UnitBasse

Resources

Resources for bass players:
learn and progress

Pages to help you play, whether you’re just starting out or not. Each one answers a specific question, with diagrams. Enjoy, and share freely.

Getting started

How to hold your bass: good posture, sitting and standing

Where to put the bass, your thumb and your shoulders to play for hours without pain: posture sitting and standing, and the habits that tire you out.

Starting bass: 12 common mistakes and how to fix them

Too much force, ringing strings, no metronome… The most common beginner bass mistakes, and the exercise that fixes each one.

Choosing your first bass and a practice amp

Your first bass: 4 strings, scale length, pickups, passive or active, what to check, strings. For home practice: a small amp, or headphones and a computer.

Practicing well

Five tips, gathered on one page.

Warming up on bass: 5 minutes before you play

A 5-minute bass warm-up: without the instrument, then with it, slowly and with a metronome. And the warning signs that tell you to stop.

A bass practice routine in 20 minutes a day

How to organize your bass practice: a 20-minute session, always in the same order, its variations, and how to track your progress.

Ear training for bass: intervals and lines

Relative pitch can be learned: the intervals to know first, their shapes on the fretboard, and how to work out a bass line by ear.

Setting up your bass: action, neck relief and intonation

Set up your own bass: neck relief, action, intonation and pickup height, in that order. And when to take it to a luthier.

Stage fright for bassists: playing live without freezing

Stage fright is normal and you can prepare for it: know your song faster than you need, rehearse in gig conditions, and keep one simple anchor on stage.

The instrument and your playing

The sound of your plucking hand (coming soon)

Fingers, pick, thumb: how your plucking hand shapes the sound, with clips to listen to.

Switching to 5-string bass: what really changes

A 5-string bass adds a low B below the E. The shapes don’t change; you gain low notes and more playing in position. What takes work, and how to start.

The fretless bass: tone, intonation, technique

No frets: a singing tone, smooth slides, a vocal vibrato. Where to put your finger to play in tune, technique, strings, and whether to start on one.

Harmony

The circle of fifths: understand it and use it on bass

The circle of fifths lays out all twelve keys: key signatures, relative minors, nearby chords and music’s most common progression, explained for bassists.

Effects

Bass effects explained: what each pedal does

Compressor, overdrive, octaver, chorus… What each bass effect does, how to order them in the chain, and three starter chains to begin with.

Creative effects: Synth, Tape, Swarm, Warp, Plasma, Fracture

Six effects unique to UnitBasse to get away from the usual bass sound: what each one does, the pedal family it draws on, and how to try it.