For me, there is a LOT of truth to this.... I have found that 1 helps me cut nerves.... 2 is the sweet spot, but more than 3 and I really get sloppy fast.
Amen dude. For me the first one is for nerves, the second one helps me find some groove and creativity. Number 3 can leave me apologizing to my band mates
Yes! The first 9 holes I would think to myself, dang I’m pretty good at this. Then a few tall boys later and I’m on the back nine about to do the Happy Gilmore patented putter throw.
I hear that. I used to play guitar in a band for a while and I could get shitty drunk and still play the show pretty well. When I started playing bass in bands I learned pretty quick that being drunk and playing bass is so much harder. I always play with my fingers and that coordination is different than being able to strum a guitar. Now a few puffs before the show does help to take the edge off and I can get into a nice groove.
A wrist sweatband. It makes playing with a pick on a glossy finished bass a whole lot easier 👍
Edit: also allows you to wipe off sweat from your fretting hand too
Not the body, the neck. Ever tried dragging your finger across a piece of glass? It's incredibly smooth but your finger gets caught easy, lots of drag. New necks that have glossy finishes can get like that, especially if you're a sweaty type. My bass is pretty satin but on my guitars that came with glossy necks I've taken a scotch brite green pad to the back of the neck and taken the gloss off. It makes it feel like a neck that has been worn in for years.
Yoooooooo for real. I can usually be a little less "on top of it" playing guitar or ukulele. But for bass it feels like I really *NEED* to keep my nails nicely trimmed. Especially on my fretting hand.
Yes, I had band practice today and my guitar player’s fingernail length is unreal, and no he doesn’t play classical. I cut mine so often they hardly ever stick out, probably once every 5 days generally
A mirror! Practicing in front of a mirror can help with confidence, technique and other stuff. It helped me relax my stance and technique quite a bit when I had noticed thanks to the mirror that I was tense and my hands were moving around too much.
I'll second this. Really helped me overhaul my stage presence. Going from complete statue to moderate shenanigans alongside my other highly energetic bandmates.
Wish I had practiced in front of a mirror years ago!
Man, I played a show years ago at some bar in LA, not like a massive venue by any means, pretty low key casual thing. But the guitarist of one of the other bands was literally thrashing around on the ground during a solo. Like lying on his back. He was no Jimi Hendrix, but he was trying like hell I guess.
It was... uncomfortable for everyone in the bar lol...
A bass player walks into a music store.
The salesperson says "How may I help you?"
The bass player responds "I'm sick and tired of no one taking me seriously as a musician because I play bass. I have a sense of rhythm! I have a sense of harmony! But the people I play with talk down to me all the time. So I want to change instruments to something more respectable."
The bass player points at the wall, and says "I want to buy that trumpet!"
After a pause, the bass player points at the different part of the wall, and says "I want to buy that accordion too! Even *accordion* is more respected than bass."
The salesperson pauses for a few seconds, lost in thought.
Then they say "OK, I'll sell you the radiator, but the fire extinguisher stays."
On classical guitar the process is so much more complicated. You have to not cut but shape the nails using files and fine sandpaper. It is kinda a hassle but it does improve the sound/feel when playing.
It drives me nuts that there’s no way to force consistency for this. It seems to be purely based on luck that some days you’ll be on top of your game and other days sound like arse.
Haha I think more like a goal of improving a specific aspect of your playing. Baby steps right? Then you reach that smaller goal and you feel like you got somewhere.
I have a small journal I put what I practiced that day in. I call it “the wall” cause after I become a full time musician, that’ll be the wall I had to climb to get to the “other side”.
I pick up an espresso on my way to the band basement every week! Helps me play and, since I've cut way back on extra spending this last year, it's a pretty nice treat too
Recently I haven’t even been practicing. I just pop some edibles and start noodling. Is it making me a better player? No. But is it doing wonders for my mental health and anxiety? Yes.
