Other bass forums?

[uOpt]

Just preparing for the case that we might not be able to repair SDUGF...

Does anybody have a recommendation for other bass forums?

It's difficult:

• talkbass is overrun by people who think the laws of physics don't apply to them, lots of the kind of aggressive trolls good only at one thing (not getting banned although they are top abusers) and generally people who have been flooding this forum, too. Moderation there is intransparent but not too bad except for not realizing that is happening either. The new software is meh but bearable.
• the next popular one is that British one which just doesn't have enough traction for my taste.
• Ernie balls forum is a typical screwed up vendor forum where only people who care about "warranty" and "professional setups" can be happy. At least many of them actually play the damn things. Moderation makes no attempts to form a good community. If it bothers somebody important it gets closed or deleted, which is plenty. The warwick forums are a bit better although along the same line but have more aggressive no-knowledge jerks.
• TGP has no traction in the bass section

Any other recommendations? I would really like to push more here, and I wanted to bring up the bass section here to the standards of our guitar section. TOO BAD that this is happening by the guitar section being in freefall.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Other bass forums?

It is inevitable that public forums will be inhabited by The Public - in all of its manifestations.

The easiest option is to shrug one's shoulders and give up.

The next easiest option is to employ the Ignore List function on this forum. If you have blocked a repeat offender troll, you will not react to any attempted provocation. The unfed troll moves elsewhere.

Unfortunately, the way things seem to be shaping up here, use of the Ignore List in this way will soon be deemed grounds for an infraction.

I dislike resorting to the Ignore List. Is it an admission of defeat of sorts.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Other bass forums?

The ignore list helps with about 50% of the people, those who are just personally annoying me (let's leave aside that the forum software is too braindead to hide through threads and quotes from them).

The other 50% of the offenders mess up the forum by driving people away that I do want to see. I actually unblocked one of those dorks so that I can have an eye on it.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Other bass forums?

Think back a couple of years and this room did not exist. Reggie/ginormous ran The Low Zone social group but it received very few visitors. It was not sufficiently visible to attract enough people in at the same time to build any momentum. After checking a few times, only to find no replies posted, a person gets jaded and checks even less frequently. That includes Reggie himself!

Comparisons against traffic in the guitar rooms is unfair. Firstly, there simply are more guitarists than bassists. Secondly, bassists do not tend to hoard instruments anything like as fervently as guitarists. Thirdly, bassists do not tend to modify their instruments so much. What bassists seem to do is splurge on one or two uberinstruments, capable of fulfilling most gig or recording requirements.

We are a minority. In band situations, there is usually only one bassist. Hence, nobody else to bore witless about bass-specific trivia. [joke] Most of the bass forums seem to be a substitute for that missing social contact. Unfortunately, as you have observed, there is a tendency for proceedings to descend into what the Australians call Gunzeldom. Socially inept people, all attempting to shout each other down in prolonged arguments about tedious trivia.

 

[dg27]

Re: Other bass forums?

Is this forum actually at risk of disappearing? That would be a real shame, IMV.

I joined this one and another bass forum about 10 years ago and was largely inactive for unrelated reasons for several years. I was really happy to come back and find it useful. The other one seems really dated and does tend toward mindless drivel and as a result I never go there.

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Other bass forums?

This forum isn't going anywhere. That's just unfounded alarmist conjecture.

 

[beaubrummels]

Re: Other bass forums?

Nobody said disappear, only not able to repair, which is different.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Other bass forums?

Is this forum actually at risk of disappearing?

This forum is in a state of flux. Inevitably, there is resistance to change. There is also fear of the unknown. Chaos ensues. Communications break down. Paradigms shift. Shift happens.

In recent weeks, the buzz words have been Respect and Troll.

Unfortunately, it seems to have been forgotten that respect has to be earned. Some long-term members seem to think that longevity alone grants them exalted status. They are getting upset when newbies do not automatically cowtow. On the other side of the coin, inexperienced guitar modifiers have no idea how much brain effort sometimes goes into producing a spotty little schematic diagram - especially when the circuit is unconventional. There is presumption on both sides. It can breed resentment.

Trolling means different things to different people. Verbal abuse, spam, inappropriate images or language, for example, should be straightforward enough to identify and expunge. What about Aceman goofing off in the Off-Topic room? Is he trolling by phishing for humorous replies? Am I trolling or abusive for posting squirrel gags? Is malice the deciding factor?

Over the years since I registered, I am pleased to say that I have encountered some members whose knowledge and understanding of guitars, amplification, pickups, and wiring I can trust. I may not agree with these people about absolutely everything but there is recognition that these people genuinely know what they are talking/writing about. In these cases, respect is earned and mutual.

The corollary to this is that it is pretty easy to identify and, with time, disrespect posers and pseudo-intellectuals. Disrespect has to be earned. Unfortunately, in some cases, it is being earned.

I am too discreet to name (my idea of) the good guys. They are clever, know it and know that it doesn't matter a blue. They do not come over as self-important, competitive or "shouty". With people of this calibre, it is possible to kick ideas about without frail egos becoming damaged.

