Broken Meathods

[FrankenLife]

I am just getting acquainted with the bass. Unfortunately my bass is kinda broken. I have a POS Jackson that I acquired a little while ago from an old roommate for free. The E and G strings rattle on the 1st fret excessively. It is to the point that I can't tune those strings open. So I said F it, and took them off. Mark Sandman is one of my favorite bassists and he didn't use 'em, I'll be fine without them... maybe.

I tried playing a C major scale on it, and that was bothering me. Tuned the A down a whole step to a G, and now it feels right. The problem is, I can't find any resources that are applicable to my setup.

Where should I go from here? All practice stuff that I can find is written in tabs, and include strings that don't have in a tuning that I'm not using. I don't have a teacher, and my musical knowledge is based in a decade of so of playing the Tenor Sax. Do you think I am running head first into a wall? Please tell me that my next step will not include going to GC to buy a fully functional bass?

 

[ExaltBass]

HUH???

 

[togglehead]

Wait, so youre looking for a learning tool to apply to some random tuning you invented based on the disrepair of your 2nd hand instrument...? This right?

Id tell you what the best next step would include....but you told me not to.

 

[Yools]

It sounds like your bass may need a good professional setup. If the neck is still sound, that would take care of the buzzing and give you a working 4-string instrument that would be much better for learning.

PS: Broken Meat Hods is a good name for a band...

 

[JTE]

You probably HAVE a fully functional bass. It just needs some adjustments and set-up. Then you can learn the basics on it as a standard. Then if you want, you can use your musical skills to create your own approach.

John

 

[bassteban]

*Meathods*. Metal band/genre of some sort?
get your bass setup. After that, if you really want to be *different* you can take off a string or two(or all- that would be CRAZY). If you stick w/the above-mentioned rig, keep us posted on your progress.

 

[FrankenLife]

My reasoning for the tuning was to keep a basic 8 note in one hand position. Playing with the standard tuning hand my hand jumping on the neck, and while I am just beginning I didn't want to move that much yet.

The problem I was running into with finding beginner resources is converting them to fit my bass. Many things were written in tabs, so I would have to convert those into standard notation on the staff. If they included notes that were too low for me to hit, then I would have to move it up the scale an octave. Some were stated as being a good thing for beginners to learn because it only involves one hand position. That would be true if I had 4 strings, but I don't.

The strings are rattling because the notches in the bridge(I think that is what it is called) at the end of the neck go all the way down to the fretboard. I don't have the money to go buy a new bass right now, but I want to learn how to play regardless of the quality of my bass. When I do end up putting down the money for a new bass, I want it to be of quality. In the mean time I want to learn all I can.

BTW, sorry about the spelling. I shouldn't be allowed to spell unsupervised.

 

[mambo4]

there are no beginner resources for what you are trying to do

What you are doing is so far beyond the norm of experience on Talk Bass (such that I assumed you are trolling) you probably won't get much help. You need a forum for 2 string basses tuned G-D.

However, if you put your E and G strings back on, Google or search this forum for "how to set up your bass" and try to get it as close into standard bass guitar shape as possible, you will probably get a lot of useful advice on how to play it.

Think about it: the vast majority of resources for beginners on bass will assume a 4 string bass tuned EADG. by not doing this, you are excluding those resources.

 

[Chupacabra]

...

The strings are rattling because the notches in the bridge(I think that is what it is called) at the end of the neck go all the way down to the fretboard. I don't have the money to go buy a new bass right now, but I want to learn how to play regardless of the quality of my bass. When I do end up putting down the money for a new bass, I want it to be of quality. In the mean time I want to learn all I can.

...

If it's just a worn out nut (it's the nut, not the bridge at the end of the neck nearest the tuning pegs ) Just buy a new one & glue it in place. Not difficult at all & will probably cost just a few quid (or dollars). Search ye olde web for a parts supplier.

 

[JackANSI]

On the headstock end that is a "nut". just put something in the nut slots, use paper, anything that fits if you don't have the money to get it done right, and get back to playing your bass "normally".