Any bassists who want advice on doing it for a living, ask me anything

[Orlando Abs]

I have played professionally for over 10 years as a touring pro and studio player. If you have interest in the bass and want advice, ask away.

[Flashbax]

How did you start out? How much did you practice every day? Did you take lessons or learn by yourself? How did you find a band?

[Orlando Abs]

Originally Posted by OctavianCXVII

How did you start out? How much did you practice every day? Did you take lessons or learn by yourself? How did you find a band?

I started out by buying a cheap PBass knockoff. I never took a lesson, but I had played classical guitar for about a year or 2 up to that point.

I practiced 2-3 hours a day. I made myself learn every note on the fretboard. I started with the E and A string and learned 5 frets at a time. I then used octaves to figure out everything past fret 12 and on strings D and G.

The first few bands were just friends of mine. Then bands would find me sometimes by hearing me play in music stores. After that bands would find me because they saw me play live with other bands. I would play in 2-3 bands at a time and also would do session work while going to college.

[roccobladr]

whats a good synth bass pedal? im in a cover band and i need something. my boss bass overdrive just does not get a good sound that can pass as a synth.

[Orlando Abs]

I am pretty clean and just use distortion, but I would definitley demo this pedal:


http://www.tonefactor.com/proddetail...BassMicroSynth

[roccobladr]

yea i was lookin at that, but 280$ is alot. i cant find it at any stores around me either what kind of distortion do you use?

[Orlando Abs]

I use the head of my amp. I use tube amps and distort the pre. I was endorsed by Mesa Boogie, but right now I am using the Peavey Pro 500, it breaks up very well and really gets that 900hz frequency out in front for me. I will run a Rat pedal in parallel also for more grind.

As for price..you gotta pay for the good sounds man. The cheap ones will leave you chasing your tail. Get the good ****.

[roccobladr]

Originally Posted by Orlando Abs

I use the head of my amp. I use tube amps and distort the pre. I was endorsed by Mesa Boogie, but right now I am using the Peavey Pro 500, it breaks up very well and really gets that 900hz frequency out in front for me. I will run a Rat pedal in parallel also for more grind.

As for price..you gotta pay for the good sounds man. The cheap ones will leave you chasing your tail. Get the good ****.

alright good man. thanks for the help. i gotta get some more high paying shows under my belt before i invest into better stuff lol 100$ each show isnt exactly enough to keep upgrading. one last thing...whats your opinion on cables? is it worth it to spring for the 80$ cables or are the 30$ monsters ok? (for live performance)

[Orlando Abs]

Expensive cables are a waste of money for shows. Just get whatever. I prefer wireless, and that sounds worse then cables, but it's a show and is more about energy and performance then having a perfect tone that 1 nerd in the audience may notice.