MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
@sadexpunk FWIW I have that exact bass that I spent £120 on new plus a £100 pick up from The Creamery. It now sounds really good. I’m a guitarist really and pretty short so the short scale suits me.
this is what it sounds like now….
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OAwKSAaNK-E
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GZgRUGc4mI8
the colour is a stock squier coral pink and I’m pretty sure they made an equivalent colour p bass version. ( checked there is a classic vibe one in coral pink and burgundy mist)
@ceepers wow, what a coincidence! altho being singletrackworld i shouldnt be surprised 😀
if you dont mind me asking, what pickup did you buy, and i guess youre happy with it? did you need to solder it? i dont have a soldering iron and never soldered in my life but always up for learning a new skill.
EDIT: how does classic vibe compare to a P?
@sadexpunk forgot to mention i put new ernie ball strings & an ebay pearl pickguard on too!
I ordered a pickup from Jamie at the creamery
I ended up with a blade one, cant remember which magnets. I've had a couple of amazing guitar pickups off him before and basically had a conversation with him about what i wanted and that,s what he suggested.
I fitted it myself, its basically two solder joints using a soldering iron off amazon that was under £20. I'm a soldering novice but changing a single pick up is pretty easy.
Classic vibe is just the name of one of the posher squier lines so they make a P bass in that range ( just realised he pink one is a jazz not a p!). Quite a lot more cash new but probably £300 second hand?
Squier Classic Vibe '60s Jazz Bass Guitar in Tahitian Coral - Andertons Music Co.
I have a classic vibe tele guitar. They are really nice instruments
That said, i bought the bronco bass on a whim and i really enjoy it now its upgraded. Sounds good jamming with mates and it is easy to play. Its light too
Modded Bronco sounds good, but you’ve basically doubled the purchase price to get there.
How about one of these?
https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/250123436136027--ashdown-saint-soap-shell-pink-roasted-bass
Full 34” scale and roasted maple neck. Also do a PJ version. I’d put it on par with the classic vine squiers but at 2/3s the price.
hmmmm interesting. just looked and also linked on that page was this at £70 cheaper.... how does it compare?
https://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/product/240604424828008--ibanez-gsr200-baby-pink
@clubby that is 100% true but I’d counter that with, two points.
one modding it myself is fun and what I generally do with my guitars.
Two, the initial outlay is low enough to not be a major discussion point / require brownie points with Mrs Ceepers and buying “bits” doesn’t count as a major purchase either! 🤣
Those ashdown basses do look awesome value for money and sound / look great. I didn’t know about them when I bought the bronco tbh or I might have been tempted. There’s a few clips on YouTube of James Johnston from Biffy using one and it sounds good.
the Ibanez bass is probably good ( their stuff generally is) but i personally hate the shape of those style basses. The ashdown is way cooler.
the Ibanez bass is probably good ( their stuff generally is) but i personally hate the shape of those style basses. The ashdown is way cooler.
Have to agree, and I own a 5 string Ibanez in that very shape (but not pink). 😂😂
Neck is really well finished for the price and it sounds great though. Mine is the dual soap bar version though. Was also a bit of a whim as I fancied trying a 5 and at the price, I wasn’t going to lose much if I wanted to move it on.
just went to pull the trigger on it as it initially said delivery sunday, but when i went to follow it through it said monday, and nobody will be home.
ill wait til thursday night, see if its still available and hope for a weekend delivery.
EDIT: maybe just as well as i see they do this one too..... whats the difference and which would be better, considering theyre both the same price? altho i note that this one is reduced from £329 which suggests slightly better?
Edit: both are long scale ( they do a capri model that’s short scale) so think it’s just the pick up config. The saint version probably has a more versatile sound with the two pickups and will sound closer to a p bass I suspect.
no, theyre both 34".
Just edited! It’s just gonna be the tone. Sure there’s a comparison video on YouTube somewhere
The two pick up one will be more versatile tonally. It has the P pick up you are used to, plus you can blend in the bridge pick up for to add a brighter sound. The single pick up is probably a bit wider range but no option to vary it other than tone.
You tube them both to see which resonates best with you. Given you like the punk side of things, I think the PJ may be more to your taste.
i assume its better quality than this one?
Not necessarily. Harley Benton get pretty decent reviews.
Thing is, it’s all about the sound. You can have the best made, most expensive bass but if you don’t like the tone, it doesn’t matter.
Watch lots of you tube, if possible the same person playing each bass and see what you like the sound of. Tone matters.
Thing is, it’s all about the sound. You can have the best made, most expensive bass but if you don’t like the tone, it doesn’t matter.