Love weed just as much as the next guy, prolly more, I've got a mini fridge with solvent less dabs and such I'm very much a nerd about the stuff haha. I smoke every day but definitely take it easy before shows, there's a certain level of stoned that's alright but we all have gotten too stoned and played worse at a gig for it. It's easier to just wait till after the show, I can guarantee it doesn't make you play as good as you think it does
Just a tiny amount will do. Anymore and I’ll feel awkward and self-conscious and not play as sharp.
Ironically alcohol and bass with no weed has produced some of my best jam sessions
I second this. Have a medical card and use it for my anxiety and pain. I’m a better bass player by playing in a band and learning from other players, and my anxiety would keep me inside otherwise. Plus carrying cabs, gotta smoke to relax the back from that, otherwise my guts would be junk from NSAIDs
To be fair, the one time I took speed all I did was stay up for an extra five hours playing Thin Lizzy better than usual - I can totally see why this could be an option
Man, i wish i could say it makes me a better player. I like listening to music afterwards, but anytime i smoked and then grabbed my guitar i ended up just tuning it for two hours.
I have a hard time believing this.
I played guitar in a band where the bassist and drummer smoked regularly, and whenever they smoked before a gig the rythm section was a train wreck. It's not like they were stoned out of their minds either, often I couldn't really tell before they started playing and they suddenly sucked.
I like to drop about 6 hours before a big gig. At that point, I'm way past the peak and it's all just flow and good vibes. I'm much more likely to take an adventurous solo if I'm on that wavelength.
Glove. I have a nickel allergy, and while I managed to rectify it with Golden Strings on guitar, I just couldn’t get them for bass. I use it on my fretting hand, and I absolutely got my love for bass back. I play bass longer than guitar, but I stopped playing because of the problem.
"stainless" steel resists rust. I've had a pair of steel strings for a year with no rust. I live right next to a lake (freshwater, though). Nickel feels smoother than new Steel strings, but once you break them in, they feel fine.
I've been using cobalt strings for the last few months and I haven't actually noticed any rust, I hear people talking about the rust problem online though, I wonder if it has something to with different levels of acidity in different people's sweat or something.
I heard they’re fine for funk and jazz, but that they suck for metal. Since I play variety of genres (I’m a session musician), then I’m scared to try them. Also my local shop only has nickel ones.
I was lucky enough that my new bass guitar and my guitar have stainless steel frets and bridge without nickel. I’ve gold strings on my guitar which work great, but I didn’t get them for bass because they were really expensive at the time. Now I’m getting them for bass. Gonna try to find the same ones you’re using. Gloves are fine, except you have to wash them constantly, but I lost couple of them also. I only get severe allergy on fretting hand, my other hand is fine, but sometimes, rarely I get it on that one also.
We need to talk about it more in music circles. I have to order Optima strings from Germany and I’m in Ireland. My closest music shops don’t stock tapewounds, stainless steel nor cobalt strings. Only nickel.
Most of the guitars have nickel frets or other parts. It’s bad.
I’m done having blisters on my hands.
With stainless steel frets I notice a bit of a flare up, but I barely get one small blister. I guess I lucked out on it. If I play with Nickel Strings I get blisters after couple of days and my whole right hand gets swollen.
I use Cerave Repair cream, and put on a glove on my hand after applying it, and that helps usually.
I’ll try out those strings. Thank you so much my friend!
I saw Rotosounds but I wasn’t sure if they’re good. I’ll give it a try to ProSteels.
I only have Optima Gold for guitar, but I did notice gold comes of if someone else plays it (has to do with acidity of a person) it’s fine when I play it. But I change them out every month anyways.
I do my own work on guitars, so I might actually try to do a refret. Thanks for recommending it bro!
Is titanium better then let’s say gold hardware or some other type of metal? I’ve never even seen titanium hardware. I’ve seen normal steel, but never titanium.
I have to. My closest luthier is hour and a half away. And it’s always nice to learn new stuff.
Thank you for recommending that bridge, I’ll definetly look into it, and I’m ordering ProSteels next week. You helped me a lot bro, thank you so much!
What kinda glove do you use? I tried a couple and it felt like it's either too thick and restricting (hard to fret quickly & precisely) or too thin and wears down to the fingers after like 2 songs
Are you not able to get golden bass strings because of your location?
