(Part 2) Top products from r/Bass

http://www.scottsbasslessons.com

This was one of my first books. It starts off fairly easy, but gets moving pretty quick.

This is the Tao Te Ching of bass.

This was one of the books that helped get my technique to where it is today. I'm not sure if the new version has all of the same exercises.

Always read notation. Tab becomes a crutch, and the quicker you learn notation, the more you'll use it, and the better you'll get at it. It's a skill, it's frustrating at first, but it's worth it.

This is my favourite Music Theory book.

Transcribe music. Not only learn how to play it by ear, but learn how to write it down as well. It's really hard at first, but it's probably the best thing you can do to learn to jam, interact with other players, and communicate your ideas to anyone at any level.

Want Chops?

Find a qualified bass teacher in your area. Don't go to that guy who plays guitar and teaches bass on the side and only uses tab because he's never had to read. It may not seem like it, but there are differences in technique that an experienced bass player/teacher would know that a guitar player may not. Find a teacher that pushes you every lesson and makes you want to sit in a chair for hours working on technique, transcribing, and listening.

On top of getting an instructor, scour the internet for every piece of information you can get. At first you'll get some bad advice, but you'll find that there is a lot of great information out there. Always test the boundaries of what you're being taught by anyone with the information you're absorbing for where ever you're getting it. One of the best teachers that I had said "If you're teacher tells you there's only one way to do something, it's time to find another teacher".

I'll give you more great advice from a different teacher. He was this old grizzled player that played Jazz before, and after, Jazz was cool. He said:

"There are only three things you need to do to be a successful musician. One: Show up. If you show up every time you're going to be ahead of 95% of the rest of the musicians out there. That means every lesson, every rehearsal, every gig, every time.

Two: Know your parts. If you show up every time, on time, and know what you're supposed to play, you're going to be ahead of 99% of the players out there.

Thirdly: Play your heart out. If you show up, on time, know what you're playing, and love what you're playing, no matter what it is you're playing, then you're going to be in that 1% of musicians that actually get steady gigs."

Have Fun.

• 9 years
  
• My two best friends in middle school played guitar and drums, so they needed a bass player to start a band. I happily obliged.
  
• It's so powerful, yet can be so refined. People tend to think that it's all roots and fifths in quarter notes, but it's really an extremely diverse instrument.
  *21
  
• A Warmoth jazz clone. Daphne blue, birdseye maple neck, gold hardware, and Nordstrand NJ4 70's wind pickups :)
  
• Rickenbacker 4003 and a MIM jazz. Currently saving up for a Stambaugh custom.
  
• Pedal board has a TC Electronic Polytune, Markbass Compressore, EH Big Muff, Digitech Bass Synth Wah, Digitech iStomp, Dunlop High Gain Volume, and a Tech 21 SansAmp VT Deluxe. I've played it through a Fender TV Duo 10 for the past 3 years but recently acquired a 1967 Ampeg B-15N. It had been in storage for 10 years so I sent it to a shop before plugging it in. Haven't got it back yet, needless to say I can't wait.
  
• This is hard to say. If I had to name just one then it would probably be Flea. The first few years I had my bass (a Squier Affinity P) I just kinda noodled around. Then a friend lent me his copy of By The Way and the album blew my mind with how much he was getting around his bass. It's what inspired me to go from being a casual player to start focusing on it seriously.
  
• I've done a bit of everything, from jazz to punk to folk and beyond. I was in a ska band for a while and that was incredibly fun.
  
• Blink-182 will never not be fun to play. One of my favorite bass memories is covering "First Date" at the very first gig I ever played. I also enjoy playing Guster. They don't use bass on all of their songs, so it's fun to be able to take some liberties and get creative. I'm not playing with any groups right now, so I've been working on a lot of solo stuff. I've had a blast playing through books of Bach pieces transcribed for bass. Check out this book if you're looking for something new!

My first band (and second one, for that matter) focused wholly on original material.

In the 2nd one trying to corral four people in a room on a consistent basis was our biggest challenge, let alone make some creative spark happen without it all devolving into distractions. We ended up just jamming on chords and going nowhere.

Back to the first - few of us had any experience. One classically trained guitarist who was very good, another guitarist on an acoustic who had pure talent and could make almost anything he played sound good, a singer/poet with personality, humor, and his own style, and me, the guy who thought "I can play bass."

