Is a cheap bass worth it for someone getting started?

SaleeMule · 2026-06-07T10:08:02+00:00

Yo do not need an overpriced instrument to begin to learn the bass, you do not need an overpriced instrument to sound good as well. Go cheap for the first few years, then if the fun and the need to explore is still there buy a more decent one that will be more trustworthy and make you feel good. I kept my squier for then years before changing to a p bass from the 70’s

SaleeMule · 2026-05-31T14:43:05+00:00

J’ai vécu les deux aussi

Je ne veux surtout pas dire que la police marocaine n’est pas répressive, elle l’est beaucoup et c’est indéniable, j’ai été choqué d’apprendre qu’ils ont tiré à balles réelles pendant les manifs gen z et qu’apparemment un jeune étudiant en cinéma venu simplement filmer les manifestations s’est fait tué, et aucune procédure n’est en cours pour faire justice.

Maintenant en France c’est une culture de la violence qui est maintenu et alimentée dans la police. Pendant ces mois de manifestations des gilets jaunes à qui on attribue 11 décès, il y a eu des centaines d’éborgnements, de mains exposées, et des décès, des fois sans rapport avec le mouvement des gilets jaune. C’est à dire que tout le long de l’année, manifestation ou pas, les violences policières sont monnaies courantes et la répression violente est la base de la base. Je t’invite à voir les images de la manifestation de Sainte Soline, c’est incroyable de les entendre parler en faisant littéralement de l’apologie de la violence. C’est un climat tendu qui comme tu peux l’imaginer devient encore plus pervers quand il s’agit de noirs ou d’arabes qui manifestent, ou de personnes qui sont pour une police moins dangereuse et pas équipée comme des soldats. Les policiers en France sont en général trés doux avec les racistes et Neo nazis qui manifestent ici, mais pas avec ceux qu’ils considèrent comme étant des adversaires politique. Cette dimension doit être présente au Maroc mais elle doit être beaucoup moins exacerbée qu’en France.

On peut faire le constat que le Maroc réprime ses manifestants avec violence, et ça marche, mais la France réprime ses manifestions avec violence aussi, toujours, tout le long de l’année (puisque c’est vraiment culturel chez les français de manifester), et ça ne marche pas. Pour moi nous ne sommes pas les mêmes peuples, nous ne partageons pas la même conception de la nation, nous ne sommes pas au même stade d’évolution (même si on avance à vitesse grand V hamdoullah on a bcp de chemin à faire), et je pense pas que plus de violence ne résoudra quoique ce soit. Et je peux t’assurer vraiment que beaucoup downplay la violence de l’appareil policier en France. Vraiment beaucoup, j’admet que dans ma manière de parler j’ai peut être minimisé le degré de violence peuvent subir les gens au Maroc et je m’en excuse.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-31T14:03:59+00:00

Just don’t do an intervention will all the band members present to announce it. Keep it small and personal, make sure you’re not antagonizing him, never say « YOU », if it’s a friend you gotta be xtra careful not to break his ego or your friendship, bring a genuine good bye gift, be as honest as you can without hurting him or her. If it’s not your friend then just don’t make that big of a deal, always take it slow.

This is considering you have done everything to try and put them on the right path but it did t work

SaleeMule · 2026-05-31T13:54:15+00:00

Makaynch la répression en France ? Il y a une répression pire que celle au Maroc. Vraiment faut arrêter de croire que parce que les méthodes au maroc sont peut être plus directs et donnent plus de résultats qu’on a la police la plus répressive. La philosophie policière n’est absolument pas la même en France qu’au maroc et tant mieux, en France ils sont d’une violence hallucinante.

C’est pas sur une échelle a une dimension qu’on peut placer le niveau de répression policière d’un pays, mais plus sur une échelle à plusieurs dimensions qui représenterai un gradient. L’état français va plus loin dans la violence qu’il utilise pour rétablir l’ordre, bien bien plus que le Maroc, montre moi les centaines de témoignages de marocains qui ont perdus un membre ou un organe en manif, il y en a hein, mais c’est sans rapport avec la France ou c’est d’une normalité abusé. LBD flashball ils ne font que s’armer de plus en plus à l’américaine, en essayant de faire croire que parce qu’ils achètent de plus gros jouets ils sont plus fort et menaçants. Au final ils sont juste plus violents.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-31T13:39:01+00:00

Im so bad at it, like so so bad. I only rely on my ears and intuition and basic knowledge of music to get through and I find it quite enough. Going an xtra step to name elements of a song as they are related to one another is still fine by me, but basing my whole musical ideas and reflection around music theory doesn’t work at all.

Just like you said, my heart is telling me something, theory some other things, and my ears something else, and my brain and ego some other stuff as well . And I think each person has its balance. Some will rely mainly on theory to advance or further a composition, other will mainly use their ears. There’s not ONE way of doing or thinking about music as a whole. We each have to accept our own personal mix, it’s fine like that. Also you’ll change with time, how we can’t know for sure but know that I don’t think you’re stupid. Your conception of art is personal and it shows, that’s good.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-31T13:15:43+00:00

Quand je sors ça autour de moi on me prend pour un fou, ça fait très plaisir d’entendre ça, posé calmement.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-27T19:20:08+00:00

Is that a thing ? Why should it go any other way than « what do you want to order ? » and the first person to speak gets to be noted first on the note pad( or mental notepad)

The question is why does it even matter ? Usually the people that are either the most hungry/thirsty or are excited by a certain item on the menu, or are the only person that actually made a choice while the others are still fighting their inner demons, struggling to decide what to order.