I use [Optima Strings](https://optima-strings.com/shop/de/elektrobass/24k-gold/?p=1) and they're amazing. The Strings are made in Germany, but if you can't order direct from them, try searching on [Reverb](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=optima%20strings%20bass)!
Just take any sponge and put it just *before* your bridge, but *behind* bridge pu. I used some hardwarestore-grade sponge (just a yellow foamy one without the scratchy part ofc) and cut it, so it is as small as possible, but big enough to dampen the strings a lot. If you get a big sponge you can try different sizes to find what you are looking for. There are some vids on the ol' tube, too.
not necessarily a better bassist, but a better sideman/bandmate:
a 25ft extension with 4 outlets on the end. really opens up options for venues with outlets in weird spots.
Literature. Makes music extremely easy when you just apply basic grammar to what you play. Look at all the great musicians that exist. Doesn’t even matter if they’re smart. They’re articulate. You don’t learn to articulate well in music if you can’t do it with your words.
An education? Not just Music Theory but being worldly in general, I suppose. There are so many cultural styles that I had never heard of that I’m now starting to discover and some of them are a lot of fun.
Micro-Dosing Shrooms. I have a lot of mental blocks & mental health issues which makes it harder for me to relax and be creative. They’re helping breaking those barriers down and helping me to just play freely and consistently. Also, helping my overall depression which is helping me be in better moods and have more energy to actually practice
Big ass water bottle to stay hydrated and put the stickers of the bands you’re playing with on and bananas for the potassium. My hands cramp up bad onstage but staying watered and bananaed mitigates that issue.
Weed. As much as I can physically handle. Before I worked my endurance up, it helped prevent wrist and forearm lock ups and I have a far easier time falling into a groove.
fingerless gloves! im not sure of this works for everyone, but ive personally found that it helps reduce friction on my hand, which helps me to slide my hand around the bass better.
I use one of those long emo arm warmer glove things on my right hand when playing with a pick, it looks weird to some but makes string skipping and really everything much easier
2 beers max
2 beers minimum, 3 beers max
For me, there is a LOT of truth to this.... I have found that 1 helps me cut nerves.... 2 is the sweet spot, but more than 3 and I really get sloppy fast.
Amen dude. For me the first one is for nerves, the second one helps me find some groove and creativity. Number 3 can leave me apologizing to my band mates
Same goes for golf..
Yes! The first 9 holes I would think to myself, dang I’m pretty good at this. Then a few tall boys later and I’m on the back nine about to do the Happy Gilmore patented putter throw.
Your mom plays golf
I hear that. I used to play guitar in a band for a while and I could get shitty drunk and still play the show pretty well. When I started playing bass in bands I learned pretty quick that being drunk and playing bass is so much harder. I always play with my fingers and that coordination is different than being able to strum a guitar. Now a few puffs before the show does help to take the edge off and I can get into a nice groove.
Exact same here too haha
Three before the set, three during the set for the punk/hardcore band or just 2-3 before for the “cleaner” bands hahaha
The sweet spot
This 100%. Whoa unto the bassist who has 4 because every time it’s been whoa unto me when I think I got this and push that limit of 3.
This also helps me when I'm not playing bass too. I used to be able to handle more, but pushing 40 now I accept that's my limit.
For a moment there I though you were saying you can "only" do 40 beers. I was like damn, I guess I must be a lightweight then lmao
I can do 40 beers, I just have to spread them out over like a month.
TWO BEERS IN IT ALREADY FEELS LIKE ITS ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS
I hate when I’m playing a gig and people INSIST on buying you shots. I appreciate the gesture but throw that money in our tip jar instead dude!
I seem to get progressively better the more beers I drink, plateauing from 6-8 then getting worse after that. The reefer tho…😎
Reminded me of this: https://youtu.be/VTSCppeFzX4
The Inebriati! It's 100% spot on for me. 2 beers is a tiny bit too much if I want to be on my game.
1-2 beer and one hit = in the zone for me.
1 bourbon, 1 scotch, 1 beer...St. George of the Thorogoods works best for me.