That band (still my favorite) met at least once a week, played for at least an hour or two (sometimes more, rarely less) when we got together, and worked up nothing but original material for the few short months we were together. I still have a tape of our songs, all recorded in a single small room on a 4-track. It's rough, but beautiful, and we were all growing together as musicians. I still know those songs and am still proud of the creativity that spawned them.

The key I've found in playing since then is to be yourself and have fun most of all. As you play more, you'll get better, even if you're getting bored practicing. Victor Wooten has some interesting points to make on practicing in this book, The Music Lesson. Highly recommended.

Practice is important, but the focus should be on learning good upright style position playing, especially in first and second position. And learning to really incorporate open strings in your playing, as that definitely helps you 'calibrate' unconsciously. Learning to walk changes like that will easily dial it in, esp. if you start working to tempo. Use iReal Pro and just practice random Real Book changes, or the standard jazz exercise sets available.

I have students switching to fretless pick up the Rufus Reid book [The Evolving Bassist] (https://www.amazon.com/dp/0967601509/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_40YQCb7935GP8) to learn double bass position playing and walking/2 feel lines. (I use the [Chuck Rainey](The Complete Electric Bass Player, Book 1: The Method https://www.amazon.com/dp/0825624258/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_p3YQCbKQKWVWG) books for fretted players, which i heartily recommend in general, btw)

Mostly its a matter of getting a steady, repeatable hand position in the lower registers and letting the muscle memory develop.

Perfect intonation is a goal, but i never worry about it when i get moving in a line or solo. Developing a good vibrato and approach/slide covers a lot of minor mistakes. And on stage, no one will notice a few cents out of tune especially if you play expressively and use good vibrato and slide movement on approach notes.

You don't necessarily need an amp when you're starting, if you have speakers. I just use a guitar USB interface and Audacity. Sure, you can't gig with that sort of setup, but it is more than adequate for practice. Any cheap practice amp you buy is only really going to be good for practice, so I don't really see the point - you'd be upgrading when it comes to gigging anyway.

If you're really committed, I would be tempted to spend a bit more money on the bass itself rather than getting something cheaper and an amp. Not only will a good branded guitar retain a decent resale value if you treat it well, but if you buy something really cheap you're only going to be upgrading later anyway. It's also a bit easier to learn on a quality instrument. Ibanez GSR-200 is in your budget and is a quality instrument for a beginner.

Look into buying used as well, others have posted tips on that.

Just my 2p, I've only just started learning myself as well (I bought a used Yamaha BB604 for $280 and really like it). Best of luck.

Hello, fellow low brass person! I'm a Euph/Trombone (Tenor/Bass)/Tuba grad, myself. Bass was always my passion and my "non-academic" instrument.

Some good suggestions on here, but always remember with anything online, you have to evaluate the credibility of the source (not the comments, but online lesson websites, YouTube videos, etc.).

There's nothing like having an experienced teacher that can monitor your progress and help guide you on your path along the way. If you can afford lessons, even every two weeks, something, I'd suggest it.

Since you already read bass clef, why not get a method book? Start associating the notes on the bass staff with the bass guitar. You'll be surprised how quickly you're ear will help fix wrong notes.

Some good books are:

• [Hal Leonard Bass Method](http://www.amazon.com/Hal-Leonard- Bass-Guitar-Method/dp/B000UY567I)
  
  
• Berklee Practice Method (For playing in a group and understanding your role as the bassist.)
  
  
• Chuck Rainey: The Complete Electric Bass Method
  
  
• 101 Bass Tips: Stuff All the Pros Know and Use (Not a beginning method book, but more of collection of tips and ideas to help your playing and practicing. Its a valued read on my bookshelf.)
  
  Good luck!

There are books that will help, like Ariane Cap's Music Theory for Bass Players, but finding a local teacher is probably a better idea.

​

1. Having a teacher forces you to practice stuff you usually wouldn't and forces you to be honest about your practice schedule.
   
   ​
   
   
2. The right teacher can see what you're doing wrong and fix it, and can also see when you're ready for the next piece of information.
   
   ​
   
   The HARD part is finding a good teacher. There are plenty of amazing players who are not good teachers. Ask around locally, or ask on Talkbass.com for a good teacher in your area. Try to watch vids or see them play BEFORE you ask them for lessons, to make sure you like the choices they make.
   
