Give us this day our daily conundrum...

[gweimer]

Not having a steady gig really messes me up.   It's probably my own fault, since I don't have an amp at home right now (no room), and don't practice near as much as I should.  I rely on hitting local jam nights for me release.

The result of all this is simply that I don't have any idea how I want to sound.  Which bass should I favor?  Are my amp settings right?  Why am I buying more crap without having a goal?

When I was in the band last year, I had a direction.  This past week-end, I made the trek for one of those jams hosted by the FDP, where I can also be found handing out lies and innuendo.  I actually took my amp, only because I still had it in the truck from an audition earlier in the week (don't ask...).

I get up to play, and suddenly, it's all foreign to me.  I had the new bass, and it seemed to sound and feel pretty good.  I strapped on my faithful Epi Holy Crap bass, and suddenly, I was hit with - "What the heck is this?  Have I always sounded like this?  Is it me?  Am I just panicking?"  In the aftermath, videos were posted, and things were actually pretty good.  I was surprised and relieved.

Anyone else go through this in their downtime?


Oh...and did I mention that I've been trying different strings that I got from the Dude, and now my head is a complete mess on that subject, too.   Eeeesssshhhh...


Next up - what should I do with the Magnatone restoration?  It will never be original again...

[Dave W]

Are you saying the Epi didn't sound as good to you on stage as the new bass?

[gweimer]

Are you saying the Epi didn't sound as good to you on stage as the new bass?

It sounded like an alien beast, roaring at me in the background.  The new bass was a temptress that I was leary of trusting.  Upon reviewing the videos that got posted, I realized that neither was true  Idle time messes with your perception.

[PhilT]

I think all sorts of things just change with time and you have to go with whatever makes you feel comfortable in front of an audience/band at the time.

The first bass I bought had round wounds and I was happy with that till I found the Pit, and then the next bass I bought got TI flats  on it pretty quickly. Then all my basses had TIs for a while, till for some reason they started to feel wrong and I changed everything  to Roto Jazz flats. Now I've bought a Spector Rebop which came with rounds, and now that feels and sounds great and the other basses which have flats sound - well, not as good somehow. I don't understand why or how this happens, there's certainly no logic to it that I can work out. I just have to go with it.