Bass guitar - learning and playing, what can you recommend?

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have been a long term 6-string player and now have a wish to buy myself a bass guitar.

Firstly, I’ve never played a bass before. I don’t even have a friend who owns a bass that I could borrow for a while to see if I like it or not, so I am jumping in the deep end here.

Secondly, is the step from 6-string to bass particularly difficult, physically speaking? Is fretting notes fairly similar or is playing technique a whole different style? What tips can you give for the transition? Will I end up hurting all over again until I get used to it?

Also, is it worth buying a 5-string bass, or does it not make a huge difference to anything?

Also, I am currently looking at the option of buying a semi- acoustic bass (not necessarily this one, but something similar) because I prefer to be able to play without hauling amps and gear about. Are there many really good semi-acoustic bass guitars available, and how do they sound (emphasis on unplugged) with regard to full electrics?

Any help you can give will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

2

Well, I can’t speak to the acoustic basses. But I’ve played both guitar and bass in my day.

You should find the transition fairly straightforward if you’ve kept up on your scales on the six-string. The scales will play the same except they end two strings earlier than you’re used to.

Since you are just exploring the idea hit the local pawn shops and pick up a cheap one. Far better a small investment while you’re learning that a big one. And then just play.

You’ll have to get used to playing on a different staff if you’re a music reader, too. But that’s not too hard all-in-all.

Note: while I said the transition should be easy (ie, what you learned for guitar can be applied to bass) there are specific tips and tricks you’ll need to pick up for bass that are unique to the instrument.

3

I’ve always been a fan of cheap. Get yourself a used (but good condition) Bass and a cheap amp.

Also, make sure you have some Finger-ease or some sort of guitar lubrication while you’re starting out.

While we’re at it, get yourself a song book with easy to play bass lines. I find it helps to have a sense of accomplishment in the early days, even if it’s manufactured. (An easy and cool one is Purple Haze. It’s only 6-7 notes, and one of them is the top string.)

And while rock musicans don’t read sheet music, learning the clefs would help alot! (Old joke: How do you shut a guitar player up? Put some sheet music in front of him!)

4

Just for the record, I do have a few amps already and lots of leads / pedals / mixers etc… so it wouldn’t be looking for an acoustic bass only to avoid buying the gear. I fancy one because I like the idea of playing it out the back of the house, on the beach or at parties, whatever. I have a semi-acoustic 6-string at the moment and I just love the flexibility of it, just lift, carry and play.

I do think I’ll rein myself in and buy a cheap second-hand one first, as you suggest. :slight_smile:

5

The strings are way fatter. And they’re flipping expensive. You will have to talk to drummers!

Are you sure you want to do this?

What’s different:

Depending on the style of music - lots of bass players don’t use a pick they use one/two/more fingers and/or thumb.

Since the tuning is the same as the bottom strings of a 6-string you don’t have to learn the fretboard.

Bass playing (I find) a lot more physical than guitar - but I’ve got titchy hands.

I wouldn’t get a five string, certainly to start with, extra strings are for flash gits.

6

I don’t think it’s particularly difficult, physically, to switch from guitar to bass. You’ll probably be using a bit more finger pressure to avoid fret buzz than you’re used to, but not dramatically so. The frets are generally spaced a bit wider, unless you’re playing a short-scale bass, but as others have pointed out whatever you already know about playing on the lower four strings of the guitar will be to your advantage.

Personally, I’m a lousy bass player, as opposed to a spectacularly lousy guitar player, so my opinion might not count for a lot. That being said, a five-string’s raison d’etre is to give you an extra half-octave or so at the bottom end of the instrument’s range. There are times when this can give you extra flexibility or just sound cool, but if four strings were enough for James Jamerson and Duck Dunn, they’re enough for me. Besides, my fingers like the idea of playing a man-to-man instead of a zone defense.

There’s a CD-based intro to playing bass that’s at least passable; only one I’ve found that’s not hopelessly shallow. It lists for $49.99, but I’ve seen it (indeed, I bought it) for $14.99 in computer stores. Given your experience playing guitar, you should be able to blow through the whole thing pretty quickly (a week or two at most), by which point you’d be able to at least handle simple rock/country bass lines. I’ve been playing a lot with Guitar Pro lately, and have found the ability to see guitar and bass tabs along with standard sheet music and fretboard diagrams and the multitrack MIDI functionality to be a huge help in learning to play specific songs that have been tabbed in Guitar Pro format.

