I've been playing for around 10ish years now and have always had a 4 string. Recently I joined a band where it's just keys, bass and drums and feel like I need to add that extra low end.

I've tried 5 strings before and never could get used to that extra string, is it as simple as buying one and forcing myself to become accustomed to it? Any advice helps :3

As the title says, which type of bass is better for me? I want to play a variety of genres but mainly metal down to drop B. im specific bass matters, I'm looking at the harley benton pj4 or pj5

For Electronic Music I'd usually dial in a tone that makes sense with the other instruments, for post punk/alt rock I take away mids or treble and boost the other, bass is dependent, usually Bridge or Both Jazz pickups

Hi everyone, just wondering if anyone has successfully changed the knobs on their jazz bass to Strat-style knobs as they did in the late 70s?
I’m struggling to find knobs I’m certain will fit on the bass pots, so any recommendations for brands to try would be much appreciated.

New to the bass and I just learned about foot pedals. Are these needed or can I get then later on?

I play guitar and wanted a bass i was thinking of a five string to later play the five string songs (later cause I'm thinking of Primus and i know they're hard) but i don't know if you could play the 4 strings songs normally on a 5 string, also if the tuning is the same, please let me know what you think, thank you

I am trying to avoid buying a Class D amp. They say good things come in small packages. Bleh.

First is the theory of operation. While it's actually a bit better than Class A/B amps, they create high frequency oscillations, and if they go haywire, they can fry speakers. It's basically 4 "matched" FETs working together in a push-pull configuration, at 100KHz or higher. Think of it as 4 people in a long canoe, each pair facing the other. The two at one end stroke their oars, and then the other two. That's how it moves the speaker cone in and out. Where it beats a Class A amp is you don't need a constant voltage on the output transistors, that only creates heat. It's so the transistors react faster if they didn't have voltage holding them up. Not that Class Ds run cooler, they're just more efficient. You also don't need a large transformer in the power supply, saving weight.

Another factor is impedance. You can't just connect cabinets unless you meet minimum impedance ratings, usually 4 ohms, or up to 8. Some run at 2 ohms, but it has to be 2 ohms, and only 2 ohms. And you can't let them overheat.

Now, in case you do have an issue and your amp smokes, a lot of places are unwilling to work on them. If they do, they'll just replace the module. Not cheap. The reason is almost everything in there is surface mount. I would imagine sooner or later they may start replacing parts at component level, but few do right now. If you could figure out which module is blown, power supply, preamp or power amp, you could swap the boards yourself and save the bench fees. If you need to get a repair, ask the shop if the work to the component level.

But what really got me is the "power ratings". 1,000 watts for $500. Wrong.

I used to work in a department store when I was in school, and we had these cheap stereos by SoundDesign and Audiovox. In big print they'd say 344 WATTS, and in the fine print it would say I.P.P.-Instantaneous peak power. Say there is a very loud bass bump or cymbal crash. For about 5 milliseconds the amp can reach 344 watts. The FTC stopped that and made audio manufacturers rate wattage in RMS, or continuous output.

This appears not to apply to Class D, for some reason, especially in instrument amps. Actual is more like 250-400W RMS, not bad, but you're not getting what you think you are.

End of rant. I'll be looking for an older Trace or SWR. I may get an inexpensive Class D just to try it out. I do have Class Ds in my cars and my home, but I do the one thing everyone should do when you buy a piece of equipment...Read The FUUUUUUUll Manual!

Looking at getting a Fender rumble 40 or a good interface like Focusrite 2i2. I would prefer to be able to use an amp and adjust use good headphones if absolutely needed.

I heard that for beginners it's better to be able to be able to use an amp but is this true? I honestly feel overwhelmed with DAW and having to load up my PC and move so many times things around. I worry that my shirt attention span will keep going towards the DAW instead for actually learning how to play

È finalmente arrivato di il momento di cambiare Marcus Miller U7. Ho pensato di scegliere il meteora perché è un basso che si adatta a tutti i generi musicali, sopratutto al metal/ punk, che ne pensate?

I wanted to get a fender bass amp to go with bass (was using guitar amp) and got the rumble 500 but I think I overshot. Anyone playing fender rumble and love it? I play in a band part time so want to take this to events but now think it's too much. Thoughts?

I recently acquired an old Carvin bass that has both a mono & stereo input jack. I’d like to try using both at the same time. Any advice on what kind of amp setup should I be using or gear I should look for?
I currently have a backline 600 & gk cab I use as my normal rig for bass.

So I just had a go at the phrase, it's very simple, and I had no issue playing the first phrase (that being the C octave), but when I went a string lower I had trouble doing the hammer-on in the next phrase, like it feels impossible to barre the 3rd fret on the D string with my pointer on the E string.

I found a complex rendition of the bassline where bassically you walk off the octave onto a fifth (basically an inverted 3 note power chord) and despite it being more complex it makes doing the hammer-on easier.

Though I still want to at least try learning the original, just to prove to myself my awful fretting hand can do it, so can anyone give me tips on playing that exact phrase?

