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Hey there! I hope this doesn't violate any rules, but I've written books on jazz bass playing that are geared towards someone with a basic understanding of the instrument: https://www.amazon.com/Low-Down-Guide-Creating-Supportive/dp/069240595X

All of the advice here is great, especially regarding the importance of SOUND and TIME. The group I play in was working with Kurt Rosenwinkel the other day, and he dropped this gem on us: "Confidence comes from sound. Feel confident in your sound... because if you sound good, you'll feel good." So much truth in that statement.

Sometimes figuring out the "how" element of things can be equally daunting. I do recommend a teacher if you can find one, even for just a few lessons. And of course, reach out and ask questions at any time!

to add on to what /u/Bass-Doubled said, the other strategy along with working on with a metronome is to have a fingering that works, and stick with it - don't futz around too much with different fingerings as you're trying to get up to speed.

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As for what makes a "good fingering", it's very much practicality mixed in with personal taste, and knowing your strengths and weaknesses. I, for example, would not play an open D in the second sextuplet because I wouldn't be happy with string crossing for just one note (nor do I think I would make a good sound doing it), so I would opt for playing the previous A# B C# and the D in question all on the A string, probably 1-2 / 2-4 (with "/" denoting a shift up), or, if I was feeling cheeky, 1-3 / 2-4.

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So my fingering for the first two bars as an example would be:

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(III)1-(IV)1-4 \ (III)1-2 / 2-4-2 \ 1-4 (II) 0-1| 2-4-2 \ 1-4-1 / (III) 1-4-1 \ 2-4-2 | \ 4 (IV)1 (etc...)

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with the roman numerals indicating strings, "/" indicating a shift up, "\" indicating a shift back, and "|" indicating a bar line. It's nothing fancy, but it does a few things different than some people do. For instance, I keep each triplet figure in the second bar as its own unit, whereas other people will shift in various other places on the last sextuplet especially. I also opt not to use 0-1-0 for the third triplet in that bar - just personal preference for this type of music and this type of playing. If I was in a period ensemble, I'd play it with that open string.

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So my advice is "Get a fingering and practice it." Think about how fast it has to be at the end, and adjust your fingering accordingly. for helping metronome practice, I also recommend using rhythmic "fractions," or "fractals". whatever you want to call them, they're just a way of exhaustively writing out every way in which to play N notes in rhythm, or every way how to bow N notes.

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I use a pull out from this book by Ivan Galamian (warning, amazon link. not affiliated), but Hal Robinson's "Strokin'" is much the same - though I like the way it's laid out in Galamian's book more. Just personal preference.

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Good luck, this is a tough chunk, but totally achievable.

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edit - Also, don't buy that book there. I don't know why they're charging like, a hundred bucks for it but it's not worth that, and I'm sure you can find it somewhere else much cheaper.

Oh boy! Yes. First of all, anyone saying play slow scales to a drone for intonation is absolutely right. My intonation has improved dramatically over the last year. This appears to be a life-long commitment, according to Edgar Meyer. The Korg TM-50 is an awesome tuner/metronome that also produces drone tones.

I've also found The Art of Double Bass Playing and A Double Bassist’s Guide to Refining Performance Practices to be very inspiring and informative. The scale and bowing exercises in the latter are great, and they both offer a lot in the department of just thinking about the bass and its unique challenges.

Next, be careful! Last weekend I decided to play sitting on a stool instead of standing to see if I could improve my left hand position. It took several hours to get comfortable, and in doing so I did something wrong with my neck and could not move my head without terrible pain for the next five days! As you're experimenting with your posture and hand position, remember that the bass is a big beast, and it may bite you.

Another great thing to do is take a lesson. Find a bass instructor at your local college or someone in the local symphony and get a one-off "how am I doing?" session. It's very helpful.

Lastly, I guess, is to go very slow. If there's a scale, a shift, or a passage giving you trouble, take it very, very slowly. You'll likely discover what you're doing wrong. It takes patience and discipline, but it can be valuable.

A lot of this can be boring as hell, and it seems like you're not getting anywhere, but then every so often you'll realize that you're suddenly doing something that you couldn't have done even a month ago. Hey, progress! It's like magic.

So, that's what I got. Have fun!

What solo pieces have you played already?

Bach is always a good choice, in my opinion. If you haven't already played the 1st cello suite, that is a good option. This is my favorite edition: http://www.amazon.com/J-S-Bach-Cello-Suite-Bradetich/dp/B002NHNVR2

Have you played the Carmen Fantasy by Frank Proto? That's a great piece. There's a lot of rhythmic variation and it's pretty difficult technically. You should check out this recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7ytgGZylPQ

I'll brainstorm a little bit and get back to you with what I think of :)

“Building Walking Bass Lines (Bass Builders) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0793542049/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_Z8qNDbFB7YZWN

There’s a second volume that goes deeper, but this is about the best intro level book I’ve found. Ed Friedland FTW. Great backing tracks, too.

As someone who was studied a handful of methods (Simandl, Petracchi and Rabbath) I would say go for it.

The Vance books will help some, you can learn a bit about the left-hand fingering system and maybe a bit about body mechanics and right hand technique from the books. There is significantly more to be learned that you can probably only learn from a teacher who really knows the technique.

