Please get into a band. Even if you only jam once a month and play a venue twice a year. GET INTO A BAND. Bass players are like drummers, they are rare. They are in DEMAND. You got skillz.... use them!
I've got nowhere near the musical background you do, but I've been having a blast doing home recording and I wholeheartedly encourage you to get a decent home studio rig. Right now I'm using a Line6 UX2 I got for a crazy bargain, and because it includes some sweet guitar fx.
Haven't played with Ableton much at all but I know the lite version I had was unacceptably inhibited. Recently I've been trying out Reaper, and I highly recommend you check it out. http://www.reaper.fm/
Keep us posted! I'd love to hear and see what you make with your renewed interest in music.
I also recently decided to pick my guitar back up, though it's at the prompting of my wife, who wants me to learn to accompany her when she's at the piano. I need to go get some new strings for it before I can start practicing, however.
Another coincidence: I also played percussion in the school band. I was first chair for as little as that means in the percussion section.
I played stand-up bass in elementary school. I really should have kept with it. I tried picking up a bass a few years ago, but I just didn't have the passion for it.
I'm doing the same thing (minus the ever being any good when I played 10 years ago). Good on you for making time to enjoy the finer things in life, like music.
If you're interested, I'm blogging about my own learning process (link in my comment name). It's nice to know I'm not alone.
That's great that you're getting back to following your passion! I love to play, but it's tough to find motivation since nobody I know around here has any interest in playing.
btw - i've got a PreSonus Audiobox usb (came with Studio One recording software). In retrospect, I should've purchased something with more inputs. Let me know how the FocusRite works out. I know exactly what you mean about a crappy bass being awesome; it was $100 on ebay, and I was in college. Figured when I was good enough, I'd get a nice one, but I guess that checkpoint hasn't been reached.
My best friend and former roommate Rod has a Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray. It's black with subtle metal flake underneath.. Beautiful looking bass, and without question my favorite sounding bass. My young adult life was rolling around with him to shows and such, hearing him jam and play the crap out of it. Such a great instrument.
He also bought a Bongo 5 string (colored nearly identical to the picture you put in the post). Awesome, awesome bass, delicious dual humbuckers. He only had it for about three months though. He sold it to get married. :/
So when are we going to start hearing more music out of you, Prime? I'm anxious to hear what you concoct. Also, any other Icrontians playing with home studios or have made or are making music?
Not long after I wrote this, I lost my job and my relatively cushy income. The dream of owning that Bongo has been put on hold, and now since we don't have much space and I never have a good time to practice anyway, both my basses are, very sadly, collecting dust. So is the nice Firewire recording interface I bought.
The new house has a lot more room. There's a space in the basement I've been eyeballing. I desperately need music back in my life.
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JBoogalooThis too shall pass...Alexandria, VAIcrontian
Not long after I wrote this, I lost my job and my relatively cushy income. The dream of owning that Bongo has been put on hold, and now since we don't have much space and I never have a good time to practice anyway, both my basses are, very sadly, collecting dust. So is the nice Firewire recording interface I bought.
The new house has a lot more room. There's a space in the basement I've been eyeballing. I desperately need music back in my life.
Don't fret, man! (pun certainly intended!) I know how ya feel. I've had both my basses in Boston collecting dust since July and I'm still stuck in DC. It's really lame when the little thumpers can't be given some love... Do eet! Take the bass-ment (hehe), do your thing and give those girls the attention they crave! A MM fan, huh? Sweet sexy basses that are just instrumental beauty!
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midga"There's so much hot dog in Rome" ~digi(> ^.(> O_o)>Icrontian
I've been trying to learn for a few years, but I was doing it right-handed and that just wasn't working out. I finally decided to bite the bullet and learn lefty, but the GSR200 just wasn't cutting it (it's literally impossible to flip those over and play comfortably), so I ordered a GSR200L.
It was crap. I won't go into much detail, but suffice it to say their manufacturing quality has seriously taken a backseat. I know it's their budget model, but my GSR200 was worlds above it and it was only two or three years older.
So I got a lefty Fender J cause I decided I wanted something a bit smoother with passive pickups (there's a rant here about left-handed bass availability, but I'll pass for now). And then I sent it back and got another cause the pots and pickups were fuxed. And now I've got a bass that, after all that, I haven't had much energy to pick up and do anything with. But dammit I want to.
My biggest problem has always been developing a practice routine. I've been to some good websites, and I've looked at some decent scale and fingering (giggity) exercises, but my hangup is which to do when for how long, and how to work that into a session that fits my schedule. Of course the obvious answer is to get lessons, but that's money I'd rather avoid spending.