I watched this random movie I found the other day and heard this amazing bass line. Its programmed but sounds playable, it's from mirror mask (2005)
abandoned hall
https://youtu.be/7zTVJamvu4k?si=DVb_mtN7uXQRmzeN

I really wish it went on for longer its sounds so cool think it would sound great in a full song.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNVj-PXfvIg

Hi! I have a sterling stingray 4 string bass. I am a guitar player, but play bass in shows (sometimes) for my band, but I mainly record ALOT of music.

I’ve noticed I rly prefer p bass sound and I rly don’t like the attack and “sizzle” and aggressiveness of my sterling.

I make a lot of laid back music, or record on tape so I just want a bass good for warm “sit in the mix” sound. Or a dead thump sound.

Since I’m not a bassist, I wasn’t looking to spend too much on a bass and I’ve been having a hard time selling mine. Most I can do is get a Squier Sonic P-bass from 2023 I can trade mine for.

I’ve heard people say CV squires r much better, but would I be okay with a sonic? I’m not experienced enough of a bassist to be mad about limitations, but since I record a lot then tone matters more

I know it’s dumb to ask “what’s better” but I’m curious if anyone who record music has had experience with these. I know that a p bass will give me the sound I want and be way better than what I have (at least for the sound I’m going for) but I’m not sure if I’m being stupid by trading out for that

As the title might say, this has been the hardest decision of my partscaster bass. Im doing a fretless bass build, a fender player series jazz bass pau ferro neck, no epoxy, bare wood. Im using EMG Geezy butler PJ's for my pickups, and just cant decide. I havent experimented enough, I like the sound of jeff aments bass, Les claypool, Jaco, steve bailey. I know they all use roundwounds on their basses. Ive played flats and loved the feel, but never played plugged in or noticed a tonal difference. I think ill be using this build for jazz, blues, rock but also genres like thrash, sludge and doom metal, prog and even punk. What do you guys think.

Edit, any suggestions or brands? Ive mainly used DR and Ernie

Hey everyone,

Anyone an admin or moderator here from Talkbass.com?

If so, I've been a member for a while. Not the most frequent user, just chiming in from time to time to check in mostly on some gear talk.

Recently I tried to log in after a while absent, searching for a specific topic, just to find myself banned. The reason given is "Compromised", what ever that means?

I have tried to create a secondary account to ask support but I have been auto terminated immediately too, for now creating a duplicate account...

It is really frustrating since I am trying to find out what the hell is going on. I've never said or done anything bad that could have lead to this. In fact, I can't remember posting anything at all for a long time. If compromised means that my account has been hacked, that can't really be the case, since I am regularly updating my passwords, such as this one.

I hope anyone has an answer to this, since it's quite frustrating.

Cheers,
Phil

I'm not referring to WHY you became a bassist but rather WHAT bass you bought (Jazz, P, PJ, Stingray etc.). I bought a J because - I was watching Bassbuzz before playing, wanted a J bass for tonal options and decided to use it because my favorite (former) bassist, Carlos D who used it in Interpol's first 4 albums (I've only listened to their first that time)

Just bought my first bass! A used Cort Action PJ. Got a headphone amp and both a clip on tuner as well as a pedal. Gonna pull the trigger on the Bass Buzz beginner to badass course due to what I've been seeing here. I'm now in a financially stable part of my life where I can start doing and learning things I've wanted since I was a teenager. Named my bass Geddy. Gonna start learning my favorite Green Day songs like Prosthetic Head, work my way up, eventually be able to play Primus and Rush.

I don't have any questions, I just wanted to share because I'm hella excited 😊 I'd never turn down any tips or tricks or advice though, so feel free to give me whatever ya got. Woke up this morning and intuited a lil Smoke on the Water just by playing around the fret. It felt really sick to do that

Basically title. I play guitar using a Fractal AM4 and into 5 inch studio monitors. I’m really interested in learning bass and incorporating that into my play. Would/should I consider upgrading speakers? If I can avoid it that would be great, but will invest if it is going to be an issue. Not mixing or anything like that just playing for fun.

Afterwards people kept telling me I was so brave and giving me kudos for going up with just a bass and not a guitar or keyboard I guess. Is it really that crazy/rare? Anyone got a similar experience?

Y'all I am confused as hell. Practicing bass at home through headphones and my low end sounds chorusy af. I have tried 3 different interfaces - audio interface, headphone amp plugged in, and even the headphone output from my ampeg v7. I have tried different headphones. I have also tried different basses. It doesn't matter, all of it has a weird chorus to it and it's worse on thicker strings or lower notes. I've swapped out strings on all my basses. Have tried active and passive basses. Not an EQ issue either.

That's all I have. It's demotivating to practice with. Anyone else? Solutions? Thoughts?

So I’ve got dumb question…I have an Acoustic B100 amp. I like it and it works fine for the most part, but I’d like a little more headroom. My question is…can I get a head (looking at a TC B500) and run it through my amp? Will it distort or blow up my speaker?

This looks like a good replacement if my Behriger is toast...

300W at 4 ohms (and I have the right cabinets to get this), and 200W at 8, enough for me.

I also like the Shape control, the one thing I really like about the Behringer. It also has a 2 year warranty.

https://www.hartke.com/products/amplifiers/tx-series-amplifiers/tx300/