I'd like to try my hand at Bass guitar. Never played before. Suggestions?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Okay, I was poking around in IMHO and came across this thread:
Electric Bass Players: What makes for a good rig?

It occurred to me that I am seriously in need of a hobby. This happened while I reading this thread, while at work.

My job affords it’s worker the luxury of sitting on his ass and listening to music. The local radio station happened to be playing Eye of the Beholder by Metallica, and then it hit me:

My hobby should be the bass guitar. I don’t mean one of those big ass Mexican ones, I mean an electric one. My girlfriend is learning how to play a regular guitar, I should learn to play bass. I’ve always wanted to, and I can afford it now, I should do it.

So then I thought I should ask someone who knows how I can get started. You know, what brand is cheap but good for a beginner?
Should I start with four and then learn six, or can I start with six or does it matter?
What size of amp will allow me to learn but not get evicted?
How much should I plan on spending?
It is possible to learn on your own from a book or video, or are lessons a must?
What the hell is a fretless bass, and why do they sound so cool? Should I check that out, or learn on a regular one first?

Should I just e-mail aha?

Serioualy, I’m really considering doing this, and I want your help and advice if you play bass or know anything about it.
Thanks.

2

Hea Lexi,

My father has a bass guitar that he plays, let me ask him and I’ll get back to ya.

3

Since I am an experienced bass player, I think I am qualified to offer some of my opinions.

Start with 4 strings. I’m not a purist, but really 4 strings are all you need. I have never owned anything but 4 strings. If I were to get one with more strings, I would probably go for an eight or twelve string model, because they have a radically different sound.

It is possible to learn from videos or books, but I would recommend finding a good teacher, especially if you don’t have any other music training. Also listen, listen listen. Most of the “bass heroes” seem to be either jazz or rock musicians, but there is a lot you can pick up from other types of music as well.

Get a practice amp if you’re worried about disturbing the neighbors. You can probabaly find one for $100-$200, they’re not too loud and most of them have headphone jacks. A bigger amp is fine too, because the beauty thing about an amp is, you don’t have to turn it up full blast.

You don’t necessarily need to spend a lot of money on a bass, but keep in mind that it’s really hard to learn on a poor quality instrument. Try several in stores and pay attention to how the strings feel when you press them. Some basses are harder to finger than others, and if you’re not careful you could make yourself work harder than is necessary.

Is that everything? Oh, yeah! The fretless bass. Frets allow you to play the same pitch even if your finger is a little bit off. Without frets, to play exact pitches you have to put your finger in the exact same spot each time. This makes it harder to play, but allows you to slide smoothly from one note to the next, add a little vibrato, and make fine adjustments to your intonation. “Hey You” from Pink Floyd’s The Wall features a fretless bass.

Also, I’ve never owned one but I’ve always wanted one of those “big ass Mexican ones”. It’s called a guitarron, it has six strings, and I think a pretty cool sound. I understand the technique on it is totally different than a bass guitar. (It’s tuned differently, and the player normally plays in octaves on two strings at once.)

You might check out alt.guitar.bass and rec.musicmakers.bass on usenet.

4

Great, thanks guys.
Kinoons, how’s things? Anything new? If you could get back to me on that, it would be really cool.

Thanks for all the info, Doug K. Good to know.
Anyone know how much I should expect to pay for a reasonable bass? I understand you don’t want to learn on a POS, but I don’t want to blow my wad on a top of the line model out of the gate, either.
Little more help here, I am looking for as much information as possible here, if I can get it.

5

Lex: At many music stores you can buy a used bass for $100-$150. That’s a good place to start. A Fender or Gibson would be a good instrument to start off on, as they make quality instruments at all levels. I’m a drummer, and take active interest in the equipment the bass players I play with use, as it can have a definite effect on the overal sound of the band.

Note to DougK: it’s spelled guitarone, and was widely used on the Eagles’ Hotel California album.

