coentjuh said,

Hey Marlow.
I’ve been playing bass for 4 years now and i have learned alot from your website.
since 1 month ago i have been trying to learn a song but i just can find any tab’s or sheets for the music. its a song of Dave Grusin
It is called Thankful ‘N Thoughtful, i was wondering that maybe you could help me on the fill that the bass player uses to step up to the refrain. ive been having a real hard time on this part of the song so please help me,

Thankful N´Thoughtfull by Dave Grusin
if needed i can send you a Mp3 of it

I dont do requests unless i am planning on doin the tunes anyway, so you have to work it out yourself or hire me for a lesson;-)

Ricardo Carvalho said,

Hi ! Ive played bass since 2003 and i really apreciatte your site. How long have you played ? How much basses do you have and what equiments do you recomend for record line basses with drum machine ?

belgian spice said,

Hey man you are UNBELIEVABLE …
So I’ve been playing for a few months and I’ve been basically learning how to read bass clef and i have that down pat even though I still have some trouble regarding the different rhythms; sometimes they get tricky if I don’t hear the song. Anyway, now I’m getting into theory and understanding music so that eventually I can make my own music and sit down without my bass and write a piece of music. My question is this: I understand the major chords and minor chords and I can pick them out in songs and I know the intervals for certain songs like when I play a blue song I recognize the interval patterns and can point out C maj. E min. B dim. whatever…but how does this relate to being able to play my own music in the future? How do I take what I know and convert it to useful information towards my own individual playing. I guess I just don’t understand yet how chords and everything are relevant and how they’ll improve my playing in the future. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated … thank you
Hmmmm, big subject…
You are on the right path if you’ve learned so much in that short time span…
Music - yours,mine, everybody’s - consists of notes , rhythm, melody, chords….the more knowledge we have - the easier we learn tunes, riffs, basslines, solos and the more tools we have for composing and improvising great music. Its like having a box full of tools, and maybe you dont know to use a certain tool today , but tomorrow when your bandleader ask you to play a bassline to a ie the chord Cmaj7 (which you now know) you suddenly understand the bigger picture and can use your “tool” - you can play the right notes for that chord. Its a process that takes time though , but stay on the path

xristy007 said,

Hi Dude,

Great site my friend, and you are just an amazing player! If I could ever be 25% as good as you Id be very happy!
Ive just donated so am looking forward to playing(or at least trying to!) the lick of the day transcriptions!
I have a couple of questions and Id be grateful if you could answer them!
I havent been playing slap for very long, but I play with my thumb facing downwards. Is it a good idea to change to the way you do it, or is it a case of ‘do whatevers comfortable?’
and, are there any tab versions of your licks on here and if so how do I access them?
Thanks Marlowe for your time, and for inspring me!
xristy007
Do whatever is comfortable, but if you want to add doublethumbing you might want to change.
Worth to mention is that, many players play with the thumb down because of the length of their straps - how low their basses hang. FLea and TM Stevens for instance have their basses hanging “rock style” low, and play with their thumbs pointing down - (its impossible to play thumb up unles yuo have arms of an orangutang). And they get by fine, its just their style.
The transcriptions are both standard notation and tablature

Iceman said,

Plz help on improvisation on faster speeds.
All ur vids have tempo around 100.
How to improvise with metronome on like 120-130?

Thanks
Play them faster then;-)
But seriously - i like it slower - grooves better

dommern said,

Hi Marlow,
I´m new to this fantastic site and i´m really enjoying your skillfull teaching. However, I also have problems loading some of the vids. The video in section “downloads” is ok. The same with the six vids in section “Bass lessons”. The other vids refuse to load no matter what alternative I use. I have a Macbook running Safari and have checked out both Opera and Firefox. But the problem appears on those browsers as well. Any suggestions?
No - works fine on my systems: Mac - safari and firefox, PC - IE and firefox - its Quicktime videos, so you have to check your Quicktime settings

Humata said,

Hi Marlowe, and thanks for the great site!

I have an Ernie Ball Musicman Stingray, and I think it’s great, but I have a problem with the strings I currently use.
I use Ernie Ball bass strings, because they’d obviously sound great with a bass of the same kind.

