Just Starting Out

Papa Thornier · #1 01-31-2012, 07:01 PM

Hey all,

For the last 5 years or so, I've been wanting to pick up the bass. Now that I have a decent flow of money coming in, I decided that now is the time to give it a shot. I've done my best to find a good first bass with an amp and all that good stuff, but it would be a good idea to have more experienced eyes check it over before I make the purchase.

Here's what I have so far:

Ibanez GSR200
Fender Rumble 15 V2 15W 1x8

That being said, I have another question to ask. I've been playing alto and bari sax for the last 5 years, but I know that music for bass/guitar isn't written in the same way. How much of a difference is there between the two?

I'd appreciate any help I can get.
Thanks,
Papa Thornier

themacinator · #2 01-31-2012, 07:08 PM

Awesome you started. Welcome. I'm not a seasoned vet (3 years) but the gear you have is fine for learning. Start slow. Simple songs. It would help to know how to read tabs but since you are familiar with music you probably can.

Watch some vids on technique and find what works for you.

Lastly do you know any musicians locally who can help with your early stages?

Papa Thornier · #3 01-31-2012, 07:11 PM

The only person I know is a friend of my dad's but he lives a little over an hour away.

scottfeldstein · #4 01-31-2012, 07:13 PM

Cool starter bass. Your amp strikes me as...not as cool. I've never used a 15w 1x8 Fender Rumble, but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that it probably can't produce solid bass guitar tones even at what most of us would consider practice volumes. But I could be wrong.

As for how music is written for bass guitar, I don't recall. I learned to read music once 20 years ago, but forgot pretty quickly. I'm sure more learned folks here can help.

Papa Thornier · #5 01-31-2012, 07:14 PM

alrighty, which amp would you recommend?

ksandvik · #6 01-31-2012, 07:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa Thornier

alrighty, which amp would you recommend?

Not Rumbles.

Me thinks most practice amps are a waste of money.

Maybe specify what kind of music and in what kind of configuration or environment you envision to play and that will help a lot.

scottfeldstein · #7 01-31-2012, 07:20 PM

Hm, tough call. My gut says get something with at least a 12" speaker in it. You can get them new for $130 to $200. Maybe others have better opinions of itty bitty practice combos. Anyone?

jabsys · #8 01-31-2012, 07:20 PM

I've got the same amp and to me it sounds fine and it plenty loud enough ( I rarely get up to 2 on the volume ) unless you're playing with a full band.

Jhengsman · #9 01-31-2012, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa Thornier

Hey all,

That being said, I have another question to ask. I've been playing alto and bari sax for the last 5 years, but I know that music for bass/guitar isn't written in the same way. How much of a difference is there between the two?

I'd appreciate any help I can get.
Thanks,
Papa Thornier

The difference, besides the bass versus treble clef is in the different roles most arrangers assign to the bass versus what they would assign to the sax section. The last school band I played with had student arrangers who had the baritone and tenor saxes double the bass line, however that was not a normal situation. In many cases all you will get is a chord chart which is as different as night and day when compared to a tightly arranged horn section chart.

Papa Thornier · #10 01-31-2012, 07:23 PM

I'd really like to get into funk and jazz. I've seen some videos showing bass slapping and I really want to learn that as well. As for the environment, I'm not quite sure...

ksandvik · #11 01-31-2012, 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabsys

I've got the same amp and to me it sounds fine and it plenty loud enough ( I rarely get up to 2 on the volume ) unless you're playing with a full band.

That's the crux with most practice amps. People think those will work in a band environment and they are cheap and small. And are surprised when the guitar or guitars and drummer just drowns the tiny practice amp wattage. Maybe if we are talking about a restaurant jazz band where those might barely work.

jabsys · #12 01-31-2012, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa Thornier

I'd really like to get into funk and jazz. I've seen some videos showing bass slapping and I really want to learn that as well. As for the environment, I'm not quite sure...

Check out the Squier Vintage Modified and Classic Vibe Jazz bases, they're perfect for funk and jazz.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ksandvik

That's the crux with most practice amps. People think those will work in a band environment and they are cheap and small. And are surprised when the guitar or guitars and drummer just drowns the tiny practice amp wattage. Maybe if we are talking about a restaurant jazz band where those might barely work.