This x10
I'd lusted after a short scale Sterling Stingray for months before I bought one. I was so disappointed when it arrived - I only kept it for a month before moving it on because I just couldn't get on with the tone.
This x10
yeah i get you, but theyre both online purchases so i'll just have to take a gamble i think. as theyve both got P pickups am i wrong to assume that theyd both sound similar there, but with added versatility for the ashdown with the extra J pickup if needed?
other than order them both ands send one back i cant think of what else to do but go with my gut (ashdown), as i really dont want the faff and expense of sending one back 🙂
minds made up, the thomann says not available for 'several months' so i'll go with my gut anyway and order the ashdown.
thanks 🙂
Nice. Shape reminds me of the Fender Hoppus Jag.
Make sure you take time exploring different blends of the pick ups. Given your musical tastes, I doubt the bridge only will appeal much, but blended in with the neck on full adds a bit of brightness. My first bass was a PJ. I usually played either neck only or both on full. Will be a nice bit of added versatility compared to your P.
You keeping your other bass?
Make sure you take time exploring different blends of the pick ups. Given your musical tastes, I doubt the bridge only will appeal much, but blended in with the neck on full adds a bit of brightness. My first bass was a PJ. I usually played either neck only or both on full.
yep, i think thats pretty much what ive settled with P on full and J mebbes halfway. ive read what the tone pot does but i dont really understand it and have it about halfway id say.
Will be a nice bit of added versatility compared to your P.
my other one is also a PJ, a squier affinity PJ, but i didnt really understand the pots, for some reason i thought the neck pot (P) was a volume knob 😀
You keeping your other bass?
for now. i'll keep noodling away on the squier from time to time to try and compare sound/tone, and make sure i really do prefer the ashdown, and when thats confirmed i'll probably sell it on. i dont have an appetite for a collection 🙂
Nice!
If you’ve got two similar basses it can be cool to have different types of strings on them, like rounds on one and flats on the other.
i think i need to learn how to play properly before i start spending money on tweaks 🙂
ive postponed learning any new songs for a while to try and get better at preventing 'flying fingers', and also pick use. it doesnt feel right holding like i see recommended so i need to bottom out 'my style' and get more comfortable playing with it. i'll try slowing everything right down for a while and working back up gradually.
couple of questions if you dont mind......
mates just bought a guitar, still waiting on an amp so i hope ill get some practice in with him soon. he used to play back in the distant past and says he could only play a couple of songs, alternative ulster being one of them. thatll do for me 🙂
so.... i did all the moises stuff, stripped it down to bass to see if i could work it out but its too quiet and muddy, so i thought id try and work it out myself. think ive got most of it (key of D?), or 'my' version of it anyway, just a section of it im a bit confused by and just cant get there. dont know if youd call it the bridge or what, but the 'they say theyre a part of you' section. can anyone play this and can help me out? songsterr and ultimate guitar arent really helping me.
secondly, someone gave me the website of someone that makes custom pickguards. ive looked back a few pages of this thread and cant find it, not can i find it in my messages so can anyone remind me of it please? di dont know if they just do the main players, but i quite fancy a sparkly silver pickguard for my new ashdown.
cheers
That's an octave higher than their recent live perforamances, Jordan.
Hope this helps, Sadexpunk, I can't hear much on the original but this is from a recent live.
@Edukator thank you so much for taking the time to help me with that video. however, even slowing it down i cant quite see which strings and frets youre using for the whole duration. i thought id got it by starting the 'they say' on A5, up to A7 and down to A3, but then when playing along to the song it sounds wrong and doesnt fit when it resumes the verses, unless its my ears that are wrong 😀 are you starting 'they say' on A7? and it looks like youre using the E string for part of it?
and just to confirm, youre starting the song in the key of D yes, on A5?
thank you 🙂
EDIT: this is the UG tab for the bridge, but it doesnt sound right either, it doesnt sound like i should be going anywhere near the D string tbh.
It's a simplified cover, ideal for jamming, but The Bass Punk plays B_G for that section. 3m07s in the video.
You can play it an octave higher on the D string, B at fret 9, A fret 7, G fret 5. @Edukator is playing the B at fret 7 E string, which would be my choice, rather than the fret 2 A string the Bass punk pays.
lovely, thanks chaps, time to get another song in my arsenal 🙂
also been watching a few vids on technique, trying to keep hand as light as possible on the neck as ive not got the most flexible fingers so micro-shifting a lot. still keep falling short of the fret with my pinkie and getting rattle, so need to just slow things down and work on that.
cheers
It's a run down B, A, G then up to D. I play the B four strikes on the E-string 7th fret and one strike on A-string 9th fret for the fifth. Same for the A but starting at E-string 5th fret. The G is one strike E-string 3rd fret and let it ring. On the D I play root two strikes (A-string 5th fret) then the two strikes on the fourth (5th-fret G string) and one strike on the fifth (7th fret G-string). On the picking I'm no doubt busier than necessary - having listened again I'd use this one as a model:
The next bit is C down to G. And don't worry what your guitarist is doing, the bass is closer to the sung melodie.
