monitors that are cheaper than amplifiers, and all this time at home I’ve been practicing this way, connecting headphones to my audio interface.

Over time, I plan to buy both, because even though my main focus is bass and it is the instrument I enjoy the most, my broader goal in music is experimentation and creating music for video games or films — or at least that is my objective.

My question is: which do you think would be the better first purchase — studio monitors or a bass amplifier — in order to continue this beautiful musical journey?

I find it really hard to play the high register of the bass, from the 12th fret and on. My fingers hurt a lot and my pinky barely reaches the lowest strings. So, is there any finger exercises (apart from normal playing) to get better at playing that part of the fretboard?

Recently, I have been practicing older songs that had a more thumpy sound to it. I put a sponge under my strings and against the bridge as recommended to get that sound but now it doesn't sound as full and more empty. I see other covers on youtube with those who have the same setup and their sound seems much more full. I have a Ibanez TMB just for reference.

The tension is fine everywhere else, but on the head its raised higher than the others, so it cannot stay in tune, and it buzzes always.

I'm thinking about getting an acoustic bass, mostly for traveling and playing where there's no electricity. Any recommendations?

Any genre, just has to be bass-heavy. Drop some suggestions!

So I'm modifying an RB 414 bass and I need some help.

I've already changed the bridge PU to a Seymour Duncan SJB-2B and I love the sound. My next step is changing the nut to a Graph Tech TUSQ XL PT-1242-00 and I want to change the bridge to an Allparts ricky-style bridge.

Anyone have any recommendations or thoughts about the Allparts bridge? Maybe you've done the same mod?

Any other thoughts on this mod are welcome to, but I mainly seek advice on the bridge change. I want to avoid drilling as much as possible.

I have an active bass and a pedalboard that started to have an electrical hiss. I bought a new power supply and the hiss was still there. At the end it was a li-on battery in my active bass. An expensive mistake. Did anyone try to power an active bass with a li-on battery? Was this a rookie mistake?

I got my hands on a Yamaha RBX 6JM Dream Theater Signature more or less by chance.

It was the bass of the old bass player in the band I play in for a few years now and when we had to move to a new rehearsal room, it was the one thing without an owner. We reached out to him, but he does not want to come and pick it up, so now its mine I guess.

It has not been played in close to a decade, but it still holds the tune alright and apart from a lot of grime on it and a broken cable jack I already changed, it works alright.

It has a light buzz whenever I turn to using only one of the pickups and it has a slight curve to the neck.

What should I do to fix it up nice again? I have a great bass already, a Sandberg Carlifornia II TM5 MN BKB, but I would love to add a six string to my arsenal. Should I perform any upgrades, I am happy to spend up to 500€ to get it into nice condition once more. What things should I tackle first.

Thanks for advice or tips :)

I think mine would be happy about how I take care of them, but wish we would play live from time to time

I've been playing for 21 years off-and-on. I own a Ray34, a Squier CV 70s P, and two Ibanez (SR-300 and 405). I squirreled away cash every paycheck for a long time and I'm soon to invest in my first "big boy" bass.

I love my Ray34 and thr 405 more than the others (to the point of wanting to get rid of them). Right now, the choices are a dual pickup 5 string Stingray (or Bongo) or a 5-String Dingwall D-Roc. It's a tough choice for me, but I wonder if it's obvious and I'm over thinking it.

I play a mix of different rock genres (including metal), but I often get tapped on the shoulder to play Muse live (my cousin's main bassist hates them for some reason). Given the above, which of the basses would more fit my style, and/or which would you automatically pick up? I've tried and loved both (all three?).

Thank you so much for your time.

I have a 2018 Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass V. I saved up all through high school to get it. I have had it for eight years now, but i hardly ever play it. It just kinda… falls flat. It has all the bells and whistles, but the tone and feel are just really uninspiring. Plus it just feels sticky. The neck and strings don’t glide like every other bass i have had and the strings grip my plucking fingers like rubber. Right now it has La Bella flats on it but i have had a veariety of rounds on it too and no matter what it just feels really sluggish and sticky to play. Im gonna try DR Legend flats (my fav bass strings) and put some time in really setting it up, but im not confident it’s gonna change the soul of the instrument. I play my 73 Musicmaster bass and a $200 “Vintage” brand P Bass a LOT more than the jazz. They are just better instruments.

Y’all know what i mean? It should be an amazing bass but it’s just really boring to play.

Any tips on how to make it feel more slick like my other basses would be appreciated.

Edit: the neck itself is fine. It already has a smooth satin finish and is not sticky. What i am trying to describe is a mysterious, cant-put-your-finger-on-it type of issue. Its mostly the strings that feel “sticky” but it has always felt that way regardless of the strings that are on it, so i’m hesitant to say its the specific strings. It’s almost as if the bass itself makes the strings sticky. It sort of accentuates the sticking effects of any sweat or hand gunk.

a while ago i reached a plataeu (i cant spell well) and i quit, but i really wanna take it up again. i've forgotten some of my old skills. other than daily practice, what would help? should i practice easy songs, or push myself?

https://youtu.be/0UBKh_pGC7w

Hey fellow bassists,

I’ve been training for over a year and got an itch to buy a second bass. I imagine it’s not an exactly uncommon experience so I’d like to hear your stories and opinions.

