Good to see you here! Someone interested in bassguitars and the bass is a friend of mine...
I'll just provide some links and pics and stuff here, plus a special bit about Jaco Pastorius. First, something about my bass....
I play an Ibanez SR bass, it's the pink/red bass you see me play on lot's of my pics. I bought it second-hand for a pretty good price, considering it's already lasted me more than 2 years... It's an active bass, that means it has a small pre-amp inside to enhance the sound coming from your pickups. It has some advantages, and some disadvantages. I think it's good because you can really boost the bass with it, but it hasn't got that characteristic passive sound. I miss that and hope to buy some sort of Fender Jazz in the future. Still, my bass, is a damn good bass!
I play it through a Hartke 120w 15" kickback combo, which has a lot of power for a small rig! I used to own a Torque 100w, but somehow it blew or melted some stuff, and I traded it for my Hartke, with some extra pay ofcourse...!
I
also use something that not very many bassists use; Effects. You
don't need 'em, but if you want to attract some extra attention
to the bass, it does help! I use a Zoom multi FX thingy, the 708.
You can listen to some FX by clicking the links below; (these are
just some simple bits...)
Chorus (a little
harmonics-example)
Wha
Melody
Noisy
Those were some crappy examples of
what you could do with some FX...How hard is it playing bass at a
desk? Pretty hard.... :-)
For everyone that wants to start bassplaying!
First, you should get a bass. Basses don't
have to be expensive to be good. I started on my Ibanez SR, which
was pretty cheap at the time, and it still works great! I
recommend you all to get some sort of Jazzbass imitation, which
are very nive to look at, and usually sound very nice. The nice
thing about these "fake-Fenders" is that they are very
cheap. After you've played for a while, you'll probably want
another bass, but it
doesn't matter if your first bass was cheap or not, you'll want
more basses anyway!
Next thing you'll need is an
amplifier. If you're not planning to get in a
band yet, and you just want to learn to play the bass, just get a
30 or 50 watts amp-combo. If you
think you'll get in a band right away, you should buy something a
bit louder! You'll probably need at least a 100w amp. I started
playing through a normal stereo-set amp, but that got a bit
screwed....My first bassamp was a Torque 100w. Torque is cheap,
but not the best. After you've got the amp, just get a lead, a tuner and a strap.
Another option: Try one of
those special starters kits. Stores usually sell these, and give
you a discount.
You've bought all the stuff? Great!
The next thing to do is find some bassist to help you start. You
really need some basic lessons before you start. You could find
one on the Internet, classifieds, or maybe you have a friend that
plays bass. You could also buy instruction-video's, but the best
thing is a teacher!
If you need music to play, you can find thousands of tablatures
on the Internet, but you should also learn how to read sheetmusic.
(you know, the notes on 5 bars?) Maybe you can get your school's
music teacher to help you out. The point is; You need a teacher!
:-)
The basic technique is playing fingerstyle. You could also learn
slapping, popping and tapping. You could also get a guitar-pick,
but that's a technique I personally don't like much. It's all not
easy, but it'll be worth the effort!
About FX-pedals...
FX are great. They can really make
your solos stand out in a crowd. I used to own a little Aria
distortion, but I've sold it. You know why? Because it was f*ckin
up my technique! I used it too much, and my playing sounded like
crap without the FX! If you're just beginning, don't get one of
those "kick-ass" pedals, and first master your bass! I've
recently bought the Zoom 708 multi-fx pedal, and use it,
sometimes. I usually practice without it, except for when I'm
writing new solo's or riffs for my band. Then, I'll use it,
SOMETIMES... Usually, I don't use it at all, or just the preamp
feature on it.
Why choose bass, and not guitar?
There used to be a belief that
bassists were just guitarists with lack of talent. The truth is,
playing bass well, is a lot harder than striking some chords on a
guitar! Have you mastered the finger-spacing on a bass yet? One
finger per fret! You really need to stretch your hands to
accomplish that. And that's just the basic thing. Next thing to
learn is alternating your right-hand index and middle finger,
whilst using all your lefthand fingers... Not very easy huh?
Besides, you can do some crazy things on a bass, which would make
you an instant lead-guitarist..How's this for a band: Singer,
drummer, bassist, rythmbassist, leadbassist... You can visit the
all-bass band Rothko here.
Music to inspire you;
Every Jamiroquai record!
All Jaco Pastorius' work!
A lot of Counting Crows songs!
Try to get hold of some FUNK!
Jaco Pastorius is considered to be the best bassist ever. He invented many techniques, including a good way to play finger-style, and using harmonics as part of your playing, instead of just using them to tune your bass. He also invented the electric fretless bass, by taking the frets out of his Fender bass.
Jaco
was born on the 1st of December 1951, named John Francis III. He
moved to Fort Lauderdale, FL, in 1959. After a few years, Jaco
decided he wanted to play the drums, and joined a band called
"the Sonics" in '63.
Later he got in a band called "Las Olas Brass", and he
broke his wrist playing football. Their bassist wanted to quit
the band, and Jaco just picked up the bass. He learned playing by
looking at other bassists, but he couldn't read sheetmusic, so he
had to learn that later on. Jaco has played with a lot of artists
including Santana, Zawinul, Joni Mitchell ( Hejira ) , Herbie
Hancock and many others. He was part of the almost legendary funk/fusion/jazz
band Weather Report.
Unfortunately, Jaco's story is a sad one. In '85 he was arrested
for breaking in to his fathers house and was sent to a
rehabilitation center. In the following year he was commited to a
psychiatric ward and diagnosed as manic depressive, and put on
medication. Another year passes when he starts to selfdestruct,
by drinking, using drugs, and living on the streets. He
occasionally crashed gigs and demanded to sit in.He got arrested
for various charges, including drunk and disorderly, driving
without a license, and shoplifting. After hearing of the deaths
of two childhood friends, he went into deep depression and
stopped taking his medication. On September 12 he tried to crash
a club, and is beaten senseless. He was taken to a hospital where
he went into a coma. Jaco Pastorius was pronouced dead on
September 21, 1987.
Jaco is sometimes called a genius but a madman. And if you look
at some of the other great personalities in our history, you will
find that this is typical for most of them. Jaco revolutionized
bassplaying and must be remembered for it!
LISTEN TO JACO'S ADVICE
Red Hot Chili Pepper bassist Flea is defenitely one of the most influential bassists. Listen to his grooves in the Chili songs, feel the rythm! Flea is defenitely an idol of mine....
As I've said before, I am busy with a Basslegends-project. I have most gfx, but not yet the info I'd like to give. If you have a good bio of Flea for example, please mail me.
Here's some info anyway:
What do
you get when you cross funk and alternative?
Flea. The Australian born, wild, sexy, crazy bassist for the Red
Hot Chili Peppers.
If Bootsy Collins is the King of Funk, Michael Flea Balzary is
the slapping heir apparent.
When he's not slapping the funk for the Chili Peppers, you
can hear him lending a hand to other artists including: Alanis
Morrissette, and the reformed Jane's Addiction.
He has made forays into the acting world performing in such films as: My Own Private Idaho, Point Break, and The Chase.
Another important part of Flea's life is his daughter. Flea is the proud father of six year old Clara. Flea's unique approach to life is evident in the the sound and technique of his music.
source; http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Lounge/8938/flea.html
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