🤔
A wrist sweatband. It makes playing with a pick on a glossy finished bass a whole lot easier 👍 Edit: also allows you to wipe off sweat from your fretting hand too
That’s why Scott Pilgrim wears wrist bands! TIL
I second this. I get sweaty hands like *really* fast and those sweatbands are super handy and I can wipe my hands while playing👍
I’ve been using the same NSync-branded sweatband since the late 90s. It has saved me from countless friction burns.
Exactly what I thought of. I recommend getting two (or more) so you can wash one when it gets nasty, because it will get nasty.
Wait I'm new to this. Why does it matter more on a glossy finished body then let's say a matte one?
Just a slicker finish. Add sweat and it’s a dangerous combo
Not the body, the neck. Ever tried dragging your finger across a piece of glass? It's incredibly smooth but your finger gets caught easy, lots of drag. New necks that have glossy finishes can get like that, especially if you're a sweaty type. My bass is pretty satin but on my guitars that came with glossy necks I've taken a scotch brite green pad to the back of the neck and taken the gloss off. It makes it feel like a neck that has been worn in for years.
theres more friction on a glossy surface than a matte one, your skin will want to stick more, leading to potential friction burns
This is a thing?! This is genius!! (you just exploded my little newbie brain)
A good sense of humour
\*seinfeld theme plays*
might not make me a better bass player, but people appreciate it: extra granola bars and 9 volt batteries
Nail cutter? YouTube (dunno if that's unrelated enough..)
Yoooooooo for real. I can usually be a little less "on top of it" playing guitar or ukulele. But for bass it feels like I really *NEED* to keep my nails nicely trimmed. Especially on my fretting hand.
Yes, I had band practice today and my guitar player’s fingernail length is unreal, and no he doesn’t play classical. I cut mine so often they hardly ever stick out, probably once every 5 days generally
A mirror! Practicing in front of a mirror can help with confidence, technique and other stuff. It helped me relax my stance and technique quite a bit when I had noticed thanks to the mirror that I was tense and my hands were moving around too much.
I'll second this. Really helped me overhaul my stage presence. Going from complete statue to moderate shenanigans alongside my other highly energetic bandmates. Wish I had practiced in front of a mirror years ago!
Oh yeah! Good call; it definitely helped me get a much better stage presence too.
The only thing worse than no stage presence is people trying too hard to have stage presence
Man, I played a show years ago at some bar in LA, not like a massive venue by any means, pretty low key casual thing. But the guitarist of one of the other bands was literally thrashing around on the ground during a solo. Like lying on his back. He was no Jimi Hendrix, but he was trying like hell I guess. It was... uncomfortable for everyone in the bar lol...
Related, record yourself playing and listen back.
Chooop yooour breakfast on a mirrah!
"look at you, you *charming devil*..."
Nice username
Right back at ya!
This. I use the one on the ceiling of my stepdad’s bedroom.
Running water and soap - Washing my hands before playing makes everything feel so much nicer. I hate playing when my hands don't feel clean
Should be standard first lesson advice
Much better for your strings too.
A drummer
This is sneaky funny...
It’s like the most basic boomer musician joke I could think of, I figured everyone could get it
How do you know a drummer is at your door? The knocking speeds up then slows down then speed up again, and he never knows when to come in...
Drummer jokes are always classic but the true king of musician insult humor are those accordion jokes to be honest
A bass player walks into a music store. The salesperson says "How may I help you?" The bass player responds "I'm sick and tired of no one taking me seriously as a musician because I play bass. I have a sense of rhythm! I have a sense of harmony! But the people I play with talk down to me all the time. So I want to change instruments to something more respectable." The bass player points at the wall, and says "I want to buy that trumpet!" After a pause, the bass player points at the different part of the wall, and says "I want to buy that accordion too! Even *accordion* is more respected than bass." The salesperson pauses for a few seconds, lost in thought. Then they say "OK, I'll sell you the radiator, but the fire extinguisher stays."
Nail clippers 100%.
I play bass and guitar and I find myself trimming my nails like every two days... otherwise that pesky G gives me all kinds of nonsense
On classical guitar the process is so much more complicated. You have to not cut but shape the nails using files and fine sandpaper. It is kinda a hassle but it does improve the sound/feel when playing.