   ​
   
   Once you find a teacher, ask them if they have a lesson plan or syllabus or something like that: a linear progression of stuff they plan on teaching you.

I subscribed to Mark Michell's (Scale the Summit bassist) website Low End University that covers a myriad of topics both bass and non bass related, I'd say its a little more advanced material than what Scott Devine offers but both are great and have some good stuff for free.

As for books, I'd always been really interested in music theory behind jazz and certain video game OSTs and I can't recommend Mark Levine's The Jazz Theory book if that's your sort of thing. As someone else posted, Alex Webster's book is marvelous for not so much composition but being able to fluidly play intense rhythms and using three fingers.

Reading Contemporary Electric Bass is a really good resource for this if used strictly for sight-reading. Large variety of styles and keys.

Getchell for Trombone This is a staple for trombone/euphonium in the classical world. Obviously won't help for genre study, but can certainly be used for sight-reading and the etudes are great as lyrical studies (which we should all be doing!) to help make sure you're getting a good sound.

Dotzauer More advanced, but in a similar vein as the Getchell. Some octave adjustment may or may not be needed if you don't have a 5 string.

Other than that lyrical etude books for any instrument tend to do well, and if you can read (or learn to read) treble clef reading down the melody from jazz lead sheets can be used as sight-reading material as well.

I looked in my gig bag for inspiration - it turns out that I just have way too much shit in there, most of which is under £15. Cheaper DIY options offered where applicable:

• The snark SN2 clip-on tuner. Absolute must-have.
  
• A decent multi-tool
  
• Allan Key Set if the multi-tool doesn't have the right sizes (metric is normal unless you play something made across the pond, but in case you need imperial, and have lots of space in your gig bag)
  
• Dunlop strap locks are a solid addition to any bassist's set-up
  
• Some fret-fast (I'm too lazy and disorganised to get new strings very often - you could just sub a rag and white mineral oil, but this is a convenient little package)
  
• A couple of spare 9V batteries for your bass, or your (more likely your guitarist's) pedals
  
• A fold-away bass stand that you can take to practices, comes in just over budget, but is a good addition and folds up to about the size of a tube of Pringles
  
• Some cheap bric-a-brac like electrical tape, gaffer tape, write-on-anything pens - all good additions
  
• A decent set of ear-plugs to protect your hearing
  
• Foldaway music stand if you ever play with sheet music; alternatively, if you have a car or are near public transport then this guy might be more bang for your buck; light in case you have one and play in dark venues sometimes and bag in case, like me, you're always leaving the house on gig-day carrying too much
  
• Patch cables if you use several stomp-boxes or rack units
  
• Cable ties to stop your cables getting mangled (can always use zip-ties instead - less neat but much cheaper)
  
• A cheap soldering iron is not essential, but it will be good to have one for that odd occasion where you need it - I've actually been in situations where I've saved some poor soul's night (occasionally mine) by having one of these on my person
  
• Owning a padded guitar strap has saved me much back pain over the years.
  
• A decent torch for last-minute backstage repairs and adjustments, lighting your pedalboard, etc
  
  Conspicuous consumerism at its finest, ladies and gents.

I'm not familiar with Massive, but I can help with getting your bass signal to your pc.

As a first option, there are 1/4" guitar USB devices sold expressly for this purpose. Behringer makes the cheapest one I know of: Behringer UCG-102. Ran across it while looking for a general purpose USB audio interface, but I didn't buy it because of the reviews complaining about the drivers. There's a $30 Mac cable I've seen used, too, but I don't know if anyone has PC or linux drivers for it. There are a lot of others, most of which start around $100 that I've seen. The Native Instruments one runs several hundred $$, I think.

I have a cheap jerry-rigged method that suits my needs, though. If you have a desktop pc, a DI pedal, or a better soundcard than usual, you might be able to do something like this more easily, but this is what I threw together one day after picking up the ground-isolator and USB audio interface for other purposes:

1/4"-to-3.5mm adapter into the headphone-out of amp, then a 3.5mm-to-RCA converter on top of that. Ground-loop-isolator (mine has RCA inputs and outputs, hence the converters) from that into the USB audio interface. I'm using the Behringer UCA-222. The interface connects to the PC via USB, or course.