I still want more than 15w in that situation, imo 15w works well if you're just practising at home, playing with mp3's or jamming with just an acoustic guitar/electric guitar at low volume, I couldn't imagine trying to be heard over a drum set.

scottfeldstein · #13 01-31-2012, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabsys

I've got the same amp and to me it sounds fine and it plenty loud enough unless you're playing with a full band.

Well, heck. Go for it, maybe.

Speaking as a grizzled old veteran, I can tell you that not having enough amp is the bane of new and younger players existences. (When playing with others, I mean. Which you may not do now, but you will almost certainly want to do if you keep at it a while.) It's something we all struggle with right up until the moment when we can afford a proper rig.

These days I am rockin' a 500w amp head, a 4x10 cab and a 2x12 cab. Overkill sometimes. But as God is my witness, I'll never go hungry again.

Or something like that. Your mileage may vary. Consult your doctor. Past performance is not an indicator of future results.

scottfeldstein · #14 01-31-2012, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Papa Thornier

I'd really like to get into funk and jazz. I've seen some videos showing bass slapping and I really want to learn that as well. As for the environment, I'm not quite sure...

I have an Ibanez Soundgear SR300 that was born to be spanked. Plus, it's got a super comfortable neck and is very easy to play. Can't go wrong with a Soundgear SR. I got it on sale one day at Guitar Center for $250.

mcblahflooper94 · #15 01-31-2012, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by scottfeldstein

Hm, tough call. My gut says get something with at least a 12" speaker in it. You can get them new for $130 to $200. Maybe others have better opinions of itty bitty practice combos. Anyone?

Acoustic makes really awesome bass amp combos for only 200$-300$.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/...82900000000000

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/...82902000000000

Really awesome high end amps for a halfway decent price, IMO.

MalcolmAmos · #16 01-31-2012, 07:55 PM

Back to your playing saxophone. We play the bass clef, the harmony. We accompany the solo instruments with chord tones till we get a lead break and then we play melody notes from a scale.

90% of what you will be doing will be playing the bass clef by rote or composing a bass line from fake chord or lead sheet music, which does not have a bass clef.

So we play the chord's notes one note at a time. Helps to know what notes are in a chord. Or we use the major scale box pattern and play the scale degrees that make chords, i.e. R-3-5 for major chords, R-b3-5 for minor chords, R-3-5-b7 for dominant sevenths, etc.

Start with just the root and when you can keep up with the music with out it running off and leaving you - then add the 5th. Need another note try the 8, i.e. R-5-8-5.

Find some fake chord sheet music and see what you can do with that. www.studybass.com is a friend.

Your amp -- IMO is find to learn on when you start gigging you will need a little more wattage and larger speakers. Go have fun in the shed with what you have now.

HolmeBass · #17 01-31-2012, 08:07 PM

Bass in concert C, unlike saxophones, which are Bb and Eb (Bari and Tenor IIRC), so you can read music off of piano scores, etc without having to transpose. One thing, by tradition/convention, bass music is written an octave higher than it sounds- that is, the actual bass notes on your bass will sound an octave lower than written bass music. This allows the written music to mostly all be in the bass clef staff for easier reading.

themacinator · #18 01-31-2012, 08:08 PM

This was my pojnt. For someone just starting a small Fender Rumble to hear the notes is fine. But once you are with a band you'll need at least a 1x12 combo or better a 1x15. That is if you go the combo route.

Papa Thornier · #19 02-01-2012, 01:04 AM

Alrighty, thanks for all the tips. I'm looking at a Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass Special SS. Anyone have any experience with one of these?

wrench45us · #20 02-01-2012, 06:39 AM

I recently started playing/learning bass and for entry bought a Steinberger Spirit and a Fender Rumble 15.
With all the talk of tone tone tone on this board I began to doubt my choice of bass, but last night I plugged in headphones (Grado 80's) and the tone was phenomenal. Now I'm doubting instead my choice of practice amp. It's plenty loud for a practice amp, but through the speaker all detail and nuance is lost in a mushy mushy.
Turning it up doesn't help. It's not the amp circuit since the detail is there for the Grados to pickup and they're presumably pretty flat reference response specs. It has to be the speaker.
Now I can't expect any little amp to provided that much detail, but would the Acoustic B-20 get me closer to what I can hear under headphones with a 12 inch speaker? Or do I have to go to more serious wattage?

I think its important to practice hearing as much detail as possible, but if I stay under headphones too long those Grados aren't the most comfortable cans.