So, Prime: any advice on this? I know it's been ages since you were first learning, and you had hours every day you could devote to it, so you didn't learn it with my constraints, but if you have any suggestions for compiling a beginner's routine (preferably something I can squeeze into 30 min to an hour per day) I'd love you for it. It's depressing to have it sitting right there next to my chair, but when I pick it up I just poke at the strings and stare at the youtubes or studybass.com and feel like I'm getting absolutely nowhere...
I truly feel that one of the best ways to get into a good practice routine is to learn a song you want to play; for me it was RHCP. I started with "Under the Bridge", which is a fairly simple bassline, and worked up from there.
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JBoogalooThis too shall pass...Alexandria, VAIcrontian
I would also recommend looking at some sites such as Talkbass.com (kind of an elitist bunch when you get to talking double basses, etc...but, great for beginner advice and ed). I would also go to activebass.com that has tutorials with timing exercises, finger exercises (hehe), book recommendations based on the style you prefer, etc...
Not tryin to steal your thunder Prime, just offering a few more outlets for a fellow low-ender. Hope these help a bit!
Every few months, I look over at my guitar in the corner and decide that I'm going to start playing again, but before my calluses even have time to get built back up, I loose track of it again. :/
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midga"There's so much hot dog in Rome" ~digi(> ^.(> O_o)>Icrontian
That's a hell of a forum. I'm gonna spend daysweeksmonths a long ass time reading around there. Thanks for the recommendations, y'all
primesuspect
Beepin n' BoopinDetroit, MI Icrontian
Comments
Also: Awesome.
Haven't played with Ableton much at all but I know the lite version I had was unacceptably inhibited. Recently I've been trying out Reaper, and I highly recommend you check it out. http://www.reaper.fm/
Keep us posted! I'd love to hear and see what you make with your renewed interest in music.
Another coincidence: I also played percussion in the school band. I was first chair for as little as that means in the percussion section.
I played stand-up bass in elementary school. I really should have kept with it. I tried picking up a bass a few years ago, but I just didn't have the passion for it.
YOU WILL FIND ZE BASS
If you're interested, I'm blogging about my own learning process (link in my comment name). It's nice to know I'm not alone.
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My best friend and former roommate Rod has a Ernie Ball Music Man Stingray. It's black with subtle metal flake underneath.. Beautiful looking bass, and without question my favorite sounding bass. My young adult life was rolling around with him to shows and such, hearing him jam and play the crap out of it. Such a great instrument.
He also bought a Bongo 5 string (colored nearly identical to the picture you put in the post). Awesome, awesome bass, delicious dual humbuckers. He only had it for about three months though. He sold it to get married. :/
I'm also still finding my voice and confidence.
The new house has a lot more room. There's a space in the basement I've been eyeballing. I desperately need music back in my life.
Do eet! Take the bass-ment (hehe), do your thing and give those girls the attention they crave!
A MM fan, huh? Sweet sexy basses that are just instrumental beauty!
It was crap. I won't go into much detail, but suffice it to say their manufacturing quality has seriously taken a backseat. I know it's their budget model, but my GSR200 was worlds above it and it was only two or three years older.
So I got a lefty Fender J cause I decided I wanted something a bit smoother with passive pickups (there's a rant here about left-handed bass availability, but I'll pass for now). And then I sent it back and got another cause the pots and pickups were fuxed. And now I've got a bass that, after all that, I haven't had much energy to pick up and do anything with. But dammit I want to.
My biggest problem has always been developing a practice routine. I've been to some good websites, and I've looked at some decent scale and fingering (giggity) exercises, but my hangup is which to do when for how long, and how to work that into a session that fits my schedule. Of course the obvious answer is to get lessons, but that's money I'd rather avoid spending.
So, Prime: any advice on this? I know it's been ages since you were first learning, and you had hours every day you could devote to it, so you didn't learn it with my constraints, but if you have any suggestions for compiling a beginner's routine (preferably something I can squeeze into 30 min to an hour per day) I'd love you for it. It's depressing to have it sitting right there next to my chair, but when I pick it up I just poke at the strings and stare at the youtubes or studybass.com and feel like I'm getting absolutely nowhere...
Not tryin to steal your thunder Prime, just offering a few more outlets for a fellow low-ender. Hope these help a bit!
daysweeksmonthsa long ass time reading around there. Thanks for the recommendations, y'all