Perhaps the single most valuable resource is the Art Of The Bow video as you can learn a lot about the right hand technique and get some concept of the rest of the body mechanics.

If you really want to progress, find a good teacher. Can you give a rough idea of where you live, I may be able to suggest someone.

In your price range, there are two popular, reputable options that I'm aware of for bows: they are the Glasser Fiberglass bow, and the Gollihur Music Brazilwood bow. These bows are both good for beginners, with the former option being a bit cheaper ($75 vs $154) than the latter option. However, the former option is a bow made of fiberglass, as opposed to brazilwood, which the latter is made of; as a result, the tonal quality of the two bows will differ quite a bit, with the latter option probably being preferable tonally.

As far as bass method books that are popularly used by beginners, Simandl's New Method for the Double Bass is the one I'm most familiar with. There is also the Rabbath method, and various other methods that are useful for beginning bass players.

If you're looking for rosin, I personally like Kolstein's Soft and Nyman's; however, you may have different preferences, or needs (depending on climate).

I strongly suggest that you contact a teacher before purchasing any of the above things, as they will best be able to determine your individual needs at this point in time. In addition, it would serve you well to find someone (if not the aforementioned teacher) to study with on a regular basis, as learning to play the bass on one's own might very well lead to developing bad, perhaps even dangerous habits.

Caveat - I've not been playing a long time, and I've got a cheaper plywood bass (1/2-size) but it gets the job done, even though I'm not really keyed in for 'tone' at this point, as i'm playing in different groups for bluegrass, folk, rock, rockabilly, and swing - as opposed to the hot-jazz-combo thing.

I've got a David Gage Realist, under the E foot.

It seems to work fine, and is very sensitive to percussive sounds on the body itself.

I've found that I need to use a slightly pre-amp'd DI for best results- I'm using this: Radial Engineering slim DI happily.

I just got Mikes Downes' Jazz bassline book and it's amazing! It has tons of transcriptions and lots of very clearly laid out ideas to learn from. http://www.amazon.com/The-Jazz-Bass-Line-Book/dp/395481000X

Also I'd suggest listening to a lot of jazz and playing along with tunes you like. If you want a book of jazz standards I'd suggest something like The Bass Clef Real Book which has hundreds of lead sheets to lots of often played tunes.
http://www.amazon.com/Real-Book-Bass-Clef-Sixth/dp/0634060767/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1453667062&sr=1-1&keywords=bass+clef+real+book

I hear you buddy! I tried hard for years to build calluses, but never could. (And I know how to suffer through blood blisters, cause I used to dance ballet in pointe shoes!) Eventually I just gave up and started playing with a leather archery glove on my picking hand. If you can't get the calluses to grow it may be a good option. It's certainly cleaner and easier than tape!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003DR0Z0W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I don't know anyone else who uses it, but I love TournaTac for my bow. I find that the latex tube becomes very slick when sweaty and that it's too thick for my liking. One "length" from the roll is good for 3 bow grips, and I need to change it about once a month because I have rather sweaty hands.

private lessons, definitely, but Simandl I is probably your best bet for learning solid left hand technique.

The core 4 (imo) are
Hal Robinson's Strokin and Boardwalkin

Petracchi's Simplified Higher Technique For Bass

Zimmerman's Contemporary Concept of Bowing Technique

Rabbath, Billé, Simandl, and Nanny all have useful materials for a starting double bassist as well. The goal is to make sure it sounds good and feels good - no book can help as much as a teacher who knows your strengths and weaknesses, but these are the ones I've found most helpful.

I used this one as a student: https://www.amazon.com/O492-Method-English-Japanese-Simandl/dp/0825801524/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=3YMW2XCGJW6WN23MF539 That one looks like it's still bound with the terrible glued spine that won't lay flat on a music stand. Take it to Kinkos and have them cut it and put a spiral binding on it.

Sankey was always messing around with fingerings, and came up with some super awesome solutions to a lot of tricky passage work. That kind of creativity lends a lot of joy to bass playing. Haters gonna hate, I thought he was awesome!

This one by Ed Barker. Best recording I've heard. Paired with one of the best Arpeggione sonata recordings too!

One major difference is that when you play a note on the upright, the intonations is in your left hand and ear, opposed to just playing inside a fret. Since you already have jazz bass experience, I would recommend Simandl to work out fingerings and positions

I put some inexpensive fake dot inlay stickers on the side of my neck, looks reasonably nice and easy to see. Couldn't always see my pencil lines in a dark club. still have 'em on there. will clean off nicely when I remove them, if ever

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PGQYRFC/

These two books would be a good start.

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https://www.amazon.com/Ray-Browns-Bass-Method-Excercises/dp/0793594561

https://www.amazon.com/Evolving-Bassist-Millennium-Comprehensive-Developing/dp/0967601509/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+evolving+bassist&qid=1573349247&s=books&sr=1-1

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Also lots of jazz students have this book which would be good.

https://www.amazon.com/Jazz-Theory-Book-Mark-Levine/dp/1883217040/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=mark+levine+jazz+piano&qid=1573349459&s=books&sr=1-2

Rufus Reid is a God.

The Evolving Bassist

The Evolving Bassist by Rufus Reid

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0967601509

> Simandl book 1

Are you refering to this one http://www.amazon.com/Method-Double-English-Japanese-Edition/dp/0825801524