Good First Bass?

[inlimbo]

Hi all,

Im looking at buying a bass - my first! I first started playing/learning drums and percussion and then went on and got a guitar and then a tabla. So I have a good knowledge of music theory and instruments etc... Now I want to learn bass!

I dont know where to start. I know about electric guitars but know nothing about electric basses. Can you help me out? I just want something simple and flexible. Just a 4 string.

I was just reading some great information (well I thought it was great) on bass playing from Dr Das (http://www.asiandubfoundation.com/basstips.html) from the mighty Asian Dub Foundation (http://www.asiandubfoundation.com). I completely agree with his views. There are too many bass players who have no idea about how to play their instrument and just play the root notes of the guitar chords. Anyway he uses a Hohner B2A. Its one of those weird looking basses without a headstock.

When I bought my guitar I just bought a cheap piece of crap. But it has served me well. Im actually quite attached to it.

So maybe I should just go and buy I cheap piece of crap bass to start off with. But I do have some money coming through from work and could afford to buy something a little more expensive and better.

I found a second hand Hohner B2A on ebay here (http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Hohner-B2A-bass-guitar-steinberger_W0QQitemZ7342866317QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWD2VQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

But I should not just buy a bass because Dr Das uses it! Maybe I will find it difficult to play? What do you recommend?

I want to learn bass properly. When playing drums and guitar I learned some bad habits from playing crap songs by crap bands (when I was in my teens I listened to a lot of crap 'alternative' music). i.e. I have become pre-programmed to rock-licks and chops. So Im going to buy some books on jazz and funk bass etc... Any suggestions on books you have would be great! In a lot of respects rock bass is evil and boring - I dont wont to become like that.

Some of my favourite bass players: Colin Greenwood (Radiohead), Nick Oliveri (Queens of the Stone Age), Paul McCartney (Beatles), Kim Deal (The Pixies), Mani (Primal Scream), Roger Waters (Pink Floyd), Andy Rouke (The Smiths), Kim Gorden (Sonic Youth), Justin Chancellor (Tool) and now Dr Das (Asian Dub Foundation).

Thanks in advance for your input!

[inlimbo]

Any tips on practicing would be much appreciated as well! Im thinking of getting a Sunadamala (http://www.radelindia.com/PROD-SUNADAMALA.htm) too practice along with. Not everyone's cup of tea but I like Indian music and I do play the Tabla. So a Sunadamala will serve two purposes.

[stridey]

I don't have ANY help for you whatsoever in regard to either of your questions, but I do have to say that if that's your list of favourite bass players, you NEED to check out John Entwistle of the Who. Listen to the album Who's Next for some of the most amazing bass playing the world ever saw.

[inlimbo]

I don't have ANY help for you whatsoever in regard to either of your questions, but I do have to say that if that's your list of favourite bass players, you NEED to check out John Entwistle of the Who. Listen to the album Who's Next for some of the most amazing bass playing the world ever saw.

Ha Ha. I agree! Who albums are on my cds-to-get list. I did say 'some' of my favourite bass players. :)

[gwuMACaddict]

i've been very happy with my squier starfire guitar. it's a semi-hollowbody electric, cherry red. maybe check out one of sqiers bass's, they're known for making quality, cheaper instruments. :D

[.:*Robot Boy*:.]

Sorry, it's been a long time since I've ventured in to one of New Zealand's awful guitar shops, or picked up any kind of guitar magazine, so I too am of little help. But when stridey recommended John Entwhistle, I had to offer my two cents.

In my opinion, James Jamerson is the greatest bass player ever. He was part of a group of session musicians known as The Funk Brothers who played on all the Motown stuff. He just has an incredible sense of groove! I can't describe it, you've really got to listen. I think he's probably the greatest example of a bass player who knew what their role within a band was.

