At the moment I've dusted off a guitar and a bass I bought close to 20 years ago, an Ibanez EDB300 bass guitar
and my FrankenFender
a modified/mutilated Fender MusicMaster.
Without more experience then just messing about with a bad accoustic I thought those weren't to bright purchases, but at least I had a chance on getting to learn to play them, although I just started last month. (after fixing the FrankenFender, the added pickup is dead)
When shopping for some useful additions (tuner, neckband, stand) I however found the Fazley FMB218NT
at a very low cost, so I just added it to the basket before checking out. I think for now, buying a fretless bass when just learning to play tops it (for now), although I hope it manages to force me to concentrate more on the left hand.
I guess I'm not the only one that was a tad to enthusiastic when starting, what do you all consider as your (initially) bad decisions and how did they turn out?
Edit: Layout corrections and used my own pick for the Fazely instead of a static one from the shop (that didn't work in !liftoff@lemmy.world)
Those are great goals. As a fellow IT worker, I understand your pain.
Keeping time on bass is critical, as it's part of the rhythm section and more importantly, bridges the rhythm and melody sections into one coherent sound.
Someone else already suggested a metronome, and that is super important.
Seymour-Duncan has some stretches on their site that I would recommend. Just be careful you aren't stretching your wrists too hard/the wrong direction. https://www.seymourduncan.com/blog/the-players-room/keep-it-loose-stretches-for-guitarists
Thanks for the stretching link, I'll try them out. (and yes, 1st one is already a challenge, I need to loosen up a tad I notice ;) )