Two things worth noting: 1) you'll probably want to install "ASIO4ALL" drivers to decrease latency times on this or similar USB audio interfaces and 2) you may not need a ground loop isolator, depending on your hardware. I'm using a laptop in this setup, and if it's plugged in then there's some interference. Easy way to check: while the pc's plugged in, if you can output your pc's audio to the Line In on your amp without hearing static, you probably don't need a ground loop isolator.

Hope that helps.

http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Electric-Bass-Player-Book/dp/0825624258

I always reccomend this. Chuck Rainey's method is super solid, covers fundamentals, and it's something with real instruction and heart put into it. I feel like a lot of the more generic methods are kinda strung together without too much thought into them. This book has proper technique instruction, and useable, and most importantly, musical, exercises.

Plus, this one will teach you how to read notation with a very easy learning curve, which in my opinion is an essential tool for communicating with other musicians, and will also make it easier for you to learn different kinds of music down the line.

Bass Fitness is, for me, the golden standard to which I hold all guitar practice books. It's a no-nonsense text that offers little in the way of guidance or assistence, but stick with it and you will notice a difference in your playing in due time. It's not perfect by any means -- in fact it is quite rough around the edges -- but it works.

For more general resources, check out 101 Bass Tips, which features of a plethora of different tips and tricks for the working musician -- everything from set-up and maintenance, to technique, to recording and tone, and much more. It's also accompanied by a CD with examples and practice songs you can play along to.

Once you've got the basics down and you're ready to move into the more advanced facets of bass playing, you might want to try out some books on musical theory. I suggest this, this, and these. Hope these help!

Fingerboard Harmony by Gary Wills might be a good option.
https://www.amazon.com/Fingerboard-Harmony-Bass-Builders/dp/0793560438

I really like how he presents theory and breaks down geometry of neck/notes. He super cool, got to study with him a bit back in the day. :)

By far, the most helpful music theory book I've ever seen is The Jazz Theory Book by Mark Levine

It's definitely helpful in understanding the thought behind scales/modes/chordal relationships.

You will need to be able to read music somewhat, but if want to be the best you can be, you'll want to learn to read music anyway. I believe that book would help any musician to get to the next level.

I use a Lexicon Alpha interface. Its about as basic as it comes, but hell it works just fine. One instrument and one mic input, I usually plug my bass straight in or run it through my amp output since I'm too cheap to get buy a DI or a good mic for bass. It also comes with the program Cubase. Again, its basic and its kinda finicky, but its as functional as any other software once you learn how to use it. There could be better interfaces at this price though, it looks like Behringer also has a pretty competent interface for $50 but I've never used it.

Standard tuning going from the thickest to the thinnest string is E-A-D-G. If you think the E string is too deep compared to the rest of them, play the 5th fret of the E string along with the open A string. The notes should be the same if tuned correctly and should resonate. If you hear a kind of "pulsing" beat sound then they are not tuned correctly to each other.

If you're looking for a new tuner, I'd recommend this. I have one and in terms of accuracy and ease of use it blows other chromatic tuners away.

If the strings turn out to all be tuned correctly and you still feel like your E string is a little looser than you would like, you could invest in a heavier gauge set of strings. This would help to maintain the string tension and make the deeper strings less floppy.

I live in an apartment... I don't think I would be able to practice without headphones.

I plug these into a DI and they sound pretty good..

If you are looking for headphone advice, check out r/headphones; It is a great sub with a lot of good advice on buying headphones.

I've got a friend who has one of these for his bass, he's pretty happy with it

I'm a beginner/intermediate player who went 10+ years without touching a bass. I picked this book up recently. It's helped me get familiar with the instrument again.

Music Theory for the Bass Player: A Comprehensive and Hands-on Guide to Playing with More Confidence and Freedom

The author also has some free videos on YouTube.

I like Gary Willis' book, Fretboard Harmony, as a good intro. In my opinion, knowing chord tones (root, 3rd, 5th, 7th) for major and minor chords is a great place to start.

check out these vox amp plugs. you can plug it straight into your electric bass and then plug head phones in so you are the only one who can hear!

http://www.amazon.com/Vox-AmPlug-Bass-Guitar-Headphone/dp/B001GH4H3W

ive never played an accoustic bass before so i cant tell you which is better but i love my electric

I'd recommend this instead, unless you need the extra outputs: http://www.amazon.com/AP2BS-amPlug-Bass-Guitar-Headphone/dp/B00NAUKJTY

Plugs straight into the bass so less cables and more portability (powered by 2x AAA), has a tone control, and even a built-in drum loop/metronome with its own volume/tempo control. The metronome tempo is controlled with the volume knob and there's no display so you can't really get a specific tempo, but it's certainly more functional than a regular headphone amp, and probably sounds better.