Of course, that was back before the bass guitar was bastardised and turned into a quasi-lead instrument :rolleyes:

[xsedrinam]

Jazz and Funk - Fender, Washburn
X
P.S. A big g'day to our friends at Hillsong

[Loge]

I'm really enjoying my first bass, a Fender Jazz in a deep purplish finish. Jazz or Precision, you can't go wrong with those.

My favourite bass players btw, are Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Chuck Rainey (plays on Steely Dan, Aja for example).

[Blue Velvet]

Yes... Stanley Clarke but also not forgetting Jaco Pastorius and seconding Marcus Miller.

Edit: and also Bernard Edwards from Chic.

[Lacero]

Hi Blue Velvet,

Welcome back. I'm right under you.

[dxm113]

Check out the entry-mid level guitars / basses from ibanez (http://www.ibanez.com) and ESP (http://www.espguitars.com) . great quality instruments for the money.

Also, check our musiciansfriend (http://www.musiciansfriend.com) to get a good sense of what poular instruments and prices are out there.

Maybe do a little research on guitar / bass forums . . .

Also, i recommend looking into buying a used instrument, may be able to get a better bass for the money.

I also recomend going to a guitar / music shop where they sell basses, talk to the salesman and other customers. try playing a few different models and see what you like. generally the peeps that work there are also musicians, and can give some good recommendations.

[andy89]

You dont want any of those for your first bass, you want a Fender Squire P-bass. Their Cheap, and easy to play. Thats what my first bass was :)

[Langly]

Yamaha make some nice instruments, and have a range of beginners' basses.

Billy Sheehan (who endorses Yamaha products) is also a rather fine bassist. You might find some of his tuition videos interesting :)

I find one of the best ways to practise is to find a friendly drummer, and jam along with him.

[CanadaRAM]

Check out the entry-mid level guitars / basses from ibanez (http://www.ibanez.com) and ESP (http://www.espguitars.com) . great quality instruments for the money.

Also, check our musiciansfriend (http://www.musiciansfriend.com) to get a good sense of what poular instruments and prices are out there.

Maybe do a little research on guitar / bass forums . . .

Also, i recommend looking into buying a used instrument, may be able to get a better bass for the money.

I also recomend going to a guitar / music shop where they sell basses, talk to the salesman and other customers. try playing a few different models and see what you like. generally the peeps that work there are also musicians, and can give some good recommendations.

I agree wholeheartedly: I auditioned a dozen or so basses before I bought a lightly used mid-level Ibanez. The Yamaha I was looking at was really, really nice, with a natural finish and active electronics, but it was a bit more than I wanted to pay. My choice was driven by price, and the flexibility to create a wider range of sounds with splittable pickups and active EQ.

[mike3k]

I don't have ANY help for you whatsoever in regard to either of your questions, but I do have to say that if that's your list of favourite bass players, you NEED to check out John Entwistle of the Who. Listen to the album Who's Next for some of the most amazing bass playing the world ever saw.

He was great, but Jaco Pastorius was the greatest bass player ever. Stanley Clarke is a close second.

[quigleybc]

He was great, but Jaco Pastorius was the greatest bass player ever. Stanley Clarke is a close second.



I agree that Jaco was the best ever, however, I would like to serve up Victor Wooten from the Flecktones as a close second.

Check some of his stuff out, and you may be inspired, or intimidated.

And of course Mike Gordon, gotta give it up for the Cactus. :)

[aquajet]

Jaco was definitely a revolutionary in the bass world, but quite frankly most of his stuff sounds all the same. There are lots of players that I believe are better than Jaco ever was, Victor Wooten comes to mind. Marcus Miller, while not technically not as virtuosic, is a superb player that can groove many styles. John Patitucci is another. If I had to name a "best" bass player, my vote would be for Stu Hamm.

inlimbo, whatever you do, I would never purchase a used instrument sight unseen (ebay for example). I always recommend going to a guitar shop and spending some time playing and getting a feel for several instruments. I think many of the "upper-low-end" yamahas and ibanez are excellent instruments. The Mexican-made Fenders are hit-or-miss, some are very good quality for what they are, and some are mediocre, suffering from poor fret work, large neck pocket gaps and frequent electrical problems.

