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Scarf posted:That's the Jet King right? I played one in Guitar Center and nearly walked out the door with it. It could have just been the setup they did on it, but it just played effortlessly for me. The neck felt really good, nice and smooth, satin finish on the back. Okay, you've convinced me. Once I scrounge up the money for it, it's mine. Thanks much!
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Apr 24, 2009 02:29
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I just have to state once again... I've never picked up an Ibanez and was disappointed. So I think you'll enjoy it. While we're on the subject of rocking basses, lately I've been really into soloing the neck pickup on my Lakland 44-02D. It so cool to see how versatile this thing is, it looks like such a modern funk/jazz type of bass, but I crank onto that neck pickup and pull out a pick for a lil Gov't Mule-type rocking and I get some great tone. Here's an example from an outdoor show we had the other weekend. And yeah, there was def some Mule on my mind when I wrote it  
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Apr 24, 2009 05:03
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I have a question regarding Metal Bass playing. I'm just picking up the bass and bought an Ibanez SR500 to bang around on, and have been really pleasantly surprised as to how fun it is to accompany my friend, who plays the guitar, when we get together and rock out on the weekends. Its made me pay alot more attention than i used to in regards to the bass sections of the music i listen to. I dont have a whole lot of interest playing metal bass, but I saw the Children of Bodom live the other night and my curiosity was piqued. Do most metal bassists use a pick? or are they just really fast with their fingers? It looked like the dude was using a pick but i was so far from the stage (and short) i couldn't really tell. I'm not really looking to re-ignite any arguments about which one is better, im just curious as to in general, which style is usually most commonly seen amongst metal bassists.
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Apr 29, 2009 02:37
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KongMu posted:metal bass
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Apr 29, 2009 02:57
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dissin department posted:A good portion of metal bassists use a pick. It gives an 'edgier' tone, and helps cut through the guitars more- also being easier to play fast with. There are some that use fingers, however (Steve Harris of Iron Maiden being well-known for this, although that's a different kind of metal entirely from CoB). I like to use my fingers because I do a lot of gay proggy tapping and not so gay extremely fast triplet stuff. I obviously can't match someone with a pick for sustained 200bpm+ riffs but it feels a lot more dynamic and comfortable to use my fingers. It comes down to what you are comfortable with, if you sit down and like using a pick then use one but if it doesn't feel right use your fingers.
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Apr 29, 2009 03:41
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I've been playing bass for the past year, starting out with a rather crappy bass/amp combo package. I shelled out some money for a better quality bass, but I've never bothered replacing the small 26W amp. I'm on a bit of a budget, what would be a good bass amp for an intermediate player that costs less than $300? I saw that Behringer amp a few pages back, but I don't know if it would be best for me. This will still be used mainly for practice - I don't need to be able to fill up a concert hall. I'd prefer a better tone over the amp with the best watt to dollar ratio.
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May 1, 2009 03:44
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What's the best speaker size to get in a bass cab, and are neodymium drivers better than normal ones? Looking at a Carvin B118N, but I can't find any opinions on 18" speakers...
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May 3, 2009 11:46
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Gorilla Salsa posted:What's the best speaker size to get in a bass cab, and are neodymium drivers better than normal ones? Looking at a Carvin B118N, but I can't find any opinions on 18" speakers... I wouldn't get a 118 as my only cab unless I was playing nothing but reggae. It's been my experience that 18s give great lows, but little else. My setup runs 410s plus 115. But if you're looking for just one cabinet, I guess maybe go 212, but a 115 will do the job as well.
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May 3, 2009 15:00
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Gorilla Salsa posted:What's the best speaker size to get in a bass cab, and are neodymium drivers better than normal ones? Looking at a Carvin B118N, but I can't find any opinions on 18" speakers... ahhh I hate 18's, very little mid range and no highs. Best bet would be a 15 with a mid range driver.
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May 3, 2009 18:13
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Demolisher posted:ahhh I hate 18's, very little mid range and no highs. Best bet would be a 15 with a mid range driver. Looks like Carvin only sells a 1x15" neodymium cab...The 4x10" is $20 cheaper, though, so I might just go with that, and get the 1x15" later...
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May 4, 2009 01:36
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Gorilla Salsa posted:Looks like Carvin only sells a 1x15" neodymium cab...The 4x10" is $20 cheaper, though, so I might just go with that, and get the 1x15" later... Feel like getting diy with it? talkbass have superb plans for cabs...
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May 4, 2009 01:42
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Demolisher posted:Feel like getting diy with it? talkbass have superb plans for cabs... Not really. I'd like to just buy one to have so that if I wanted to build one later and hosed it up, I'd at least have one. I think I'm going for the 4x10.
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May 4, 2009 03:37
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4x10's have a much different sound than 15's. Also, they usually weigh more. Just watch what you need to lug around.