6

Lex: Where are ya? I have a pretty good Ibanez 4-string bass that I’m looking to sell. It’s not quite full scale, which means it plays quickly and it’s a good starter bass (actually, it’s a great starter bass). I got it new for $400 about three years ago and it’s still in great shape.

I’m unloading it because I need the money, and I’ve become advanced enough to play my Fender fretless P-bass exclusively.

(My bass and I are in the Washington, DC area.)

7

If you want to ship it to Colorado, I might consider it. Or if you’re gonna take a trip out here.
Other than that, you may want to sell it to Satan. Just think… then you could tell everyone
“I sold by bass to Satan, and all I got was this lousy radio station T-shirt!”
Wouldn’t that be cool?

8

E-mail me, Lex, to discuss this.

And, anyway, Satan doesn’t need my bass. And, I sure don’t need to brag that I sold it to him. After all…

I didn’t sleep with a moderator because Satan insisted on doing it instead of me.

9

As an old bass player, i agree with Dougs excellent post, and would add a few things.

As mentioned, get a decent bass guitar> If you buy a used one (or new, for that matter)make sure the neck is straight.
Pick up the guitar, and “eyeball” the neck, if it’s bowed, dont buy it. (while most basses and reg guitars offer an adjustment, by tightening rods in the neck, if its bowed, the wood can “creep”, and you will never get it out).

Check the “action” which is how far above the fretboard the strings are. While this is more of a concern to reg guitar players, it still is an issue, if its real hard to finger the strings, you might check out a diff bass.

The classic Fender “P” (Precision) Bass (as mentioned) is excellent, and many used examples can be found in pawn shops.

As Doug said, I would stay away from fretless and 5 string basses for now.

I could go on, but finally, and MOST important, listen to the old music, and learn all the “classic” bass lines, like 8 and 12 bar blues, classic country riffs, and some of the jazz stuff, OVER and OVER. The bass and drums “hold down” the beat and the song, and the classic bass lines are still heard today.

When you have a few steady riffs down, go to jam nights at the local bars. Dont be embarassed to go on stage and fuck up.

Pretty soon you will be able to go up and jam with anybody.
they might say “blues in A”, and you will know it.

oh, BTW, if you cant afford an amp rig now, you can buy headphone amps that look like a walkman you clip to your belt and jam. They are like 30 or 40 bucks.

10

I am relatively new to bass playing (about a year or so), so I don’t have too much to say about gear, as my experience is somewhat limited, but the following have really helped me to feel confident in my playing:

  1. Listen to basslines and try to figure them out. And try different styles of music - rock/blues are good to start with because the basslines are really simple, but try hard stuff, too.

  2. Take lessons. Even if you don’t get a lot out of the lessons themselves, the focus, attention and practice will help, which brings me to the next one…

  3. Play all the time, and don’t be embarrassed about messing up. I have only been playing for about a year and I’m already playing in a band. Granted, I’m not a virtuoso, but I’ve had some great shows, and people get up and dance and have a good time, even when I’m playing wrong notes all over the place. In fact, the shows that seem the most messed up are the ones that people seem to like the most (for whatever weird reason that is) The thing I’ve noticed about playing for other people is that it’s not a matter of playing exactly the right notes in exactly the right time, it’s a matter of playing with soul (as cliche as that sounds).

11

Excellent. This kicks ass. My girlfriend and I are going to look this afternoon. I may just pick up a rig tonight, who knows?
Thanks for all your help folks.

Anything else would still be appreciated…
such as how much should lessons run me?

12

Not a hijack but an attempt to keep the thread going…
I am curious to see who people think are great bassist. And not I’m not talking Jacco Past?? (you know who I am talking about) - I’m talking about mere mortals. I lean WAY toward heavy metal so I’ll obviously say Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris but I really like Geddy Lee, Johan De Farfalla (ex Opeth), Taneli Jarwa (ex Sentenced), John Entwistle, and John Paul Jones.

