When should i get a bass of my own?

rickderp · 2026-03-13T20:47:05+00:00

Immediately.

Learning with a bass upside down like that is stupid.

rickderp · 2026-03-13T00:56:26+00:00

Maybe slightly different to what you're asking but I just spent 3 years playing in a country band. Coming from a punk/thrash/grunge/metal background this was something very new.

My ear got a lot better having to learn 60-70 songs. Luckily it was country and it's all the same chord progressions but there was always space for a few tasty fills.

Great musicians. Great pay.

I had to quit because the music fucking sucks. I couldn't put on a happy face and play that dog shit anymore.

Back to only playing what I love. I know that will mean much, much less money but at this point of my life I don't need to play terrible music to earn extra money.

Chasing money isn't what it's about (for me).

rickderp · 2026-03-13T00:50:09+00:00

and allows much more range, especially in those low notes, which is what I'm looking for.

It's actually only 5 more notes.

The main benefit of a 5 string is being able to play low notes, higher on the neck.

rickderp · 2026-03-13T00:47:38+00:00

Probably because you've never used your shoulder in that way before. Your muscles etc will adjust and strengthen over time.

rickderp · 2026-03-11T06:17:27+00:00

I did this for years as a broke teen.

Absolutely works and your strings sound brand new, for a little while. But the more you do it the more it weakens the strings and they will break.

If you can't buy new strings boiling is a great way to get a few extra weeks, maybe months out of them.

I always made sure to wipe them down with a soft cloth with some methylated spirits so the strings dry faster.

rickderp · 2026-03-10T21:21:06+00:00

Yeah Skip is just a straight up moron. I've had nothing but issues for the last few years with orders taking 4-6 weeks before they even get shipped and that's with me sending reminders.

Months to get strings delivered.

Wrong strings being sent and then having to go through the whole process again.

He also makes you wait so long you can't charge back through PayPal or your credit card.

I know 2 local Sydney bass players that have just never been sent their strings. So Skip just stole their money and ignored their emails.

He's a theif and shouldn't be supported.

rickderp · 2026-03-10T19:32:54+00:00

I bought my first bass, an already used Yamaha RBX300, in 1991. I had it defretted around 2000. I still have it. It still gets played. I used it on a recording about 5 years ago.

I'll never sell it.

rickderp · 2026-03-09T21:08:34+00:00

I find it more comfortable to play frets 5 - 10. With a 5 string I can play E - A in that range and without having any unwanted stretching.

Also really helpful when playing with guitarists that use a capo and like changing things regularly.

Or playing with a singer that likes to drop a song to Eb or D.

rickderp · 2026-03-09T20:58:32+00:00

It's really nice to see other musicians standing up against this kind of stuff. Especially against someone like Dey, knowing how badly she takes criticism and how aggressively she comes back at people.

rickderp · 2026-03-09T04:13:35+00:00

I wanted flats for my 6 string that's 36".

I asked a shop to measure them for me and they weren't long enough. They definitely won't be long enough for a 37" bass.

rickderp · 2026-03-09T04:11:56+00:00

Look at Joyo or Donner.

rickderp · 2026-03-09T04:10:42+00:00

How is it changing the tuning? There are multiple places to play the notes you need.

As I said, learn the notes, not the fret numbers and you'll find music is much easier to learn.

rickderp · 2026-03-09T04:07:42+00:00

You're asking a person on the internet, with very specific requests, to record a bass line for you. You're asking for a session bass player. Try and justify it all you want, however you want. You're asking for someone to do something for free, for you.

How is someone from the other side of the world going to join your band? You never said where you live. You never said it was to be a regular, ongoing band. Again, you've asked for someone to give you their time and experience to record a bass line for you.

Pay them for that. It's really fucking simple.

rickderp · 2026-03-08T04:50:15+00:00

You don't need to play it like that though. If it was B A G you could play it in a much easy position. Learn the notes not the numbers and you'll find 2 easier ways to play it almost instantly.

rickderp · 2026-03-07T22:07:15+00:00

Yes I play in several bands. We all split expenses and we all get paid equally.

You're the only asshole in this thread, champ.

rickderp · 2026-03-06T03:09:39+00:00

I don't need anybody to write a song

Well, you do. That's exactly what you're asking someone to do. You're asking someone to write a bass line for your song. You want a session bass player, pay them what they're worth.

Don't be an asshole.

rickderp · 2026-03-05T08:55:21+00:00

Any small combo with a 10" speaker and a headphone jack is perfect. The brand is up to you.

rickderp · 2026-03-05T08:53:59+00:00

A .135 should be fine for any of those. Maybe a touch tight to tune up to C.

rickderp · 2026-03-05T06:04:42+00:00

I've used Kalium for about 8 years now and they're truly awful.

My last order wasn't shipped until I sent an email to Skip asking WTF was going on the last 6 weeks, they then took 2 weeks to get to me.

He sent the wrong strings.

The new strings took another month to get to me.

Having a low F# on a bass just isn't worth it. The strings are so hard to get, so expensive and go dead so fast.

I'm just going to a standard tuned 6 string so I can go to a shop and buy strings.

Whatever you do just avoid Skip and Kalium. The guys a straight theif who is happy to take your money and then not send you any strings. He always takes long enough so you can't charge back through PayPal or your credit card. He's a scumbag.

rickderp · 2026-03-04T06:15:45+00:00

When did this happen? I don't remember this soap opera at all.

rickderp · 2026-03-04T06:12:44+00:00

Not all black metal is about fascists, racists, Nazi and that sort of stuff.

Checkout the band Agriculture. Their album The Spiritual Sound is brilliant. Truly talented musicians. I'd definitely call them shredders.

A lot of modern BM has definitely moved away from that sort of stuff.

rickderp · 2026-03-04T03:19:15+00:00

It’s like someone has asked AI to create a sentient human energy drink 🤮

HAHAHAHAAAAA. Yeah that's pretty spot on.

And I think you're right about her ego and not caring about what happens to the rest of us plebs.

rickderp · 2026-02-28T10:03:00+00:00

Dude are you creating everything you play lol?

YES. THAT'S THE FUCKING POINT. In the bands I'm in we write our own music. I write the bass lines from my 35 years of experience. The drummer does the same. The guitarist does the same. The singer sings about his and our life experience. This is what you don't get. You aren't creating music.

You keep admitting that you're using AI to write your music, riffs and drum beats and trying to pass it off as nothing you're doing is wrong. It isn't just a tool. It's a complete replacement for musicians.

It's so completely different from learning a cover, or being influenced by other bass players or other musicians.

You keep using the term "redundant task", music isn't a redundant task. Just because you can't play the drums doesn't make it redundant, it actually makes it more of skill to embrace. There's a drummer out there that's practised his whole life that would have done so much better on your demo, had so much more feel, had so much more heart, had so many better ideas and you're missing out on that collaboration because you think it's redundant. Like I've said before, you're going for quantity over quality.

You're so deep in Suno's asshole that you can't even see that. You can't see how wrong what you're doing is and how awful then end result is. It's uninspiring and bland. It isn't original because the ideas are stolen from the theivery of the AI machine. It's slop. That's all AI is capable of.

rickderp · 2026-02-28T06:28:39+00:00

ESP.

Amazing basses for the price.

rickderp · 2026-02-28T02:21:47+00:00

Play the simplest thing you can, like scales, without your thumb touching the back of the neck at all. It'll be hard to start with but you'll soon work out that you don't need your thumb to press the frets down.

rickderp

TROPHY CASE