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Know nothing about bass, eager to play, need help getting started

#41
Thanks for all the advice guys, I found a dealer in the country who deals in odd, vintage basses and who's willing to ship it to me.
These are the ones they've quoted to being under $300:

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Grassroots Violin Bass MIJ

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Fernandes Limited Edition Bass

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Squier Precision Bass

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Fender Squier PB David Gilmour Bass

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Ibanez SR-370

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Westminster Bass MIJ

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Mavis Jazz Bass MIJ

Anyone on which one is my best bet for something that sounds like a T-bird?
 
#44
My bit of advice- once you can fret a note cleanly and pluck or pick it in time to a beat- find a drummer!!! The rest of your bass playing career will be judged on how well you and a drummer work together. That's why drums and bass are called a rhythm section. Welcome to bass playing, bassists are always the coolest guy in the band!
 
#45
Takt said:
Thanks for all the advice guys, I found a dealer in the country who deals in odd, vintage basses and who's willing to ship it to me.
These are the ones they've quoted to being under $300:

Link Removed

Grassroots Violin Bass MIJ

Link Removed

Fernandes Limited Edition Bass

Link Removed

Squier Precision Bass

Link Removed

Fender Squier PB David Gilmour Bass

Link Removed

Ibanez SR-370

Link Removed

Westminster Bass MIJ

Link Removed

Mavis Jazz Bass MIJ

Anyone on which one is my best bet for something that sounds like a T-bird?
Click to expand...

The thing about tone is this; the bass is just one variable in the kind of sound you get. The amp you use, what number and size of speakers it has, how you set your EQ (both the tone knobs on the bass itself and the low/mid/high settings on the amp), not to mention any effects you might use, and for that matter how you setup the action and the technique you use (fingerstyle/pick/slap?) will all affect the tone you get. A jazz-style bass will tend in a more "growly" direction and precision-style basses will be more "thumpy," but both are capable of a great variety of different tones depending on all these other variables.

I've never played a T-bird, but browsing demonstrations of them on youtube pretty much illustrates this point; I hear guys getting lots of different tones out of them. The basses you list are mostly more obscure makers (at least to me) so I've got no basis to tell you which will most resemble the range of a T-bird.

Your idol from System of a Down has probably invested thousands of dollars in crafting his own signature tone. It's great to have that as a target you want to reproduce, but as a beginner it's going to be a long time before you get there. Don't expect your first starter bass to do it. Focus on learning the fundamentals first.

For now, you want to concentrate on getting a bass that feels right in your hands, that's a reliable player, and that you just plain like (there's no point in buying something that you think is ugly and are reluctant to play). If this seller is an actual brick-and-mortar store you can visit, just go spend an hour there trying these basses out and see which one feels right to you. Watch for the straightness of the neck and electronics that don't hum and scratch or make static when you adjust them.

Now if it were me, not knowing anything else, I'd get the Westminster, just because I like the funky retro look of it. The Squiers are a known entity, quality depends on when they were produced - I'm guessing the Gilmour signature is a safer bet, but it really depends on how the individual instrument has been treated by past owners. But like I say, try them all out.
 
#46
Just to throw in some other suggestions -

1. The practice amp I use in my apartment is an Acoustic B20, which I bought new at Guitar Center for $99. It's actually a great sounding amp, perfect for practicing and, by extension, very good for a beginner. Do some Googling on it and read up on it here - that's what I did and that's what led me to purchase it. It has a headphone jack and a line in so you can plug in a CD/MP3 player and jam along to stuff.

2. You may experience one of the problems I did when I first started playing guitar, and that is - Shavo tunes down to drop-C on most of his stuff. You may want to dive right into the pool and detune like him from the get-go so you can jam along with his stuff. I would actually say to resist this at first. Get to know the instrument in standard E tuning first, and then feel free to tune down, use alternate tunings, etc.

3. If you like the Epi T-Bird, I say watch eBay, Craiglist, TB or Harmony-Central. It's an inexpensive bass new ($299 on Amazon is the lowest price I could find) so those tend to move around used a lot, you just have to keep your eyes open. I'd probably try to find one used in the $200 range and then maybe take it in to a tech for a good set-up, then you should be set.
 
#47
Here's my take on your situation.

I agree with the headphone amp, it's something that you will likely use for awhile.

As for which bass to get, I think that you'll be happiest initially with an Epiphone Thunderbird...you will likely buy more basses later--you can try other things out then. But, of the choices listed, I'd go with this order from first choice to last:
David Gilmour
Squire p bass
Ibanez
Fernandez
Mavis Jazz
West Minster
Grass Roots
**The Mavis has the potential of being a real sleeper find though, being made in Japan...Japanese made instruments tend to be very well made, generally speaking.
 
#50
Hey welcome to the forum! Learning to play any instrument is a very rewarding and fulfilling experience and I know you'll enjoy it :)
I recently started playing bass as well (I started playing in april) and the best recommendation I can give you is to find a band to join. I learned bass so I could be the bassist for my dads band, and he helped me learn, and after 2 weeks of playing he already had me on stage playing with him! It was scary but it gave me stage experience, which is very important if you ever wanna play outside of your bedroom!

