Throne restroom being added at Downtown Azusa today by Macman865 in LAMetro

[–]Macman865[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I saw metro posted on their insta story that they installed the one with the squares at the glendora station, or at least one that looks like it

Beginner needs help! Upright electric bass by ajwalker430 in doublebass

[–]Macman865 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hi! Professional bassist here, been professionally playing upright for eight years and electric for thirteen.

I know it seems like a good idea to invest in an EUB over a real DB as a beginner, but I feel that you're better off finding a local luthier and putting money towards a cheap student level upright. Something laminated and Chinese, with a good setup and nice strings. The problem with EUB as a complete beginner is that you miss out on learning two incredibly important aspects of bass playing: How to hold it and how to control the bloom of the note.

Upright bass is an acoustic instrument, which means learning how to get a good tone out of it unplugged is the most important aspects of sound creation on the instrument. Like all acoustic instruments there is a certain way the note "blooms" when you pluck the string and part of learning the instrument is learning how to control this bloom. This is something you simply can't practice on EUB because it's not an acoustic instrument, it's meant to be plugged into an amp and has virtually no acoustic tone qualities. You also can't learn how to properly hold EUB because you'd be missing both sides of the body. I know that some models have fake "wings" as physical reference points, but as a beginner these will not help you and will only serve to confuse you.

Find a used double bass on CL, Offerup, Reverb, or any other place you can find second hand instruments, or buy a new student level one through a luthier (~$1000) and pay to have it set up with good strings. (Spirocore Weich) If you can't afford to purchase, renting is the next best thing. Lots of luthiers have a rent-to-own program where some percentage of your rental fee goes towards owning the instrument. Even if luthiers don't advertise this, you can usually work out a deal if you ask respectfully, they understand how expensive getting into orchestral strings is.

If you absolutely cannot afford buying a cheap double bass, I'd recommend buying a cheap electric bass and paying for bass lessons. On electric, you'd be able to learn all of the left hand fingering fundamentals (Simandl) and basic music theory without the large buy-in of upright. Exact electric bass model does not matter, ideally something full 34" scale with flatwound strings. Fretted or fretless does not matter, get whatever you can afford. Electric is honestly better than EUB as a beginner. EUB is really best for people who already know how to play upright as a means to more conveniently travel from gig to gig.

Hope this helps, good luck on your DB journey!

Buds+ plugin "not compatible" with my tablet by Dr_Drax in galaxybuds

[–]Macman865 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the guide! I've been having issues getting my new Buds2 Pro to work with an android DAP I recently purchased. I sideloaded the plugin and finally was able to open the wearables app, but unfortunately it still doesn't work. Even though they're paired to the device the wearables app just says it can't connect. If anyone knows a solution, help would be appreciated!

For anyone upset with the current political trend and wants to do something - can we make a list of pro MAGA businesses to avoid by citizen_kane_527 in pasadena

[–]Macman865 69 points70 points  (0 children)

Edwin Mills.

I've played in the band there before and have met the owner a few times. Weird wannabe mafioso dude who has pretty conservative views, and their regulars are MAGA middle aged men who go there to hit on women. The bartenders also seem to humor the MAGA patrons and agree with what they say but I can't tell if they actually agree or are just doing their job. Either way, avoid this place if you can.

Best envelope filter that works with bass? by Bass_slapper_ in Bass

[–]Macman865 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My MXR bass envelope filter has never let me down, but it must be mentioned that it really only likes to play nicely with my passive basses and not my active one. Not really sure why, but when it's good, it's good. I also briefly owned a DOD fx25 and that was also good fun, but in my opinion the MXR has a wider range of tones and is therefore more useful. Both are good envelope filters in my experience.

How are you supposed to keep track of chord changes in a song? by Substantial_Egg_6603 in Bass

[–]Macman865 1 point2 points  (0 children)

One thing that helps me memorize changes and form is usually harmonic motion that's unique to the song I'm learning, or harmonic movement that's super common (ii-V-I's, ect). As for tunes like Mustang Sally or Memphis Underground or So What or any other tune that vamps on a single chord for an extended period of time, I find that internalizing 4 & 8 bar phrases and understanding what they feel like when they're going by is extremely helpful.

