First Bass Setup

[marh415]

Hello,

Just wanted to get some recommendations on a bass and amp setup. I'm looking spend around $400 on the bass so I've narrowed it down to the Schecter Stiletto Extreme, Ibanez SR300/370 and just recently the Yamaha TRBX304 which is fairly new from what I've been reading. I'm really liking the Yamaha so far, it seems comfortable just playing around with it at GC and the quality seems excellent too! Here is a link:
http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/TRBX304MGR/

As far as amps go, I've been looking at the Ampeg BA series and the Hartke A and B series for a simple practice amp!


Thank's in advance!

 

[MrAwesomes]

I started playing bass about 6 months ago, with an Ibanez SR206 (6-string model a bit cheaper than the 300s) and I love it. I tried a few basses that my college owns including one of those fancy £1000 Fenders and preferred my Ibanez. It has fat pickups to rest the thumb on easily and the neck is really smooth. Never tried a Yamaha or Schecter so I don't know about them, but I've heard a lot of good things about Humbucker pickups so maybe that Yamaha is a good choice.

Don't they have any Ibanez's at GC? Try them out and see which one you prefer.

As for amps, I use a Fender Rumble 30 which has a nice sound but is oversized for a practice amp, I didn't realise how big it was until I bought it. Costed me £150 (I think that's about $240) but I don't regret it because it sounds awesome. If I'm not mistaken there's a Rumble 15 which is a smaller cheaper version for practice.

 

[marh415]

Yes, they have quite a few Ibanez basses there actually. I've been going to GC over the past year and messing around with them. I just haven't been able to drop the hammer on setup just yet until now. I actually picked up the SR370 yesterday along with the Yamaha which they just got in. Honestly, I was sold on the Schecter until I picked up the Yamaha.

 

[jannodude]

That's one hell of a bass to start with! I started with the SR300. Having small hands it was advantageous to have a slimmer neck. You taking classes or self taught?

 

[marh415]

That's one hell of a bass to start with! I started with the SR300. Having small hands it was advantageous to have a slimmer neck. You taking classes or self taught?

The Ibanez or the Yamaha? By picking up, I meant physically picking them up not buying (yet)... lol! Sorry if there was any confusion there!

I'm gonna try self teaching right now. I bought a book called "Total Scales Techniques and Applications" for bass a while back and have read through some of the excercises, but without a bass it's kind of a waste!
I'm also thinking about Rocksmith 2014 too believe it or not. (Probably gonna get slammed for saying that huh?)

 

[MrAwesomes]

I'm gonna try self teaching right now. I bought a book called "Total Scales Techniques and Applications" for bass a while back and have read through some of the excercises, but without a bass it's kind of a waste!
I'm also thinking about Rocksmith 2014 too believe it or not. (Probably gonna get slammed for saying that huh?)

It's definitely good that you're getting books for this, but if it's the first instrument you're learning to play I'd recommend getting a real teacher; if you misunderstand the basics and have nobody to correct you then things will be much more difficult.
Personally I'm self-teaching bass, though I already know most theory from my previous cello lessons.

Whether you get a teacher or not, here's some advice:

1: Join or make a band. It doesn't matter if you and/or everyone else sucks, because you'll learn how to keep in time which is one of the most important things for bass. If you can't get a whole band then just one other musician, it'll be a great help. Besides, it could turn into something awesome after a while.

2: When it comes to learning those scales, don't just remember the first note then think of the rest as numbered frets. Learn the names of every note. Compositions and solos on all instruments are built on scales so if you ever want to progress beyond reading tabs then learn scales properly.

3: Don't blame the instrument if it sounds funny. When I first started playing bass I was getting ridiculous amounts of fret buzz but put it down to having a cheap bass. Turns out I was plucking too hard. Any bass will sound awesome if you play it right.

The rest should work itself out. It's only been 6 months for me but I'm in a band and practise enough to hit most notes spot-on. I suck with a pick but I'm working on that and I still need to learn to play slap bass but hey... I've got plenty of time for that. My target is to learn slap and to use a pick by next year on the day I bought my bass.

Oh that's another bit of advice if you're self-teaching: set targets for yourself, it'll give a little structure to your learning and keeps progress steady. Learn so many scales one week, then the same amount next week... etc. and before you know it you'll be better than the other people who "self-teach" by reading tabs over and over.

Good luck!

 

[marh415]

It's definitely good that you're getting books for this, but if it's the first instrument you're learning to play I'd recommend getting a real teacher; if you misunderstand the basics and have nobody to correct you then things will be much more difficult.
Personally I'm self-teaching bass, though I already know most theory from my previous cello lessons.

Whether you get a teacher or not, here's some advice:

1: Join or make a band. It doesn't matter if you and/or everyone else sucks, because you'll learn how to keep in time which is one of the most important things for bass. If you can't get a whole band then just one other musician, it'll be a great help. Besides, it could turn into something awesome after a while.

2: When it comes to learning those scales, don't just remember the first note then think of the rest as numbered frets. Learn the names of every note. Compositions and solos on all instruments are built on scales so if you ever want to progress beyond reading tabs then learn scales properly.

3: Don't blame the instrument if it sounds funny. When I first started playing bass I was getting ridiculous amounts of fret buzz but put it down to having a cheap bass. Turns out I was plucking too hard. Any bass will sound awesome if you play it right.

The rest should work itself out. It's only been 6 months for me but I'm in a band and practise enough to hit most notes spot-on. I suck with a pick but I'm working on that and I still need to learn to play slap bass but hey... I've got plenty of time for that. My target is to learn slap and to use a pick by next year on the day I bought my bass.

Oh that's another bit of advice if you're self-teaching: set targets for yourself, it'll give a little structure to your learning and keeps progress steady. Learn so many scales one week, then the same amount next week... etc. and before you know it you'll be better than the other people who "self-teach" by reading tabs over and over.

Good luck!

Thank's for the great advice! I did have a standard electric for a short time but got frustrated and went back to drums, so I do have some general knowledge of the guitar. I haven't totally ruled out lessons, I just feel I have a better sense of where to start off and to set goals like you stated and not repeat the same mistakes again. The other cool thing is that my son is playing drums now so we could learn off of each other!