New, and a few issue's.

Blackdragon · Subject: New, and a few issue's. Mon Nov 02, 2009 3:39 am

Alright, i just started playing bass yesterday, and i managed to find my way here. Anyway, i've been meaning to pick it up for a while without ever getting to the point of buying one.

So i was at my uncles' place and we were talking about music and i ended up asking him if he known anyone who could sell a second hand bass that won't break. He used to record music for a living, so i was thinking he would be able to find something better then i could. He said he'd look, and it turned out that he had an old bass kicking around. He let my have a lend of it to see if i would want to keep playing after a while.
(the issue below)
The thing is that he only had the Bass, no amp... So for the past 2 days i've been only worked on walking, and trying to keep to the beat of songs. It's a first step, but i was woundering if i should get an amp before i start playing with frets.

(The reason i can't ask him is because he doesn't play bass(i rather ask people who play), but from time to time someone wouldn't have the money to record, so they would make a dealm for something else, over the years the bass is just something he picked up.)

**Guzco** · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Mon Nov 02, 2009 4:04 am

An amp really is a necessity, in my opinion, for the bass. An electric bass is way too quiet unplugged to really get the full experience of it.

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Maintain the low, and keep good time.

BlackF89 · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Mon Nov 02, 2009 5:30 pm

I was ampless for the first 3 weeks of playing bass and I learned stand by me, beat it and come together courtesy of Dman

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**Drakon7** · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Tue Nov 03, 2009 2:34 am

its good for getting a feel of the instrument, imo.

Lean it against some wood, itll sound louder, honest.

and try playing with a pick.

But dont play too hard, of course.

Bad habits.

and such.

Get an amp asap, still.

Only practice little things that dont need too much fretting

_________________
Love is not madness, It is Sparta
- Belial Naoe

An artist paints on canvas, a musician paints on silence
-Cant Remember For The Life Of Me

I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here."
-Stephen Bishop
Pure win.

Blackdragon · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:04 am

Alright, now that i got some free time, i can post more questions, also thanks in advance(and the past), i haven't time to read my last post, and i saw i forgot that. Ill make them point form.
- Is their any basses i should stay away from, i heard alot about picking you first bass, is it a cost issue, or are some harder to play?
- (if their are some basses that are not good for a start) Would a Squier Bullet Bass(Fender) be alright?
- Are their any amps you would recomend i look for / stay away from with the bass i have? Or does it matter?
...thats all i can think of for now, and again, thanks.

**Drakon7** · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:09 am

You get what you pay for.
Thats the main rule

If you cheap out, youll get a cheaped out bass.

Learn a few things on the bass you have now. Then when you know a bit [not much] just go out and try out some basses, theyre all different to everyone.

Find one that you find easy to play.

I reccommend a Musicman Stingray <.<
jokes. theyre like $2000 basses.

Fenders usually go down well

Or Ibanez, too.

All in all. it doesnt matter, cause in a month or two, youll be craving a new one anyways =P

Nothing you should really stay away from in amps, but dont go too cheap. In all honesty.
Just find something that works alright, most of all
TRY IT OUT FIRST
and yeah.

General rules that everyone is going to tell you
1. You get what you pay for
2. Try it out.

_________________
Love is not madness, It is Sparta
- Belial Naoe

An artist paints on canvas, a musician paints on silence
-Cant Remember For The Life Of Me

I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here."
-Stephen Bishop
Pure win.

Rushfan30 · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Tue Nov 03, 2009 9:10 pm

Drakon7 wrote:

General rules that everyone is going to tell you
1. You get what you pay for
2. Try it out.

Can't really agree with you more. Plus when you go to try a bass out try a decent amount. I've thought one bass was amazing, and was sure I was going to get it and then picked up another one for kicks and found I loved it even more! Its all in the feel. afro

**Smaz** · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Wed Nov 04, 2009 8:24 am

Blackdragon wrote:

Alright, now that i got some free time, i can post more questions, also thanks in advance(and the past), i haven't time to read my last post, and i saw i forgot that. Ill make them point form.
- Is their any basses i should stay away from, i heard alot about picking you first bass, is it a cost issue, or are some harder to play?
- (if their are some basses that are not good for a start) Would a Squier Bullet Bass(Fender) be alright?
- Are their any amps you would recomend i look for / stay away from with the bass i have? Or does it matter?
...thats all i can think of for now, and again, thanks.

Here's a few tips on picking a bass:

http://freebasslessons.forumotion.com/questions-answered-f2/tips-on-choosing-a-new-bass-t309.htm

I don't think there are any to really stay away from, but I'd advise not to go with any 'own brand' basses - I know that gear4music has one I think...

