Nice Tones Playing Chords on Bass

Recently I was trying out some chords on the bass and playing around with different positions/patterns
creating different tone and sounding.

As mentioned earlier in my blog, the basic of how major chords are formed is by pressing on the root + maj 3rd and perfect 5th together. Just by adding an additional maj 7th note and you will get a maj7th chord (e.g G Maj7).
Often you can leave out the perfect 5th.

Example If you want a Gmaj7 chord, press G + B + D + F# at the same time.

When you press a 7th chords, it provides a jazzy feel. Please see tabs for basic fingering.


There are many ways to form chords, so it depend on what sounding you want and how familiar you are with the fretboards.

Have fun and don't give up.

Ben

Boiling my Strings

Hi friends,

Want to save extra bucks on bass strings?
I think some of you had heard about boiling of bass strings. Guess what? I am one of those who tried doing that. Well it suppose to make the strings (used for more than 10 months) sound more bright, remove some rust and etc

Before you start, record the sound of the bass with your current set and after you boiled the strings to hear the differences.
Ok honestly speaking I think there is no big differences but for those who want to give it a try, here we go!

1. Find a round pot big enough to put in your bass strings ( please do not use it to cook anything anymore even if you have wash it hundreds of times) So delicate a pot that you do not want to use and put your strings in.

2. Fill it up with water and boil it for at least 20 minutes.

3. Let it cool for 10 minutes and pour away the water (Is the water slightly brownish?).

4. Dry your strings and strung it back to your bass. ( You might need to adjust the action of the neck if it start to buzz).

Alternatively is to buy a new set of strings. Rotosound is quite affordable. Love the yellow colour box :)

Btw since I unstrung my bass strings to boil, I took the waiting time to polish my frets and the fretboard.
Cleaning up the dirt from the bridge too.
You can choose to use 'fire wine' to soak your strings too. (methylated spirit)

Cheers,

Ben