The problem is that I get way to much buzz when the strings hit the frets. Should I try to raise or lower the stringheight, and do you recommend some strings specifically?
Buzz is too low action or neck needs adjusting - has nothing to do with string type, try rasing the action or get a luthier checkup

isaydudelikemad said,

Actually it wont even let me download it wont load the page. Im not sure what do try next.

kleinzeitnz said,

Any thoughts on the accuracy of the commercially available transcriptions of Jaco’s version of ‘Donna Lee’ (Sean Malone and Matt Scharfglass, both available from Hal Leonard)? To my ear, there are a number of discrepancies in each, and some vital errors. Have you tackled this tune and do you often find a variance between the recorded versions and transcriptions you have checked out?
Havent done that specific tune, but ive yet to encounter the “perfect” transcription - but it is natural with music that is transcribed from audio - can be hard to judge whether ie a ghosted note is a bass note or maybe a drum beat..

isaydudelikemad said,

Hey man i have a question. I was able to watch videos for the first few days of my membership but for about the last week I havent been able to. My quicktime works fine but i noticed that your webpage always comes up with the little error on page sign in the left hand corner. Do you have any idea why this is happening becuase i cant watch any videos anymore, they just dont load.
No, not really - what platform and browser are you using?

blunt said,

Have been a 5 string player for years and have dabbled in slap but always found it a struggle to slap with that low B and the closer string spacing. (I know lain Caaron and that Batista dude can do it but I just find it so more comfortable on the 4 string.) Now you have inspired me to dig out my 65 fender jazz and really get into some serious double thumping on the 4 string. however I find
that the tone with the standard pickups just does not seem to cut it for a contemporary slap sound. have you experimented with different pickups or do you just need to keep brand spanking new strings on all the time.
Well i think that for example Marcus Miller has a “contemporary slap sound” and thats stock pickups as far as i know.
No , i use stock pickups, but i of course change strings regularly

Zazou said,

Bonjour Marlowe!!
Félicitation pour tout ce que tu fais.
J’ai 40 ans et je n’ai jamais pris de cours de basse… et je joue depuis 20 ans!!!
En fait je tourne un peu en rond et tu m’apporte plein de nouveautés.
Je joue sur jazz bass V active.
Peu tu me donner des conseil pour le reglage de mon ampli (crate BT 350) pour un son pour le slap??
Encore bravo et bonne continuation.
Jeg forstår ikke hvad du siger!;-)

bbBassYo said,

Hey Marlowe,

I would really love to give a donation, its the least i could do.

the only problem is i just turned 18 and i dont have a credit card.

so if there are any other ways to do a donation please let me know.

and thanks for all the great work!
Thx man:) Yan pay with e-checks, direct bank tranfers etc. too, but you have to signup for a paypal acount - you need one for ebay anyway;-)
You dont need to signup when paying with creditscards though

rebelsean said,

Hi marlowe i hope you are well, thanks for all your hard work on this site and on the Forum, can i ask you, would you at some point play us some Chic (Bernard Edwards) ??? ho yes dont forget Smaz Birthday, Cheers Sean
You’re welcome:)
Isnt that a request for yutube?;-) Only my own stuff here

lainbc said,

Hi Marlowe,

Just curious, what made you decide on the Marcus Miller bass as your main bass?
Cheap, sounds good and easy to play

budawg said,

Hey man,

Just wondering what sort of effects you may be going though when you recording these videos? Compressor? What kind? In other words, I just want to know what gear you use besides your basses.

Thanks! (Sweet site by the way…very educational!)
All the info on this site;-)

jakethesnake said,

Hej Marlowe jeg er vild med dit site.