7

I assume you know this, but just in case: plugging a bass into a guitar amp is a bad idea; you stand a good chance of blowing the speakers.

8

I didn’t know this, actually. Thanks for the tip. So there are specific amps made especially for bass guitars?!

I’m such a bass virgin.

9

A good book to consult is “Playing Bass the Sid Vicious Way.”

10

I humbly offer this thread on bass in Cafe Society, where my brilliance on bass-related knowledge is displayed in full light:

kidding aside, it does mention some great bassists you would be smart to listen to…

11

And you tremble at our touch… :slight_smile:

Yes, there are amps specifically built for bass. There had better be because the tone coming from bass guitars do (as mentioned above) have a tendency to make bad things happen to standard amps.

They tend to be pricier, too. Be warned. And heavier, if you can imagine.

12

I have a 5 string fretless. (fretless because my bandmates where always out of tune, and it was good for making micro adjustments)

Let me tell you, you need that B string. Many of the times you would go up, you can now go down. If you play the funky stuff, it’s good for the booty groovin, and if you play the heavy stuff, that 5 sounds like some primal dirge.

Yes oh yes, that B-string is a nice thing to have.

[sub]unless you have small girly hands[/sub] :smiley:

13

Oh yeah. Generally bigger speakers, frequency response tuned differently than a guitar amp, etc. There’s a long tradition of guitar players playing through old Fender Bassman amps, but anyone who tries playing bass through a guitar amp for any period of time will find themselves the first and last in that particular tradition.

When I decided to get back into playing after several years off, I bought two things: a bass (had never owned one of my own) and a Fender Bassman 25 amp. I run both my old Harmony-made Silvertone guitar and the bass through the amp with excellent results. I’ve since added a Johnson J-Station amp modeler to get a little more variety in the guitar sounds (it works pretty well with the bass also).

14

Definitely give it a try! Many bass players disagree with this, but as both a guitar and bass player, I find the bass to be quite a bit easier. It is more physically demanding in some ways–heavier instruments usually, and sometimes bigger stretches for the fingers. Still, I find it easier overall, and much, much more fun. Simpler lines, for the most part, and fretting is similar, except that bass players don’t often play chords. I do sometimes, but it’s hard to play a bass chord that doesn’t sound muddy.

The roles of the instruments are different, of course, and sometimes guitar players switching to bass tend to approach the instrument as they would a guitar. That isn’t always a bad thing, but playing too much “lead bass” does annoy other band members.

I have two fully acoustic basses, and one semi-acoustic. (Nitpick: I call the Dean bass you linked to acoustic, because it can be played without an amp. A semi-acoustic has piezo pickups and a semi-hollow body, but must be amplified to be heard. I have one of those, too.) I love those acoustic basses, because I can pick them up and play them for 2 minutes during a commercial, for example, without fumbling around with cables and amps. I play mostly by myself, and an acoustic is fine for that, but it doesn’t cut through much with other players. I can keep up with one acoustic guitar, but that’s about it. More than that, and you’ll need to plug in–to a bass amp! You’ll blow the speaker in a guitar amp.

Five-string? I do see the value of them–not so much for that low B, but for the ease of playing notes without switching positions. Also, an open low E won’t sound as fat as a low E on the fifth fret of the B string. Still, I play only 4-strings. I like the simplicity and balance of them, and strings are easier to find.

Speaking of strings, that Dean is a medium-scale (32"). A bit easier on the stretches, but long-scale (34") strings are more plentiful, in more varieties. I like the nylon tapewound strings for acoustic bass–a real deep, woody sound. My favorites are LaBellas, available cheap from the Carvin website.

One last thing: the first time I tried a fretless bass (also acoustic) at a music store, I went straight home and ripped the frets out of my bass. Since then I’ve bought three more basses, all fretless. They aren’t for everyone, but for some of us, nothing else will do. At least try one in a music store before getting a fretted bass. They really aren’t that much harder to play.

Recommended reading: Bass Guitar for Dummies, by Patrick Pfeiffer. You could also check out the activebass and talkbass forums. Welcome to the deep end!

15

Howyadoin,

I have that Dean Performer acoustic, I like it a lot!

Pros: It’s got such a fat, fat sound when you go heavy on it into an amp, plus you can practice without having to futz around with cables and amps and such.

Negatives: It’s a workout and a half, the action is brutally high. That is a benefit in my eyes, cause when I pick up my butter-smooth Ibanez TR custom, it’s like putting on dancing shoes after wearing work boots. The Dean is a awkward piece, although not particularly heavy.

-Rav