13

Oh man, without a doubt, the greatest bassist to ever tread the earth was
<drum roll please>

Cliff Burton

14

Why not just learn how to play the piano with one hand?

You can do everything required of a bass player, and leave your right hand free to hold your beer!

15

I’ve been playing bass for quite a while, and agree with all of the above posts. But I gotta put my two cents in…

First of all, I really don’t think there is a reason to get a 5, 6, or higher stringed bass. Just stick with 4.

Once you find a bass & amp you’re comfortable with, you (obviously) need to learn how to play it. There are a variety of educational tools you can use, such as personal instruction, videos, cassette tapes, music sheets, tabs, etc. Personally - and I’m only speaking for myself - I haven’t found any those to be useful. I learned to play bass by carefully listening to albums and trying to learn the bass lines. I found many advantages to doing this:

  • It helps you develop a sense of pitch (i.e. an “ear” for music)
  • It helps to develop a sense of timing
  • It quickly teaches you standard bass riffs
  • It helps you to learn how to “play with a band”
  • It’s a lot of fun!

So what music/band/musician is best for learning? Just listen to whatever you like, and try to play the bass line. Now if you want a suggestion, I highly recommend Black Sabbath (if you’re in to blues/rock). I credit Gezzer Butler for teaching me how to play bass. I literally used to spend hours and hours playing old Black Sabbath records and trying to duplicate the bass lines. Besides liking their music, I have found Sabbath’s bass lines are easy to discern (i.e. hear), intuitive, solid (not flashy), and… oh, I don’t know, just perfect. I have never heard a bass compliment a guitar so well.

16

It should be no surprise from my previous post that my favorite bassist is Terrence “Geezer” Butler of the original Black Sabbath line-up. He ruled. I used to sit for hours and hours playing along with old Black Sabbath albums.

You mentioned Steve Harris, Geddy Lee, John Entwistle, John Paul Jones, etc. They were all very good bassist in their own right, extremely talented, and enjoyable to listen to. But they certainly would not be my first choice for learning purposes. Of course, I think Geezer Butler is best for that job. But there are a few other bassist that I think are good for “educational purposes,” such as the bassist for the Dead Milkmen.

17

Yeah he was awesome… I’m trying to learn that bass solo that he plays on Kill 'Em All, Anesthesia, without using a tab (cause, you know, it makes you feel so much cooler to have learned a song all by yourself :D) but it’s hard as hell and fast. Oh well I’m about half way so I guess that’s decent.

18

I really like bass solos, especially with a bit of distortion. Cliff was awesome, that solo in particular. Too bad he is dead. I was listening to old Ozzy a few days ago and forgot how great R. Rhodes was as well, man, all of the good ones die to early.

19

Come on People!!!
Lets get to the important parts…

First, you need a really cool haricut. Grow it out, you know you want to.
Second, leather pants.
Third, get some groupies.
Fourth, …??? get a bass.

Actually some of the best bass players I know are ex- rhytham/lead guitarists. If I were you I would take some basic lessons on a six-string just to get the feel for chords and progressions. You could pick up a cheap acoustic, throw some heavy strings on it, and jam away. At least then you would know if its right for you before dropping the money for the full bass rig.

20

One of my all time favorite bassists was a guy named Andrew Weiss. He used to play with Greg Ginn (Black Flag), Pigface, Ween, and played with Henry Rollins for a long time, til around 1994(?). His playing was unbelievably heavy, he was lightning-fast (if it was needed) and he used a distortion pedal often enough to keep songs interesting. I remember Greg Kot (Chicago music critic) writing that Weiss was “blowing out the parameters of his instrument like a young Charles Mingus”. I don’t know what he’s doing these days - last I heard he was producing records for Ween. Man, he could play. I don’t know if anybody’s ever heard of him.

And if you’re buying a bass, get one that’s easy for you to play and sounds good to you.