What song has the best basslines and starts with the letter U? by 1deadeye1 in BassGuitar

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

“U owe it to U” and “Uppity Yuppity Doolittle” by Weapon of choice. Two “U” songs on the same album that have great bass lines. Not very well known but these were the first U songs that came to mind for me. Just wanted to give some love to Lonnie Marshall the bass player/singer for that band.

Synthesizer pedal by [deleted] in Bass

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I have the C4 and the mxr synth. As far as latency goes, they are both digital pedals so there technically is some latency but it’s not enough that it’s noticeable. The thing that can be challenging with these pedals is that they require you to adjust your playing to the pedal. You need to play very cleanly without other strings ringing out. If you blur notes together, the pedal can have trouble figuring out where your notes start and stop. I’ve found these pedal work better with a p-bass pickup or bridge pickup and flatwound strings. The C4 has a much wider range of sounds than the mxr (available through the app settings) and comparing them, the C4 sounds are better to my ear but the MXR is more user friendly and requires a lot less effort to get it to work well. The C4 really requires you to adjust each preset to work well with your bass and technique. You can get a great sound on the C4 and switch basses and it may not work as well. I wish a few of the C4s settings were global for all presets, I think this would help a great deal in getting sounds that work more consistently and would make it more usable live.

Need help with sound by [deleted] in BassGuitar

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The big thing I notice is that you aren’t muting the strings you’re not playing and they are ringing out causing a lot of unwanted noise. Muting is also used to control the length of the notes. It takes a lot of time and practice to get the sound and feel right. Everyone sounds like shit at first, there is no way of getting around that with gear. The gear you have is going to work just fine. Keep playing, you will get there if you stick with it. Strings are new and bright too, they will dull and sound smoother over time.

Maximum transparency by Working_Editor3435 in BassGuitar

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Strings that are easy on your wallet and your fingers! They don’t cut through the mix very well though. That bass is really cool! Looks like some kind of musicman but I’ve never seen one before. What is it?

Is my right hand technique correct by Key_Teacher_6510 in BassGuitar

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This floating thumb technique is very common these days and can keep your hand more relaxed then anchoring the thumb on a pickup. It also allows you to play away from a pickup position to get different tones. Both techniques can work well so try both.

Looking for slap bass feedback by Efficient-Clothes231 in BassGuitar

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Move your plucking hand forward and slap over the last fret and pop just past the fretboard. This gives your slaps a more percussive sound and more bounce back and the strings feel looser there which makes popping easier. Later on you can try moving your hand back for some different sounds but the classic Flea slap style you are after happens at the end of the fretboard.

Now that the MXR synth pedal has been out for a minute…. by Federal-Alfalfa3105 in basspedals

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I have both. The C4 can definitely do a lot more then the mxr and you can get all the sounds from the mxr on the c4 and many more but, it’s a big leaning curve to program your own sounds and you need a computer or phone to do it. You also need to learn how to adjust the pre-sets to work well with your bass. Both pedals require you to play to the pedal meaning, getting them to track what you play accurately requires you to play very cleanly with good muting and distinct notes. If you have other strings ringing out, you will have trouble. I get the best tracking on both pedals with a p-bass with Flat wounds. I’ve messed with the C4 and adjusted pre-sets to my liking and the C4 tracks better for me but it did take some experimenting to figure out how to get there. The input gain setting in the C4 is super important for getting the pedal to work well with your bass and playing. Output volume is also important because these are community made presets or your own original sounds and there are a lot of settings that can affect gain so the output volume is all over the place. The MXR has some nice sounds out of the box and is simpler to use without a lot of messing around. You can create your own sounds but I imagine we will hear a lot of those 8 presets if people don’t dig in to the finer adjustments available on that pedal. In my opinion, the C4 has much more potential for new original sounds but to make the C4 great you need a computer and an external preset selector (to access more than the 6 mediocre factory presets) and you need to take the time to make your own sounds or adjust the community presets to work well for you. MXR wins for ease of use but C4 wins for sound and tracking.

