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Complete noob

#21
If you like the Schecter and it works $$$ for you because of the Best Buy thing then go for it. I like the red. When you decide to get an amp... save your pennies and get a big enough amp to play with a full band. You will be playing with others before you know it.

Rock on.
 
#22
^^Those are my exact thoughts on the amp. I'm really serious about playing live so I wanted to do everything right from the start (which may be the wrong way to go about it). Are there any big differences in those two Schecters I originally posted? My friend says that the Custom will warp (walnut) if it's not really taken care of. However, I take great care of my things, I'm partially OCD haha.
 
#26
earthlypunk said:
I say invest in a good amp and a decent bass. based on your choice of the stilleto I'd say your budget is...$500? I would get a decent amp like a fender practice amp or one of the smaller line 6 combo amps and find a good starter bass (used fender, schecter, or epiphone). Or you could go with a starter pack. Most starter packs don't have great amps though.

I find that a good amp and a crappy bass sounds better than a good bass through a crappy amp. Good luck!
Click to expand...

+1

Since you have ruled out Fenders (which I think are awesome), I won't comment on basses besides checking out used and SX.

On the amp issue, it's done me a world of good to practice with accompaniment. As you'll soon find out, the bass isn't an instrument that is usually up front. Even when it is, it's usually an accomplished player doing it. The more common role for a bassist is to groove with the drummer and support the melody with the guitarist. To get really good, you need to practice with a band. If you don't have a band, the next best thing is the "Band in a Box"

Engine207 said:
If you are open to something a little different, look into the Fender B-DEC 30.

GDEC30+BASSE.jpg


It's a small, 30 watt/10" speaker amp that has a number of great features. Not only can you can plug headphones in, but there is also an input for an iPod or other device. Best of all, there's a built in "bass teacher".

If I remember right, the built-in effects include 60 or 70 different jams and teaching loops that you can customize (tempo and key) to make you a better player. A built-in tuner and metronome will also save you on extra purchases. For fun, you can also choose from a number of effects like chorus, phase and flange, as well as a half dozen or so amp sounds.

Here's some YouTube:


I have one and I'm very happy with it.
Click to expand...
 
#28
Right now I'm looking for a 4 string that's lightweight, pretty generic strat-shaped body (or close to it), white body, black hardware, rosewood frets, black or dark headstock, and the black solid pickups like EMG or similar. Are there any that fall into these criteria? Also, between 3-500.
 
#29
Cobra Was Here said:
Right now I'm looking for a 4 string that's lightweight, pretty generic strat-shaped body (or close to it), white body, black hardware, rosewood frets, black or dark headstock, and the black solid pickups like EMG or similar. Are there any that fall into these criteria? Also, between 3-500.
Click to expand...

Sounds like you're really focused on looks, which is certainly part of the equation. You might also consider mixing in a take or two on what you want it to sound like and feel like. Those considerations will emerge as important as you get more experienced in your playing.

There are brazillions of basses that will fit that cosmetic profile, but not as many that will satisfy the other needs. And the amp thing...I recommend the B-DEC because it's not necessarily the tone-king (although, with the different modeling choices, it can be), but it makes you want to practice by making it fun. And that makes you a better bassist!
 
#30
Hi!

I didn't read the whole thread carefully, but in case nobody mentioned it yet, keep in mind that almost all sound-cards have a latency problem unless they're designed for pro-audio.
It will take time for the card to convert your sound to digital and reconvert it back to analog. If the data goes through cheap audio software the latency is even more...
On cheaper sound-cards you can clearly hear this problem, it's very unpleasant. You hit a note, a few millisecond pass then you hear the sound.
If you have something called "low latency monitoring" or "direct monitoring" or similar, you're safe.

Good luck!

b.
 

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