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Just starting out on bass, advice?

C

Changles

Aug 29, 2008
59
0
Harrogate, UK
www.myspace.com
#1
Hi there, I have been playing guitar for a few years but i recently joined a band as a bassist, and of course I want some gear! But I'm not really sure on the details and thought I could do with some wisdom from your good selves.

At the moment I am playing an Epiphone Thunderbird through a Fender Rumble 100 (1 by 15 inch speaker)
They're alright but I want a better bass and amp, preferably a tube amp.

I have a limited budget because I am young and jobless.

I like the fender jaguar bass, and the aerodyne (precision and jazz) and of course would like things like music man and gibson thunderbird but can't quite afford them!

I'm clueless as to what to get in amps. I like the look of the fender tb 600 combo but again, out of my price range!


Any suggestions whatsoever, long term or short term, impart your bass playing wisdom on me!
 
#2
You'll get a better response posting in the amp forum....

Make sure you mention the style of music you want to play, this will impact your gear choice


Also, low income + tube amps might not quiet work for you. For bass especially, tubes are not necessarily the secret to tone like for guitars.
 
#3
well with bass i use a schecter elite 5 and they are extremely good
you can get a warm soft tone or a very loud attacking tone
they are extremely good
i use behringer for my amps because it has got some extremely good tone for the money
hope this helps
 
#4
Hi there, not sure where you live, but here in the US, you can find used Peavey amps and cabs at an incredibly low price. I know it is not a particularly "glamorous" brand but they are loud and indestructible. My personal philosophy is I would rather have a big, loud, cheap amp than a tiny, expensive amp! There are all kinds of equalizers and effects, but the best effect of all is being really, really loud. :)

If you have a bass that works for you right now, my advice there is to wait 6 months or so. You will have a better idea of what you're looking for at that point. Epiphones are not that bad. ;)
 
#5
I was going to say what Mushroo said above.

My band, when we were younger and more penniless, used Peaveys a lot and they stood up to a lot of use and abuse, lemme tell ya!

And I am a fan of Epiphones. Nothing wrong with the bass you have, for now. (Assuming it fits your music style. It is solid for rock, metal, and country. I'd imagine it is a bit out of range for jazz and funk, but not sure on that count.)

You could also trade the Epi in for a Squire Jazz bass, which has a thinner neck, which you may be more used to, since you come from the guitar side of music.
 
#6
I live in the UK and have about £500 to spend. I could spend that on a fender jag bass or a hartke vx3500 4 by 10 combo which i think would be good.
I play rock mostly, I want a deep and powerful sound basically. the epiphone has a deep sound on the lower strings but has a few buzzy strings and the top string always sounds harsh.
The jag bass looks as though it's got enough sound options to satisfy me, and the hartke looks like it's pretty simple to get a good sound out of (which i like) and it's a decent size.

I think I'm pretty sure on those, I've looked at some reviews of peavey's and a lot of them seem to be unflattering. What would you get first, the amp or the bass?

Cheers
 
#7
Short term, I see no urgent need for any new gear. Your already ahead of most young players at this point, so just keep playing. In the meantime, the wise thing to do is to start saving up money now, and keep saving, all the while reading these forums, and checking stuff out. By the time you learn all about everything bass gear, you'll have a decent budget to go buy some stuff, THAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT first by reading TB, and going to music stores, trying everything. The knowledge will be all you need when you're ready to start spending.
 
#8
RickenBoogie said:
Short term, I see no urgent need for any new gear. Your already ahead of most young players at this point, so just keep playing. In the meantime, the wise thing to do is to start saving up money now, and keep saving, all the while reading these forums, and checking stuff out. By the time you learn all about everything bass gear, you'll have a decent budget to go buy some stuff, THAT YOU LEARNED ABOUT first by reading TB, and going to music stores, trying everything. The knowledge will be all you need when you're ready to start spending.
Click to expand...

I have to agree wit RickenBoogie. The gear you have is fine and you should save a percentage of everything you make for new equipment. I have been playing 40+ years and I still have to do it.
Welcome to the bass brotherhood! You made a good choice. If you work hard and you are open minded you will always have work. And quit saying you are unemployed. When you played guitar you were unemployed......now your are a BASS PLAYER! :bassist:
 
#9
Yeah I think you're right, I can definitely stick to that epiphone for a bit, but will a 100 watt 1 by 15 combo be loud enough at gigs?? Depends on the PA i suppose doesn't it?

Sage advice though, I will save the money, and practice till my fingers go bloody (they are only blistered so far)!
I love bass, it's so much more fun than guitar!

Another thing is the guitarist has a 100 watt marshall stack, can i compete with that?
 
#10
I think you will have to upgrade if your guitarist have a 100W rig, at least 300w for you to cut through. but it will still depend on the PA set-up at the venue. but as far as i know you should at least have 3x the wattage of your guitarist.
 
#15
Changles said:
Yeah I think you're right, I can definitely stick to that epiphone for a bit, but will a 100 watt 1 by 15 combo be loud enough at gigs?? Depends on the PA i suppose doesn't it?

Sage advice though, I will save the money, and practice till my fingers go bloody (they are only blistered so far)!
I love bass, it's so much more fun than guitar!

Another thing is the guitarist has a 100 watt marshall stack, can i compete with that?
Click to expand...

100 watts in a rock band and you want deep bass?

Short answer - no.

Long answer - if you use a DI straight to the board, and go thru the PA and use the amp just as a monitor, and eq it to be more mid/lo-mid orientated (which the sound guy wioll thank you for on stage anyway) you might get away with it if you point the thing at your head. But you will be constantly pushing it to extremes - not good.

Second hand you should be able to find something more like 300w into 4 ohms and a cab to match for £500. Even an older name brand other than Peavey (which as said before is servicable and cheap and pretty indestructable, but wont win you a tone war). It is very heavy though.

IMHO avoid Behringer they may be cheap, but they wont last a serious gigging schedule, and no whatever anyone has said they actually dont sound more expensive than they are.

Serious gear will cost serious money.

If I were you I'd take the advice I gave my eldest son. Save up. Dont go through round after round of upgrading kit, its much more expensive in the long run. Get something that will get you thru gigs for a long time as cheap as poss (so second hand but indestructable is good). When you have enough money to buy great kit either you wont have kept up with the playing so you just saved a pot of cash, or you should be some way close to good enough to deserve it :).

FWIW he's looking to get an LMII and a Bergantino AE112 or AE210 (or both). My SA450 & AE410 may be an influencing factor right now :) In the mean time he makes use of gear available through schools and music service, which is saving him that first rig investment that it sounds like you need.
 
#16
dude im not too sure about amps but for a bass its price i love my jaguar you can nail all sorts of tones no matter what you choose to play (i started off playing root notes and thinking pete wentz was the best and now im doing jazz grades)

im only twelve and it took me six months to save for now im looking for a good amp like the markbass 112p combo
 
#17
Right well I'm going to work on my playing, and when I have the money I'll probably purchase these items

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then this

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But all that might not be for a while.. But I will be gigging soon, within the next month really, i'll just see what happens


p.s. jack bruce was using hartke at the cream reunion concert i believe, and had an excellent bass sound, which is why i like them, and they are pretty cheap

i suppose i could sell a couple of old unused guitar things - pedals etc to speed up the process too

p.p.s. maybe 'deep' was the wrong word
FAT, i want a fat tone, one that will punch through the mix and that

cheers
 

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