Shred Bass

[StarscreamG1]

When shredding first hit the guitar scene I was on my to putting up the bass. Over the years I have listened to shredding and thought how cool that would be on a bass. Well now that I am back into it, I definitely want to learn to shred. I know its done on a bass now and its very cool (if its done right). I was on youtube last night watching a few short shredding on bass vids. Cool stuff. I could use some pointers on how to do this. Any bass shredders here that could give me some technique pointers for a beginner? Please?

[Pete C]

I'm sort of a beginner myself at bass, but I've found four finger technique is the way to go for it. Really it's just about three things when it comes to learning to shred on bass guitar:
1. The ability to jump around strings and the fretboard without slowing down.
2. Articulation, making sure it doesn't sound robotic.
3. Theory. Knowing what notes to play, and when to play them in order to get the instrument to "emote" the way you want to.

Of course there is other things, but they are small in comparison. Practice tapping double scales and arpeggios and study Jaco Pastorius and Dimebag Darrell to get a grip of when and how to use pinch harmonics.

Also, don't let people on here tell you that you might as well pick up guitar. An instrument is a way to emote and create and shouldn't be boxed into just one area. If everyone thought the way they do guitar would still be in the rhythm section.

[StarscreamG1]

Thanks! I have always done 'lead type stuff' on a bass and I have been asked a few times 'why don't you just pick up a guitar' and its NO I LOVE bass and though not one of the most outstanding bass players out there inspired me to pick it up when I was kid, a pretty damn good lead guitarist was who I got most of my playing influences from.

And funny you should mention Dimebag. I got into Damage Plan and by fault Pantara last year (RIP Dimebag WHAT a guitarist). There is a song on Damage Plans only album that has such a wicked lead part. I listened to it and said 'I will learn that part on a bass, hide and watch.' LOL Why? Just to do it.

I have always been one of those bass players where, tell me its not suppose to be done or can't be done on a bass I WILL go out of my way to try it on a bass just to prove someone wrong.

I was reading on Wiki on shredding last night. I need to pull it back up but there is a lot of pulloffs and hammer ons involved, right? Just about everything I play incorporates either or both so hopefully that will work in my favor learning this? ^_^

And yes, I knew scales would be very important with this. I have a scale book and am learning them this time around (when I should have the first time I played).

[Audiophage]

Look into some light gauge strings, and proper picking technique.

[Toastfuzz]

Cliff Burton from Metallica would be another guy to study up on. He liked to shred out on his solos. Before I started playing bass I never realized that certain sections were totally bass, I always wondered how the shredding guitar licks sounded so fat, like parts of Orion, Seek and Destroy, etc.

[StarscreamG1]

I usually play pretty heavy gauge roundwounds but I grabbed a case (6 sets) of some custom Fender light gauge roundwounds from the Bay that Im about to put on a couple of my basses. They were made for Ray Riendeau (in fact I bought them from him. He had like 6 'cases' left after a recent tour and blew them out on eBay a couple months back). Anyone heard of him? They are .045/.105 and will be the lightest bass strings I have ever touched. Are they light enough?

I am a Metallica nut and have almost all their stuff and a bass tab book of some of their best songs. Orion is one of the tunes too.

On picking technique, I used to play just with a pick the first time I was in it. This time I seem more fingerpluck style and rather freestyle at that (hey it works for m and I can get some speed up doing that...again it works for me). I have read that shredding can be done pick or pluck. Is that right? And does it really matter which I way a approach this?

[Traver]

Couple of exercises that may be helpful:

1. Working on strengthening your fingers for fast hammerons/pullofs. This is done by simply doing trills. With one finger at a time. Start with your index finger on the fretboard and do trills with your middle finger. After a while, put your middle finger down on the fretboard as well and practice trills with your ring finger. And finally, and definitely hardest, put your ring finger down on the fretboard and do trills with your pinky. If you do this often enough, you'll have insane stamina in your fretting hand.

2. If you're playing fingerstyle, practice 3- or 4-finger picking style. Basically you want to play 16ths at a tempo appropriate to your skill level, and pick like this for 3-finger style:

R-M-I-R
M-I-R-M
I-R-M-I

And make sure you get rid of the triplet feel.

You may also want to look into tapping and sweep-picking.

[StarscreamG1]

I do some tapping but am totally clueless on sweep-picking.

[Trauts]

I predominantly play finger style, usually two but for faster stuff three, and use Matthew Garrison's technique for a tremolo effect (I haven't yet succeeded in coordinating it with my left hand properly so I can only do flourishes). I'm not as good a shredder as some but here is my advice for what it's worth:
i) Do finger permutations of the left hand and keep speeding them up. If you do all 24 possible permutations of your left hand fingers on each string your left hand will become more dextrous eg. (index=1 middle=2 ring=3 pinky=4) 1234, 1243, 1324, 1342, 1423, 1432 and do similarly starting with each finger. I also found it increases your reach the lower down the neck you do this.
ii) Another speed exercise is to play a two octave scale as fast as your right hand can go, starting four plucks a note, then descend similarly, then three plucks, then two, by the time you do one pluck per not your left hand will have to be very precise.
iii) Three fingered playing is useful but takes a while to get comfortable.
iv) Tapping is handy. There's enough on these forums to help with that.
v) Sweeping is surprisingly easy to get, it's hard but I found it took far less work than double thumping or accurate three fingered playing, there are a few ways to do it, I go down with my thumb and up with my index, usually after tapping a note. I dunno if the forums have something on it, I wrote a lesson on it for activebass.com a year ago which i could repeat if necessary.
vi) Learn the stuff the famous shredders do, sounds obvious and I must admit I need transcriptions as my ear can't pick out the notes well enough yet but that'll show you the techniques in a better context than mindless practice. Sheehan, Stu Hamm, Franck Hermanny, Juan Alderete are kinda typical guitar like shredders, but then go into fusion and jazz and you get tons more of similar techniques used, Jeff Berlin, Pastorius, Matt Garrison, Gary Willis, Victor Wooten etc.