There's also these if you want to go a step further and put the amp into the headphones: http://www.amazon.com/VOX-AMPHONESBASS-Active-Amplifier-Headphones/dp/B009703PZG

Haven't tried them but the headphones are made by Audio Technica so they're probably decent.

I highly recommend these Superlux headphones. Fantastic at their price point.

Superlux HD668B Dynamic Semi-Open Headphones by Superlux http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003JOETX8/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_wBZwtb1HSMV4Q

I use one of these, pretty happy with it.

As tidesofblood88 said music is a language. This bit from Victor Wooten also speaks of music as a language, and elaborates a bit more on that. If you like what you hear in the clip, I'd recommend reading his book The Music Lesson. While it is a novel and a work of fiction(?), it provides a different way of looking at music, rather than looking at it from the POV of scale and theory.

The aux in bypasses the preamp and tone adjustments from the amp so you need to adjust the bass with an equalizer app or bass boost app on your phone. One other option I have used is a mini mixer with stereo inputs using the proper cable from your phone to the inputs (probably RCA type) or 1/4" dual mono inputs on the mixer...I have a couple of these cheap Behringer USB 302 for around $50-60 (they used to be around $40 when I bought mine)...https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-Premium-5-Input-Interface/dp/B005EHILV4
These will allow you to adjust the bass and treble from your phone. Cheers

I'm in the exact same boat. I do two things. First one sounds exactly like what you're looking for. Vox amphones https://www.amazon.com/VOX-AMPHONESBASS-Active-Amplifier-Headphones/dp/B009703PZG
The other thing I use is a tenor ukulele I tune like a bass. I use this more often because it's smaller and because I can learn a song inside out since I can play chords and all other parts.

Here are my accessories in a backpack I take to every gig:

• Snark Tuner
  
• Sansamp Bass Driver DI
  
• Two extra 9V Batteries
  
• Vitamin C
  
• Herb Wong's Jazz Fakebook
  
• Two cables (I should be carrying two more)
  
• Pen
  
• Blank sheet music
  
• Strepsils (I sing)
  
• Two sets of earplugs
  
• Folder containing repertoire and lyrics of our set
  
• Extra set of strings
  
  I hope this helps!

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I0BGYM8?psc=1
This is what I have and its phenomenal. Gel cushions throughout, and REALLY tough leather for the ends so your bass won't slip. If you are shorter and like your bass up high this might not be the one for you as the strap is long. I am 6' 3" and at its highest point its still about one inch too low for me, but overall I love it and will have it forever.

Thanks again :)

Would this one do the job :

https://www.amazon.fr/Behringer-UMC22-U-Phoria-Interface-entr%C3%A9es/dp/B00FFIGZF6/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1543522081&sr=8-6&keywords=audio+interface

I use Sennhieser HD280. They're a popular model for monitoring. The other popular monitoring headphones under $100 would be the Sony MDR7506.

Have you tried the Vox Amphonebass? My brother got some for Christmas last year, and I used them with my 18v Active 5str. The sound was considerably better than the average set of headphones. You can probably check them out at a music store.

https://www.amazon.com/VOX-AMPHONESBASS-Active-Amplifier-Headphones/dp/B009703PZG

Read this


I was at a similar mental place with playing music in general a few years ago and a friend recommended this book to me ---

it absolutely changed my life.

So what about something like this https://www.amazon.com/Tech-BSDR-SansAmp-Bass-Driver/dp/B0002D0EN8 ? From what I can tell its mostly the same settings, between that and the pre-amp, It's just in the form of a pedal. I currently don't have any pedals, so maybe this would be a good place to start in terms of getting the Wentz sound, and getting a little bit more tone control?

A small mixer has always worked well for me, something like the small Behringer Xenyx. Cheap, simple, flexible, and you learn a little about live sound.