I played a 5 string squier bass a little while ago - I looked over it, it seemed pretty well made & was nice enough to play, so based on that I'd say there's nothing wrong with them Smile

As for an amp - if you're just starting, you'll be looking at a beginner/practice amp - aim for about 25 watts or so, 35 if you can. Anything less than that will just sound distorted when you turn it up a bit. Again, can't think of any brands to stay away from Smile

If you pick a bass/amp out, feel free to ask about it here before you buy it for opinions on it Smile

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Blackdragon · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:33 pm

I picked out an amp, but right now all i can tell you is that it has 30 watts and a headphone jack... and the cost. I thought the order forum would have the model but it didn't.(the store is closed today, so i can tell you the model tomorrow)
I live in a small town, and the only music store close enough for me doesn't keep any amps for a bass on hand.(and with that, i still have a 8-10 work days to wait...)

And a question, my friend plays the drums, and he seems set that the bass is easy to learn and master(i made sure to ask him this.) Not that he's ever touched a bass. So my question is this;
Is the bass that underrated, because i assumed that it wasn't easy, but it seemed worth learning to play because i liked the sound of it. I do have alot more to look forward to right?(i'm pretty sure of this, but i want to hear what people have to say)
i'm hopeing that this will come with some explaination that i could explain to my friend... because yes, it's quite discouraging to be learning something and having insults tossed at you for it without any way to justify yourself.

BlackF89 · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:51 pm

Everyone seems to underestimate the bass, it's an easy instrument to play for certain types of songs and a hard one to master, like all instruments people have it in their head that it's easy because it has less strings than a guitar, to those people I say go watch a Les Claypool solo :/

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maxf13 · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Sun Nov 08, 2009 8:52 pm

firstly tell ur friend to (insert swear word) off
bass is not a particularly easy instrument to learn/master
although i have only been playing for a year i feel that i can make a judgement on why it isnt:
a lot of people will say that bass is easyer to learn than guitar because it only has four strings, BUT those for strings are a lot thicker and heavier which means you need tons more strength and stamina to play bass for any period of time compared to guitar.
also some people will tell you that all bass playing is, is bashing out the root notes of the chord that the guitar happens to be playing that may be true for stuff like this:

but not for most stuff
you only need to listen to some metal/funk/punk and probably loads of other stuff (i wouldnt no cause i only play meta/funk/punk on bass) to realise that the bass does completely independat things from the guitar/lead instrument.
and, even if it is doing the same stuff as the lead guitar, its still a lot harder to play on bass than it is on guitar

this is where my knoledge kind of ends, i have only been playing bass for 1 year.

*turns to dman and asks for more information*

also if you would try to play stuff like Sleep Melody Sleep on guitar it would sound crap so bass is clearly the far more superior instrument XD
hope that helped

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Woot at my new bass XDXDXD

**SuperMaximo93** · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Sun Nov 08, 2009 9:14 pm

Bass shakes everything, therefore bass = win Very Happy

Also bass is as hard as you make it, which is also cool as you can get away with one note or over 9000 notes ( Laughing

).

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Quote:

what primus did with"primus sucks" is actually genius, because if you actually do think they suck, then you are still supporting them.

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**Drakon7** · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Sun Nov 08, 2009 10:34 pm

This didnt turn into a hate thread as much as I thought it would!

Also.

"Chicks don't dance to guitar solos"

_________________
Love is not madness, It is Sparta
- Belial Naoe

An artist paints on canvas, a musician paints on silence
-Cant Remember For The Life Of Me

I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here."
-Stephen Bishop
Pure win.

**Smaz** · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Mon Nov 09, 2009 1:53 am

Drakon7 wrote:

£Chicks don't dance to guitar solos"

"I saw one try once. It wasn't pretty."

lol!

Ok, I won't go into it, but... Everyone sees bass, and thinks you just play one note at a time. Whilst this is kind of true, you've got to work on the timing, groove, feel, sound of that one note. THAT makes bass hard. And there's a load of techniques, which take a while to master - one finger, two finger, three or even four. Playing with a pick, slap & pop or double thumping. How about the double thumb double pluck?

As for bass --> guitar, I guess it's the same as swapping to any other instrument - you may be able to transfer some knowledge, but you'll still need to learn a lot more. I imagine the fact you'll have left & right hand co-ordination down will help, but learning to play chords will be completely different to playing them on bass. Each to their own!

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**Fuzzydice45** · Subject: Re: New, and a few issue's. Mon Nov 09, 2009 2:40 am

Easy to learn, Hard to master.
People play bass because they love the sound and love the music.
A fair number of people play guitar because they want to show off how they learnt a new fully sick solo and that makes them "cool".