six string guitar to 4 string bass..?

I bought a bass recently, I've played guitar for 20 years+ so I am ok a player. I know arpeggios and scales and a good amount of theory, etc.

I am really enjoying playing bass now, however its quite a different beast, when I play it alone( or with a drum machine) I can get some nice riffs going..
but when I try to play along with records, I kind of don't know where I am going wrong? scales sound far too scaley and riffs don't quite fit!

Can anyone help a new bass player who isn't so new! any tips??
At some point I want to join a band as bass. I like all types of music rock,blues,folk,reggae,jazz..

Don't play along to records lol, it's like painting by numbers. Don't play scales, play Triads which are the root, third and fifth of the scale, plus the octave of the root, so you've got root, 3,5and 8, you can mix them up and then you can do inversions, where you start on the third or fifth but still play the root and octave