First Bass

[Withel]

Hey guys.

New to the forum. I've been playing guitar on and off for a few years now, but have recently decided to switch to bass.

Looking at buying my first bass guitar now, and I'm stuck trying to choose between buying a five or four string. I've leafed through these pages a bit, and there doesn't seem to be a real consensus.

I'm mostly interested in playing extreme/death metal, influenced heavily by bands like Meshuggah and Lamb of God, so I'm leaning in the direction of a five string for a heavier sound. My only concern would be potential difficulty in finding a tutor, and maybe making things harder for myself learning in the short term. I'm on a somewhat limited budget, so buying both isn't really an option.

Any advice you can give me regarding choice of bass and other necessary equipment (tuner, practice amp, metronome, et al) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Michael Campbel]

Hey guys.

New to the forum. I've been playing guitar on and off for a few years now, but have recently decided to switch to bass.

Looking at buying my first bass guitar now, and I'm stuck trying to choose between buying a five or four string. I've leafed through these pages a bit, and there doesn't seem to be a real consensus.

I'm mostly interested in playing extreme/death metal, influenced heavily by bands like Meshuggah and Lamb of God, so I'm leaning in the direction of a five string for a heavier sound. My only concern would be potential difficulty in finding a tutor, and maybe making things harder for myself learning in the short term. I'm on a somewhat limited budget, so buying both isn't really an option.

Any advice you can give me regarding choice of bass and other necessary equipment (tuner, practice amp, metronome, et al) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

I'm a rank novice, and not familiar with that style of music, so ... don't listen to me.

That said, since 5ers are not much more expensive than 4's, and you're used to 6 strings already, I'd go with a 5. A 5 gives you more notes available, and typically (though not always) lower notes, which I suspect might serve you well.

I would suggest RondoMusic.com, but I see you're not in the US, so not sure what an equivalent for you would be.

 

[BahamaBass]

Ibanez GSR200...start with a 4 string and then upgrade to a 5 string.

those new onboard tuners are great. I got one from Intelitouch. very accurate and clips on the headstock.

as for practice amp anything micro ...a few brands make little practice amps. I had a GK micro amp which sounded great and was also used to small gigs. I guess too quiet for metal gigging though.

 

[icytoast]

go with the 5 string. if you dont like it, oh well you still have the other 4 strings anyways

 

[AleemRadunzel]

Id say go for the 4 till you get your speed up to go from a 6 guitar to a 4 bass is a big step so be prepared what your getting yourself into when you go to 5.. mite be too much straight away

 

[squashedOpossum]

...
I'm on a somewhat limited budget, so buying both isn't really an option.

Any advice you can give me regarding choice of bass and other necessary equipment (tuner, practice amp, metronome, et al) would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Can you give us an idea of your budget?

 

[Stumbo]

You might want to take a look at some of the following threads:
~Equipment
First bass advice
Polishing/cleaning bass
Strings: Flatwound vs. Roundwound
First amp advice
Upgrade bass/amp first?
Where to start

If you check the links in my sig. below, there's a lot more TB info that may help you along the way.

~Basics
2 starter books
Beginners mistakes
Find a teacher
How "good" do you have to be to play in a band?
Guitarist switch to bass
The musician's life
First bass advice
Polishing/cleaning bass

 

[cassanova]

You might want to take a look at some of the following threads:

He might also want to post this in the basses forum where it belongs, but before doing that he might also want to do a search in said forum because this question is asked more often than it should be.

 

[Llama's Rage]

Id say go for the 4 till you get your speed up to go from a 6 guitar to a 4 bass is a big step so be prepared what your getting yourself into when you go to 5.. mite be too much straight away

I'm not sure I agree, my first bass was a 5 string, then I bought a 6 string, then a 5 string fretless. I just ordered my first 4 string after playing for 5 years, haha. So I don't think it'd be a big deal if you went straight to 5, especially if you are coming from guitar, so you know a little about how these things work in the first place.

That said, I think I would recommend a 4-string. I think it reinforces concepts easier early on because you don't have as many options.

 

[Asher S]

Whatever you decide on, stick with it for +++ years, until the finish is worn off and you've had to replace the frets several times or refinish the fretboard. The top players focus on the music and their playing, not the instrument.

Also, consider what Jeff Berlin has to say on the subject (from interview on TB): "What I have found by limiting myself to a 4 string, 3 octave bass is that I am constantly called upon to re-evaluate what I do. I'm better because I'm using the same three octaves in new ways. I have actually grown to a place where I don't think I have ever played as well as I am playing today. This is due to the fact that I put a concentrated effort into a lot of practicing this year. I wrote this new record in 90 days. Any time between classes I was writing, anytime between giving lessons I was practicing."