The Bassist and Guitarist thread

[DRM]

Thanks for the heads up, mine has P90 type pickups, I’ve just adjusted the height with the mounting screws to try and balance the volume, just so there’s a change in tone between the neck & bridge pickups, the volume staying about the same.

 

[winjim]

Thanks for the heads up, mine has P90 type pickups, I’ve just adjusted the height with the mounting screws to try and balance the volume, just so there’s a change in tone between the neck & bridge pickups, the volume staying about the same.

Obviously the pickups are different on yours but to be on the safe side I'd leave them. Personally I like a bit of a difference between pickups so I can switch between them and whack up the gain.

 

[DRM]

Here’s the beast in all it’s glory

 

[winjim]

View attachment 658146
Here’s the beast in all it’s glory

Nice. How are you finding it? Aside from the obvious cheapness of the hardware mine is really nice to play. In fact it's probably set up better than my Brandoni which is making me wonder if I shouldn't maybe buy some better woodwork and transfer my nice hardware and pickups across.

 

[Cycleops]

I was toying with the idea of getting one of these kits but I found a cheap Rockjam bass here. It sells for around $100 on Amazon so about the cost of a DIY. The finish though is better than I could ever hope to achieve.
I changed the pickup and electrics for a EMG set (as much the bass) and it's really very good. I was going to change out the tuners but they hold tune fine so I didn't bother.

 

[DRM]

Nice. How are you finding it? Aside from the obvious cheapness of the hardware mine is really nice to play. In fact it's probably set up better than my Brandoni which is making me wonder if I shouldn't maybe buy some better woodwork and transfer my nice hardware and pickups across.

It plays really well, it sustains well, as you say some of the hardware is a bit cheap, but really all I had to do was check the neck relief, which is pan flat, set the action up, intonated it, adjust the pickup height, cleaned up/polished the frets and oiled the fretboard, the neck didn’t even need shimming, there’s no buzzing, the pickups sound really good too, as I’m under no illusion that they’re top quality, but it sounds great, but I suppose a few upgrades won’t break the bank, it holds tune well too, I’ve removed the supplied strings and fitted some Ernie Ball Super Slinky 9-42‘s now I’m happy it’s working correctly, for the money I think you can’t go wrong really.

 

[DRM]

So far one of the tabs I’ve been having a go at is Jefferson Airplanes White Rabbit, as I’d been struggling to get an F chord to sound cleanly, there was a cheat where you don’t barre the first fret fully, just the first 2 strings at the first fret, then position fingers 2,3&4 as you would normally, which had been good whilst having a go at Bon Jovi’s Dead or Alive, but on the tab for White Rabbit it’s an F# which is one fret up the neck, which has proved easier to play, so by practicing this song I had managed to get F# to ring cleanly, and by doing this that bl**dy F has now been cracked, the main problem being the amount of stretch in my fingers, or lack of stretch, hence the next problem, and revelation, so on White Rabbit, you play strums of F# then a G, the changeover between the 2 being slow due to the difficulty with getting my fingers where I want them going back from G to F#, which gets to the revelation bit, whilst messing about I discovered the sliding the whole Barre Chord shape for F# one fret up gives you a G, which makes things so much easier, and doing this further up the neck has produced some sounds that should never be made, and some that are obviously the same as open chords,I feel like this sticking point, has in reality proved to be quite a jump forward, as they say every day is a school day

 

[MontyVeda]

If barring an F is a struggle, your nut slots may be in need of going down a bit.

 

[Cycleops]

If barring an F is a struggle, your nut slots may be in need of going down a bit.

Not necessarily, you just have to develop more strength in your first finger. Similar in bass where you have to do the same with your pinkie .

 

[DRM]

It’s been easier on the electric to get the hang of it, on the acoustic I can now do it, but it was nigh on impossible to start with, but going up one fret for F# has enabled me to pick up the shape, and get the hang of it, I think plenty of practice will help with the required stretch from now on

 

[winjim]

It’s been easier on the electric to get the hang of it, on the acoustic I can now do it, but it was nigh on impossible to start with, but going up one fret for F# has enabled me to pick up the shape, and get the hang of it, I think plenty of practice will help with the required stretch from now on

Do you do any exercises or do you just play songs? If you don't already it might be worth starting your practice with a few warm up and stretching exercises to build up the strength and dexterity in your fingers.

Regarding basic barre chord shapes and moving them up the neck, just forget what your first finger is doing. It's just acting as a new nut position or moveable capo, if you like. Your other fingers are basically making the shape of an open E or A.

 

[DRM]

No I don’t particularly do anything that will stretch or strengthen my fingers, I think I will have to look up some sort of exercises to help with that, but it shows that if you persevere, you get there eventually

 

[ColinJ]

I just watched a rather interesting and amusing video on YouTube - This Janet Jackson BASSLINE breaks laptops...

 

[DRM]

If barring an F is a struggle, your nut slots may be in need of going down a bit.

It’s not too bad on the electric guitar, but on the acoustic it was nigh on impossible to begin with, but I believe that it’s always much easier on an electric due to the lighter strings and lower action, in fact some of the online instructors are saying to get an electric guitar to begin with, rather than an acoustic as it’s easier to start learning on.
the other thing I’ve noticed was sometimes open chords sounded out of tune, this has turned out to be technique on my part, namely pressing down far too hard and pulling the strings out of tune, so I’m now trying to use as light a touch as possible, but all in all I think it’s pretty decent progress in the 10 months or so of learning

 

[Cycleops]

If your fingers aren't bleeding you're not trying hard enough 🤣