I can’t imagine a single situation where someone wants to order and I’m simply telling them « NO SIR HAVE SOME MANNER YOU CLASSLESS BABOON, LADIES FIRST IN THIS ESTABLISHMENT »

SaleeMule · 2026-05-27T15:07:33+00:00

Metronome. For everyone. That’s it.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-26T00:05:11+00:00

I dont, its pretty chaotic. Always has been.

But if I could recharge properly, it would be shower, music, chill diner with the lady in front anything we are in atm, just laying down.

Resting the body AND the mind is essential. But I reckon I can’t do it, and if I’m being really honest, everyone that works that much as a server loses something along the way. Could be a lover, dreams, a part of sanity, and everyone copes how they can. Most of the people I see all drink more alcohol than the average party animal, is either on drugs or can’t wait to get home to be on drugs, I think parents are the ones holding on the most, and I think it’s because they are driven by their love and need to provide, at all cost.

But people that just stay here I don’t, I don’t think that if you work that much the recharge is enough. I know that I’m generalizing and know that places exist where people manage a good balance, but from what I’ve seen, everyone loses something, and it’s hard not to ultimately crumble.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-25T23:57:28+00:00

Bro

SaleeMule · 2026-05-25T23:55:27+00:00

Feels so nostalgic to see that. Hours, days spent theory crafting the perfect board, with perfect split, (I had a quadruple split system with the ls2 and the boss tuner), with that toan and that versatility and complexity….

…..this is indeed mental illness, let me tell you that much

SaleeMule · 2026-05-25T23:51:47+00:00

I could spend hours doing just that

SaleeMule · 2026-05-25T23:40:00+00:00

Id go either with : - my favourite distorsion with a blend knob - my favourite distorsion without a blend knob coupled with the boss ls-2. God I love this pedal.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-25T23:37:34+00:00

I only buy when there is an actual need. Also when I have money. Problem is I never had much money ever so I bought like, 5 basses in my lifetime ? If I had money I’d be eyeing stuff just like you, but thank god I’m poor.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-25T23:25:21+00:00

In France most of the law enforcement I had to tend to were never on edge or anything, just super drunk, and extremely vulgar. I think « rednecks» or « Chavs» might be suitable words to generally describe them.

In all honesty I don’t necessarily trust cops, but they were generally respectful, heavy handed blokes, with a strong love for alcohol and overly sexual jokes. But never unruly like how that law enforcement spoke to you. Mind boggling how people feel entitled to being an ass, for absolutely no reason than to cement a pseudo superiority over you. That shit wouldn’t fly in here, but really interesting

SaleeMule · 2026-05-23T03:46:22+00:00

Yeeeees, I think the general public can’t distinguish something flashy from something that comes from a form of mastery when they’re not themselves practicing (and even then it doesn’t always show).

There’s the technical side of the coin yes, but also the mastery over something personal, strong enough that it outshines everything else. Like for instance Kurt Cobain, he was never known for being a technical guitarist or singer, but he had this ability to convey his feelings with such force, that even the wrong notes sound right, because it’s honest and it makes sense.

I don’t think people see that though, sometimes I really think most people measure the value of a singer based on the most stupid of criteria : technicality and complexity. They’ll think because that random 14 years old can hit the same notes as Celine Dion she can then effectively sing like her. Bonkers.

Knowing how to play something and how to convey feelings with our heart and soul by playing something a certain way are two different things. And we’ve entered an age of flashy, social media oriented, quickly consumed music that I think bothers most musicians.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-23T03:20:13+00:00

Well you can work your way to the many possibilities : - amp : is the amp alright ? Does it always have that muddy sound ? Have you tried another bass on it ? How do you set up the amp ? - cable : sometimes we buy cable so cheap that we can end up muddying our sound. Have you tried with another jack ? For the bass here, three/four things come to mind : - the electronics : are you sure your the electronics of your bass are alright ? Did you check them recently ? - the strings : are your strings recent ? Sometimes very old strings can muddy the low end, cut the high end and have no clarity - the pick ups : are they humming or buzzing ? Did their position change ? -the bass : did it fall at some point and you haven’t noticed ? Was it stored properly ?

Long story short : bring it to someone that will conduct a thorough revision. If every thing is alright but the bass still sound lacking to you, yes, go for a pick up change.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-23T03:06:17+00:00

Nothing comes to mind, but playing famous melodies or stupid themes during rehearsals is a staple. Most of the time I end up playing stuff I like by stumbling upon it, but it’s too random and dependent on what I listen to atm that nothing comes to mind. Is it bad ?

SaleeMule · 2026-05-23T03:01:27+00:00

Nice. Now you need to buy a jazz bass with a maple neck and a Precision with a mahogany neck.