I’ve had a couple of pickguards from earlpilanz on eBay. Pretty sure h3 cuts them to order so may well do a custom if you trace your existing ash down guard for him.
b-1 in my house this week. Well, I suppose technically it's (b-2)+1.
Brief experiment with a 5 string wasn't for me. Seduced in the shop by that thunderous, low active boosted B but never got to grips with the extra string. Using it with the Yousician app was fun but once I'd played all the 5 string versions at my skill level, I was kind of done with it. Wasn't much fun to play stuff written for 4 string, as I got confused which strings of the middle strings to play and the B was really difficult to mute and rang away in the background. Truthfully, I never really needed it in the first place but all the same it was an experience worth having. Bought it at a really good price and didn't lose too much when I part ex'd it.
Also sold my Vintera II 50's P bass in Reverb. I loved how it sounded (especially on La Bella flats which I took off before listing) and adored how it looked, but the thick baseball bat of a neck was hard work on my hands. I'd bought it online to compliment my Vintera Jazz, but hadn't appreciated just how different the necks would be. It was great for slow bluesy music, but I couldn't manoeuvre around the fretboard when it came to faster motown style music. Has it over a year, and the nut width was fine but my taste is definitely more towards a slimmer neck front to back.
Which gets me to the +1 part. I still wanted a vintage sounding instrument to use with those La Bella flats. Guitar Guitar in Edinburgh has two Squiers that interested me, First was the 70's Telecaster bass and then the Classic Vibe 60's. Went in and tried both. The Tele bass looked amazing but the sound was just too wooly and undefined for my taste. I'm sure it's sound great in the right mix with other instruments but on its own it just sounds weird. The Classic Vibe though just sounded proper P bass. It also has a much more modern profile neck. Wider than a jazz but just as slim a profile front to back. Original strings didn't feel the best but I swapped straight over to the flats so it doesn't matter. The hardware isn't as nice as on the Fender but the neck is lovely and the frets are very well finished. Possibly not quite as much sustain, but a high mass bridge is a pretty cheap and easy upgrade down the line. I know all the little posher bits on the Fender build will add up, but I'm honestly struggling to see why it costs 2 1/2 times what the Squier does. Thankfully I'd got a mega deal on the Fender at the time.
Also been selling off my physical pedals with just a Jam Pedals Lucydreamer overdrive to go. Had bought an HX Stomp in last years Black Friday sales and just finally getting to grips with it and finding some usable tones. Bought some of the Ian Martin Allison presets and have been using them and modifying some of their components as stand alone blocks.
Hoping that's me happy for a good while.
trying to get to grips with 'love will tear us apart', as per the 'official' method that hooky shows on youtube.
and the tabs.....
im finding that the drone of the open D string tho is tending to drown out the melody on the G string rather than complimenting it.
anyone else play this as per the tabs above, and any tips? ive tried altering the tone knob, and played about with the two pickup knobs, but just cant get the melody to sing through crisper than the drone.
cheers
Love Barney’s comment about him playing it better than Hooky.
I play bass and I’m a huge New Order fan, but I think Peter Hook is a pure bell end.
Huh! Actually forgot the above was on myself until my old mum reminded me last night. Was trying to go to bed, but everytime I went to turn off the TV one of my bass heroes appeared! Worth a watch, if you haven't 🙂
Worth a watch, if you haven't
keep remembering but mrs ex-p is always in and would be bored by it. i need to watch it when ive got a bit of time to myself.
might as well use this opportunity to ask my next question about pentatonics. id like an easy to visualise chart or diagram so that when im on the root of any chord i can picture the available notes/shapes to try and come up with my own noodle. i saw this on bassbuzz the other day.....
looks quite comprehensive, has anyone got any other suggestions?
and just on that subject, im trying to come up with my own little fills for the songs im learning. take pretty vacant for instance, im trying to move away from sid's 'root only' method on E5 which can be a lengthy chug in places particularly to end the song. so i experiment with a bit of open E, a bit of A7 just to see what it sounds like and it seems fine. but i also tried just dropping the odd E6 in there and that sounds fine too, even though its not part of the pentatonic scale. maybe a silly question but why does it still sound ok to me? am i tone deaf? would that sound crap to you? 😀
and on a slightly related note, i guess walkups are just that, walkups, and dont particularly need to be part of the scale?