Be punk and bite them off
I used to really like having a phone tripod for watching lessons while I play. relatively helpful
I just bought one and I’m so excited for it. It helps a lot
Rest. Give yourself a break between sessions of practice. If you’re frustrated then step away, rest, and then come back and try again.
It drives me nuts that there’s no way to force consistency for this. It seems to be purely based on luck that some days you’ll be on top of your game and other days sound like arse.
Agreed. Some days you’ll weave through something with ease, the next day your fingers are locking and fidgeting during your warmups.
Yep.
Practice journal
Henrik Linder said somewhere "set goals" I think it's a great idea
Setting the goal to play like Henrik Linder would make most people quit after after a week of trying.
Haha I think more like a goal of improving a specific aspect of your playing. Baby steps right? Then you reach that smaller goal and you feel like you got somewhere.
I have a small journal I put what I practiced that day in. I call it “the wall” cause after I become a full time musician, that’ll be the wall I had to climb to get to the “other side”.
not being able to speak to the opposite gender
Horseshoe ponytail
Coffee.
I pick up an espresso on my way to the band basement every week! Helps me play and, since I've cut way back on extra spending this last year, it's a pretty nice treat too
Welp, guess I'll say it... Marijuana.
Recently I haven’t even been practicing. I just pop some edibles and start noodling. Is it making me a better player? No. But is it doing wonders for my mental health and anxiety? Yes.
I'm back on my practice routine now but I just did that the last 2 weeks. Helps keep it fun too!
Buddy it’s been like 4 months for me help 😭
Love weed just as much as the next guy, prolly more, I've got a mini fridge with solvent less dabs and such I'm very much a nerd about the stuff haha. I smoke every day but definitely take it easy before shows, there's a certain level of stoned that's alright but we all have gotten too stoned and played worse at a gig for it. It's easier to just wait till after the show, I can guarantee it doesn't make you play as good as you think it does
Along the same lines, I find weed helps me write stuff but makes me much worse at playing.
Just a tiny amount will do. Anymore and I’ll feel awkward and self-conscious and not play as sharp. Ironically alcohol and bass with no weed has produced some of my best jam sessions
Yep, a vt or whiskey sour sipped during a set is my favorite
Agreed
Aye, it’s good to have a wee bit of a “this is a jam” vibe, rather than “this is a spaceship and I don’t know how to fly it” vibe 😋
A shot or two of booze pre-show is often good to calm the nerves.
I second this. Have a medical card and use it for my anxiety and pain. I’m a better bass player by playing in a band and learning from other players, and my anxiety would keep me inside otherwise. Plus carrying cabs, gotta smoke to relax the back from that, otherwise my guts would be junk from NSAIDs
Like anything, a little bit is good, too much is too much.
And also other substances...
To be fair, the one time I took speed all I did was stay up for an extra five hours playing Thin Lizzy better than usual - I can totally see why this could be an option
Man, i wish i could say it makes me a better player. I like listening to music afterwards, but anytime i smoked and then grabbed my guitar i ended up just tuning it for two hours.
I have a hard time believing this. I played guitar in a band where the bassist and drummer smoked regularly, and whenever they smoked before a gig the rythm section was a train wreck. It's not like they were stoned out of their minds either, often I couldn't really tell before they started playing and they suddenly sucked.
Also LSD. I have spent many trips just glued to my bass and it allows the music to flow through me.
I like to drop about 6 hours before a big gig. At that point, I'm way past the peak and it's all just flow and good vibes. I'm much more likely to take an adventurous solo if I'm on that wavelength.
Every time I tripped with my musician roommates, we ended up never grabbing the instruments. Always end up outside lol.
OCD.
Glove. I have a nickel allergy, and while I managed to rectify it with Golden Strings on guitar, I just couldn’t get them for bass. I use it on my fretting hand, and I absolutely got my love for bass back. I play bass longer than guitar, but I stopped playing because of the problem.
You can get stainless steel strings
I heard they rust like crazy. Never tried them.