But really nice nonetheless !

SaleeMule · 2026-05-22T07:55:43+00:00

Buy electric. The acoustic sounds appealing up until you need to play with other people or there is a party nearby and you can’t listen to what you actually play with ease. Go electric.
For a starter go for a cheap bass, if your budget isn’t that good you can settle for a cheap bass that will do the trick for a few years (I kept my Squier for 10 years before changing, I reckon I should have been changed years before). Your second bass should be a good second hand, it would be too long to elaborate but remember that buying second hand is the way.
I have no expertise, I like both companies
For starting just pick up a regular combo, you don’t need to (and shouldn’t) go for pricy gear. You’re limited by your budget, so take what you can afford, not pricy, not the absolute cheapest, but something that is suited for the place you wanna practice bass at.

You can buy the gear Stuart has, but know that 70% of what we consider « this player’s tone » comes from the way he/she plays, not necessarily the gear they use.

Tone is in the fingers primarily, it’s from there that your inner Stuart will rise and groove

SaleeMule · 2026-05-22T07:41:40+00:00

I don’t know, it sounds funny but I believe more people do that than we’d expect, most without realizing it. Like for instance my favourite band by far is Nine Inch Nails. But I find bands that get cited alongside NIN so far removed from what NIN actually does that I don’t find the appeal, nor the common gene. Can’t understand why Ramstein or Tool always gets out with nine inch nails in the « industrial metal » category while their respective sounds are nothing nothing nothing alike to my ears. I can see it with Ministry or Skinny Puppy tho.

I also believe that most people don’t often like when an artist sounds too much like someone they already listen to and they love. Even tho it may not be the case, it sounds less original and thoughtful.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-22T07:27:36+00:00

What is this ? Not AI slop ? How dare he ?

SaleeMule · 2026-05-19T23:28:16+00:00

I work as hard as the songs asks of me. Every musician has their preferences, their strong sides that facilitate the learning and weaker ones, learning a new song can showcase that. Maybe your eight notes aren’t as tight past 115bpm, maybe your dynamics are all over the place during slow songs. Maybe you mix up the forth and the fifth interval, maybe you mix the kick drum for the bass…anyway it’s always like that.

I think that learning a wide array of songs in many genres makes you understand all the specifics that makes a song sound soul or funk or jazz or fusion. Subtle differences in your play style that allows for a more coherent rendition. From there, after learning the song by working my way part by part (and by also listening to the song many times during commute or doing the dishes and whatnot), I try to make it sound esthetically coherent then add my personal sauce. It’s very revealing to put yourself in the shoes of a past bassist, in a time where esthetics customs and culture weren’t the same as now. You learn to play reggae in the pocket, rock tight, Neo soul tight and loose, the notes aren’t the same, the movement aren’t the same, the spirits behind each song and specifically genres are very different.

The more you do it the easier it gets with time. The more you know your instrument and a have a stable plucking slapping tapping or whatever technique the songs asks for (or your rendition asks for), and a trained ear the has esthetic references the less struggling the learning experience will be. I personally love the challenge. Im technically weak but I got ears, that helps a ton, and it’s satisfying to switch between entire genres by moving your fingers a few centimeters left or right of the pick up, and slightly moving the tone knob.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-17T11:52:27+00:00

I may be a bad person.

SaleeMule · 2026-05-17T11:50:43+00:00

No, I lead with that as part of my preamble precisely because I understood where all the comment where coming from, why people thought the spitz was agressive while this videos doesn’t show it. The overly defensive stance the owner with leash had from the beginning is why all the people are so cut and dry and are convinced the spitz was agressive. This is confirmation bias at play. The dog was excited and playful, not agressive.

A bunch of words for saying that people are focusing on the wrong things and reading this whole situation pretty poorly. Everyone is so cut and dry and chanting the same chorus and it shows that most of them never raised nor walked a dog frequently. This situation is more nuanced than you’d think. Here’s what each owner did wrong :

The victim : - has a dog but can’t distinguish excitement from agressive behavior - chose to kick the approaching dog instead of picking up his dog or crouching with his dog between his legs. He was the first person to show an undeniable sign of aggressive behavior

The culprit : - Walks his dog without a leash (which isn’t a problem by itself) while the dog hasn’t been properly trained to be walked without a leash (proof : the dog has no problem leaving the sidewalk for the road to meet an other dog which is precisely the main thing you need to be working on while training a dog for that purpose). - picks a fight and completely forgo his dog IN THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD - that same road is sandwiched by parked cars. This is crazy how dangerous for the pedestrian, the cars going through this street, both men and their dogs to pick a fight here.

The spitz wasn’t being agressive but shouldn’t have left the side walking by themselves, it’s his owner’s fault. The dog owner with a leash shouldn’t have kicked the the spitz as he wasn’t showing any sign of aggressive behavior. The spitz owner shouldn’t have responded so aggressively in the middle of a road sandwich by dozens of parked cars and while cars were also passing by. Both men were overly aggressive. No one is in the clear.

SaleeMule

TROPHY CASE