Also worth a watch - and not just if you are a bassist.
I like those Rick Beato interviews so will give the Flea one a look.
There's a Jerry Cantrell one (not bass I know) that I thought was good (big AIC fan though).
@sadexpunk I hope this doesn’t sound rude, but are you at the stage you know the notes on the fretboard? I say this as once you do, the why makes more sense. Instead of saying you are playing E5 or A7, figure out which note this is.
Pretty Vacant is in the key of A major and uses mainly the chords A, G, D and E. Think about which notes you are playing and where they fit in.
Tabs are amazing things, but lack a lot of musical information that makes music sound like it does.
I don’t have Sky anymore but found you can get Sky Arts on freesat. Watched the Peter Hook, episode and enjoyed it. Would have been good if had been longer to hear a bit more playing. Need to keep an eye out for the other two.
thanks @clubby and no i dont think it sounds rude at all, its a valid question and im grateful for the help 🙂
but are you at the stage you know the notes on the fretboard? I say this as once you do, the why makes more sense. Instead of saying you are playing E5 or A7, figure out which note this is.
well sort of. i cant go directly to a Db or F# say in a nanosecond, but ive learned 'the dots', so if a guitarist is playing a chord itd only take me a few seconds to work out where the root is. ive learned that the dots on the 4 strings are GAB CDE FGAB and that the following CDE starts on G5 so just G3 thats the anomoly as an A#.
sooooo...... D# chord? straight to A5 and go up a fret. same with flats, just drop down a fret from my 'dotted fret'. so yes i could say A, G, D and E if preferred, i just thought it more accurate to give the exact fret.
Tabs are amazing things, but lack a lot of musical information that makes music sound like it does.
yeah, theyre a starting point for me if i want to learn a song, i probably go straight to songsterr, then match it (or not, theyre a bit hit and miss) against ultimate guitar, then have a go. but id like to start improvising and making my own lines. and id waaaay prefer to remember the available pentatonic patterns/notes available than work out note names of a scale, itd just take too long. patterns it is for me 🙂
so i suppose my question still stands. if im chugging away 'a la sid' on A, id have thought any other pentatonic note would sound ok if i wanted to make it a bit more interesting, yet A# isnt one of those notes. however it still sounds ok to me just dropping the odd one in for a bit of interest. same as an open E or the other E (A7). and i usually do a 3 note walkup to the start of each "we're so pretty" (B, C, C# and onto root D).
another for instance..... ive just 'learnt' 7 seas of rhye. it was too complicated for me, especially john deacons solo, so i simplified it by just using root notes for a section (A# and D i think). and i just cant work out what notes are played in the fade out so i looked at the chord being played by guitarist (D) and just play a bit of a square shape (pentatonic notes, D C G A). it works for me until i get more accomplished and id guess to the unlearned ear its fine.
cheers
EDIT:
are you at the stage you know the notes on the fretboard? I say this as once you do, the why makes more sense.
just to revisit this sentence, i know why theres a pentatonic scale, that those 5 notes are the ones that sound best with the root, but for me i dont think id need to know the names of each note in every scale, thats way beyond me and i dont think would help me. well it would as its all more comprehensive theory, but its enough for me to know 'this is where the chord/root is, and this pattern will give the best complimentary notes'.
I play that long outro playing A except on "pretty vacant" where I play ACAGA at the third fret bending the C slightly.
I play that long outro playing in A except on "prettyvacant" where I play ACAGA at the third fret bending the C slightly.
@Edukator sorry can you just confirm please, youre purely talking about PV here arent you, not the outro on 7SoR.... its the words 'except on PV' thats throwing me a little 🙂
so on PV you mean youre chugging away on A for 'we're pretty' but on the words 'pretty vacant' youre noodling on ACAGA then back to just A again yes?
thanks
As I sing the va**** at the end of the ,phrase I play that little sequence and back to hammering away at A
It's dissonant but works. Jones and Matlock defined the punk sound which included one fret slide-ins (so from dissonance to correct), incomplete bends and some disdonant notes that sound a bit menacing.
Edit: I've just played it again and realised I somtimes play the seqence twice or more
AAAAAAACAGA_AAACAGA_AAACAGA_AÀAAAA
thanks for the confirmation, i'll try that out.
As I sing the va****
i guess you made a spelling mistake 😀
The bend on the C is pretty quick and a pull off.
I don’t have Sky anymore but found you can get Sky Arts on freesat. Watched the Peter Hook, episode and enjoyed it
Admittedly, I found episode 2 a bit shit! It’s not really, well, not at all what the title says it is “Greatest Basslines”… hardly. Should’ve been called “Being a Bassist”.. and some of them aren’t that interesting.
if you dont mind me asking, what pickup did you buy, and i guess youre happy with it? did you need to solder it? i dont have a soldering iron and never soldered in my life but always up for learning a new skill.
