Articles about the Bass Guitar Community, demos of bands and new products, shopping and info, upgrades and replacements for you bass guitar hardware.
When one thinks of The Ventures, bass doesn’t come to mind because that’s not what that act is known for. However, you would be amazed at how songs by that band sound once you fill in the low end. But before I get into that, here’s a few words about the example song below. The … Read more
This article is going to take a decidedly nerdy slant with no apologies for it whatsoever. I first connected to the internet in 1996, which at the time of this writing was 17 years ago. And I remember seeing bands starting to do the online thing around 1998. And yes, Microsoft Windows 98 had a … Read more
If you encounter wrist pain when you buy a new bass guitar that has a different neck compared to what you’re used to, this is absolutely not something that exclusively happens to the over-40 crowd. Far from it, actually. Anyone can get wrist pain from a different style of bass guitar neck. Common pain description: … Read more
There’s a lot of debate out there as to what The Most Important Thing is concerning what a bass player should know above all else, and opinions vary wildly on this subject. Some say the most important thing is to know your scales, while others say you should know what’s known as “perfect pitch” (and … Read more
Before starting this one, I have to define what “kid” is in the context of this article. Kid in this article refers to children between the ages of 8 and 12. If your child is interested in the bass guitar, you’re most likely not going to want to put a bunch of money into an … Read more
A bass that sounds “piano-like” isn’t a term that’s used very often, but it’s a good one to know to understand why some bass players hate new strings so much. You know that there are some players out there who purposely prefer old, used strings. Part of the reason for that is to avoid the … Read more
I came across the thread If someone handed you $3000 for a new bass, which poses the question that if someone handed you a pile of money that was specifically to be put towards a bass guitar and nothing else, what would you get? The answers seen in the linked thread above are interesting because … Read more
When is a bass not a bass? Over the past few years, there has been a rising popularity in multi-range guitars. It started with the baritone guitar and then, later, the 8-string “extended range” guitar. But at what point is a bass not a bass (or are all stringed instruments of this type just “guitars” … Read more
While the very name “bass guitar” would strongly indicate that a bass guitar is all about bass frequencies, in a mix the bass guitar is actually better mixed as a midrange instrument. But before I get into that, a smiley-face curve of an EQ does in fact look like a happy face: Sometimes this is … Read more
Off and on there is debate on whether or not you should play free gigs or not. I think this question can be easily answered just based on the convenience factor. The convenience factor is simply this: If the gig for whatever it may be is something local to you (meaning no extensive travel required) … Read more
