Practical Bass

The end of Season 2 is a great time to look back and see what resonated the most. What? Can it be the end of the season already? Yes, low end brothers and sisters, another six months has come and gone, and after another twenty-some episodes it’s time for us …

Part 2 of our interview with NOLA/Bay Area bassist Ted Gould III aka Blyss — Guru level dos and don’ts to get and keep the gig! Ted’s an educator, a vlogger, an Instagram lesson machine, a sideman extraordinaire. You’ve seen him in ads for Aguilar and MONO, among others. He’s …

Part 1 of our interview with NOLA/Bay Area bassist Ted Gould III — Half origin story, half real talk about getting and keeping the gig. Ted’s an educator, a vlogger, an Instagram lesson machine, a sideman extraordinaire. You’ve seen him in ads for Aguilar and MONO, among others. He’s produced …

Check out our profile of the incredible Geddy Lee from Rush, and his influence on generations of rock bassists. So in season 1 we picked a player who had influenced many, and dove into what we think makes them great. This request about Geddy Lee came via viewer mail — …

Practice is essential to developing as a bassist. Here are some tips on how to use your time wisely to improve faster. In the spirit of being honest with how I manage time, I quickly came to these questions: How often do I actually practice daily/weekly? What is practicing to …

Everyone knows a compressor’s your friend. But how about hearing one in action? (IMPORTANT: Listen with quality headphones or speakers!) Show notes You may have already heard our previous episode from Season 1 on getting to know your compressor. In that episode we talked about the various uses for all …

A digital audio interface is practically a necessity. How do you choose the right one? Show notes What kind do you have? Dave: Tascam US-1800 Paul: First was an Echo Layla24… now a Focusrite Scarlett 18i8, and a PreSonus Studio 192 + DP88 Oh, and don’t forget that Line6 POD Studio …

How do you put your finger on what groove is? Many try to explain it. Here’s our chance to make it clear. Show notes Dave: I recently had a conversation with a musician about his frustration with playing with bassists that have all the theory training but lack feel/groove. Specifically, …

How to choose the right cables for your rig, and take care of them so they live longer. Do you have a preferred brand of cable for different uses? Dave: Mogami — especially like the entry that usually has the gold tips, not sure of the exact type Probably Silver? …

A good practice space isn’t just equipped well — here’s how to cheaply make it sound better too. Show notes What does sounding good mean? (And have you checked out the first episode on this topic?) Sometimes you can describe things by what they’re not Lots of echoes — try …