This Season I Shall Mostly Be Playing Bass...

[MrBump]

I've played around with bass guitars on and off for years (seem to remember trading a Marshall 4x12 for a fretless about 20 years ago, but I've no recollection what happened to it), but I thought I'd give it a proper go.

So I've bought meself some cheap, basic gear - and I'm loving it!  Haven't touched my PRS for days now, it's all about the bass! 

The guitar is a cheap Evilbay "J & D" guitar - it's Chinese, and surprisingly OK.  There were issues - the nut was cut too low, the fret ends were leathal, and the truss rod had been tightened to such a degree that the fretbaord was coming away a little from the neck (!) - but I'm OK with this sort of stuff, so I sorted it.  It's now really playable.  It sounds really good - I'm inexperienced with bass, but it sounds like I think it should.  It's got an active circuit, and there's a good range of tones.

The amp is a "B-stock" Harley Benton affair from Thomann - it's OK, 12" speaker, decent enough EQ section.  Together they actually sound pretty good - certainly good enough for my learning/recording purposes.

What's really interesting is trying to break my guitarists brain out of its rut and trying to think like a bass player.  I'm finding that I'm thinking way more about song structure and the like.

And of course, now I'm gassing for nicer bass guitars and amplifiers...

 :D

[Philly Q]

Nice one!  Any plans to play bass in a band now?  :D

I've had a bit of a dabble with bass over the years, although I don't have one at the moment. 

Of course I'm just as useless as I am on guitar, but I like the way a guitar feels physically easier to play after struggling around a 34" scale for a while.

One thing I find interesting is that I don't "instinctively" know whether a bass guitar is any good or not.  I pick up a guitar and straight away I know if I like the neck, if it feels comfortable, if I like the pickups.... but a bass is just "a bass", I have absolutely no idea what's good or bad about it.

[MrBump]

Nice one!  Any plans to play bass in a band now?  :D

I've had a bit of a dabble with bass over the years, although I don't have one at the moment. 

Of course I'm just as useless as I am on guitar, but I like the way a guitar feels physically easier to play after struggling around a 34" scale for a while.

One thing I find interesting is that I don't "instinctively" know whether a bass guitar is any good or not.  I pick up a guitar and straight away I know if I like the neck, if it feels comfortable, if I like the pickups.... but a bass is just "a bass", I have absolutely no idea what's good or bad about it.

Yeah - exactly.  The thing about it is having the technical ability to play the thing, but lacking maybe in the musicality - and also lacking the the history and understanding.  I don't know everything about the guitar, but I can hold my own in most conversations.  But bass?  It's good to learn...

[Dave Sloven]

I can play bass ... owned a couple of them in the '90s (I started on bass) ... wouldn't mind having another one now, partly for writing bass parts for my songs but also to play bass in another band, maybe powerviolence

Problem is that playing live with one requires all kinds of expensive equipment, although I could just get a practice amp for home and a D.I. box on a board with a few other pedals and plug that straight into the desk for gigs.  Something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RGT9IVvR8sM

[gwEm]

*cool*!

bass /is/ interesting. i guess gear does matter though. i mean, you have to worry about having a defined attack, the right level of compression, mids to your preference - but not interfering with the guitarist, distortion if you like, all while maintaining a big and clear low end.

edit:

it feels like bass guitar is a lot more technical than guitar stuff which seems to be more about feel and emotion. guess those low frequencies need some heavy lifting.

but essentially i agree - to me it also feels more like a bass is a bass and you can get away with having cheap gear to go with it. i just have one myself, which i am entirely happy with and have no plans to get another.

[darkbluemurder]

Bass playing is cool! I actually started out playing bass before I switched to guitar. When I played guitar in a blues band it just so happened that we would not have the bass player for an upcoming gig because he was on a business trip out of the country. So instead of getting another bass player we decided that I sustitute for that gig. I then practiced the songs for two weeks (three songs in the morning before work, three in the evening), and it went quite well - except that the drummer's adrenaline rush made him play everything at a much faster pace ...

Cheers Stephan

[38thBeatle]

I am another one who started out as a bass player( though I simultaneously played a bit of guitar as I wanted to understand chords).  As you will know, it is a different thing entirely and can make a huge difference to the way a band sounds. I occasionally get a bass gig and these days find it physically tiring. I will soon be recording a bunch of new songs and will be playing bass on them as I feel that I can do things exactly as I like.

[d1dsj]

Cool, I'm in the same boat. My regular band in which I play guitar isn't doing much at the minute so the drummer and I decided to try something new until things start moving. I got my bass a few years ago but it just sat in the case, I have a small bass combo and I just got a 2 x 10 cab and just need to sort a more powerful amp. I'm seriously thinking of having a few bass lessons as I don't want to just be a guitarist standing in on bass! I have to say that it all feels very strange at the moment... Lol.

[dave_mc]

Sweet :D

I got a bass fairly recently and have been enjoying it a lot. I wish I'd got one sooner :lol: Can't see giving up guitar, though, I've put too much time and effort into it :lol:

[PhilKing]

I play both and have pretty much since I started (partly because I worked in a music shop and had chance to play what I wanted).  I have an old Ampeg B-15N, which is the best studio bass amp around (but weighs a ton).  I had a Trace Elliot BLX, but 2 floods destroyed it, however if you can find one at a decent price, it is well worth getting for small gigs.  I've played out with one a few times.  I have a full rig that I used to use in the house, as you can turn a bass rig down and still get the sound.  It's a valve preamp built by John McIntyre, into a stereo 200w power amp and then into a 1x15 and 2x10.  The preamp has high, low and full range outputs, each with their own valve compressor.  Playing a Thunderbird through this is an awesome sound.  My main gigging bass for years is my Modulus 5-string, though my precision is a close second.  You do have to think differently, but I find that I slip into that when I pick the bass up.  The 5-string probably helps more too.

[PhilKing]

I forgot to say that years ago I picked up a bass center jazz to have in London and it was a nice bass at a decent price. If you are thinking of upgrading, then they have some nice basses.