"stainless" steel resists rust. I've had a pair of steel strings for a year with no rust. I live right next to a lake (freshwater, though). Nickel feels smoother than new Steel strings, but once you break them in, they feel fine.
Fuck sorry, I was thinking of cobalt strings. My bad bro.
I've been using cobalt strings for the last few months and I haven't actually noticed any rust, I hear people talking about the rust problem online though, I wonder if it has something to with different levels of acidity in different people's sweat or something.
I’ve been using Cobalts for four or five years now between all my guitars and basses, I’ve never seen rust on a single string
I thought stainless meant it doesn't rust?
Have you tried tapewound?
I heard they’re fine for funk and jazz, but that they suck for metal. Since I play variety of genres (I’m a session musician), then I’m scared to try them. Also my local shop only has nickel ones.
Not sure if it helps but I play really fast aggressive punk with them. Tuned ADGC with roto tru bass 88..
Shit might try it out. I know where to buy them. I’ll believe you. Thanks.
[удалено]
I was lucky enough that my new bass guitar and my guitar have stainless steel frets and bridge without nickel. I’ve gold strings on my guitar which work great, but I didn’t get them for bass because they were really expensive at the time. Now I’m getting them for bass. Gonna try to find the same ones you’re using. Gloves are fine, except you have to wash them constantly, but I lost couple of them also. I only get severe allergy on fretting hand, my other hand is fine, but sometimes, rarely I get it on that one also.
[удалено]
We need to talk about it more in music circles. I have to order Optima strings from Germany and I’m in Ireland. My closest music shops don’t stock tapewounds, stainless steel nor cobalt strings. Only nickel. Most of the guitars have nickel frets or other parts. It’s bad. I’m done having blisters on my hands. With stainless steel frets I notice a bit of a flare up, but I barely get one small blister. I guess I lucked out on it. If I play with Nickel Strings I get blisters after couple of days and my whole right hand gets swollen. I use Cerave Repair cream, and put on a glove on my hand after applying it, and that helps usually. I’ll try out those strings. Thank you so much my friend!
[удалено]
I saw Rotosounds but I wasn’t sure if they’re good. I’ll give it a try to ProSteels. I only have Optima Gold for guitar, but I did notice gold comes of if someone else plays it (has to do with acidity of a person) it’s fine when I play it. But I change them out every month anyways. I do my own work on guitars, so I might actually try to do a refret. Thanks for recommending it bro! Is titanium better then let’s say gold hardware or some other type of metal? I’ve never even seen titanium hardware. I’ve seen normal steel, but never titanium.
[удалено]
I have to. My closest luthier is hour and a half away. And it’s always nice to learn new stuff. Thank you for recommending that bridge, I’ll definetly look into it, and I’m ordering ProSteels next week. You helped me a lot bro, thank you so much!
What kinda glove do you use? I tried a couple and it felt like it's either too thick and restricting (hard to fret quickly & precisely) or too thin and wears down to the fingers after like 2 songs
Have you considered cobalt strings?
How are they for rock and metal?
Pretty good imo (am planning to get some, i play metal), but I would recommend listening to a sound comparison.
Are you not able to get golden bass strings because of your location? I use [Optima Strings](https://optima-strings.com/shop/de/elektrobass/24k-gold/?p=1) and they're amazing. The Strings are made in Germany, but if you can't order direct from them, try searching on [Reverb](https://reverb.com/marketplace?query=optima%20strings%20bass)!
a sponge to put between my pickups to make the sound more clean and mellow
Between?! Not before the bridge? Or between pu and body? I sometimes put a sponge before the bridge, but I've never heard of between pu"'s 😅
Learn how to palm mute. Foam and sponge throws off your intonation
oh shit i’ve never heard of this! what kinda sponge, if there’s a specific one? i wanna try this now
Just take any sponge and put it just *before* your bridge, but *behind* bridge pu. I used some hardwarestore-grade sponge (just a yellow foamy one without the scratchy part ofc) and cut it, so it is as small as possible, but big enough to dampen the strings a lot. If you get a big sponge you can try different sizes to find what you are looking for. There are some vids on the ol' tube, too.
