Thoughts on Bass?

[sergiomunoz74]

So I've as of late playing in a lot more projects than I ever thought possible, and my skills in piano have made my skills in guitar increase tremendously in the last year so the combo of that has made want to try to play more instruments. I was wanting to move into a new realm and get into bass to increase my understanding of the interplay of rhythm in music.

I have been burned too many times by getting a bassist in a new band who ends up obviously being a lead guitarist with a bass around his shoulders. I want to try and play closer to guys like Pino Palladino, Bootsy, and more famous Jazz, Funk, and blues bassists. So without getting to ramble-y. I'd like to first figure out a cheaper bass I can buy to start with I was looking at some of the Squier Vintage Modified line. I was looking hopefully to find something with a very smooth and deep quality rather than a very plucky/treble-y sound. Second of all, I would like resources to help me in playing and understanding songs like a "true" bassist.

I don't know it may be super conceptual but a lot of good bassists I know always seem to see something I don't when playing and I would like to be able to be the support that brings the thump in my current hip hop group.

[Kacey Y]

Squier VM Precision would probably be a good way to go. You might even be able to find one used, there are a lot in circulation as starter instruments that people sell when they either quit or move up to a more expensive instrument.

Kind of hard to sum up the essence of an instrument briefly. In general I'd say forget about bass having anything to do with guitar, other than knowing where the notes are, and just treat it like its own instrument from the start. Listen to bassists you admire and analyse what they're doing in relation to the drums and the melodic instruments. Tasteful bass playing usually has one foot in the rhythm section and one in the melodic. There's a lot of different approaches, just depends on the style and the individual song. A tip I usually give friends who want to improve on bass is follow the changes of the guitar, but the rhythm of the drums and don't match either note for note. Reinforce, but stay out of the way, and look for spots you can throw in a little walk up or down between chords/notes, harmonize or accent something and use them judiciously. There's not one hard and fast rule, you've just got to use your judgement and taste, no one approach is going to be best for everything.

[sergiomunoz74]

How is a precision different from a Jazz? I really like the look of the Jazz bass and the natural color way but when I was playing the 5 string variation it seemed a lot more treble-y then something I would've guess from something with the moniker of "jazz". I'm more into getting an interesting instrument and upgrading then buying something higher end just because it supposed to be for sure.

Also I'll take note of those tips. I definitely need to go back and listen to songs with a different mentality, I was listening to some random old funk stuff and listening to just the rhythm section definitely gives the song a whole new perspective than before. I'll also take those practice tips in mind. Doing things between rhythm and harmony and learning just what the hell walking really means on a bass is going to be a whole new goal to work in with baby steps that's for sure.

[kosta]

I'm a recent bass transfer from the guitar side, and I'm loving it. I've only been playing for about 6 months. Here's what I know so far:

In general, P Bass = punchier with a thicker neck, and Jazz Bass = warmer with a thinner neck. I went with a P Bass for simplicity's sake (1pu vs. 2pu) so that I could focus on learning how to play rather than goofing around with the controls. I started out just following the root notes of our guitar player's chords and have built on that. Now I do little walks from root to root in time with the chord changes, sometimes with little root-fifth alternating notes or root-octave stuff every so often. So on and so forth. (A walk is just playing notes of a scale that includes all of the root notes of the chords in the key of the song, give or take.) Someone told me that to be a good bass player, you have to be selfless. What's best for the song, not what's best for the player. Interesting I thought.

My guitar and bouzouki teacher has been showing me some standard blues and jazz progressions for bass, as well as some Paul McCartney and James Jamerson lines. All of it is super interesting and super helpful.

Have fun!

[bronzetalon]

I would go with either the squire vm line or the sterling by musicman sub basses. Personally I use a SUB five string and love it. So much so that while i have the funds for better instruments I have no desire if anything I'll buy a backup of the model.

[Kacey Y]

How is a precision different from a Jazz? I really like the look of the Jazz bass and the natural color way but when I was playing the 5 string variation it seemed a lot more treble-y then something I would've guess from something with the moniker of "jazz". I'm more into getting an interesting instrument and upgrading then buying something higher end just because it supposed to be for sure.

Also I'll take note of those tips. I definitely need to go back and listen to songs with a different mentality, I was listening to some random old funk stuff and listening to just the rhythm section definitely gives the song a whole new perspective than before. I'll also take those practice tips in mind. Doing things between rhythm and harmony and learning just what the hell walking really means on a bass is going to be a whole new goal to work in with baby steps that's for sure.

The Precision is a single pickup bass and the Jazz is a double pickup, so it's kind of hard to make a single blanket statement about the differences. The Jazz is definitely more readily capable of bright tone, since you can balance the mix of the pickups to favor the bridge one if you want or just solo it. If you play just the neck pickup, it's kind of similar to Precision, but not quite as thick and not quite as punchy in the mids. In general, if you're comparing to the Jazz with both pickups on full, I'd say the Precision has more of a mid bump and the Jazz more of a scoop. Any bass can be pretty versatile though, especially when you adjust the EQ at the amp. I've played both regularly and like both, though currently I favor Precision basses most of the time.

For comparison, here's some demo clips I did with a Fender Precision and a Carvin Jazz style bass. Same amp/settings/cab/pedals.


Precision:


Jazz:

[kosta]

Corey, your band names fucking rule!

[Kacey Y]

Corey, your band names fucking rule!

Thanks man.

[devnulljp]

Get a P-Bass and then go dig around here: http://www.scottsbasslessons.com
Listen to the bass drum - that's the thing a lot of guitarists turned bass players don't get, and they lose the groove.

[sears]

You can practice bass for hours a day with the best bands. Figure out what's on the record and play along. That's how you learn to play bass. It's a bottomless pit though. When you think you're playing it just like the record, you'll hear some little thing they're actually doing that changes everything.

[darthbatman]

i suggest flat wound strings for a more boomy less trebly sound, and like the other folks said just try and fill that space between the melody and rhythm

[Lebowsky]

Squier Jazz. I've been playing bass for 20 years (sounds strange writing this), and I wouldn't recommend to start with a Precision neck. The sound will be more what strings you get and how you EQ your amp than the pickups on the bass...

[sergiomunoz74]

Thanks for all the help, I'm planning on getting a Squier Natural Jazz Bass for my first bass. I'll do straight into my mixer till I get some extra cash for an amp. Either way these are all good lessons, I definitely want to think of things like a bassist so I'm going to try my best to work with what the drums are doing all while keeping the melody backed. It just seems all nebulous in my head just saying it though so hopefully once I'm doing it, I'll understand better.

[sergiomunoz74]

So I got the bass, and it sounds dang good but I just need to set the action a lot lower, Basses aren't supposed to have relatively high action are they? Also may as well add what are good amps for a thumpy sound in the 500ish range (used preferably) that are great for live or louder band settings? There is an Sunn 1200s with a matching 4x10 cab on craigslist for like 600 bucks, is that any good?

[BoatRich]

So I got the bass, and it sounds dang good but I just need to set the action a lot lower, Basses aren't supposed to have relatively high action are they? Also may as well add what are good amps for a thumpy sound in the 500ish range (used preferably) that are great for live or louder band settings?

Ampeg Portaflex series for light weight, old Peavey for cheap/indestructible