Hope that helps.

[StarscreamG1]

As I stated on another thread here earlier today, my plucking style can be a bit 'free style' and I will use all 4 fingers to pluck depending on what Im playing and sometimes I wont pluck it the same way twice. Its not uncomfortable to me in the slightest to be honest. I know its probably a sloppy habit but Ive had no comments made to any inconsistent sound *shrug* in my work. Though I am working on it to be more uniform cause deep down Im not that hip with my free style for the most part.

Can you PM me or post here the lesson on sweep picking? Using my thumb is something I rarely if ever use with my right hand. Its either anchored at the tip of the neck where it meets the body, on a string. or a pup or just there on nothing sometimes, just resting on the body.

And I am taking notes and appreciating all the posts on this!!!! THANKS and anyone feel free to add!

I do plan on getting the gear to at least record myself on my laptop and post it online sometime in the next couple of months so people here can hear me and give critique.

[Beast]

Just out of curiosity, what kind of music are you looking towards? There's plenty "lead" sorts of bass players, but they all definitely have different styles.

[StarscreamG1]

Ok to break down my playing.

Actually the music I listen to and the music I play seem to be two different things. I listen to various 'rock/metal' (for example; InFlames, 3 Days Grace, Manson, RUSH, Metallica, Yes, Disturbed, Dope, older VanHalen, older Aerosmith, Godsmack, Pantara, then go over to Duran Duran and The Fixx, Bowie LOL) yet seem to play more laid back, though can be heavy. A guitarist friend has said my stuff reminds him of the bassist for Otep. I have no idea if thats a compliment or not, I have never listened to Otep. My stuff tends to be note heavy. I do lots of hammer ons and pull offs, I will do chimes, also, I think its called false harmonics, string bends, slides. I can also be a 'monotonous' player I think you could say. I can play the exact same rhythm the exact same way ad naseum for as long as the guitarist wants (I know this for fact LOL). As for as 'lead'...soloing is something Id love to do with my bass and use some of those 'techniques' for a basic riff. The other way I have been called a lead type player is I don't follow them, (guitarists), they follow me. It doesn't start out that way but it always ends that way and its never something I do on purpose. It just happens. When I played the first time around it caused lots of probs trying to fit into bands (I was always told my playing was too up front, too in your face). This time around it seems the ones I have hooked up with, I am exactly what they are looking for.

I don't think I am that good this time around to be honest. I still have a lot to smooth out playing again I feel. This time around I want nothing more than to expand on technique, incorporate it into my 'unusual' playing style. Once I get even marginally decent with shredding will I use it to solo? If the opportunity arises, sure but Id be more interested in using that technique to incorporate into a basic riff then go blazing off center stage all the time. How far do I want to take my playing this time? As far as it will go.

[MEKer]

Simply shredding is, with practice not too difficult, but it only takes you so far. Its uses can be for a fun bass lead, intros,outros. Fast, complete bass songs will develop you more IMO as you get into fast complete melody lines while trying to also keep a sense of bottom going too. That strengthens your fretboard cruising knowledge as well. Heres an example of my own bass songs on my Soundclick site. The first song, "One Way Thru", may be a decent example for you as to what I mean.
Just my 2 cents.

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/defa...&content=music

[superfunk47]

I shred a little bit (more like fake )

But my recipe is:

Light gauge strings
Lots of range on your intrument in the upper range (extra frets, extra strings, whatever)
Heavy distortion (not needed, but it covers up lots of mistakes )
Knowledge of major/minor (at least) scales + arpeggios
Practice, practice, practice.

[StarscreamG1]

Thanks!! I was beginning to think I killed my own thread. I probably described my playing making me look like some kind of dork, right? LOL The guitarist I practice with should be coming up any minute so I gotta book for a bit. I truly appreciate the pointers given here. I will listen to that song as soon as my one download is done (I really want to hear it!!). I am on dialup and its like a 60meg download O_o..its taken 4+ hours just to get 30 megs of it..sheesh!!! Its some apple plug in and itunes so I can listen to the sweep lesson on active bass and such. So far reading reading it has left me scratching my head LOL...But one thing at a time definitely here.

I really want to record myself and get some critique here!!! I am a bit clueless on the gear I need to do that though. Any suggestions in that department?

Oh yea I have always played with heavy gauge strings. It will feel really weird for a bit once I get those light gauge round wounds on my axes in the next few days.

[bassrique]

Concerning one's self with "bass shredding" before becoming fluent in other more important aspects of the musician's craft and art is a waste of time, and can even be destructive.

Signed,

Jeff Berlin

[StarscreamG1]

That is very true. Do you feel that is what I am doing?

[bassrique]

No doubt Mr. Berlin would think that's what you're doing.

[StarscreamG1]

Fair enough. I am curious where he would think this.

[bassrique]

Come on, most "shredding" is not musical, but that never stopped records and tickets from selling, so have fun.