Hvilken forstærker bruger du når du spiller live?

davidphillips said,

How much donation to get all your tabs to match your Daily lick video instruction? I know it’s a lot but would love to have them? David
Am working on 10 new, stay tuned

Smaz said,

Shave?!?! Noooo! When are the sideburns & chops coming back? :D

Gloster said,

Hi Thomas,
Love ur site, but please .. do shave.
Saw ur comments on the Chinese basses; have any experience with the ALBA Basses that are sold thru German eBay, like a P-Bass for € 60,00 (+10 shipping)?
I resent that kind of personal comments, im not promoting a beauty parlor or running for president.

bugkung said,

hi Mallow,
I’m come from thailand, i love your video very much and i have some little problems with doing double thumb technique when i play the “up stroke”, it’s like my thumb(nail) doesn’t have enough power to hook up the string. How can I fix this problem? I tried many ways but they won’t work. Thank you very much :)
Dont you know? If you are from Thailand you cannot use your thumb properly!……………………………………………
Well, either string action is too high or you use to much strenght - you should only “stroke”the string on the upstroke - woth a light touch

Wle

hamrhedd said,

Hey,thanks for the great site!I’m another”40 something” trying to learn the bass.I’ve been playing along with the radio for a couple of years now and it’s great to have someone like you come along to show me how to do it right. Here’s my question. I’m trying to learn slap now but it seems that I’m hearing more of a buzz on the fret board than the actual note.I’m playing on a Fender Precision that also has jazz pickups (or so I was told). I only have a small practice amp and I’m wondering if its not sensitive enough or if I’m hitting to hard or what the story is. What do you think? Thanks again
Possibilities - fingering issues in the fretting hand or to low action (use an Allen wrench to raise the action by the bridge - the metal thingie where the strings are attached)

parapab61 said,

i ment did you take it off or was it already removed when you got the bass lol
No i removed it:-D
I feel it limits my tonal possibilities (now , wasnt that well put, ha ha )

Anonymous said,

Any Suggestion training better on Rhythm and timing??
Nooo, thats the the thing you shouldnt train at all!;-)
Its kind of selfevident isnt it?, if you ie..:suck timing wise - train that!
See my advice on “how to practice”

Anonymous said,

Hi Marlowe, Love your Videos, tips, Technis!!!

Firstly i thanks for that here =D

So, I have been playing bass for just passed 1 year. Very happy about it, i got a Bass teacher.
I asked him how is my Fundamental, and he said “Not Strong”. I Been working very hard for that but just dont get it right sometimes….

My Timing is a Major problem~ I cant keep it smooth.

And my right hand finger walking…
He said my Left hand stronger then my Right Hand…

ANd recent Lesson i learn BLUES penthetonic…

HE asked me to do a solo or a groove on it, but i cant== very sad…

HELP HELP
Look at my 2 Blues scale lessons here (almost bottom of “Bass lessons” page)

Michael Brown said,

Hi I would justr like to say thank you for the vids man. Youve really given me some new ideas on my finger style that I really couldnt see for myself. Thanks again Michael
You’re most welcome, theres almost nothing better than being an inspiration (apart of course from hard cash and beautiful women)

Mango7 said,

I’m a complete pre-beginner and I know nothing about the bass really, but I want to learn. I’ve been trying to play disco stuff and I’m totally lost on which fingers hit which string and how you place your fingers. I hate it and makes me want to forget about learning. I don’t want to take a lesson because I feel sorry for the person who has to teach a 40 yr old “dummy” how to play a bass for the first time! Any suggestions on options? Sorry to be so negative, but I’m frustrated. Thanks

kurt
Its never to late to learn, but of course it can be frustrating to know how its supposed to sound and not beeing able to replicate it with your fingers.
BUT everything takes time and effort, so start with less complicated stuff, play along to pop/rocks songs with simple basslines first. Disco bass basslines involves a lot of string skipping (playing octaves fi ) and can be hard for beginners.
Im planning on doin a series of right hand exercise videos

Rascool said,

Hey Marlowe

As always, thanks for all your work. Greatly greatly appreciated. Thanks again from all of us.

Well, I’m an intermediate player (I’m 34 to all you start-later-in-life people out there! :-) and I’m currently studying theory under a tutor (have finally accepted the fact that I must now practice chords regularly and scales regularly if I’m to get any better. Darn… :-), and I’m also now in the process of ordering all the books you’ve recommended on here (yes all of them). And oh yeah, I’m also working on playing in less bands so that I have time to practice all this stuff. I now believe that you CAN be in too many of them! :-)

Anyway, back to the point…

My question is do you have any thoughts on the best way to develop speed. I’ve noticed that if you want to play anything decent, you sooner or later will need to be able to play FAST (and accurately, and theoretically correct as well, of course :-).