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May 4, 2009 14:45
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So Im going to be getting meself a nice bass amp pretty soon here. One thing Im not sure is what size of amp to get. My friend/bandmate has a 120watt halfstack guitar amp. How many watts should I look for in an amp so I can stand up to that? Or is it more dependent on quantity and size of the speakers?
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May 6, 2009 00:14
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What kind of venues will you be playing? I'd say, even with a 50w guitar amp, you'll need 300 watts of bass. But don't do the math and think you need 30,000 watts for 500 watts of guitar amp.
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May 6, 2009 02:19
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There is a huge missing piece of info here: 120w solid or tube? Using the 50w guitar example above; if the guitar was a tube I'd say yes, 300w bass is not excessive. If, however, it's a 50w solid state, 300w is way way way to much than you'll need. Something like 150w would be closer to fine. EDIT: I feel I should elaborate. My general rule (assuming you are using a SS bass head which is by far the most common) is this: For matching a tube guitar amp, your wattage should be 3-4 times the amount of the guitar For matching a solid state guitar amp, your wattage should be 2-3 times the amount of the guitar Now obviously your milage will vary and other people will give yo different answers, but I find that ratio works the best for me. Ghostpilots fucked around with this message at 04:25 on May 6, 2009 |
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May 6, 2009 02:41
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One of the many lightweight solid state bass amps like a LittleMark II might be up your alley. A lot of them are in the range of 300W to 500W, and nearly if not all of them will have DI out. Any venue too big for the amp will have a PA anyways.
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May 6, 2009 03:48
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What do you guys think about a Peavey Millenium BXP 4 string for a beginner? The craigslist posting has it at $150... http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/msg/1183356470.html That seems reasonable to me and I haven't read anything bad about Peaveys in this thread. If I'm totally wrong, what bass/amp combos are their in a $400-$500 range? If that bass is good then amps for $200-300?
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May 23, 2009 00:02
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Pepsuber posted:What do you guys think about a Peavey Millenium BXP 4 string for a beginner? The craigslist posting has it at $150... That doesn't seem like a bad deal at all. Peavey makes one of the best bang for the buck basses. However, if you stalk craigslist for a while you're likely to find a USA made Foundation, Fury, Dyna-Bass, or T-40 for around $200, which will likely be of better quality. I would think as a beginner it would take you a few years to outgrow that Millenium though.
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May 23, 2009 01:41
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I figured I'd use this chance to see if you veterans had any ideas for me. I've been playing guitar on and off for about 10 years and I'm looking to try my hand at bass. I'm looking to spend $300-400 on the guitar and maybe half that on the amp. Not a huge fan of the Fenders I tried out in the store, so I was probably going to go in a different direction. New or used doesn't really matter to me as long as it's close to that price range. I like mostly rock and funk, but from what I'm told, that doesn't make much of a difference when you're talking lower-end basses. I'd welcome any suggestions.
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May 23, 2009 01:59
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rockear posted:That doesn't seem like a bad deal at all. Peavey makes one of the best bang for the buck basses. However, if you stalk craigslist for a while you're likely to find a USA made Foundation, Fury, Dyna-Bass, or T-40 for around $200, which will likely be of better quality. If I do choose that, what amp should I look for? All it will be needed for is room practice, no shows or rocking with friends.
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May 23, 2009 02:13
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Pepsuber posted:If I do choose that, what amp should I look for? All it will be needed for is room practice, no shows or rocking with friends. Honestly, I haven't bought an amp in a long time. There are a lot of manufacturers around that didn't even exist last time I was shopping for one. I've heard good things about the newer Fender Bassman combos. Maybe do some reading or post a thread over at the talkbass amp forum? http://www.talkbass.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=15
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May 23, 2009 02:22
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Indecline posted:I figured I'd use this chance to see if you veterans had any ideas for me. I've been playing guitar on and off for about 10 years and I'm looking to try my hand at bass. I'm looking to spend $300-400 on the guitar and maybe half that on the amp. In that price range I would definitely be looking used. Since you know guitars, you should be able to distinguish a POS from something that just needs a truss rod tweak or a bridge adjustment to reach it's potential. Like I was saying, old USA Peaveys can be had for a fraction of their value from a player's perspective. The only negative is the cosmetics really. Yamaha, Ibanez, Fernandes, Carvin are some other names that are pretty undervalued in the used market. If you can find a G&L Tribute within your price range that would be a solid choice too.
