questions from a rank beginner

[gnossie]

I have managed to get ahold of a bass and I am considering learning how to play it. Can somebody help me with these concerns?

1. I would like to fool around with a wah wah pedal. Will just any do, or do they make a certain kind that is specifically for the bass guitar? If so, which are recommended?

2. From some experience playing the guitar, I know that if a string rattles or buzzes as you fret it, you've fretted it wrong. (I was told to fret just slightly behind the fret.) But I've noticed that with my bass guitar that on most of the strings, especially the lower ones, that -- regardless of how loosely or how tightly I wind them -- there seems to be no way of fretting them without getting a buzzing sound. I stop them close to the fret, in the middle, hard, light, etc.: it makes no difference. Is the alignment, or "play" off with my bass guitar? Or does it not matter because that won't be picked up by an amp (which I don't have yet)?

3. Is it necessary or recommended to grow long fingernails on your right hand? This put me off the Spanish guitar.

4. I've noticed a lot of 5-string basses floating around. But is that an extra high or an extra low string?

5. Can people with short, squat fingers such as me rise to mastery of the bass guitar? I have this image of bass players as tall, lanky fellows with impossibly long fingers. I can't think of any renowned but short bass players.

Thanks for your input.

 

[Smurf-o-Deth]

1. You'll want a pedal that can handle the bass frequencies (some pedals work with both guitar and bass, some don't). Which one you go with will depend on what you want to do with it and what kinds of sounds you want it to make, and here's where I recommend the search function.

2. This sounds like a set-up issue. Again, search will probably get you answers on how to fix this, or, failing that, posting in the Set Up and Repair forum. Or, take it to a qualified tech.

3. Nope, unless you want that sound. I keep mine ground down to the nub. Generally, for fingerstyle playing, you'll (IMO) want to pluck with the pads of your fingers, to get a fatter sound, and how (and where) you pluck will give different tones.

4. Could be either, though most often this will be a low B string.

5. Why not? Just get a bass with a neck that you can comfortably play and you'll be fine.

 

[ggunn]

3. Nope, unless you want that sound. I keep mine ground down to the nub. Generally, for fingerstyle playing, you'll (IMO) want to pluck with the pads of your fingers, to get a fatter sound, and how (and where) you pluck will give different tones.

+1. When I have a fingernail on my right hand index or middle finger that gets even a little bit past the nub, I occasionally by accident catch it on a string and play a much louder note than I intended. With them really short I can get a little nail in the sound when I want to, but it doesn't happen randomly.

 

[draven]

Smurf-o-Deth hit it right on on everything he said really

1. maybe check out the dunlop 105Q bass wah i never use a wah but i know thats bass specific wah but as always you should try before you buy

2.i think you should be fine if you get a decent setup that sounds like the problem

3. my nails are short as can be with your right hand you wanna use the pad of your finger rather then your fingernail unless you are trying to get a pick sound out of your finger style but even then i recommend short nails and finger picks

4. most commonly it will be a low b string standard tuning would be BEADG low to high on a 5 string

5. any size hands can play a bass just gotta find a neck that is comfortable for you to play small hands you might wanna look at jazz bass sized necks there generally pretty thin

 

[mjolnir]

5. Can people with short, squat fingers such as me rise to mastery of the bass guitar? I have this image of bass players as tall, lanky fellows with impossibly long fingers. I can't think of any renowned but short bass players.

That is a very strange image of bassists, chum...

Stick around here long enough and you'll learn REAL quick we come in all shapes and sizes.

 

[tZer]

5. Can people with short, squat fingers such as me rise to mastery of the bass guitar? I have this image of bass players as tall, lanky fellows with impossibly long fingers. I can't think of any renowned but short bass players.

Steve Bailey, for one. Not very tall at all - smaller hands too - and he plays a fretless 6-string, no less!

Invalid Link Removed


Victor Wooten, too. Again, not very tall, short fingers - but MAN, can he and Steve chew up a bass!

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

You can also look into shorter scale basses. If I am not mistaken, some Rickenbackers tend to be a little shorter in scale (32", I think) - and there are many other models that are 30" scale.

--tz

 

[doctorjazz]

I have this image of bass players as tall, lanky fellows with impossibly long fingers. I can't think of any renowned but short bass players.

Vic Wooten and Steve Bailey are both pretty short, and Steve doesn't seem to have any problems manhandling that 6 string.

 

[bonzo4880]

Quote:
Originally Posted by gnossie
I have this image of bass players as tall, lanky fellows with impossibly long fingers. I can't think of any renowned but short bass players.



sounds like his bass player archetype is jaco !

 

[groove pump]

Playing bass will hook you harder into the beat, rhythm, and chordal movement of the tunes you play more than the melodies and shredding that guitars can tend toward. Even with an aggressive style, you probably won't play "out front" so much soundwise - those moments just become a little more, um... special. You could lose two of your fretting fingers in a smelting accident and still be a monster of the groove - Viagra jokes aside, don't sweat your physical dimensions.

Peavey and Ibanez are two examples of builders that put out basses that accomodate smaller hands, but you may get to love a chunkier neck, too. They can be more stable with enhanced, bolder tone and allow you to play with a little more "Hoo-Ahh". Dig in man, you're playing a bass now!

The fret buzzing sounds like your truss rod needs loosening - a bass typically needs more neck relief than a guitar because the big heavy strings flap around more (low action is nice, though). A note on five string basses - some players like to have the potential to play down to that low B, but you usually need a better bass to get clarity in that oh-so-low register. That means a stable neck, decent pickups, and a 35" scale (typical four strings are 34").

Try out a wah before you take it home. The problem with lots of effects is that they steal the low frequency that a bass needs to deliver so a useful wah pedal for bass should still deliver a lot of that fundamental low end. Lots of players like to use an envelope filter instead of an actual wah - I have the EH Q-Tron for example when I want to get nice and funky. In any case, try stuff out and trust your ears.

 

[mantelclock]

Quote - 5. Can people with short, squat fingers such as me rise to mastery of the bass guitar? I have this image of bass players as tall, lanky fellows with impossibly long fingers. I can't think of any renowned but short bass players.


Of course you can. I'm 5'10" with short fingers and I play 35" scale bases. It's all about your wrist and thumb position. Maybe longer fingers would be nice, but there's not much we can do about that.

 

[ggunn]

Playing bass will hook you harder into the beat, rhythm, and chordal movement of the tunes you play more than the melodies and shredding that guitars can tend toward.

True that. I never realized how much I had been getting away with rhythmically on guitar until I started playing bass.

A note on five string basses - some players like to have the potential to play down to that low B, but you usually need a better bass to get clarity in that oh-so-low register. That means a stable neck, decent pickups, and a 35" scale (typical four strings are 34").

I beg to differ with you on that one. There are plenty of 34" scale basses with a good sounding B string.