If all you need is to be able to solder the occasional small gauge wires, you can get really good little rechargeable ones about the size of a fountain pen. They charge via USB-C, and are perfect for doing things like guitar wiring. You then don’t need to have worry about having a mains socket or an extension lead handy.
All you need is some solder, and then it’s just stripping the insulation off the wire, twisting the bare wire and holding the iron and the solder against the bare wire until the solder melts and flows along the wire, then doing the same with the other connection, and putting the wire and the iron onto the connection.
So uhh I've done an appalling job playing guitar for years. Never had a lesson, not got any actual guitarplaying skill but can coax interesting and pleasant noises out of it in the forms a few chords and forms that do exist in music I can reliably make.
I do listen to a lot of music and follow rhythmic forms and melodies and bassline etc, I can follow a tune with my voice pretty well but use relative tuning to stay in tune.
My main issue with the guitar is short stubby fingers which don't like to bend without affecting each other a lot... So my left hand is very much the weak point as I fluff a lot of holds I want.
My hands are strong, but I feel like a narrower neck with wider string spacing would work for my body. I have barely touched a bass but iirc they're like that and they look like they are. Hell if the northern dipstick can reach everything I must be able to.
This all got me thinking :
Would a bass guitar be a good idea to try?
I do actually want to play an instrument, and if I could get it to do what is in my head or whistling tune I'd be pretty funky.
Should I pick up a €1-200 bass? Would that actually be worth trying? Idk what it looks like id buy one that worked well. I also have a hifi with big (really big) bass and subs, so I guess I can run it through those to hear (does not give any problems listening to solo bass, even loud)
Any ideas or assistance?
Have a look in local classifieds. Loads of people try it once or twice and give up. Plenty cheap ones there. Alternatively cheap new basses aren’t going to need new strings or too much adjustment out of the box and should be ready to play.
Do you have a music shop near you? Getting hands on can be invaluable in finding a bass you are comfortable on. If you like narrower, slender necks then I’d be looking at a jazz bass rather than a Precision (P). Don’t forget front to back depth either. I can get on with any neck width, but much prefer a thinner front to back depth.
Home hifi not going to be great for using with an instrument, even if you can hook it up correctly. Again, tons of cheap practice amps on the second hand market.
Give it a go. You won’t lose too much money if you don’t like it. You will however lose a lot of money if you do like it.
Thank you.
I hope that didn't sound like "guitar is too hard" so much as "I would rather play with more space around my left hand". Let's be real, I'm dexterous and not at all sinister 😉
Get something cheap and then find a local guitar tech to set it up because even ones in shops are all over the place
Don't bother with amp as a beginner, get one of those headphone plug-ins because cheap bass amps are junk
https://www.andertons.co.uk/nux-mp-2-mighty-plug-headphone-amp/
Ok I need an amp for gigs and it needs to be small for portability and storage reasons. I'm going to get a barefaced one10T because it will do the job I need for that size, but what small head to go with it? Are the TC electronic BAM 200 looks ok but would it be too cheap? Or the Warwick gnome?
how much are you budgeting for that @edhornby? id also like something barefaced but theyre out of my reach budgetwise sadly. worth it for a good player i guess, but not much point in a starter noodling away in his lounge having anything that good 🙂
anyways, next question. im learning song no 16 in my arsenal, when september ends. simple enough when i get used to the song, but one section puzzles me thats repeated a few times.
roots, fifths and octaves. but why does it go 9/12 in the middle of the 10/12, 7/9 and 5/7's? why not carry on the root/5th/octave pattern there and do a 9 and 11? as far as i can see that interval isnt anything that should fit melodically/musically.....
i dont think its a mistake in the tab as both songsterr and UG have the same.
Not great at theory but suspect it’s because the guitar chords only change the the bass note in that bit rather than the whole chord changing
ie they go G to G/F# to G/E in that bit rather than G to F# to E
If you try your version going 10- 12 then 9-11, the 11 on the D or G string doesn’t “fit” if you listen as you play
I’ve probably explained that badly!
I’ve probably explained that badly!
haha it might make sense to a guitarist, but no, i dont understand it 🙂
Play it how you suggest and listen and you will hear the 11 on the d string doesn’t fit
Sorry been out so it’s making sense to me but might make even less sense to you…..
you are playing the bass under the guitar chords to the song. The song is in G. The first and third line of each verse is all basically the same chord, a G, just the lowest note in the chord changes from G to F# to E to D as the line progresses, the other notes pf the chord stay the same. Hence the lowest note of the bass line changes but the other notes stay in the g scale. The 11 on the d string (Db) isn’t in the g scale which is why the line stays on the 12 for the first two bits. The 9 and 7 on the d string are B and A respectively which are in the G major scale.
