Check it out, I need some advice from anyone who plays bass or knows bass players or whatever. I play a little guitar, and i’ve decided after two years of debating with myself to go ahead and expand to bass. Actually, I want to pretty much concentrate on bass guitar since bass guitarists are so fewer in number than regular guitarists. The thing is, I really don’t know much about bass. I play/listen to metal and hard rock, primarily, and I know what brands and models are good for that with guitar, but bass…yeah, i’m in the dark. I have this hatred of Fender that reaches no bounds for some reason; i’m just extremely biased, one problem though: Fender basses have awesome reviews on musiciansfriend.com, but i’d rather not get one. Anyway have any suggestions on brand or models? Also, I don’t know jack about pickups on a bass, can someone explain it to me. It’d be most appreciated.
Why do you have a hatred for Fender? They make some pretty good basses. If you really don’t want to get a fender, then I suggest you take a look at Ibanez. Ibanez make pretty affordable basses that are good for the styles that you wish to play. But I think it really depends on how much you’re willing to spend…
Also, have you gone to any guitar stores and tried out any basses? I think you should do that first, just to get the feel of what you are looking for. You should even try Fender basses, because you never know, you might like them.
As for pickups, well I don’t think there’s too much of a difference between bass pickups and guitar pickups in what they’re supposed to do. I know there’s 2 or 3 different types: Percision style, Jazz style, and humbucker style. I’m not quite sure on the actual differences between these…
A good bass website you might want to check out is http://www.activebass.com/. It’s a website devoted to bass.
I hope that helps.
*edit: oh, and I have a question: are you planning on playing with your fingers or with a pick?
Fender P-Basses are pretty alright.
How good are you with the guitar? Because if you have some fingering skills, you might want to check out a fretless bass. They’re harder to play, but you can make them spit out some crazy sounds.
Fretless basses are indeed very fun. The bass I own is an Ibanez fretless. I wouldn’t advise it if you haven’t played bass before, though. They can be tricky at times, and usually require a lot of looking at the fretboard while playing.
fender invented the rock bass.
why so much hate from metallers?
if you want to drop an obscene amount of money on it, the rickenbacker bass is probably the most beautiful looking musical instrument in the world, and maybe the best sounding.
I think my hatred of the stratocaster is simply transferring to the other instrument. I’ve seriously considered the Fender, and i’ve tried a bunch of basses, but that was WAY before I came to Iraq, plus I really didn’t know how to play anything, so it was kind of like, “Yep, it’s a bass.” I’m pretty good at fingerpicking with a guitar, but i’ll stick to frets for a while. I was considering Ibanez or Shecter, if I don’t choose the Fender, simply because those are my favorite guitar companies. That Rickenbacher is really nice, and I have the money, but I really just don’t want to spend it:P We’ll see, i’ll go try out some and make my decision, I was just wanting a little guidance to go off of. Thanks for the info!
Edit: I forgot to answer: I plan on using my fingers.
Right on. \m/
I can play the guitar
And there’s a major reason why I want to expand to bass: EVERYONE seems to know how to play guitar!
Aaahh, the bass guitar. The easiest instrument to play but very hard to play with skill. Your best bet is to start off with something cheap, such as an Ibanez or an Epiphone. If you’re looking for a Gibson then Epiphone models are basically Gibson light and if you want a Fender check out one of the mexican Fender models which are basically the cheaper Fenders. The bass is something thats easy to pick up and play but to play it with skill is harder than you’d think. Really, you’re kinda going in reverse and the bass is better to start with. But if you’re a skilled guitarist then the bass should be child’s play.
Not necesarily. Try playing it with your fingers consistantly and tell me that’s child play.
Well, i’ve messed around on them and it seemed easy enough, but we’ll see. Here’s a question: Why does everyone say to start on a four string and not a five or six string?
Cause, unless you know what you’re doing, that fifth string is useless, and the six stringers cost a lot. Make sure it’s what you want to do, and make sure you can even use what you have before getting fancy.
Not necesarily. Try playing it with your fingers consistantly and tell me that’s child play.
It’s child’s play. I play guitar fingerstyle. It’s much easier, more accurate, faster, and more intuitive than picking. Picks are best for rhythm (except arpeggios), sweeping, and tremolo. I suggest he learns how to do both. They each give different tones and let you do different things at different speeds in different ways.
V, make sure you have some good role models. Don’t become one of those bassists who pump out the same note at regular intervals throughout a song. Listen to Open Your Eyes (Guano Apes), I’m so Glad (Cream), Love Trilogy (Red Hot Chilli Peppers), and anything by CCR for examples of good bass. Don’t waste your time learning and unlearning shit bass. Go for the core.
Good luck.
Edit: Get “Gamble Everything For Love” by Ben Lee, too. It’s an amazing song in every respect. Very Jazzy.
We’re talking bass finger-playing, hades. It’s far from childs-play when the strings are double the thickness and much more massive.
Playing guitar with your fingers is similar to playing bass with your fingers, but not quite. I’d say both can be challenging. But with bass, really, why would you play with a pick when it’s a bass? With enough practice you can play “tremolo” bass with your fingers. But you seem to be just focused on guitars in your comment, seeing as how you’re talking about arpeggios and sweeping (not that you can’t sweep on the bass). But really, playing the bass with your fingers with speed and consistancy is not as easy as it seems; it requires a lot of practice, much like any other technique.
I guess it’s just child’s play to me since I’ve played the guitar for the last twelve years. But anywho, the fifth and sixth strings are basically just there so you don’t have to tune down as often. Tuning down guitars is bad for the strings so the fifth string is to alleviate needing to do that. And as my guitar instructor said “Six stringed basses are for pussies.” the fifth string is useful enough but the sixth string is pretty much pointless 'cause there’s no way in hell you should need to play ANYTHING that low. Unless you’re into nu metal, which no one should be.
(Basically the fifth and sixth strings are extras that aren’t really needed, four is more than enough for the normal bass player.)
Uh, I thought the extra string on a six string bass was a string higher up? Kind of like B E A D G and then either B or C.
In my experience, it is.