Question:
alright...i'm new here and at bass guitar. i've got some tabs for some music already, and i tried to play them, but they dont sound right in some places and i think it's the way i'm reading/playing them.
how do you know what order to play them? see, here they overlap. i think that's part of my problem...
Intro/Verse:
(0:11)
G|------------------------------------------------------------------|
D|------------------------------------------------------------------|
A|--1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-----------------| x4
E|--------------------------------------------------3-3-3-3-1-1-1-1-|
they overlap on A and E.
and here...what does the little ~ sign mean?
Transition
(1:35)
G|-------|
D|--6-8~-|
A|-------|
E|-------|
thanks...
--ashley k.
Answer:
Hey, Ashley K. Well, unfortunately a lot of tabs overlay. But as far as I can see it looks like it's supposed to be:

Intro/Verse:
(0:11)
G[---------------------------------------------------------------------
D[---------------------------------------------------------------------
A[-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-3-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-6-----------------
E[-----------------------------------------------------3-3-3-3-1-1-1-1

And the little ~ sign usually means just to let the note ring. Most of the time if it means something different then the tabber would have said so.

Okay, to read tab all you do is look at the string and whatever the number is is the fret you play. Unfortunately, the amount of times you play the note may not always be correct, so you'll want to listen to the song to figure out the timing.

Hope this helps, and welcome to the forums. If have any more questions feel free to ask
Pierced*
Answer:
Yeah, just read what Pierced said. I agree with this guy, even though I don't play bass. =)