i am planning on saving up for my first bass guitar (have always wanted to learn the bass).
as they are one of my favourite bands,am going to try and emulate (fat chance 😳 my bass hero geddy lee,and hopefully save up for one of these bad boys 😀
as i have never played a bass guitar before (i attempt to play guitar),what might you recommend in regards to starting to practise/how to get a good bass sound (am planning on using my mustang 1 amp at low volume.was told that i could do that on musicradar forum). thanks in advance 🙂

I’d get a proper bass amp, personally speaking, even if only a practice amp. The mustang (guitar amp?) will work to a degree but the EQ frequencies are not that suited to a bass.

some here: http://www.pmtonline.co.uk/index.php/amps/bass-guitar-amps.html?order=price&dir=asc – others are available too

Get yourself over to Basschat, and let the GAS commence!!! 8)

FWIW, I’ve got a Squier CV ’60s Jazz and it’s very nice indeed. I’ve also just acquired a CV ’60s Precision (the Fiesta Red one), and it’s equally lovely. 🙂

Other than knowing your way around your fretboard, little else applies. Bass playing is all about feel and groove, totally different concept. JB ftw, good choice, enjoy the journey!

I would second getting a proper bass amp.

Also, Yamaha’s cheap basses are great for learning on. I have one I bought second hand for £85 and I’ve gigged with it plenty.

Enjoy! Bass is great fun, especially when you get to play with a good drummer and the two of you ‘lock in’.

Enjoy! Bass is great fun, especially when you get to play with a good drummer and the two of you ‘lock in’.

+1 on that 🙂

IMHO, best bass player ever:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H62N_SjIzC8[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EOHEqjzGR8&feature=related[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uBP2G7FBHY[/video]

Jazz Bass has a lovely skinny neck. Ideal for smaller hands. I chose the precision bass over the jazz. It doesnt feel as nice to play, but I much prefer the sound. If you ever get to the point were you need an amp for gigging, do not ever be tempted to buy a 4X10 combo. It will break your back every time you need to move it. Get a head and cab. Bass frequencies dont register as loud as trebbly ones, so it is really easy to annoy your neighbours without realising. They might not hear you clearly, but it can rattle their ceramics collection off of the mantle piece.
Once you have the hang of it, join a band. Its a lot more iteresting to play in a group, and you wont ever fully appreciate a bass players role unless you do.
I dont think you can go very wrong with a classic series squier. I think the past 12 months, Fender and Squier have turned out some absolute classics.

Boo, Squier don’t make the lovely british racing green p-bass special any more 🙁 Really miss mine. It sounded OK, it played well, but mainly it just looked fantastic 🙂

Jazz Bass has a lovely skinny neck. Ideal for smaller hands. I chose the precision bass over the jazz. It doesnt feel as nice to play, but I much prefer the sound.

I have the best of both worlds 🙂

My P Bass Active Special Deluxe has a jazz bass neck, and both jazz and ‘P’ pickups which you can pan between. Generally have it most of the way towards P though, the jazz pickup can sound a bit twangy for my tastes.

I had a Yamaha RBX 350 which had a really nice low action. On some other basses I’ve tried it was more effort to fret the notes.

It got nicked when I lived in a shared house a few years back, so if anyone spots a metallic purple one on eBay or Gumtree, let me know!

I have a lovely natural finish Musicman Stingray that I’d sell for the right price. 😉

Don’t know anything about the bass…

Mustang amp has a Fender Bassman emulation mode on it thpough – so may be ok as an initial set-up???

Supremely underrated bass players below: Neil Murray (ex Whitesnake)

Pino Palladino (ex loadsa people)

This lady was never in any of the bass magazines I read growing up, but she’s played on a hundred times the number of phenomenal records that Mark King or Jaco Pastorius have:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMznvEgOPhU[/video]

As much as i love the bass gear that I’ve accumulated, with hindsight I would have begun my bass voyage by;

Buying my bass from the local adtrader/ ebay etc. At this time of year there will be a lot of unwanted xmas gifts for sale.

The money saved means that you can take the bass to a good guitar shop to spend £50 approx getting the bass more playable (lowering the action, sorting out the pickups and truss-rod etc)

I should’nt have bothered trying to source an amp, especially as a beginner. A floor FX unit and headphones would have been a better use of ££.

Jazz-type basses with those heavily tapering necks are not for everyone. Best to try first.

Oh, and at some time will want/(need?) a rickenbacker. I’m going to wait till the exchange rates make them a lot cheaper.

good luck!

thanks everyone 😀 (haven’t replied until now thinking that my monthly internet credit had run out/still have 40mb)
my credit renews at midnight though 🙂
p.s i plan on trying out the bass first (once i have saved up the money) then getting some type of bass headphone amp/effects portable pod type device.
then let the low frequencies begin (imagines myself stood atop cliffs of dover playing epic bass run/dolphins enamoured with my playing jump for joy in front of the beautiful sunset.
finishing off with some humpbacks coming up for air/seeing what the fuss is about 😉
yes i can see that happening 🙂

and if you aren’t going to take lessons then you might want to try this:
studybass

I bought a (then) cheap Aria when I used to play at school. Just liked the feel of it. Still lurking somewhere in a relative’s house unplayed for 5 years now.

And get a bass amp, the sound’s much better. 🙂