Behringer Xenyx 502 Premium 5-Input 2-Bus Mixer with XENYX Mic Preamp and British EQ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_FTKDDbGF1PHHE

https://www.amazon.com/Electro-Harmonix-Bass-Muff-Distortion-Pedal/dp/B001C1A6CI

I absolutely love this pedal.

I hear that Simplified Sight-Reading for Bass (by Josquin des Pres) is awesome if you want to learn sight reading quickly.

A tuner is the single most important device you will ever own.

FTFY

Because honestly, you don't need to drop more than $20 on a tuner.

For the budget minded folks, I got these headphones and they work great, come with an extension cable, and have a jack adapter.
https://www.amazon.com/Superlux-HD668B-Dynamic-Semi-Open-Headphones/dp/B003JOETX8

Ive been really happy with using my DI box for this setup.

Its got 2 inputs, input 1 is my guitar and input 2 is my PC, phone, mp3 player, whatever. This lets me merge the two signals into the set of headphones.

My amp also allows me to do this, its got an AUX input and a headphone out. Really makes practicing simple.

I use a snark tuner. Love this thing to death. Works on everything, guitar, bass, drums, trumpets... No reason to put another pedal in your chain if you don't need it.

Snark: http://www.amazon.com/Snark-Instrument-Clip--Chromatic-Tuner/dp/B003VWKPHC/

You probably won't need a compressor, as the pf500 has one built in for ya. :)

Pedals are completely up to you depending once again on your music. I played with no pedals at all for years. But I do have a few OD's/Fuzz, Bass Chorus, Bass Wah and some others that I like to funk around with from time to time.

This is a wonderful book that helped me out a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0996727604/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1499820070&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=bass+music+theory&dpPl=1&dpID=51P-p%2Bbvs4L&ref=plSrch

Edit: Also the talk bass guy on YouTube has a ton of theory videos.

https://youtu.be/--aVuWXcdTs

I'm happy with these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003JOETX8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Buy this. I have a very heavy bass and this strap is wonderful

I use headphones that have their own preamp that sound good and aren't terribly expensive.

https://www.amazon.com/VOX-AMPHONESBASS-Active-Amplifier-Headphones/dp/B009703PZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1469719551&sr=8-1&keywords=vox+bass+headphones

Similarly, if you don't want to drop $400 on a real Sovtek Big Muff, the Big Muff Pi Bass is pretty dang close and relatively cheap (video). It's probably my favorite pedal, but I do have a soft spot for some of the unholy sounds you can make with a WMD Geiger Counter Civilian Issue. The full-featured version is even cooler, but way more expensive.

Pulled from http://www.reddit.com/r/Bass/comments/jpdy6/what_are_some_must_have_pedals/

I have a couple of pedals that I really like and recommend for all players. Sadly, they aren't cheap :-P

• Tech 21 Sans Amp Bass Driver D.I.- In my opinion this is the bass overdrive pedal. It's also an excellent DI.
  
• EBS Multi-Comp- Great compression with a single knob to ramp it up or down. Not as tweakable as many others, but I prefer the set it and forget it nature of this pedal.

https://www.amazon.com/Music-Theory-Bass-Player-Hands/dp/0996727604

I wish I had this book when I started playing bass

I think that piece of kit is just a mixer and won't work as an interface to for recording.

Luckily, Behringer makes an even less expensive mixer/interface that will do exactly what you're looking for: http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-302USB-Premium-5-Input-Interface/dp/B005EHILV4/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1407273279&sr=8-9&keywords=behringer

Not an interface, but here's a simple & cheap ($50) option for practice: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001GH4H3W/ref=oh_details_o07_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Basically it's like plugging headphones directly into your bass. You can also mix in another audio source from the line in port.

https://www.amazon.com/Music-Lesson-Spiritual-Search-Through/dp/0425220931

It's available pretty much wherever anywhere that sells books.

I've been working through this book and it's really good

https://www.amazon.com/Simplified-Sight-Reading-Bass-Instruction/dp/0793565189

I have this:
http://www.amazon.com/Mel-Bay-J-Bach-Bass/dp/078662843X

This one looks good for beginners:
http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Classical-Bass-Solos-Tchaikovsky/dp/1460951484/

Thanks to /r/bass I am using the following:

http://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-XENYX502-5-Channel-Mixer/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1377281189&sr=1-1&keywords=behringer+502

http://www.amazon.com/Hosa-CMP153-Cable-Inch-Dual/dp/B000068O3C/ref=pd_bxgy_MI_img_y

The latter plugs into my computer. headphones on the mixer. I can listen to click tracks or MP3s from the computer and bass all through my headphones. All in all it is cheap and gets the job done.