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May 23, 2009 02:31
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Scarf posted:That's the Jet King right? I played one in Guitar Center and nearly walked out the door with it. It could have just been the setup they did on it, but it just played effortlessly for me. The neck felt really good, nice and smooth, satin finish on the back. I have to say the Jet King looks incredible, and it's good to hear that it actually sounds good too, since after getting a Squier that turned out to be a heap of utter crap I'm a bit paranoid about basses. I'm currently deciding between a black Epi Thunderbird and a Jet King, but since no shops around here actually have a JTK (although I've found a shop at the other end of the country with one) I'm probably going to go with the Thunderbird. Or just keep farting away with the Squier.
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May 23, 2009 03:26
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From the outset, apologies for the overlap / repetition in my questions. There’s so much information in this thread to parse through. I figured it’s about time to stop just appreciating music and join in on the fun, so I think I want to take up the bass. Regarding buying a bass for beginners, I’ve seen the Ibanez GSR200 pop up in replies a number of times. What other starter basses should I be looking at? Buying used also seems to be a reasonable alternative – what should I look for there? (The MIM Fender seemed to pop up a bunch as well…) I'd like to get at least a few years of millage out of the first one before graduating to the next rung up. Also, in the store itself, not knowing jack about playing – I’ll look pretty ridiculous trying it out. I don’t really even know what to be paying attention to when picking out a bass. Advice? What should I be looking for? One thing I’m worried about is the solo bass playing experience – especially at the very beginning. I don’t see myself jamming with people for a while yet, so I’m curious how satisfying playing the bass along can be? And regarding starter material: is that Hal Leonard Bass Method set mentioned on page 1 worth the investment? I'll definitely invest in lessons... I realize it’s a boatload of questions, so thanks in advance for any and all advice. I find the bass an underrated instrument, and the more I've grown to appreciate music, the more I've learned to appreciate good bass.
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May 25, 2009 12:22
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I'm very tempted to pick up this six-string fretless from Rondo. Has anyone here had any experience with Brice basses?
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May 25, 2009 21:35
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Edawg06 posted:
I started playing this year, and its right on the verge of 'instant' gratification. There's no lack of songs with the bass just chugging away on one note at a steady beat, and if you're a fan of one of these songs, its definitely a "gently caress yeah!" moment being able to (kind of) play along. The best advice I can give you is to pick up something like Bass Fitness (a book of dozens of exercises), and just make your way through it. Once you finish it, start it over! and increase your speed slightly (if you're comfortable with it, of course). The first 3 or 4 months of playing were kind of a holding pattern for me, I practiced for about an hour every day and tried my hand at slightly harder exercises once I felt like I had some of the basic skills under control. It wasn't until about 6 months of playing that I realized I had picked up a decent skill set and could play along with a ton of my favorite artists. From there you'll just get better and better. But really, the most important advice is to play every day and don't get discouraged. There were weeks where I felt like I wasn't improving; but I was and you will too!
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May 25, 2009 23:40
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Also there are a few songs that just have a really cool bassline that's great fun to play anyway. Gigantic by the Pixies is a great example of this in my opinion. It's the first thing I ever taught myself on bass and I still play it really often for fun like 10 years later.
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May 26, 2009 00:03
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TheForgotton posted:I'm very tempted to pick up this six-string fretless from Rondo. Has anyone here had any experience with Brice basses? I've played several and have nothing but good things to say about them. You'll probably want to replace the pickups.
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May 26, 2009 05:24
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I'm planning to start learning bass and I'm looking at a couple of options right now, and I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice. I've done some research and I was almost sold on a new Peavey Milennium, but I decided to shop around the local market a little to see if I could save some money. Two things that I have decided is that I'm going to go for passive pickups and 4-strings for my first bass. Here are the options I'm considering right now. Late 80s Peavey Foundation S for $150. I've read up on these and this seems like a decent starter bass. I've seen mentions of people buying regular Foundations for $200 and S models for upwards of $500 so this seems like a pretty good deal either way. Then another deal I'm looking at is a passive Peavey Milennium with a 20 watt amp and a stand and poo poo for $350. I don't really care about the stand or bag or anything, and the Milennium new is about $240 with a 20 watt amp around $100 so this isn't too much of a deal, but it does have the benefit of being consolidated together and I imagine it hasn't gotten much use as the whole thing screams "I bought these and never got around to learning". I'm leaning really heavily on the Foundation S, and if I do go with that I've got a couple amp choices. Right now I'm negotiating with a guy to get a Rumble 100 15" for $200, which is probably what I'm going to go with, but I've also happened upon a guy selling a custom rig for $200. Here's his description: seller posted:Its a two piece amp. The amp can be used either as a bass amp( i used it for that) or a guitar amp(i put a grunge pedal through it on my peavy guitar and i sound great). the head unit is a carvin 125 watt rms(rms is the substain its initally hit is round 250) has to gain plug in high and low gain, will support two speakers out the back and has a power slave output, it has a 4 channel eq on it. the cabneit is custom built, has a 15 inch pyle driver speaker. its inverted into the box at the moment and has a bass reflex port. the inversion was to add a booming grand paino effect which is really cool, but if your interested i can swap it back into a standard mount again. The amp was used at a couple of gigs and one was a larger gig and the amp kept up with everything on the stage. its a great amp but i live in a apartment now and i get into trouble with it so im selling it. 200 is my asking price, but im willing to talk about a cheaper price. Now, I obviously don't need something with that much power to learn on, but it seems like it has the potential to be a good deal and I'd rather make do with something that will offer a longer lifespan down the road for the same price as something that I'm going to need to replace for anything beyond practice. I'd really appreciate any advice anyone has to offer.