I've had a few glasses of wine, I'll try and process that tomorrow 😁
Thanks
Sorry been out so it’s making sense to me but might make even less sense to you…..
you are playing the bass under the guitar chords to the song. The song is in G. The first and third line of each verse is all basically the same chord, a G, just the lowest note in the chord changes from G to F# to E to D as the line progresses, the other notes pf the chord stay the same. Hence the lowest note of the bass line changes but the other notes stay in the g scale. The 11 on the d string (Db) isn’t in the g scale which is why the line stays on the 12 for the first two bits. The 9 and 7 on the d string are B and A respectively which are in the G major scale.
right, clear head this morning so here we go 🙂
ive just had my fretboard chart out and think i see what you mean, but im not 100% sure, so please bear with me, i'll type as i think below 🙂
ok, you say theyre keeping to all of the notes in the key of G, theres no C# in G major so cant play it.
so for that section i guess we agree on the chords, im expecting the guitarist to be playing a G chord (root G on A10 and 5th is a D), then moving to F# chord (root F# on A9 and 5th i think should be a C# but we'll come to that later), then an E chord (root A7 and 5th is a B), then D chord (root A5 and 5th is an A) then back to C chord. but youre saying that as C# isnt a note in G major then it shouldnt be played as a 5th of the F# chord yes?
which is what im not understanding 100%. bear with me a moment 🙂
so..... nashville numbers. if we're saying that G major is the key, then chord progression here according to a major key is M m m M M m dim, so that gives the chords here of Gmaj, F#dim, Emin and Dmaj.
the contentious chord here is the F#dim. i say it should be C#, you say thats not in the key of G so we need to stick to D.
ive just googled the notes of F#dim and as you rightly say, theres no C# in it, so im now on your wavelength, although it took me typing this out plus a google to get it straight in my head 🙂
however, we're not quite there yet 😀
the 5th of F#dim is a lowered C#, so a C. so why arent they playing F#/C/F# (octave) there instead of F#/D/G (not octave but a 9th)???
apologies for the long and confusing post, as i said at the start, i was just typing as i was thinking/googling.
cheers
Been meaning to ask how you’re getting on with the pink bass @sadexpunk ?
Rules are there to be broken. It took me a while to work out the guitar solo on American Idiot, the solution being not to try to work it out but listen and copy because it sounds great even if it doesn't seem to follow basic rules. Bear in mind things might follow rules that you haven't learned yet. For example when theres a chord change you can hop on the scale of the new chord.
Been meaning to ask how you’re getting on with the pink bass@sadexpunk?
@clubby great thanks, i really like it, (its looks anyway), i do like my pastel colours. its hard to know about the sound as at the moment im playing through a borrowed rumble 15 which wont show its true potential i guess. i intend buying my own amp when christmas is done and dusted, probably a rumble 100. yes its overkill for a noodler in his living room, but i cant just keep borrowing stuff and that seems a decent compromise that i read will still have a good tone when turned down low.
every now and then i plug in the 'frankenbass' affinity PJ to see if i can hear a difference between them, but to my untrained ear on a 15 watt amp i cant, so i tend to stick with the pink ashdown.
i do have a dedicated precision itch though. i read that the PJ is a bit of a compromise even with the P turned up and the J turned down, and for that true P sound you do need a dedicated P bass. im not sure the wider neck would suit me, but..... its an itch and ive been looking on the 'bay for dedicated P's nearby. nearly pulled the trigger on a couple but they wouldnt come down to what i was prepared to pay. plus a rumble 100 may show up any differences in tone and i get to hear that specific precision tone i keep reading about. expensive trial if not 😀
it might sound like ive got GAS but i really havent, itd be one in one out, and if i found i loved a P, id get rid of the affinity.
Rules are there to be broken.
@edukator oh, my username should tell you i have no issue with that, but breaking music rules? really?? 🙂 its hard enough understanding the rules themselves without learning how to break them too 😀
Bear in mind things might follow rules that you haven't learned yet. For example when theres a chord change you can hop on the scale of the new chord.
might have misunderstood that, but i thought thats what you did anyway? so the key tells you what chords youre 'allowed' to play in a progression (notes from that scale), but then when that chord progression has been chosen then i thought each of those chords had its own palette of notes (pentatonic?) which might not include notes that would be in the original key. happy to stand corrected on that though?
thanks
i do have a dedicated precision itch though. i read that the PJ is a bit of a compromise even with the P turned up and the J turned down, and for that true P sound you do need a dedicated P bass. im not sure the wider neck would suit me,
I’m not sure that’s entirely true. If the P pick up is in the same position as a pure P and you can turn the J all the way off, it shouldn’t make a difference. However, there’s nothing wrong with finding out for yourself. As far as the neck is concerned, go for one described as modern. They tend to be 41mm nut width rather than 44mm of a vintage style neck.