In my specific case I have a squier affinity jazz bass and a yamaha trbx504 caught my eye. I’ve been to a store to try it and I liked playing it. I can of course recognize that it has a better feature set and it felt really good in my hands (plus I love how it looks). But I love my current bass and think it sounds good so I am wondering if getting the yamaha is worth the investment. And since I have actual experience with only one instrument I thought I’d ask you lot.

Hi Guys, needed some help from you all! I am looking to change the PJ pickups on my Yamaha bb434. The stock are really dynamic and nice but I find it has a tad more treble and lesser low-mid/ lows so it doesn’t really sound like a typical fender P bass on the first 3 sabbath albums. For full clarity, I’m primarily a metal and classic rock player with the occasional blues, motown and jazz tones. Think sabbath, Metallica, megadeth, slayer, death, Mercyful fate, carcass etc I’ve tried to EQ to get it close but doesn’t really sound like the traditional P bass sound.

Hence, I was looking at the EMG geezer butler PJ pickups for that sabbath bass tone. Or maybe even the dimarzio Model P/J or the Seymour Duncan SPB2.

But specifically with the EMG geezer butler PJ
1. Is it an easy pickup swap without any modifications on the Yamaha bb434? I know I would need to change the pots etc.
2. If I didn’t like the EMG, possible to change it back to stock without any modifications?
3. Finally, and more importantly, is it really worth the change? I feel like the BB stock YGD v5 pickups are really versatile and a clean tone platform. From the tones I’ve heard, it seems like it has a bit more midrange and low end than the yamaha stock but it seems bright compared to the tone on the first 3 sabbath albums although not as bright as the Yamaha stock. Also, I felt it sounded less dynamic and probably has more gain/ grunt which leads me to believe that it wouldn’t sound that good clean vs let’s say a fender P bass pickup but seems to be amazing for anything with gain. Would I lose the versatility I have with the stock? And am I just missing a trick here with tweaking, maybe a darkglass vintage microtubes pedal?

I also have a tech 21 Sansamp bass driver di v2.

Thank you all for your help!

Im running out of songs to recommend to my bass teacher and need help!!

He learns everything by ear, so it 1) can’t be extremely complex and 2) bass has to be pretty prominent

Some songs we’ve done in the past is
-Stevie wonder: isn’t she lovely, sir duke, I wish
-pink Floyd: money, another brick in the wall
- genesis: no reply at all
-rhcp: soul to squeeze, go robot, can’t stop
- silk sonic: fly as me
-Marvin Gaye: what’s going on
+ a bunch of others I can’t think of

I really want to learn jamiroquai or rush, but those seen to be a bit too much for him to learn by ear.

Genre doesn’t matter!!

Heya, i'm struggeling with a bit of DBeat, are there any people who got some good tips and tricks for me? I'm strugeling more then I thought I would.

I'm trying to play it fingerstyle as I'm more of a finger player.

Been playing bass for a couple of years now and have started looking into some mid-level acoustics so I can just pick it up and play rather than worry about plugging in at the house. Not really looking to play shows with it, just something to practice on… I’ve played some Fender and Ibanez basses at GC to see what feels good, but wondering if there are any other options out there that I should check out.

The Fender Kingman v2 felt the best when playing so far

May have been asked here already but I'm interested in what the average bassist (beginner to professional) does during their sessions.

I'll just say mine. Not a professional musician but I know my way around the instrument at this point - Around 40 minutes spent around the cycle of 4ths using various speeds, arpeggios, and scale patterns. Definitely takes some discipline, but I recommend people do this as well for the results.

Afterwards I'll play a song or piece I'm learning over and over again to the point I'll lose track of time (with metronome or track) - If not playing then I'm learning by ear. I don't really have a plan after this but I'll still practice / mess around. I enjoyed walking over tracks so I'll go back to that or write. The minimum I practice is 1 hour but I try to go 2 or 3. Every once in a while I'll hit 4 if I got the "bassist's high"

I was looking into buying a new bass,but apart from videos of p basses and j basses, I can't find anything else that shows me stuff about the other basses online. Could you list me all the kinds of basses and what kind of sound they give?

Hello,

I know its a bit personal, but i want to buy Yamaha BB734 but dont know which color i want. Sadly, i cant see bass in store, i only tried 434. Fire red is beautiful, as expected, but indigo blue give me some mystic vibe that i like and its not basic color as red, but i dont like if it looks more black in low light condition. So if you have these basses to send me picture in these condition, that will be excellent :)

Hoping for some insight on Trace tenosynovitis involving the fourth flexor tendons. Injury happened late April … tried brace for 9 weeks followed by physical therapy which honestly just made it worse. Just got a cortisone shot this past Monday … nearing 1 week of that and still having pain at a 2-3/10 scale. Need advice doctor says nothing more can be done but the shot and therapy …. Please comment if you’ve had this and what I can expect moving forward thank you.

I am working on an 8 bar blues song that has this progression. It has a shuffle beat.

| E7 / / / | B7 / / / | A7 / / / | A7 / / / |

| E7 / C#7 / | F#7 / B7 / | E7 / / / | B7 / / / |

Walking most of these changes is pretty straightforward. Walking from the B to the A is not clearly apparent.

The best I ended up with was walking up the triad, then playing G-B-Bb as a triplet to the A.

Any better ways to play this change?