Any thoughts?
Play along to songs that go on for a long time, James Brown songs is a god choice , just playing 16′ths.
To get speed you also need stamina (playing without pause for 5 minutes and more)

Maximus said,

Dear Marlowe

i’m curious about other techniques and sounds of playing bass, can you use a fiddle on the strings if they were flatwound? like Cello?
You tell me:)

Funkyjack said,

Smaz :

Aaah thanks:) i read it and i will practice it:)

Marlowe :

Haha yeah only a few bassplayers like bootsy and larry knows how to sing when they play a funky bassline

Funkyjack said,

Haha sorry another question i forgot..

I want to sing (background) while i’m playing but i think it is veerry hard. Do you have any experience with bass+background vocals? Yes, can you give tips? When i try it, i go out of tune with my voice or ryth. Or i can’t even play the bassline any more because i focus on the singing.

Lol thank you again!

I can only sing backing when playing “simple” pop/ rock (8′th notes etc)
Funk and soul? forget it! the bass is always on the syncopated beats where the singing isnt!
But if youre serious about it, you have to practice it a lot, dissecting the rhythm, kinda of like playing piano where left and right hands have to sync.
If you can do it, youll double your working chances

Funkyjack said,

Hi! :)

I love your funkyness!
I’ve quite a problem i think.
When I want to compose a groovy bassline for my band or just a jam/solo i’ve got a blockade! I just can’t compose a cool thing. Is it because i’m insecure/not enough theory? When i composed something cool, the next day or hour i think it is bad and not good enough and i get a little depressed because i can’t make cool lines. I know i’ve got enough creativity but when people “expect” things from me I can’t compose and can’t hear music anymore in my head. Do you know how to avoid/make it dissappear because it’s not making me happy and it let me think i’m not a good bassist because i can’t play things i want to. But i know i’am pretty “good” because i can play by ear and don’t have much troubles with playing songs.
Please help me!
Thank you very much!
I recognise the problem and its partly lack of confidence - back home you can play everything and when playing “for real” you go “blank”.
But preparation is the trick, one cannot always count on divine intervention/inspiration, so have some licks and patterns rehearsed / in your “memory bank”. If necessary play the same solo everytime, if it works everybody is happy.
And practice making basslines using different chords and rhythms, steal from the masters, most disco, funk , rockbasslines arent rocket science, most is constructed using root, third, fifth, sevenths and octaves. Make simple basslines that groove, so the rest of the band can add their thing on top

mattchuk93 said,

hey Marlowe
Is there any way you could make the website more iphone friendly?
Just installed a pda, iphone plugin, but you tell me if it works, dont have these devices myself

Smaz said,

@ Mango/Kurt: You can’t get much better than a fender jazz for funk bass :)

@ Joaquin: Try posting on the forums asking for advice, or try somewhere like http://www.talkbass.com to ask questions like that - there are more peopel over there likely to be able to help with that kind of thing :)

@ Elarocque: Problems tuning? Again, post on the forums - what kind of problems? What bass, and what are you trying? :)

For general questions etc., try posting in the forums - that way more people can respond & offer advice :)

Keep up the good work marlowe! :)

Joaquin said,

Marlowe,

I am a blues bass player and need some help on how to do some better turnarounds and also how to walk through a turn around instead of just going I-IV-I-V……just want to kick things up and sound better when I play the blues….