Unfortunately, these guys are becoming increasingly outnumbered AND undervalued. In the present climate, some are already voting with their feet.

My conclusion is that this forum is not about to disappear - just the worthwhile bits.

 

[uOpt]

Re: Other bass forums?

Which would make me very sad, because a bass forum of the quality of what we had for guitars would be a great thing to have.

 

[Evan Skopp]

Re: Other bass forums?

Unfortunately, it seems to have been forgotten that respect has to be earned. Some long-term members seem to think that longevity alone grants them exalted status. They are getting upset when newbies do not automatically cowtow. On the other side of the coin, inexperienced guitar modifiers have no idea how much brain effort sometimes goes into producing a spotty little schematic diagram - especially when the circuit is unconventional. There is presumption on both sides. It can breed resentment.

Thank you. Can you now please print that up on a t-shirt and distribute it to all SDUGF members?

And if that's too much trouble, no worries. That was my X-mas gift.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Other bass forums?

Thank you for noticing, Evan.

The only thing that I ever printed was ink onto paper. Sadly, this was text and half tone dots, never currency. (You can't get the right paper.)

Nine shilling note, anyone?

 

[Dr. Vegetable]

Re: Other bass forums?

Disrespect has to be earned.

I'm getting this tattooed onto my bass-playing finger.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Other bass forums?

In the realm of guitar pickups, some things are hard facts and other things are subjective opinions.

Objective statements are pretty much confined to, it's made like this, out of these, connects up like so, is louder/quieter/noisier than a __________ (fill in the blank with the name of a well-established industry-wide reference pickup).

Beyond this lies the realm of the subjective. All that anyone can usefully say is, "I like this item" or "I do not like this item." In a forum context forum, it should only be necessary to post statements of opinion once.

 

[LesStrat]

Re: Other bass forums?

Yet somehow the repetition is allowed, nay, rewarded in this place now.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Other bass forums?

I'm getting this tattooed onto my bass-playing finger.

One finger, huh? Would that be the index finger à la James Jamerson "Hook" or the middle finger à la Geddy Lee? Somehow, the latter seems more appropriate.

 

[dd12939]

Re: Other bass forums?

One finger, huh? Would that be the index finger à la James Jamerson "Hook" or the middle finger à la Geddy Lee? Somehow, the latter seems more appropriate.

 

[DaveThePius]

Re: Other bass forums?

Never found a bass forum that drew me in enough to join it. I use to be a subscriber to Bass Player magazine, but after a while, I just got sick of the cork-sniffer-y, and some of these bass forums cater too highly to that. The final straw with TalkBass was the poo-poo-ing of my SVTII. There seems to be little respect for us guys who can still lug around an all-tube head.

This forums seems pretty open and friendly, others seem to have bullies. I've gotten ripped to shreds on one Les Paul forum, and am reluctant to post things there (though I still do).

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: Other bass forums?

This room is more geared towards pickups and wiring questions than anything else.

There is some cork-sniffing in the other rooms. I am a self-confessed nitro-cellulose sniffer. :knockedou

The forum's friendliest bassist appears to be on a (very necessary) sabbatical at the moment.

If you do not like what you have found so far, feel free to start threads of your own.

 

[Snake Aces]

Re: Other bass forums?

I like the SDUGF for the most parts. I am a self-confessed A-hole most of the time but I have been trying to be more friendly. There have been times when certain members here got on my nerves so much I stepped away for several months or even years. I usually find my way back to see what's new from time to time.

That being said, I think a lot of bassists suffer from some kind of insecurity for some reason. I was a bassist before I was a guitar player myself and I still am a bassist. I think this insecurity has paved the way for the sniffer-y culture amongst modern bass forums. They are trying to overcompensate when they really do not need to. As much as I dislike most modern music the one thing it has done is pushed bass to the front of music... it has highlighted what we have all known for decades. Bass makes people move, groove and let loose!

So, here we are. I think as bass becomes more and more popular as it has and will continue to do we will see a small expansion of players joining the forums. Whether or not that is a good thing remains to be seen. Will it ever be as large as the guitar side of the forums? Who knows but not likely IMO.

As stated aleady, bassists do not customize nearly as much as guitarists. The ones that do can sure learn a lot about their instrument and the search of bass tone though... of course that is just my opinion.

 

[One Bad Monkey]

Re: Other bass forums?

I'm not so sure about the whole insecurity accounting for the cork sniffery culture in some bass forums, as I've found that "group" on any forum I've been on (effect pedals, guitars, basses, ukuleles, etc..). The cliques in forums usually break down the same way:

-People that would rather talk about their instruments than play them
-People that view their instruments as tools
-People that think any instrument under $$$$ is inferior and unworthy of any respect
-People that think any instrument over $ is over-priced and unworthy of any respect
-People that think they know EVERYTHING
-People that come in asking for EVERYTHING
-People that don't use the "search" function
-People that get upset that others ask the same questions again and again