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May 27, 2009 21:23
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I'm looking to customize my sound with some kind of pedal, not really sure in what manner but I'm getting a little tired of the limited possibilities I have with a broken tone knob. I figure an equalizer will be my best bet, but I really have NO idea where to even begin. Any advice would be appreciated
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May 27, 2009 22:44
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I'd say fix your tone knob first, and try out different brands and types of string such as half, ground, or flat wounds. An EQ won't give you a radically new sound, but it can emphasis (or subdue) the qualities of the input.
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May 27, 2009 23:54
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Gorilla Salsa posted:I've played several and have nothing but good things to say about them. You'll probably want to replace the pickups. Never having played fretless, I imagine the next couple of months are going to be me floundering for notes.
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May 28, 2009 00:22
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Doomy posted:I'd say fix your tone knob first, and try out different brands and types of string such as half, ground, or flat wounds. An EQ won't give you a radically new sound, but it can emphasis (or subdue) the qualities of the input. About the tone knob; when I mess with it, there's no audible difference in what the notes sound like beyond a massive change in feedback. I assume its broken because this is a 15+ year old hand me down bass - am I missing something or is this thing hosed? Also regarding strings, I'm extremely interested in experimenting but I'm overwhelmed when I try to get involved, any advice/recommendations about what kind of string will do what (so I have a place to dive in)?
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May 28, 2009 00:37
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IntrepidInventive posted:Late 80s Peavey Foundation S for $150. I'll go ahead and pimp USA Peaveys again. Quality comparable to a USA Fender at 10-20% of the cost. They're not the most attractive instruments, and the electronics can be a little dodgy, but the quality of the woodwork and hardware is top notch. On the other hand, I would be wary of that home built amp. As far as I know, Pyle makes car audio speakers. Nothing you would want to use in a bass amp. Maybe see if he'll part with just the head, or save yourself some trouble and get the Rumble.
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May 28, 2009 01:18
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rockear posted:I'll go ahead and pimp USA Peaveys again. Quality comparable to a USA Fender at 10-20% of the cost. They're not the most attractive instruments, and the electronics can be a little dodgy, but the quality of the woodwork and hardware is top notch. On that note I think I will go for the Rumble. It's about half what it costs new and it looks in good shape. Thanks for the input!
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May 28, 2009 04:44
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rockear posted:On the other hand, I would be wary of that home built amp. As far as I know, Pyle makes car audio speakers. Nothing you would want to use in a bass amp. Maybe see if he'll part with just the head, or save yourself some trouble and get the Rumble. I built a cabinet with my neighbor, a wood craftsman, when I was 15. It still sounds good. Cabinet was shaped like an old Fender cabinet from the 80's (current at the time), which was a box, but the mount for the speaker was angled back, and sloped another angle from there, where the air would push out of the top port hole. Interesting design.
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May 28, 2009 04:48
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I'm going to go ahead and resurrect this thread in the name of finding me some more songs to learn by ear. I just figured out all of Dinosaur Jr. - In a Jar (and I'm pretty proud of myself), so if anyone familiar with that tune can name me something similar I would appreciate it. In general I'm looking for something with some variety and complexity without being retarded difficult or lacking in structure. Thanks guys And thanks again to Scarf for recommending Lakland products. I feel like the bass alone made me better.
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Jun 9, 2009 22:27
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UkraineGirls posted:About the tone knob; when I mess with it, there's no audible difference in what the notes sound like beyond a massive change in feedback. I assume its broken because this is a 15+ year old hand me down bass - am I missing something or is this thing hosed? Yeah tone knob should sound like the high end of the sound is getting cut, hard to describe I guess. http://www.lakland.com/audio.htm and click on whatever bass looks similar to what you have. It'll give you an idea what the sound difference between flats and rounds is, for starters. Find what you want and go from there really. Unfortunately with bass it's an expensive process finding the strings you want to stick with.
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Jun 9, 2009 23:55
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Does anyone ITT use Ampeg SVX for bass modeling on a computer? I'm having trouble getting sounds that aren't super muddy.
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Jun 12, 2009 16:55
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