Thanks,

Joaquin

Mango7 said,

Hi Thomas- You’re the most refined bass player I’ve yet to see on YouTube. I originally (and subconciously) began to love disco/funk basslines when I was a 15 yr old kid. Now I want to learn how to play. I’ve bought an ‘85 MIJ Jazz Bass Special and another MIJ ‘85 JBS fretless. Are these good enough to learn from for Disco/Funk? I have a little Peavey Minx II and a Boss CS-3, as well as an octaver. Would you recommend anything else for me to get started? Thanks in advance,

Kurt
Well , you are good to go, what you need now is to practice the disco/funk basslines;-)

jdrahush said,

Hello Marlowe I hate to bother you with another one of ‘these’ questions, but I trust your opinion more than most. I am looking to buy a compressor and you said you used a Demeter, but I looked into it and cannot afford 1000+ for a rack compressor, is there anything a little cheaper? Are pedal compressors an option or just a waste of time? Thanks.
Its a Demeter pedal compressor ive got;-) But not that great for my purpose (slap)

N10 said,

Thank you again and maybe see you on a gig(I hope you’ll have one in Slovenia):D ;-)

N10 said,

Hello, Marlowe!
I’d like first to thank you for all the effort you’re putting in teaching young bass players that admire and respect you. I think you’re doing a noble job to share with us your knowledge and show us how to become good musicians. I’m very impressed and happy of your work. Thanks again:P

While I was checking out this site i found out, that you give a lot of similar advice as Andrew Pouska on his site for studying bass http://www.studybass.com, so I wanted to ask you if you ever checked out that site. So, have you?

It helped me at the beginnig, and now, when i finished all the exercises I decided to study from your website and I think it’s very effective and well done. Keep on man, you’ve become a new idol for lots of bassplayers:D

Nik
Well, Nik, it seems that you havent checked my links section;-) (or studybass for that matter we link to each other)
And i guess that similar advice must mean the right advice then, since theres more of us giving it..
I think studybass is one of the best sites around explaining the basics

lowfreq65 said,

Hi Marlow, I have a question about the action on your basses, that is…. do you favor low action, Med action, or is high action better?, Thanks,
I use as low action as possible without sucking out the tone too much - the higher action the better tone, but more difficult to play - especially for slap

mattchuk93 said,

how did u get the name MarloweDK??
Read all Raymond Chandler’s books when i was a teenager - you know his main character the private eye Philip Marlowe
In my first band we had aliases and mine was marlowe.
Later for online gaming (battlefield 1942) I added the DK and i used it for my Youtube channel too.
Little did i know that it would be so relatively “well known”, and now its almost too late to go back to my “real” name - Who the f*** is Thomas Risell???;-)

johnmagic said,

Thom,
I love the solo on “Reach For It” by Byron Miller. It is a true classic in the funk arena. Do you know any other albums that showcase his bass work?

Johnmagic
Most George Duke albums from the 70’s

hottentot said,

Hi MarloweDK,

Do you ever use Garageband to record any of your stuff? If so, what is your set up? I’m new to Macs and would appreciate any guidance.

JD
No i dont and look under “recording videos with Korg px4d”

mainman said,

Hello Thomas,

You inspired me too study more and more on my bass! I just can’t stop with studying since i found your site… :)

In some licks-of-the-day you bend the string away for some vibration. I have difficulties with doing this too. I quess it will be easier with thinner strings on the bass, but will there be other effects when using another thickness of snares?

Like a thinner sound, of a different bending of the bass-neck for example?

So, do you know why someone should change a thickness of a snare, an what the beneficts of this are?

Thanks again for sharing your experience with us…
Bending/vibrato takes some time to learn, no reason to use thin strings (not snares), unless yuo want to bend like a guitarist

XMasamuroX said,

Hey Marlowe, I can’t thank you enough for making this site, Its helped me improve so much. On a further note, I have a set of questions: 1. I’ve been playing bass for about a year, and I’m at about an Advanced level, I’m looking for a good bass within a price of $300-600 that gives a jazz/ Funk sound. What would you recommend? And also, (this is kind of a silly question) What is the name of the program you use for the instrumentals that you use to brainstorm bass-lines? you state a name in your blues scale video, but I didn’t exactly catch it.

