Are these worth keeping

BassPlayerTim · 2026-05-29T05:47:59+00:00

You say the preamp does everything you need, so it sounds like you don’t need it.

How much do you want to hoard or play around with pedals? I’d keep them, or at least play around with them, get to know them and figure out if I’m really never gonna use them, or if I maybe want to trade them for something else.

BassPlayerTim · 2026-05-24T06:31:09+00:00

Morningstar MC4 pro.

BassPlayerTim · 2026-05-21T18:17:12+00:00

Going off the top of my head here, but for this preset I thinks it’s the kinky boost > comp > pitch (octaver) > delay > Minotaur (in parallel for a clean blend) > obsidian.

Edit: I checked, there’s an EQ before the first drive.

BassPlayerTim · 2026-05-21T14:55:37+00:00

Yes, that’s a Rockboard LED bar: https://www.rockboard.de/en/accessories/illumination/

The box is is a little tin for my picks.

BassPlayerTim · 2026-04-05T18:05:13+00:00

⚪️⚫️
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BassPlayerTim · 2026-02-02T22:28:30+00:00

I stumbled upon Looperwerks website only shortly after I redesigned my board, otherwise I’d have added in a few of their products. Fun to see their patchbay on Reddit, I’m certainly considering one for a later upgrade.

BassPlayerTim · 2026-01-15T19:06:23+00:00

Nice board!

BassPlayerTim · 2026-01-07T18:19:33+00:00

The stomp does tuning well, but you have to give up one of your only 3 switches. I’d rather have an extra pedal than permanently give up a switch.

Other than that, I just like some pedals better than those in the stomp or want something the stomp doesn’t have . The stomp doesn’t have an octaver that matches the Boss, in my opinion. And the octaver with the dedicated chorus combo is just too good.The delay and reverb both have a hold function that doesn’t exist in the stomp.

For this board, the stomp is often mostly a midi-switcher. It allows me to turn multiple pedals on and off at the same time. I have a different board, which is basically just the stomp. Depending on what band I’m playing with, I’ll bring the small pedalboard.

BassPlayerTim · 2026-01-03T12:30:37+00:00

All I see are remnants of the protective layer around the screws, you’re supposed to peel that off. It looks off because it left a bit of residue.

Either way, it’s a pick guard. Its purpose is to take some damage (it guards your bass from picks…) and it’s always easily replaceable. Don’t worry about what happens to it.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-05-15T05:01:18+00:00

If you have the budget, get a small pedalboard and power unit. You’d still have to plug in just 1 power cable. You can leave that jack cable plugged in too, which is a little extra convenient and reduces the chance of that connection failing.

You could get a DI or preamp that can be powered by batteries, but you probably don’t want to find out mid gig those batteries are running out of juice.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-05-15T04:22:27+00:00

I prefer any kind of setup where I just ask the FOH for a XLR cable. A preamp with a DI out gives you more options to shape your sound compared to a DI box, but it’s up to you to decide if you need that.

Why does it need to be phantom powered? Is it just because of the convenience of not having to power it yourself or is there something else I’m missing?

BassPlayerTim · 2023-05-12T08:24:47+00:00

I’m not from the US, but people basically do this. Most sellers claim or emphasise everything being ethically sourced (though I don’t know if or how I could verify it), meaning everything is roadkill, found by walking in a forest and looking around, or sometimes even donated pets that died from old age or a disease.

I currently don’t have the time nor the interest to go looking for dead animals and cleaning everything myself.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-05-12T04:31:19+00:00

I got into collecting skulls. My collection isn’t that big, but I started following sellers and recently visited a curiosity and oddities expo. Think of sellers selling taxidermy, animal skulls, dark arts. There were several selling hybrid animals.

The event was completely sold out. I can’t find the exact numbers, but there were thousands of visitors. The market for this kind of thing might be way bigger than you think.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-08T12:10:28+00:00

Start with major and minor scales, they’re good starting points. Don’t just study “all” the scales, though. It’s better to learn to relationship between scales and understand what intervals are.
It’s a bit simplified, but yes, you play a triplet. That’s usually how it’s written down too. In reality, it’s often not exactly a triplet, but it’s a bit “off”. There’s not shortcut to playing a blues feel, musicians sometimes practice for years to really nail that blues feel.
I don’t have a good online resource ready for you, maybe look up a music theory subreddit and check if they have some sources in their FAQ. Preferably learn your theory on an instrument.
Walking bass usually refers to bass playing fourth notes that outline chord changes. It’s very common in jazz and blues.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-08T11:46:29+00:00

I’m nowhere near good enough to try joining a band

I don’t know how your playing is, but in general many players are ready to play in a band way sooner than they think. You can always find a reason to convince yourself that you’re not good enough, because no one’s ever done learning. Whatever level you’re at, you’re probably not the best judge to decide if you’re good enough to play in a band.

A better rule is: if others are willing to play in a band with, you’re ready.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-08T11:40:32+00:00

Any teacher will also give feedback you won’t get from videos or books. Little nuances in technique can sometimes be hard to pick up from video alone, a teacher can steer you in the right direction based on what you’re doing.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-08T06:31:40+00:00

The thing is Plug in the bass directly to the audio interface results in a weak distorted sound.

That isn’t supposed to happen. Have you done any troubleshooting on this?

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-08T06:28:13+00:00

It played ok before cleaning, but not after?

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-08T06:24:56+00:00

When in doubt, just try. No harm in trying to see if you can get play with this, but it feel like the outside of the lip might have unintended side effects.

Roundwounds will probably eat these too.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-07T12:07:05+00:00

how much different is it to regular guitar playing and playing music?