Having said that, if you are willing to pay a bit more money for absolutely superb values in bass guitar, just about any Fender that comes from Japan meets or exceeds the quality of its American-made counterparts. I have the Marcus Miller 4-string Jazz Bass, made in Japan, and it's a seriously rockin bass. The Warwick RockBasses, imported from the far east, are also superior quality instruments that are just as good as the German-made Warwicks, except they use more mainstream materials such as Alder bodies instead of exotics such as bubinga.

Just remember to take your time, get to know the basses you try out. There's nothing worse than receiving a bass you purchased off ebay, only to find that it's about good enough to cozy up to in a fireplace and nothing else. :(

[vollspacken]

I suggest you get yourself a Squier Standard Jazzbass...

I have a Squier bass as a backup instrument (I normally play a custom build Jazzbass and a Fender Japan Precision) and a Squier Standard Strat... the Squier Standard series are quality built and you can upgrade them later with a new set of pickups if you like...

vSpacken

[bartelby]

Has no-one mentioned Les Claypool, or have I just missed it?

I've had about 8 basses so far:
Arias
Fenders
Squires
Warwicks

I have 3 at the moment:
an old and much abused Aria Pro II SB Elite (I fitted a Dimarzio Model One pickup in the neck position with it's own output, so the bass is stereo, a Hipshot D-Tuner, the upper part of the fretboard is scalloped, can anyone guess who my favourite bassist was at the time of me doing this?)

A Squier Prescision

and a Dean Edge 4

The Dean is the nicest bass I've ever owned despite it being one of the cheapest, around £250 !! I plan on swapping the pickups for Bartolini's at some point.

[quigleybc]

Has no-one mentioned Les Claypool, or have I just missed it?




Good call Les is the sh#t

If your into the slap maddness, he is a virtuso

Has anyone heard of the late Marc Sandman from the Boston trio Morphine?

He wasn't very technical, but extremely original. Look him up. He died on stage a few years back. :(

[inlimbo]

Has anyone heard of the late Marc Sandman from the Boston trio Morphine?


Morphine were excellent! Didn't Marc Sandman die of a heart attack on stage? What a way to go!

[WildCowboy]

I've got an early '90s Fender Precision Plus Deluxe in Blue Pearl Burst...great bass.

My faves would have to be Jaco, Stanley Clarke, and Billy Sheehan. I certainly have a lot of respect for Les Claypool as well...

[Silencio]

I still have to give it up for Geddy Lee.

Or two others who couldn't be any more different: the burbling fretless of Mick Karn (ex-Japan) or the upper-register melody of New Order's Peter Hook (pretty much an anti-virtuoso as a musician, but love his sound anyway).

[bartelby]

Jah Wobble's pretty cool too.
John Patitucci as well

[Blue Velvet]

Mick Karn, Peter Hook, Jah Wobble... all good picks.

I'd also like to add whassiname from early Simple Minds...

<quick google>

Derek Forbes.

[Loge]

Graham Maby, from Joe Jackson's band. Their early stuff was pretty much bass and drums driven, with bits of guitar and keyboard here and there.

[JesseJames]

Wow, no one's mentioned Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
I had a Ibanez bass a while back. It was decent. Can't go wrong with Fender though.
My friends' reaction to the Ibanez bass was "You bought an 'I've been had'?"
It was decent though and served its purpose. Laying down the low end.
My dream setup would've been a Fender Jazz bass with Eden amps and cabinets. But of course 'music jam night' kind of petered out for us. Families and all. :( :rolleyes:
Hey, if you wanted to hear some really whacky bass lines that are jazz influenced check out the band 'Better Than Ezra'. Their bassist Tom Drummond is quite an innovator.
In fact try downloading their songs 'Normaltown', 'I Like it Like That', and 'I Do' and tell me what you think.