I’m also in the camp of there’s nothing wrong with GAS, as long as you’re aware it’s not going to make you a better player. I’ve been playing two years and have had 7 basses, 4 of which I currently own. Yes, I could easily do all my playing on one, but they all have different things I like and feel and sound distinctly different from each other. For me, it’s all part of the enjoyment of the hobby. They are also comparatively cheap compared to bikes. Plus, having started late I need to catch up on a unspent, misspent youth.
I'm a bit of a P guy. I like the simplicity of them, and the look, of course.
I'm not keen on PJs because they seem neither one thing nor the other and the take away from the simplcity that I love about them. Horses for courses, naturally.
As Clubby said, modern Ps have got quite forgiving necks. Look at the difference between the current gen Standards and Vintera Precisions.
Standard P Bass
50s Vintera II
I'm trying to hold GAS at bay. I'd quite like a nice example of the 3 bass models I like, Precision, Stingray and Jazz.
I treated myself to a used MM Stingray this year, and have a nice enough Squier 60s CV P, so I'd quite like a nice Fender Jazz. Nothing extravagant, maybe a decent used American Standard, or even a new Player II. But its my son, an actual musician, who keeps going, "what do you need another bass for?"
Which is ironic, given that he has 3 (recently 4) electric guitars and 2 acoustics.
As far as the neck is concerned, go for one described as modern. They tend to be 41mm nut width rather than 44mm of a vintage style neck.
As Clubby said, modern Ps have got quite forgiving necks. Look at the difference between the current gen Standards and Vintera Precisions.
Standard P Bass
50s Vintera II
thanks, if i get one i'll look out for a 41mm version then.
They are also comparatively cheap compared to bikes.
maybe for most people but ive always been one for making my own cheaper bikes. current two are a mk1 soul and an old singular gryphon, both of which i built up fairly cheaply. dont ride either of them now due to living in the flatlands of lincoln and losing my past motivation to travel for a ride.
i get the feel this hobby will end up costing more than my biking 😀 especially once a new amp, a pedal or two and a P bass have been acquired.
the 5th of F#dim is a lowered C#, so a C. so why arent they playing F#/C/F# (octave) there instead of F#/D/G (not octave but a 9th)???
Rules are there to be broken.
just been playing it again and tried a variety of options of root/fifth/octave for that F#dim chord on the A,D and G strings.
firstly the tabbed A9/D12/A9/G12
then the root/ 'regular' 5th/octave A9/D11/A9/G11
then the root/diminished 5th/octave of the chord as it 'should' be played if green day guitarist is in fact playing an F#dim chord, A9/D10/A9/G11.
i actually think that last one, the 'proper chord' one, sounds better.
id be appreciative if some of you could try that yourselves and report back how you hear it? would you agree with me or have i just got a sh1t ear 😀
ta
You’re slightly over complicating it.
the guitar isn’t playing G - F# - E - D chords
its playing G for that whole section but the G is modified by a changing bass note.
the guitar tab for that same section is this…,
You’re slightly over complicating it.
of course i am, you havent met me yet have you 😀
the guitar isn’t playing G - F# - E - D chords
its playing G for that whole section but the G is modified by a changing bass note.
o-kaaaaay...... sorry, my theory isnt good enough to understand what that means.
i see that the open strings and 3rd fret on your B string stay the same throughout the section so i guess youre saying that throughout that section the only notes played by guitar are E, A, G, F# and D, all notes within the key of G yes?
and if it was a chord progression thered be different guitar notes yes?
and because of that then the bass also needs to play only notes from G major too.
so...... to complicate things again..... 😀 my earlier 'note test'..... green day play 10/12 (G and D), then 9/12 (F# and D)
i considered that i preferred the dropped 5th which was a C
C is also in G major. so thats still fine? obviously its not what GD are playing themselves, but do you think it still sounds ok?
oh and lastly, what does that G5/F# chord thing above the tab mean to a bassist? obviously not a chord change as i thought.
thanks for sticking with me.
Yeah you’re getting it. As far as the “modified chord” thing goes it’s really simple. On guitar, in a normal G chord, the lowest note is a G ( E string 3rd fret)
in a G/F# the lowest note changes to an F# ( e string 2nd fret) and so on.