Steven
Buy a used fender jazz or a Lakeland darryl jones signature model (jazz bass type).
Are you refering to the software i use to slow down tracks so i can pick out the basslines easier?
If thats the case then its “Transcribe”, find the link in the links section.
I dont use a special program when composing basslines, just a rhythm device (pandora, hammerhead and drum loops)

Bassti said,

Hi Thomas,
i used to call myself a bassplayer until i found your site…
May i use one of your Lick-of-the-day (inspiration, not 1:1 copy) for a solo-bass song?
Yes you may:-)

yannick24 said,

Hi! Do you know any cheap 6 string basses for beginners? I’ve been playing 4 string bass for about 6 months and im hoping to get a place in the local music school. Greetings from Norway and thanks for the help : )
Ive only played the Yamaha 6 str bass, good quality for the price and you can always find nice used ones even cheaper

Toritz said,

Hi Marlow, other than the favorite settings described in the page under KORG PX4D, any other Pandora settings you can suggest for a good SLAP effect? Thanks.
No, thats the one i use

msolano said,

Hey Marlow…I think I need to re-phrase my ?..what r your thoughts on round wound vs. flat…I can’t really tell by the vids. what you prefer. And is there a reason you prefer one over the other….thanks man.
Im just a round wound kinda a guy

msolano said,

Marlow….(Regarding the Pandora purchase) I am sorry if I missed that on the site…unfortunatly I ordered mine from ZZounds…sorry man, hate that that happened. Just got it and looks like it’s gonna be a lot of fun….on a different note..I did want to get your opinion on flat wound vs. round. I use flat b/c I like the “old school” sound; however I play mostly live and not in studio…..any thoughts?
Have more basses;-)

mikelidian said,

hi marlow masta, i wonder if you have the ” do i do” music sheet (partitura) ??,, i know that probably it would be easier to figure it out by ear, but i want it to be like a fun way to practice my reading =p… ty
No, i havent made any transcriptions of any songs from my youtube channel, but ill have in mind that people are interested in reading exercises
By the way im millionare, how much the personal classes… without transportation, food, and that stuff?? lol =P
Well, i teach in my home for around 60 us $, 100 if i have to come to people (+ expenses)
But millionaires - add a zero (or spoil me with luxury;-)

dilbertdesk said,

hai marlow, i just begin to play bass guitar.
but there’s many questions in my mind
1.for beginner like me,what bass & what type that appropriate for my lesson.because i very confuse,at your videos you use many kind of bass guitar.
A jazz bass type perhaps, Squier makes some good cheap jazz bass copies. Any amp will do
2.did your bass had been upgraded.because when i checking off your bass with the original fender bass at web, i found many different (jazz bass in the pick up & the controls)&(precision bass in the pick up)
Havent upgraded p-ups on my basses, all stock models and they are old
3.what is the different between p-bass&j-bass.
P bass: wider neck, deeper fuller sound , 1 pickup, favored for old soul/funk and rock but not as versatile as Jazz bass that has aslimmer faster neck, more sound options, 2 pickups, fits more styles.
But in the end its a matter of taste, you (or a bass playing friend) have to try them out yourself in a music shop and go with your feelings
thank you..i hope you answer my questions before i play & buy some bass guitar..

keep work…work of funk

bassalo said,

Hey Marlowe. Many thanks for putting up this site and all the vids on YouTube. I’m a beginning bassist after many years of drumming, and I’ve struggled a bit on building the speed of my fret hand/fingers. I’ve read a few ’suggested’ methods on the internet, and I’ve taken to the drummer’s approach of repeated triplet notes or sixteenth notes, up and down the strings with a metronome. I’ve put a lot of time into it, my plucking hand seems to have benefited greatly, but I’ve hit a ceiling. Any suggestions for enhancing fretted hand speed would be greatly appreciated!
I dont know any magic exercises, and speed for speed sake’s is rather uninteresting, just play the same bassline (james brown comes to mind) for long stretches of time 5 -15 minutes, you’ll gain stamina and eventually speeeeeed

toronto_bass said,

Hey MarloweDK!
I just wanted to know what strings you use on your basses, and your live rig
Thanks.
Toronto
I mainly use DR Hi Beams strings
I have two heads , An Ashdown solid state Mag 400, and a Hartke 300 w for backup
I also have a small EBS combo for reherseals and very small gigs
Cabinets are Peavey 4×12 plus a 1×15 for larger venues.
Ive had the cabs and the Hartke for more than 12 - 14 years

