Jimmy Haslip's Book - Modern Improvisation For Bass

Jimmy Haslip: Modern Improvisation for Bass 

Bassic Review – Fender MonoNeon Jazz Bass V

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

You’ve seen him. Even if you’ve managed to somehow remain unaware of his name in bass circles; somehow slept on his Whammy-fied, octave-up flights of funk; stayed in the dark on the man behind all that brightness – you’ve definitely seen the chromatically colorful, comic book character-esque MonoNeon. And if, like most of us, you’ve heard his brilliance on the bass for yourself, then it should come as no surprise that this mythic, string-slapping superhero has been recognized with his own signature bass! Fender has just released their MonoNeon Jazz Bass V, a Mexican-made, Mono-spec’d 5-string J-Bass, retailing at $1,599.99 and now widely available. We jumped at the chance to take a close look at one and pass our findings on to you!

Right Hand Endurance for Bass Players

Right Hand Endurance for Bass Players

Q: I’d like to ask something about right hand endurance. I’m playing in two metal bands, so some of our songs are rather fast-paced (I play 95% of the time with a pick). When rehearsing, everything seems just okay – no problems. But when playing live, my right tends to get this irregular muscular tension, and after a short bit of time I need to drop the pick and continue with finger-style.

The Reclutant Tapper

The Reluctant Tapper

A tapping tip courtesy of Billy Sheehan: Increasing the attack of the right hand by adding the middle finger on top of the index finger helps get the volume of a tapped note close to the level of a plucked one by doubling the strength of the hand.