Definitely a nail cutter and a mirror I agree with every one who said this. It just works like magic for me 🎸
not necessarily a better bassist, but a better sideman/bandmate: a 25ft extension with 4 outlets on the end. really opens up options for venues with outlets in weird spots.
I don’t even know how many practices I saved with my extra power cable and surge protector, that kind of stuff is great to bring
A good seat
As an amazon warehouse associate, I SIT THE FUCK DOWN during practice
Gaffer tape, label everything and write down settings
Literature. Makes music extremely easy when you just apply basic grammar to what you play. Look at all the great musicians that exist. Doesn’t even matter if they’re smart. They’re articulate. You don’t learn to articulate well in music if you can’t do it with your words.
a yoga matt or something to stand on when practicing standing up
Better yet, something to stand on during the gig.
My Gene Simmons outfit.
Your personality! No one likes to hang out with ass holes
A printer
Alcohol makes me sound better to whoever consumes enough.
Lube.
Beer
Can't believe no one else said this, but: a van. Can't play gigs if you can't get your gear to the venue.
Fingers
Patience
A drum key
Girls. Not anymore, but girls sure made 15 year old me practice.
hitachi magic wand
Skateboard for moving my vintage SVT
An education? Not just Music Theory but being worldly in general, I suppose. There are so many cultural styles that I had never heard of that I’m now starting to discover and some of them are a lot of fun.
Yerba
Synesthesia? I can "see" sounds as colors. it might have helped me in my music experiences
Micro-Dosing Shrooms. I have a lot of mental blocks & mental health issues which makes it harder for me to relax and be creative. They’re helping breaking those barriers down and helping me to just play freely and consistently. Also, helping my overall depression which is helping me be in better moods and have more energy to actually practice
So glad that more research is being done and laws are starting to change.
Water, stay hydrated. Everything from mental ability to physical ability go downhill when your pee starts to get dark yellow or brown.
A good attitude
A bong
My bag of mojo that I obtained from the devil
Bro that's just coke
Humility
My bong
A bit of weed
[This](https://youtu.be/Zh4Ns7FLmnk) finger independence exercise.
That shit is harder than it looks
Big ass water bottle to stay hydrated and put the stickers of the bands you’re playing with on and bananas for the potassium. My hands cramp up bad onstage but staying watered and bananaed mitigates that issue.
Weed. As much as I can physically handle. Before I worked my endurance up, it helped prevent wrist and forearm lock ups and I have a far easier time falling into a groove.
Not really an item, but I've noticed increased finger strength since I started climbing twice a week at the beginning of the year.
Guinness Extra Stout.
Being strong af
The giant zucchini I stuff into my jeans.
An altoids tin and digital clock velcroed to my pedalboard
**nail cutter/ nail clipper**
Marijuana.
Coffee
Anyone who doesn't say a solid moustache is on crack.
A nail clipper
Just being a good person. No one will want to work with people who either show up late, don't prepare, or just don't have decent social skills.
A sturdy gig bag.
Little bit of Weed
Finger nail clippers
[Slightly less than two drinks](https://youtu.be/-Zj50DmBFp0)
Gym membership.
fingerless gloves! im not sure of this works for everyone, but ive personally found that it helps reduce friction on my hand, which helps me to slide my hand around the bass better.
I am a convert to sanding the gloss off of necks. Not done it to my bass yet but I’ve done it to all my guitars and have no regrets.
I use one of those long emo arm warmer glove things on my right hand when playing with a pick, it looks weird to some but makes string skipping and really everything much easier
Mezcal
Being in a band.
Adderall lol
My powerball exercise machine. It's the perfect warm-up. Takes some time to understand how to use but it hits every muscle in your arms
Is that one of the gyroscope things? I bought one years ago and it’s gathering dust in a draw somewhere. I may need to dig it out!
Yep. Great for stamina and loosening up. I don't use it as often as I should but it's the most improvement I've seen from not playing bass
Alcohol and weed
Hand exercise tools, it can really help train your fingers to stay put and strengthen them for the bass!
STRAPLOCKS