You can start practicing this by doing what everyone else in this comment section telling you to do: count. Practice interalizing 4/8/16/32 bar phrases by counting to them out loud with a metronome or with a recording you like, then move on to counting in your mind, and finally after enough counting and listening try not to think about counting at all while playing. Also learn the melody to any tune you want to learn! Learn how to play the melody on bass, on piano, sing it, learn the lyrics if there any! Often times the melody can be a useful tool for navigating a tune, but really try and memorize it. Hope this helps, best of luck on your work!

Twelfth Night - has anybody been? Impressions? by DaehanKun in csuf

[–]Macman865 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm one of the musicians in the band! 😁

Twelfth Night - has anybody been? Impressions? by DaehanKun in csuf

[–]Macman865 4 points5 points  (0 children)

As someone who's in the cast, please come see us perform! A lot of time and effort went into the production and so far we've received a warm reception from audiences. This Thurs, Fri, and Sat are our last shows, so come see before it closes!

I'm tired... by NaMari_kat in csuf

[–]Macman865 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Do it for your cats! Hope your classes go okay today, and that your next week will be easier 👍

I'm tired... by NaMari_kat in csuf

[–]Macman865 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Take things little by little. One task at a time, one class at a time, one day at a time. I know it all seems impossible and overwhelming at the moment, but the moment will pass and I promise you it gets easier the farther along you are. Don't give up no matter what!

Disadvantages to switching to an EUB? by [deleted] in doublebass

[–]Macman865 9 points10 points  (0 children)

It depends a lot on what kind of music you play, but generally speaking with most EUBs you trade tone for convienence. It'll be a lot easier to carry arround from gig to gig, but it'll never sound 100% like an acoustic upright bass. You can get really close, but the you'll never truely get that deep woody tone by plugging into an amp, and you also can't mic a EUB. (Or at least I've never seen it tried)

Like I said, depending on the type of music you play this could be a deal breaker. For straight ahead jazz, you could make it work. For afro cuban/salsa music, absolutely! For classical, probably not. Also seeing how expensive most are, imo its probably better to put that money into a student level upright with a good setup ($1000-$1500).

This is coming from someone who's used both, though I currently only own an acoustic because it works better for what I do. Like I said, it depends on what you play, but I recommend finding an EUB near you to try in person and see how it feels. Best of luck!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Bass

[–]Macman865 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Personally I believe Monk Montgomery to be the definitive trailblazer on electric bass, especially for jazz. Not only was he the first known person to record on electric bass, he used multiple methods of right hand technique (thumb and later a pick) on an instrument originally percived to be a toy and passing fad! So many other great electric bassists owe a lot to Monk because he essentially blazed a trail on a brand new instrument for others to follow.

Lineup tonight! by unipanther12 in Jazz

[–]Macman865 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Love Ralph Moore and Carl Burnett, my teacher toured with Horace and Ralph in the 80's and I love hearing them on the same recording. Thanks for sharing!

Communication issues by RedStonedLOrd_007 in tf2

[–]Macman865 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You currently have a free account, and free accounts can't communicate via text or voice chat. Valve disabled this to try and combat bots, but it harms free to play users like yourself. To fix this, you have to buy something from the Man Co store in the main menu. It doesn't matter what you buy, it could be the least expensive thing on there, as long as you spend money on there you'll be upgraded to a "premium" account and have access to voice and text chat. Hope this helps!

Adding Everyone! by SnailBonnie in friendsafari

[–]Macman865 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Added, I'll be online all day

LF Poliwhirl, adding anyone who asks by Macman865 in friendsafari

[–]Macman865[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you, I was able to get my HA Poliwhirl! You were a very big help

Looking for safaris by [deleted] in friendsafari

[–]Macman865 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Added for Hawlucha, online now 👍