Bass guitar contemplations

[FrankenWashie]

I like your theory Frankie

Given the kit logjam in the Frankenlab I reckon opits less theory and more like my ground state of reality Deddy!

[Brendan]

I built an IB5 and I'm now almost playing more bass than guitar... what's happened to me???😀

Your transition to the dark side is complete...
Welcome to the dark side.

[Brendan]

I didn't even look at the prebuilt basses!
Hmmm, they're all 5 stringers......What's the standard tuning on a 5 string base?

Having played one of the prebuilt basses, they're on my must have list. Sustain goes on and on and on and on and on and ... you get my drift.

[wazkelly]

Hi Zandy, I started out playing rhythm guitar late 1970's and when the lead guitarist left in 1980 had to step up to the plate for some of that action. Needless to say most of the solos were short and not so sweet. Fast forward a couple more years and due to being unable to find a compatible Bass player thought I would give it a go, as hey, it's only 4 strings, how hard can that be? Wow, massive understatement as once you start listening to those parts in songs you begin to realise there is a lot more going on than just playing root notes.

Hardest part is your left hand action where playing on finger tips as you do on guitar will hurt like hell for quite a while due to the thicker gauged strings. Being on the shorter side and having a smaller hand as a result, playing in key of G or F is a huge stretch which is where I learned to use the flat fingerprint part of my fingers to fret the strings rather than tips which is what I revert to when playing guitar. If you know your scales it makes things a lot easier as everything is in patterns across the strings. Same deal on a Fiver which I reckon is better if you do play a fair bit between E & A as you can jump up a string to lessen the stretch as you get nearer to the nut. Pink Floyd's Money is easier to play on a fiver than on standard 4 stringer all because of being able to shift everything up to 7th fret for root B note on E string rather than 2nd fret on A string as there is a low G note to be played that is slightly off the beat too.

Right hand style comes down to what you feel comfortable with and how much effort you are prepared to put in with practicing. I am more comfortable with a pick as that is where I started out on guitar nearly 40 years ago but have got better with fingers over past few years but really suck at Slap and will have to spend a lot of time and effort perfecting that style. Big tip if you plan to use a pick, I have always used Jim Dunlop Nylon 0.73mm or 1.00mm ones as they don't produce as much of the 'click' that a harder pick produces and thus sound a bit softer. In fact my preference is 0.73mm as there is lots of flex that helps in many different ways and yet still allows for fast picking too.

Lessons.....Scotts Bass Lessons as Woks mentioned are good. I have subscribed to his Youtube videos but yet to find time to seriously sit down and learn some of the things he teaches. There is so much more out there on Youtube but this guy is entertaining and not too over the top. Don't fall into the trap of trying to read tabs or charts as that will dampen your enthusiasm as quick as anything. Bass is all about feel and groove, and ultimately keeping perfect time, things you probably already possess.

A decent cheap Bass from fleabay, gumtree, or crime converters for less than $100 may be hard to find and reckon these kits on PBG site would be better way to go...
https://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/...ss-guitar-kit/
https://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/...-kit-ash-body/
https://www.pitbullguitars.com/shop/...ss-guitar-kit/

Good luck buddy. You won't regret it plus you can still pick up your guitar any time too.

Cheers, Waz

[Zandit75]

I built an IB5 and I'm now almost playing more bass than guitar... what's happened to me???😀
Only issue is that that 5th string always confuses me when reading tabs... in the heat of things I forget it's not the E string...

Sent from my SM-G935F using Tapatalk

That's easily fixed, I have no idea how to read tab!

[Zandit75]

I would have thought you could go with either a low B or a high B with a 5 stringer, bear in mind that the ear don't hear much below a low B on the bass guitar.

That might be less confusing having a high B instead of a low one. Would that lead to less tension on the neck?

[Zandit75]

Having played one of the prebuilt basses, they're on my must have list. Sustain goes on and on and on and on and on and ... you get my drift.

That's good to hear Brendan, thanks for the heads up

[Zandit75]

Waz, thanks for the short novel!!😂😂
I'll check out those lessons you and Woks suggested.
I'll keep you all informed on how this journey progresses!
Please keep the suggestions coming!

[wazkelly]

Hi Zandit, the word count was up there alright!!!

I should add that as you probably play by ear suggest that you begin playing Bass along with songs you know so that it will be easier for you to pick up the lines being played. Far easier than trying to follow charts or tabs, and there are lots of tabs that are close but also contain wrong notes/left hand positions and end up way too confusing. If all you are concentrating on is following someone else it will be surprising how quick you can pick things up, at least to begin with. As you feel more at home you can then venture out onto some of the YT videos but remember to also play along until you get the hang of what is being taught. I tend to pause the video a bit when practising tricky bits until ready to move on to the next part of a song or lesson.

Also forgot to suggest a short scale Bass as an option such as the PBG SGB-34 for $219 is pretty good value. Upside with a short scale is exactly that....it is 4" shorter and not as big a stretch on the left hand, hence why a lot of kids & females play short scaled Basses. In fact my 1st Bass was a SG Copy, only because it was all I could afford and the genuine 1970's Fender Jazz Bass I drooled over was just too expensive for a mere school student at the time.

[Dikkybee007]

Life is too short to only play 1 style of musical instrument. I bought a LTD B-10 bass from JB for under $200 after I had my first cheap store bought Strat and it is a learning curve but you already have the skill base so I would say your 80-90% there. The last 10% should be easy with all the books and videos that are out there plus help from the people around you. The first time I nailed the bass riff out of Fleetwood Macs The Chain was as good as it gets and seeing as the 4 strings are the same as the low 4 strings of a guitar playing the intro of Creams Sunshine of your love is great. You can put a set of light strings in and lower the action so the experience isn't as painful as my first time being the noob I was. Take the plunge and you will never look back.