meagain Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Ever since I discovered Rush back in the day, I've wanted to learn to play bass. I felt it impractical at the time with the amps, etc. so I went with acoustic guitar despite immediately knowing it wasn't my thing. Tried it again last year with a 3rd guitar and still find it akin to pressing down on razor blades. Painful and unfun. Anyhoo..... It's time to fulfill my lifelong dream and I'm going to get one to futz around with. I'd be happy just to get nice deep proper warm tones out of it running through the khorns! Naturally, I've been scanning the net and of course end up at the boutique hand-made places. Gosh, if I was minted, I'd buy the darned things just to look at. So pretty. But I'm not minted and will be looking for a used bass. My inclination is to find a "short-scale" version. 32" max. Despite being tall, I have what I consider small hands for the bass and I think having a shorter scale with the frets a bit closer together might be the way to go? I'm going to find out what a 'Jazz bass' is and how it differs from standard.... maybe a narrower neck? IDK But I was wondering if there's any bass players here and if anyone has a suggestion? I 'could' buy a new cheapo for $100-150, but I know me.... I know that if it's uncomfy, crazy heavy, clunky, has bad tones, etc.... I'll lose interest quick. Yet, I can't exactly justify spending big bucks as a complete newbie. I want a Carl Thompson, but.... oh well.... Or, this bad boy... http://www.birdsongguitars.com/sadhana.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted March 20, 2007 Share Posted March 20, 2007 Meagain, Don't play a bass guitar through the KHorns, you will tear them up. Musical instrument amps and speakers are different from hifi stuff. Don't worry about having small hands, it won't matter as you learn to play. The jazz basses tend to have a narrower neck width. If you want to be really cool you might consider a fretless electric bass - nothing sounds quite as cool as those played well. Don't give up. A few years ago I was looking for a band to play with and got a call from a girl who played bass. After talking with her I got the feeling she was the real deal until she said she had never played any other instruments before and had only been playing the bass for two years. My heart sank 'cause I felt she could not be any good, I mean, two years - sheesh! Went to a practice with her to hear her play - (original prog rock and jazz fusion) - what an angel! She played perfectly and authoritivly, and profoundly musically! There was nothing she could not do great - self taught and in two years was playing like a pro. She had written a dozen original songs of high complexity, rythymic techniques, snarling deep groove, she could do it all and appeared to do so effortlessly - a joy to play with. So the thing is, it's all about the desire and soul. We here know how you love the bass as music. Your musical preferences surely indicate your understanding of what the bass can do in great hands. I say go for it. You can buy an adequate playable bass for learning in the $150-$200 range (Yamaha and Ibanez makes good cheap ones). After playing a couple of months you will be in a much better place to select a finer instrument whose qualities match your now well defined needs and goals. Based on the music you like, you will probably want a Rickenbacker (Yes, King Crimson, Emerson Lake and Palmer...) You can get a little Hartke or Crate amp that will put out the loud and low bass just fine for home practice. Likewise, after playing a while you will be in a much better position to know what your dream amp should consist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted March 24, 2007 Author Share Posted March 24, 2007 Pauln - Thanks. I'm getting an old Ibanez on loan for the time being from the bass player in hubbys band but I can't get it for about 2 weeks. I'm going to learn where the notes are on the acoustic guitar in the meantime and figure out the scales, etc. I have to find some way to learn via online lessons or DVDs. No bass players here? wow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colterphoto1 Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 Didn't Chops have a 5 string bass on sale for quite a while? I agree that the Rick has the coolest tone (Chris Squire of Yes), but it's a longer scale so might be difficult for a first go at it. A beater Fender Precision might be an easier play and more of standard 'round' rock and roll tonality. Whatever you do, get a real bass rig. Stereo gear isn't up for the challenge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldbuckster Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 Rickenbacker...................Shades of Deep Purple...........Please don't play your BASS through those Khorns, That is SPEAKER ABUSE, and should be against the law.....................Nothing sounds like a RICK...............NOTHING........Fenders are nice, so aren't Gibson SG models................. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pauln Posted March 24, 2007 Share Posted March 24, 2007 Meagain, I don't recommed lessons beyond the primary mechanics - how to hold it, how to tune it, how to place your fingers close to the frets... all the musical stuff is already in you, just listen to your favorite bass players and make the same sound. Make up your owns sounds... have fun. What you learn yourself will be far more valuable. Don't worry about sore fingers. With daily playing this will go away in a few weeks. Talk to your hubby about the overall process of learning. He will confirm that there are two aspects - your hand and your head. In the beginning your head will be ahead of your hand (you will feel like you know what you want to play but your hand won't cooperate). Later (a few months) your hand will catch up and surpass your head (you will be able to do just about anything on the bass but you'll think you are running out of ideas of what to play). Anytime you feel that you are hitting the wall and not making progress, upon relection you will realize that either your hand or your head is lagging behind. Whichever, work on that to keep both caught up and moving forward. The main thing is to have fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted March 24, 2007 Author Share Posted March 24, 2007 Yes, my husband suggested something similar last night which is surprising coming from him as he's more Spock from StarTrek-ish in his approach to stuff. I'm going to try not to learn the wrong way or over-think. Sort of like when I ski'd for the first time very late in life. I overthunk it, kept falling every 5 feet, then said screw it and 'felt it' - then I was zooming down the hill. I'm going to try to do that, more by ear & feeling cuz that always works better for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whamo Posted March 25, 2007 Share Posted March 25, 2007 Rockbobmel is a forum member who plays bass in a coupla of bands. Haven't read any posts from him in awhile. http://mysite.verizon.net/vzepjij3/index.html there's a link to his website. Another cool forum member. Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve hollowell Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 Meagain......I don't play guitar as a musican but love to play with them as a hobby for fun, on the other hand my son who is 19 plays bass and has for about five years. He plays in a local band and took lessons for around a year. I think lessons are very important because a good teacher can help improve technique and and work with you on scales. Not to say you can't do this on your own but I know how much this helped my son, and after a year he had a solid foundation. After that you need to get with friends to jam because that is where you can really learn to play and get your chops so to speak..........my son really loves to play, and because he is our only child he has, shall we say been indulged.... His bass guitars include.... 1979 Rick Model 4001...really great condition, as others have said it's a classic.......Warwick 5-string thumb bass,made in Germany......Peavy Cirrus 4-string.....Hohner 5-string........Ibanez Prestige 5-string......a couple other basses that I can't locate..... Needless to say this can turn into an obssesion, almost as bad as klipsch products!!!!! Take that back, I mean to say almost as good as Klipsch products, good luck and have fun however far you go with your bass playing, because fun is what music experiences are all about............ Later..... Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mungkiman Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 "Yes, my husband suggested something similar last night which issurprising coming from him as he's more Spock from StarTrek-ish in hisapproach to stuff. " Any theramin (theremin?) players here? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSport Posted March 26, 2007 Share Posted March 26, 2007 ...just Brian Wilson......a million years ago when I attempted to play, I used a Hofner Beatle Bass (Violin shape)...just like Paul McCartney played with the Beatles...then... Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khorn51 Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 I play a bit of bass being a guitar player and having a recording studio, one needs to learn the bass. I found a nice old Fender Jazz bass and the neck to me is real easy to play. I have played the bass through the khorns at home but I put it through a good compresser and preamp first. The "joemeek studio one channel" is a nice thing to have if you want to play the bass through the old stereo! but if you really want it to thounder get a old ampeg bass rig . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted March 27, 2007 Share Posted March 27, 2007 My son is on here (you know, Invidiosulus, the one who wrecked the Volvo), and is a bass player. I'll mention to him about this post. He has been working on his guitar playing lately, but has a Fender Jazz bass, which has great tone and playability, a Godin Fretless, which sounds so cool, and very acoustic since it has piezo pickups instead of magnetics. The amp will still make a huge difference though, and he uses a Gallien-Kruger that is a bi-amp setup. Huge sound. He's pretty darn good too. Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triceratops Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Meagain, Although I agree that you shouldn't play your bass through your Klipschorns, there is an interesting parallel in the musical equipment world. Many of the rock bass heroes mentioned in this thread played through an Acoustic 370/371 bass amp with a folded-horn cabinet for big venue gigs in the seventies. The cabinet had a rear-facing 18-inch speaker in a folded-horn cabinet that looked like this viewed from the side: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triceratops Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 The whole rig looked like the photo below. These can still be found in good operating condition for reasonable prices. A bear to move around though--you need to have a road crew and a tour bus! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted March 30, 2007 Author Share Posted March 30, 2007 Interesting! Husband has a Roland he uses for keyboards. Seems to have a 15 or 18?" woofer. I think it's a bit big to be in the living room, but I don't plan to buy anything. I don't care how it sounds as long as it's audible. Actually, if I can hear it without amplification, I'll be happy. The loaner bass will have to wait a week cuz the person didn't get back from a vacation in time. I planned to start learning on one of our acoustic guitars in the interim but with outside spring cleanup, etc. - I've not touched it. I've saved some internet learning sites though. My goal is to figure out where the notes are, octaves, etc. before the bass comes. I should've started this idea back in Fall cuz summer is so hard that I was off these boards last time. There's a TON of cool youtube instructions including a whole series by Victor Wooten which are freekishly detailed/thorough, yet simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve hollowell Posted March 30, 2007 Share Posted March 30, 2007 Victor Wooten played in Little Rock last summer at a local club...........the band included one brother on guitar and another on keyboards, let say it is a very talented family and the show lasted for close to rhree hours! His bass tech played and would probably be ranked in the top 20 players in the country, he also had a couple students from his bass camp on stage and they were also fantastic. He is a very humble and personable guy, before the show I talked to one his brothers not knowing he was in the band and he was a very genuine dude, all in all it was a great memory getting to relate to some very talented musicians. Later Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triceratops Posted March 31, 2007 Share Posted March 31, 2007 And many folks probably already know that "Futureman" (who plays electronic drums using an obscure guitar synthesizer) in Bela Fleck's band is another member of the Wooten clan... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jt1stcav Posted April 2, 2007 Share Posted April 2, 2007 http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/thread/856327.aspx Chops is still looking for a buyer...maybe he can cut you a deal. E-mail him at charlest@tampabay.rr.com if interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
meagain Posted April 2, 2007 Author Share Posted April 2, 2007 Well, yesterday I just got my loaner.... An Ibanez sc? 400 4-string. Looks pretty nice! I'm hopeing to start learning this week. I expect it'll be a disaster, but at least it looks like it'll be easy to play! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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