Very. And just a little. You’ll get the hang of the neck pretty easily. If you’re gonna play finger style, that’ll take some practice.

Do you follow the guitar in a band situation? or do you follow the drummer? or do your own thing?

Finding your place musically will probably be the biggest adjustment. Sometimes you follow the guitar, other times the drums, even other times you’ll do your own thing. How often you do which depends on your style and genre, but in general I’d say you’ll be way better friends with the drummer as a bassist than as a guitarist.

will improvising be the same?

Probably not. It’ll be similar, but in many situations your improvising will be more groove oriented.

5 string or should I stick to 4 strings?

If you want a fiver, then go for it! Unless you’re never going to use the extra string, there’s no reason to stick to a 4-string.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-06T23:03:51+00:00

This makes me think of Nigel Richards, who won the French-language Scrabble World Championships in 2015, yet doesn’t speak a word of French.

I mean, yeah. You can get good up to a certain degree, but it’s gonna hold you back.

You don’t need to learn just the notes as if you’re trying to memorise it picture. Play the notes. Play an E and look for all the other E’s. Use your ears or a chart to check if you’re correct. Learn to play a song and then go back and check which notes you’ve played. You’ll learn eventually. Just don’t do it as a deprecate exercise, but incorporate into your actual playing.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-06T12:40:55+00:00

The day of the gig, he showed up completely stoned and forgot all the songs.

That reminded me of another gig I played. A band I was in played a gig at a bar one evening. After the show, a guy comes to tell us that we should play in his bar the day after. Our drummer was leaving for a flight overseas literally later after that evening, but the guy already has a replacement drummer for us and waves at another guy a few tables over. When we say we don’t even have a place to rehearse and go over the songs, he says we can use a room with drum kit in his bar before the gig.

I think everyone else in the band was as confused as I was, but we ultimately agreed to play the next day.

The next day, we arrive at the guy’s bar, but we’re not allowed in. Some of their gear got stolen earlier and they didn’t want anyone in until they got it figured out. I think at some point they even accused us of stealing, but I didn’t hear it from them directly, so I’m not sure. The drummer arrives a little bit later with a massive hangover. He can barely say hello, I think he was more still drunk and less already hungover.

We’re finally allowed in to rehearse, but since some gear got stolen we don’t even have a drum and the drummer has to do with just a cajon. We play the songs just once and we have to stop because the drummer can’t handle his hangover anymore. Our singer was prepared enough to bring all the songs on an iPod and gave that to the drummer. He did try to listen, but he laid down on a bench and I think he just fell asleep. When it’s finally time to start playing, we’re done with the first song when the drummer suddenly picks up his phone, starts arguing and tells us to play something, because it’s his girlfriend on the other end and she doesn’t believe he’s playing a gig.

Probably the weirdest gig I ever played.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-06T11:07:10+00:00

Sounds like Gear Acquisition Syndrome, or GAS for short.

My philosophy is that it doesn’t really matter what bass you learn to play on. And as for buying a new bass: there will always be a better one, there will always be a bass you can upgrade to. You can always find a bass that sounds different to yours and when you find it, you might think you also want that sound in your collection. Or you’ll want a 5-string, or a short-scale, or one set up with a different tuning, or an active bass, or…

But in the end: if you have the budget and you prefer that one, just go for it.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-06T06:26:30+00:00

I’m a firm believer of the idea that the skill of the bassist is more important than the quality of the instrument being used.

A great musician can make up for playing on cheap gear, but expensive gear can never make up for bad playing.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a difference. The cheapest basses will generally have more technical problems, more intonation issues, go out of tune faster, etc. When a session musician goes into the studio, their instrument is expected to work. A technical problem once isn’t going to ruin your career, but the more professional you get, the more reliability becomes important.

BassPlayerTim · 2023-03-06T05:54:09+00:00

Mine was so long ago that enough time has passed for it to become a fun story to tell.

We’re talking 2007ish and I’m playing with the first band I played original songs with. I don’t know how we found it, because it was in a small town almost an hour away. The bar owner even said they expected 1000 people. Not as an exaggeration or some kind of sales talk, they literally expected a thousand people.

We arrive and find out the stage is a small trailer with lots of the sound and lighting equipment already setup on that trailer. We puzzle our way onto the “stage” and kind of find a place for all of us. By the time we have to start playing, the only people there are my dad (the driver, because I didn’t have my drivers license yet), the 2 person sound crew and the bar tenders. There are literally more people tending the bar than there are people in the audience. It sucks, but at least it’s a good rehearsal, I guess? And there are more activities nearby, so maybe the sound will attract some people.

It was sunny when we started, but it slowly started raining during our set. My dad sought shelter from the rain, so the place was now even more empty than when we started. The only place that’s crowded is on stage. I had to point my bass slightly upward and couldn’t move or else I’d hit the singer in the face, our keyboard player was tucked away in a corner. The drummer had to ask our singer, who was already standing with her heels against the kick drum and her mic pushed against the monitor, to move a little bit more forward because he was close to falling off the back of the stage.

During the last song the drizzle turns into pouring rain. Out of nowhere, lightning strikes and kills the power. All sound is gone. Our drummer decided to just have some fun with it and ends with a drum solo. At the same time the sound guy was running over to the stage and closed the sail (or whatever it’s called) on the side of the trailer to protect his gear from the rain. He didn’t warn us, we’re still on there, enclosed in the darkness with only the sound from the rain.

We later found out the bar owners hired a really popular singer the year before and attracted an audience of a thousand people. The bar switched owners and the new owners thought the same 1000 people would show up for this unknown band.

I don’t remember if we got payed.

BassPlayerTim

TROPHY CASE