[weldon]

I would second the recommendations to go cheap on your first bass. I started with a borrowed junk bass, bought a MIJ Precision, a Yamaha TRB-II, and now finally a Lakland Daryl Jones (which is sweet). If you're into bass, you'll have time to upgrade later on. Instruments tend to hold value pretty well after the initial depreciation, but you'll do better on resale with a low-end bass from a well recognized name like Fender. I think the Squier recommendation is a good one if you want to stick around $200.

You should definitely play both a J and a P to see which sound you like better and which is more comfortable for you. The neck on the P's will generally be wider at the nut and thicker than a J. You also get a different tone with the split pup's on the P instead of the neck and bridge single-coils on the J. Only you will know which you prefer, and even then you might change your mind after playing for a while (hence the suggestion to go cheap now and upgrade later).

As for bassists.... Stanley Clarke, Jaco, Marcus Miller, Geddy Lee, Stu Hamm, Wooten, Entwistle, John Paul Jones, McCartney, Sting, Mingus, Nathan East, and on and on and on

[evil_santa]

Hi inlimbo, I had a B2A some years back and it was excellent, I only sold it to get a fretless. I would recommend that you try out as many Basses as you can, all the brand & models feel different, have different neck profile, string spacing & sound different. Ebay has a Status Bass (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Status-series-2000-headless-bass-guitar_W0QQitemZ7344466223QQcategoryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem) right now, I just got one similar and it is a very good bass for the money. Yamaha & Ibanez make some very budget instruments.

You might want to check out Bassworld (http://www.bassworld.co.uk) it is an excellent site for Bass Players.

[agreenster]

I remember when I got to first bass.

[bmac13]

About a new bass I really think the Mexican made fenders are the way to go. I know someone said they're of uneaven quality but all that I've played have been pretty good for the price (around $400).

Personally I'd stay away from the fender squire stuff. My first bass was an Indian made squire P bass, but after I learned what I was doing a bit I realized that the electronics were really loud and there was a constant hum coming from my amp. I think its better to get a decent instument you can keep after you actually learn how to play that drop a couple hundred (or more) bucks on a cheap guitar which will have a pretty low resale value when you realize it sucks. I ended up selling my squire P bass for around 65 - 70 bucks as a trade in on a tele.

Also I have one of the Warwick rockbass' which someone mentioned. I think they're pretty good basses for the price but to say they're of the same quality as the German made basses isn't true. To be quite honest the electronics in the rock bass are rather dubious. I've had to resolder several wires on mine and replace the input jack. Keep in mind I bought this bass new, less that two years ago and it's been pretty well taken care of. Not that I think its a bad sounding bass, just be prepared to work on it if you buy one.

Also make room in your budget for a decent practice amp too. Volume is more important for bass than it is for guitar. You can get away with a 15 watt practice amp for guitar because it's frequency range is smack dab in the middle of humanly audble frequencies, not so with the bass. Feeling the bass rumble through your body is actually pretty important and IMHO one of the most attractive thing about playing the intrument. The Peavey Basic 112 are reasonably priced (~200) and will be loud enough for you to get the feel (literally) of the bass which can't to with a really small amp that moves very little air.

[Scarlet Fever]

if your budget is tight, have a look around for a Squier California Jazz Bass. I got one for $300 AU. The guy who sold it to me as been Australia's best bassist for a while (Rob Little), and the guitar has been played and praised by one of Aussie's best guitarists (Bob Spence from The Angels).

Ive heard Fender are now making the best basses they have ever made. Get one now and you will be happy.

Spector and Warwick are some high recomendations for other companies.

If you ever get the chance, play a Rickenbacker. These are the guitars of dreams. People say they are ugly things but they sound beautiful.

Also, why are the P-Basses so popular? personally i reckon the JBass is much better looking, and have a much better sound.