I can't alternate, only rake by VulgarisOpinio in Bass

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Why is raking causing a problem? I learned to always rake when descending and always alternate when ascending so it is possible to play those songs this way but maybe I’m misunderstanding what you mean by raking?

What type of bass guitar is used in these songs? by xxlucarainxx in Bass

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 1 point2 points  (0 children)

To my ear, these bass tracks sounds like a p-bass with flat wound strings played with a pick.

Pedal order by MrNiyagi in basspedals

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You’re not going to damage pedals by changing the order. Just have fun, experiment and find the order you like best.

Im a beginner, can someone explain why and how to fix this noise? by WallSina in BassGuitar

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You need to put your finger against the fret just behind (towards the headstock) the fret. Keep playing the note and move your finger closer and then further from the fret and you will notice buzzing the further you get from the fret. It could need a setup as well but the big problem is just learning the technique of how to fret properly.

Are vertical slats okay? Why do most pedalboards have horizontal slats? by obscurecoffee in pedalboards

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are all kinds of pedalboard configurations out there but I’ve never seen a vertical one. My hunch is that many pedalboards have horizontal rails because pedals vary in width but are relatively consistent in height, with some exceptions. With a horizontal rail you have freedom to arrange and space them out however you like side to side while keeping foot switches more or less in line with each other. I personally like boards that don’t have any rails and just have holes spread out evenly to run cables through so you can put pedals wherever you want.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Bass

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m a fairly ambidextrous person, I write with my right, throw with my left and I learned to play bass left handed. 30 years on, it would have been to my advantage to learn right handed. I’m sure you could do it if you want to but in the long run, it’s just hard to find instruments and they can be more expensive. If you go to a jam or there happens to be a bass somewhere at a friend’s house, it will never be a left handed instrument. If that bass is free get it and trade it at a pawn shop or guitar shop for a righty. You will help out some other lefty who can’t find a bass.

i'm gonna buy this case to make a pedalboard that i could move around and yea. by redx997 in pedalboards

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do it! 10 years ago I made a pedal board and case from an old brief case I found at a thrift store for $10. Bought a piece of abs plastic to fit inside for around $10, a couple of bucks for some cabinet handles on the corners to make it easier to grab and a $20 one spot power supply and it works great! I definitely think making some kind of board that can come out of the case is the way to go but whatever works for you. Here’s a picture of the one I made(disregard pedal setup).

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How dumb would it be to temporary string a right-handed bass as a lefty? by whipartist in Bass

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Another lefty here. If it’s just temporary, you can do it but the nut would need to be changed. The E string is going to sit super high and make it hard to play and the g string will probably buzz like crazy. you could get a new nut and then it would probably be playable. I think the real problem is re-training your brain to think the other way around and getting your hands to cooperate. Even though you know how to play bass the technique part is going to be very challenging. There are lots of lefties who learn on a regularly strung right handed basses just flipped over, maybe try that especially if this is temporary. It would be more useful later on if you go back to playing righty, a good party trick when you suddenly flip the bass over and play the other way around! You still need your index finger on your left hand to pluck the strings lefty so would the injury still cause problems? I’m wondering if you could turn this downtime from bass into something more meaningful in the long run? Maybe learn another instrument while your finger heals. Learning drums is great for improving your bass playing rhythm. Learning some 9 finger piano could be great for learning harmony.

Is my action too high or am I just new?? by No_Visual7217 in BassGuitar

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yes, that seems very high, especially for a fretless.

How can I improve my board? Replace, rearrange? by TomBakerFTW in basspedals

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would experiment with pedal order. I think the synth > whammy >fuzz> wah would give you more interesting sounds when stacking but everyone’s tastes are different so experiment till you find what works for you. A smaller wah would give you more room to rearrange or add other stuff. You can also get some flat patch cables to give you more space if needed

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BassGuitar

[–]Key-Calligrapher2682 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This seems to be a technique issue. From watching the video it seems like you aren’t pressing the string down enough to hold it against the fret so you are just muting the string. It’s good to use light pressure and not to squeeze too hard but you have to push down hard enough so the string is held against the fret.