mattchuk93 said,

hey
good stuff
i know, i know me again!
but i have been watching your videos and i noticed that on (at least on) your p-bass the saddles on the bridge are all messed up, is their any specific reason for that? different tone? better for certain genres?
thanks a lot
and sorry for all the questions
(but expect more ;) )
Nothing is messed up? Saddles are adjusted for intonation, that can be different on any bass

bucketbass said,

hi marlowe. i have lowered the action on my p bass-its nice and low but without any excessive fret buzz when playing hard. All of the new p basses i have seen in shops have the pickups set at angles to each other (higher in the middle two strings) but older p basses i have seen have the pickups set so all pole pieces are set level. how do you recommend your set up and does it make a great tonal diference? set flat gives a better thumbrest ;-)
Dunno, not something ive been giving any thought and Im really not that nerdy about pickups, rosewood/maple necks, bridges, etc.

scorsa said,

hey marlowe we love what you are doing. i have a question about the sx and douglas basses. you said that they were great experimental basses. i’ve been looking for a practice 6 stringer to tap on…would it be worth the cash or should i save for something a little more high-end?
Well, its not quality per se, but good for the price (especially for USA residents) and for experiments with “niche” instruments. But if youre serious about a 6 string , you should probably aim higher

Thanks, keep groovin’

Defe said,

Hi

I’ve a silly question : could you tell us which headphones you’re using to play along / monitor / etc ? Silly silly question, it’s just there too much choice out there for a lazy bugger like me !

Thanks !
I buy some some cheap (15 - 20 $) computer headphones (media-tech), they usually dont last that long before i step on them, or some other accident happen, and i like the bass in them

simonj said,

does that mean little or no relief in the neck? thxs.

mattchuk93 said,

hey marlowe
thanks for all the help
i have a question
you have a picture with a black on white fender jazz and the under the pic it says “from a fan”
do u still have this bass?
and y dont u use it?
Its strung with black nylons for a muddy old school sound, just not appropiate for “lick of the day”.
I promise, it wil get it’s chance (or else IT will get the hose!…)

rflemm001 said,

I like that you recommended the Rondo fretless; it’s so inexpensive! Also, I loved that you chose to play Continuum on the YouTube video; I’d like to hear more using that bass. I was thinking of purchasing one to play around on but before I do - I would like to know why you gave it the stamp of approval - does it sound good or cheap?

Pros: As cheap as eating out for 2, ok sound from pickups
Cons: Lots of dead spots, crappy tuners wiring and hardware, body light as a cardbox

Its sounds good for a cheap ass bass, Wouldt call it “A quality bass” but rather “Good quality for the money spent”.

Smaz said,

Hey marlowe, which album is Up the Creek without a paddle by The Temptations on? I’ve been looking for it on iTunes, wikipedia, can’t find it… Cheers :)
Dont know if its even on cd, but it was on the “Wings of love” album

nv043 said,

What kind of shoulder straps do you use?
I dont know actually, but i need to replace with a more comfy (padded) strap soon

bassmanberthil said,

Hi marlow…first of all a wonderful and very
good website. I can learn a lot of your lessons.
What kind of exercise do you use for stretching up the fingers, elbow etc…
Sometimes after slapping a lot i feel it in my left elbow. Or is it that i play in a wrong sitting position?
I dont do stretching exercises unless im goin for a run;-), but if something hurts, stop!strong>

urishima said,

Hey Marlowe, it seems like some of your Videos in the “Bass Lessons” Sections are no longer available on youtube. Could you please fix that? I was just going to watch them to learn a few tricks.

So long…
Just checked , no problems here

Smaz said,

Your picture with Marcus… Tell us more? :)
He was doing a clinic at my old “school” the rhytmic music conservatory in Copenhagen prior to his concert the same evening. Very inspiring to hear this humble and fantastic musician tell studio tales, give great advice and play the bass so wonderfully. I had to have my picture taken with one of my heroes:)

thommoo9 said,

why u do not use tab for us slower guy video r great but the tab helps out great to see how it is done your fingers r pretty fast there.
I will at some point sell written examples in standard notation + TAB, but its timeconsuming to do
I do feel that most video examples should be slow enough to grasp, but not everything is for beginners

DamonUK said,

A non-bass question. What camera do you use? The built in iMac? Also, do like Mark King/Level 42 stuff?
Keep up the great work.
Cheers, Damon
London.
Yup, the built in macbook
Sure, I listened to Mark King too in the 80’s;-)

simonj said,

Evening Marlowe.