When it comes to mastering the bass, for me anyway, dedication and time are two things you need if you want to progress quickly. And setting an unrealistic goal helped me (I aim to be the worlds best bass player xP). And having someone to tell you that you suck helps too. If it wasn't for my dad telling me I wasn't good enough to play with him yet, I would have thought I was a pro and never practiced or improved. A swollen head is a terrible thing to have when you're learning an instrument (ime).

Also, you might want to broaden your musical horizon, it'll probably happen anyway (after I started playing bass I started listening to funk and blues a lot more :P) but playing many styles of music will help you a lot musically.

Good luck, and keep at it!

edit: also, it's cool that you dig t-birds but you don't want to limit your sound either, there are many more versatile options that can give you a t-bird tone too. Don't ever buy a bass for looks either, take a blindfolded bass test drive at your local music store sometime and find the best sounding bass. You'd be surprised how often cheap basses outplay their more expensive counterparts ;)
 
#51
Hi Takt. Congratulations on getting your 1st bass. It's pretty exciting. I remember when I got my first bass. It was Christmas of 1997 or perhaps 1998. I immediately started learning to play it. Good luck, Sir. Have you chosen a learning method yet?
 
#53
There are as many ways to begin as there are players,just do it and enjoy one day you will wake up a decent bassist.play along to your favorite songs and consider lessons sooner rather than later ,once you live eat and sleep bass and score a few cool instruments you will be there and if you sing well forget it you will be busy with up 5 or more gigs a week.Good luck keep us posted
 
#54
mellowinman said:
As God is my witness, I didn't know Thunderbirds could fly!
Click to expand...

They can't :scowl:
The customs wouldn't let it in without an exorbitant fee so I opted for a Yamaha RBX270 instead. Not a very exotic looking things, but a good setup, strings and compressor are pending because of the money I saved off of the T-bird. Of course, a proper amp and a good practice headphone amp are on their way immediately, preferably the Pandora Mini.

RonChase said:
There are as many ways to begin as there are players,just do it and enjoy one day you will wake up a decent bassist.play along to your favorite songs and consider lessons sooner rather than later ,once you live eat and sleep bass and score a few cool instruments you will be there and if you sing well forget it you will be busy with up 5 or more gigs a week.Good luck keep us posted
Click to expand...

CanadianFunk said:
Hey welcome to the forum! Learning to play any instrument is a very rewarding and fulfilling experience and I know you'll enjoy it :)
I recently started playing bass as well (I started playing in april) and the best recommendation I can give you is to find a band to join. I learned bass so I could be the bassist for my dads band, and he helped me learn, and after 2 weeks of playing he already had me on stage playing with him! It was scary but it gave me stage experience, which is very important if you ever wanna play outside of your bedroom!

When it comes to mastering the bass, for me anyway, dedication and time are two things you need if you want to progress quickly. And setting an unrealistic goal helped me (I aim to be the worlds best bass player xP). And having someone to tell you that you suck helps too. If it wasn't for my dad telling me I wasn't good enough to play with him yet, I would have thought I was a pro and never practiced or improved. A swollen head is a terrible thing to have when you're learning an instrument (ime).

Also, you might want to broaden your musical horizon, it'll probably happen anyway (after I started playing bass I started listening to funk and blues a lot more :P) but playing many styles of music will help you a lot musically.

Good luck, and keep at it!

edit: also, it's cool that you dig t-birds but you don't want to limit your sound either, there are many more versatile options that can give you a t-bird tone too. Don't ever buy a bass for looks either, take a blindfolded bass test drive at your local music store sometime and find the best sounding bass. You'd be surprised how often cheap basses outplay their more expensive counterparts ;)
Click to expand...

I definitely have started listening to lots of music, rest assured. Something from reggae can easily carry over to metal and funk and so on.
And yep, I've bought a Yamaha and it doesn't sound that bad, actually a little versatile as well so I'm looking forward to EQing it to develop the tone I'm looking for.
Hope it goes well. :D

Herrick said:
Hi Takt. Congratulations on getting your 1st bass. It's pretty exciting. I remember when I got my first bass. It was Christmas of 1997 or perhaps 1998. I immediately started learning to play it. Good luck, Sir. Have you chosen a learning method yet?
Click to expand...

Thank you, I will be looking at wheatsbassbook.com and studybass.com for guides. Can't wait to get started.

Wookiee said:
+1 for the Acoustic B20 amp. For $150 I got the amp, a stand, a digital tuner, and a bunch of stuff to complete the "What you need to start playing bass" setup. I play an Ibanez GSR200, and love it. I got everything to play NEW and shipped to my door from Guitar center for under $300!
Click to expand...

The only problem here is the expenses. $300 is going to net me nothing and even low end basses cost well over $500.
But yep, I'm looking to add to the equipment arsenal; it'll just have to happen gradually.
 

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