It’s a guitar technique that comes out of solo acoustic finger playing where the thumb would be picking out a bass line while the other fingers pick a melody. In a band situation you as the bass player are taking on this role.
if you pretend your bass is a guitar for a second, you can mimic the guitar chords in the song by strumming
E3A2 together then E2A2 together then E0A2 then A0D0
does that make sense?
your progression with the C still doesnt sound as good to my ear as the original. While the c is in the G scale it isn’t in the G/ F# chord ( which is F# B D G D G if you strum all 6 strings on the guitar) where as the D12 (D ) is
if you pretend your bass is a guitar for a second, you can mimic the guitar chords in the song by strumming
E3A2 together then E2A2 together then E0A2 then A0D0
does that make sense?
well it makes sense in that itll sound right, but i suppose i still dont understand if its a chord progression (of sorts) or not 🙂
dont go to any more trouble explaining mate, i suppose im just not there with the theory yet, i just have to trust the process.
on a different subject, i thought id settled on a fender rumble 100 (ive borrowed a mates rumble 15 and really ought to return it), but now another bass playing mate has recommended the blackstar unity 120 instead. more versatility and a slightly better sound he says, and doesnt trust the light weight of the rumble.
whats your thoughts? the blackstar is nearly twice the weight and only slightly bigger, but if its still perfectly portable then the weight might not matter? (10kg vs 17kg i believe).
thanks
As always, is there any way to demo either? Sound preference is very subjective and only you can decide which you prefer. Never played a Blackstar, but I’m very happy with my Rumble 40. Can imagine the 100 will have a bit more punch even at lower volume as it has a 12” speaker rather than the 10” in the 40. Blackstar seems to have built in overdrive, chorus and compression but look like only on/off without any adjustment, so a bit limited IMO. At least with the rumble, the overdrive has adjustable drive and level controls. I use these depending on what I’m playing. Lightweight not been an issue for me.
thanks mate, i think im still leaning towards the rumble 100.
sadly no way of trying them out, we dont have a music shop near us these days but i guess with amazon you can always return it if it didnt meet expectations. i dont have a 'good amp' reference point though, so i guess however it sounds i'll just assume thats what it is and be happy with it. which might not be a bad thing 🙂
thanks
I hope you live in a really large detached house with no close neighbours.
I've got a 50w amp can only use it on the lowest volume setting.
I hope you live in a really large detached house with no close neighbours.
haha well its detached but we do have neighbours either side. im prepared to have it turned right down tho and did check that it still sounds ok on minimum settings.
I’ve got a rumble 100. The clips I posted at the top of the page are using it. There’s a load more if you click through to my YouTube channel ( which honestly is mostly for my own entertainment!)
i think it’s a good buy. You can get quite a variety of tones out of it with the tone shaping buttons as well as the eq dials. The drive side is ok - better at lower gain than high gain but I’d probably buy a proper bass drive / fuzz if I wanted a nasty bass tone
its got a headphone out and an aux in for silent playing along to stuff. It sounds good at bedroom volume ( ie low enough that the sound of your unplugged bass is nearly as loud - it’s not a tube amp so doesn’t need to be cranked to a sweet spot ) but it will get loud enough to play with a drummer ( as long as he’s not animal from the muppets!)
if I was regularly jamming with others I’d probably go for something bigger (300w ish) - bear in mind that 50w to 100w is only 3 db extra volume!
but I’d probably buy a proper bass drive / fuzz if I wanted a nasty bass tone
a nasty bass tone sounds just the ticket 😀 which pedal would you recommend?
if I was regularly jamming with others I’d probably go for something bigger (300w ish) -
i wish! ive got a couple of mates with 6 strings that i sometimes meet up with but thats still just a bit of living room noodling away to songs. theres no proper jamming anywhere on the horizon sadly.
i did still look at 'future proofing' and half considered a rumble 500 but at more than double the price and very unlikely to be used to full potential ever, i thought id stick with the 100, which still wouldnt be cranked up high anytime soon.
the 100 is still plenty loud enough
Well pedals are a whole different discussion and to be honest I don’t know a whole load about the bass variety.
that said, I don’t think you can go far wrong with a bass big muff as a starter and you can pick them up second hand for £50 ish
people also say a “rat” is good on bass. There’s a really good rat clone called the. “Black secret” which are £40 or so
At the price point of the Rumble 100 it's the sound I like most. They have an overdrive which is all the "pedal" you'll need inititially. It'll cover your needs unless you want to start competing with a drummer. If you have to carry it anywhere your arms will be pleased with your choice.
This is the 100w rumble overdrive set really low. It’s not bad….
https://youtube.com/shorts/MZ9B8xffq3w?si=pqkVfE1eYmxDPpj4