Gary Willis' Fingerboard Harmony for Bass

I personally like flat response headphones that I can EQ on my own. So.. This might not really be all that helpful for you.. But I've been using These suckers everyday for over a decade. I've replace the ear cushion things but other than that they've been one of the most dependable purchases ever.

Sounds like a Big Muff pedal.

I like this one...
KLIQ AirCell Guitar Strap for Bass & Electric Guitar with 3" Wide Neoprene Pad and Adjustable Length from 46" to 56" https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I0BGYM8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_P4OPCbEZKF5TD

Gary Willis' Fingerboard Harmony for Bass is very good. Still kicks my ass

get a 1/4" to usb 'guitarlink' adapter + otg cable + galaxy nexus + usbeffects. ultra low latency is possible, trust me

Would [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-UMC22-BEHRINGER-U-PHORIA/dp/B00FFIGZF6/ref=sr_1_9?s=musical-instruments&ie=UTF8&qid=1509823864&sr=1-9&keywords=usb+audio+interface) one work for what I need? As I said, I don't know what I'm looking for and I don't know if this one's good or not. I just searched "usb audio interface" on Amazon.

This is the one I have. It works fine for that purpose.

I bought two of these:

[KLIQ Aircell padded strap] (https://www.amazon.com/KLIQ-AirCell-Electric-Neoprene-Adjustable/dp/B01I0BGYM8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1519674658&sr=8-1&keywords=aircell+padded+strap)

My only disappointment is that I waited so damn long to try it. It's wide, the padding is ultra comfortable, and I rarely ever even notice it while I'm playing.

As far as pedals go, a good silicon fuzz and crazy delay thing will set up a good foundation for a shoegaze/psychedelic-doom sound.

Once you've got pitches down by working thru the melodies in the Real Book try this - https://www.amazon.ca/Reading-Contemporary-Electric-Bass-Technique/dp/0634013386

http://www.amazon.com/Mel-Bay-J-Bach-Bass/dp/078662843X

This book changed my life

I currently do the same with an additional keyboard through this https://www.amazon.com/Behringer-502-Premium-5-Input-British/dp/B000J5UEGQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1550115467&sr=8-6&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=behringer+mixer&dpPl=1&dpID=51GyTA4WTHL&ref=plSrch

www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001GH4H3W/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1415640539&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40

(Vox Amplug)

See if you can find these on sale/refurb: https://www.amazon.com/Audio-Technica-ATH-M50x-Professional-Monitor-Headphones/dp/B00HVLUR86

Otherwise these: https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E

Edit: wrong thread completely, my bad.

To answer OP's question: yes you can use the sansamp and skip having an amp. Monitoring is the problem then, but both wedges and inears can work out well. I don't own an amp and use my sansamp exclusively.

Buzzing? That's weird. Sure it's not the headphones? Sometimes they can't handle the low frequencies and that can happen.

I would say the only real option is a Behringer U-PHORIA UMC22. As for a cable, it's not really going to make much of a difference what you use. Unless you're using a high end interface I doubt you'll notice.

I went through dozens of sets of failed headphones my first twenty years.
Bought these Sony MD7506 in 2000 and they've never let me down.
I had to replace the foam, cheaply, about ten years ago.

https://www.amazon.com/Sony-MDR7506-Professional-Diaphragm-Headphone/dp/B000AJIF4E/ref=sr_1_6?keywords=sony+headphones&qid=1573133248&sr=8-6

Don't think in terms of long term goals, think short term goals. Break everything that you want to do down into smaller and smaller sections. For example, you want to learn that sweet sweet intro to Only Ash Remains. Instead of worrying about how insane it is all put together, break it into its components. Practice simple two-handed tapping arpeggios and hammer-ons and pull-offs. Learn the lick at a painfully slow speed. Then forget about the whole thing and come back to it anywhere from a couple days to a couple weeks later. Don't let yourself get frustrated. Realize that all the crazy stuff you want to be able to play took the artist months if not years to be able to play. It's a journey and it takes time.

Beyond that, find some outside direction to your practice. Find a teacher and/or pick up a book or two and start making your way through it.