Hi all. Like the heading says, I'm a novice looking for help. Around six months ago I picked up my cousin's bass and started fooling around with it. Long story short, I fell in love with the instrument, bought myself a cheap four string "Squire" and started teaching myself to play. I don't have an amp or a band or anything, just me and a bass. In any case, I suddenly find myself asking the questions "What should I look for when my a new bass? What should I look for when buying an amplifier?" Furthermore, when I first started playing, I listened to a lot of Primus and Red Hot Chili Peppers, but now all my stuff is starting to sound the same (A lot of 3-5 and 5-7 combinations). Anyone out there have any suggestions for who to listen to/imitate/emulate? Any advice or help would be appreciated. Thanks, -Stingisanoldman
Yo... Welcome to talkbass! There are plenty of threads on exactly what you're asking up in the "Basses" forum...I'd suggest lurking around there and reading through some of those... For amps, do the same thing in the Amps forum. -GM
Yeah... what he said. And if you want to know more about certain players, check out the "Bassists" forum and for some good listening material, check out the "recordings" forum... Will C.
Ok mate. I'll give you what i suggest. Get a peavey milestone 3 for a bass, It's durable, good sound ad pretty cheap. for an amp get anything that works...lol. No idea about amps, i just brought one and i was lucky that it's cool. Primus and Chili's is the place to start playing if you want to be funky/rocky. 3/5 5/7 combinations are cool. what i will suggest you do is use 1/3/5/7/9 on all strings to start with. Not all over the place but change it around a bit. a perfect example of this would be the verse to 'knock me down' by RHCP. This is extra advise from what you already have, see ya
Heres a few bassists that i'd look into I'm not sure if they're exactly the style you wanna play but it's always nice to have a wide back ground: Traa [POD],Tim [RATM],Tony [No Doubt],Fieldy [KoRn if u like slap happy bass] also try listening to alittle Bach or Beethoven it helps out in making up harmonies & getting ideas for certain rythms. Listen to as many bands & types of music as you can, it can't hurt any. Good Luck & Welcome to TB