Whilst wading through my Bass scale finder (all 1300 of them) I was wondering which you view as the essential scales and modes to learn ?
For pop/rock/funk… major and minor pentatonic, major, mixolydian, dorian and natural minor scales - well if you practice the major scale you know the others too;-)
For fusion/jazzy stuff.. all the modes of the major scale - major, dorian, frygian, lydian, mixolydian, aolian (natural), locrian - whick are just the major scale started on different degrees.
You would also use the all the modes of the harmonic minor scale…
But i tend to stick with the first mentioned.
Then theres all the licks one makes up or learns from other great players which combines arpeggios, scales and chromatic notes and thats really what i use the most

As for musical requests, “Always there” was suggested earlier, although for me the Ronnie Laws version does it.

Do you no any Tania Maria ? Her classic “Come with me” has some nice early slap bass.

Thanks as always.

PS. my wife is more than happy with my late night slapping as she gets the TV controls at last.

urishima said,

Hey Marlowe.

It’s not a question about music but I was wondering if you had a higher resolution version of the first picture ein your gallery (MarloweDK’s pics->Performing with Henrik Hall). It would make an awesome wallpaper but it’s just too small.

Keep on groovin, mate ;)
Cheers

You flatter me ;-) No, i dont have that (unfortunately)

simonj said,

Hi Marlowe

Would be interested in any exercises or licks on right hand finger muting, (not palm muting). You use your third finger I believe, is this across all strings and does it just shadow your second finger ? The Jermaine Jackson “serious” on U tube just sounded so good, I had to order myself a Marcus Miller. The Lakland is quite a bit more expensive over here btw.
Yes, you’re almost right, but i use my third and 4′th (pinky) to choke the strings, they can only cover 2 strings at a time ie 3rd on E str & 4th on A str. If i then wants to play a note on the D string, my 2 “choking” fingers moves to the A & D string.

Thanks again

nv043 said,

Hey Marlowe,

I was wondering what, if any, warmup exercises you do before practicing/playing.
Sometimes i just start out real slow, but i dont do warmup exercises as such - apart from a few drinks on gigs;-)

acidtripvitality said,

Hey my Fender mexi 60s jazz bass has a slight warp in the neck if you look down from the bridge it curves left (concave pointing towards strings) slightly and i tried turning my truss rod RIGHT a few quarter turns and it helped slightly but jsut bent back after a week or two…

how do i correct this because i can go to guitar center but if i can just fix this permanently myself i will.
having the experience and knowledge of truss rods and how they work would help.
You can never get a total straight neck with a Fender, a slight bow is tolerable, my basses needs a turn of the trussrood once a while, depending on season, weather , humidity - its wood after all

simonj said,

Hi Marlowe. Thanks for the tip on Lakland Darryl Jones, seems like they’re highly rated on the user forums too. How do like your Marcus Miller ?
You’re welcome. I like the Marcus Miller so much, im doin most my soul / funk gigs on that bass, the playability is great

Simon said,

Do we call you Marlowe or Thomas?
Call me Marlowe, my “artist” name:-D
You are an inspiration to a 50 yr old part time bass player !
I’ve only ever played fingerstyle over the years and thanks to you, now want to get my slap technique sorted. I find it hard to get any clarity on a 5 string (Warwick Thumb) as string spacing seems too close, so I am thinking of getting an additional cheap 4 string Fender Mexican Jazz. Am I wasting my money, should I stick to the five, or do you have any other recommendations?
Try a Lakeland Darryl Jones signature jazz bass type
Keep those grooves coming Marlowe and thanks

Simon Johnson (UK)

Sean said,

Hi Marlow hope your well, just thinking now you have a fretless bass any chance of doing Gary Numan Music For Chameleons ? Cheers Sean, p.s. thank you for answering my other questions and quires thanks
Not familiar with that artist, Ill listen to it if i find the song at some point