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Post by ziggyandthemonkeys on Apr 3, 2006 20:25:26 GMT -5
Alright, I've decided i want to start playing bass so i was thinking id get some opinions from people on here about the bass im leaning towards. I want to play slap and pop, stuff like that. I have a few bucks to spend, so im looking at the fender geddy lee. Im up for other suggestions for a good bass for slap and some wooten style stuff, trying to keep it under 1000 for bass. Thanks for any help.
Good choice of instrument! I've been playing bass for 3 years now. Choosing a bass is really about how it feels to you. The best thing I cant tell you is to just go to your music store and play all the basses they have there and choose the one you like best in terms of how it feels and how easy it is to play. If your planning on playing victor wooten stuff than you want to get a bass that has low action(Victor Wootens action is ridiculously low). I play a Warwick and its my most prized possession.
Post by ziggyandthemonkeys on Apr 3, 2006 20:40:45 GMT -5
I love the feel of the geddy lee, i have small hands so the jazz necks feels good in the my hand. I was just wondering how it played and if it has a good tone, since i cant really play at all. I've heard good things about it, but just wanted to get all the input i could. I'd love it if they had a claypool signature out there just for principle, but i dont think id be able to handle a six string fretless anyways. ;D O yea, another player i really love is danyel morgan, i think hes awesome, and i love the lines in family band songs.
Yea hes got some solid bass lines. Personally I never really liked fender basses but, alot of other people do. Plus the great Jaco played a fender bass so they have got to be good.
My buddy Fran is the bass guitarist for west indian girl. he's a bigtime bass geek. He wrote a blog entry about his guitars a long time ago, i think you can find it in here somewhere (scroll down the page). he's definitely not a slap style player, but it might be interesting reading nonetheless
WIG is touring the east coast and midwest right now. If you catch their show I know Fran would be more than willing to talk for hours about bass guitars with you... as he's been known to do
I'm not familiar with the Geddy Lee, but the first thing I think of when I think of Fender's is not slapping. My best bass is an American Fender Jazz (was around your price point when I got it), but my $200 Yamaha starter bass is waaaaay easier to slap. The first thing that came to my mind was a Warwick as well. Super low action is definitely the key. You should know though that if you have a bass ideally set up for "Wooten style stuff" it will probably not sound as deep and as full as you would like it too for playing a straight up finger style line. When I started I probably would have had the exact same wants as you, but I pretty quickly decided my first priority was having a big fat sound when playing a simple straight-forward line.
Do you have an amp setup? Effects? Do you want to play with other people or just on your own? If you want to slap and don't know how I highly recommend some lessons. The basic techniques are really easy to learn and a lot of fun to mess around with. Keep all this in mind when budgeting for your bass. If you plan on playing with others I would spend more on the amp rig at the outset, because if you got serious I think you would probably want to spend around $1500 at least to get a "pro" bass down the road anyway.
I have a bunch of great old Victor Wooten articles from Bass Player (his Sinister Minister line, the finger tap Amazing Grace etc.). I will try to scan those sometime and send them to anyone interested if they aren't already floating around the net.
Some great links:
The Bottom Line: Bass player mailing list (like the listserv): www.bass-list.com/articles.shtml I haven't visited here in a loooooong time, but it used to be a really amazing community. Everything from beginners to pros, really open to questions. It's like Inforoo for bass! Every once in a while some "name" players would post there.
carvin.com/ Don't think their basses would suit your needs, but a Carvin amp and cabinet served me quite well for 5 years active in a band. Waaaay cheaper for what you get.
www.harmony-central.com/ Used to have great user product reviews, more on effects and that sort of thing than basses as I remember it.
Like effects? Buy a cheapo bass and pick up one of these:
OK, just kidding. Probably not the best investment for you right now. My Mooger Fooger is my bestest friend though. And how cool looking is it? It looks like I'm playing through an Atari. The Disco Biscuits guy uses one a lot and I can just hear my good buddy at work when he kicks it in.
Last but not least, anyone with an appropriate appreciation for the Electric Bass (Bass Guitar if you want to use crude, inelegant language) should own and frequently watch this:
It's the bassiest. I actually saw a few snippets of it for the first time at Bonnaroo '02.
Ive been playing the bass for three years now, I tried the Geddy Lee bass and although I liked the feel, the sound was crap. Maybe it was just that particular bass, but the sound really lacked low end. But I play a Fender american Jazz and love it. This might sound really posh, but I wouldn't recommend Warwick for a beginner or if you've got small hands, the neck's really wide. My hands aren't so small, but I can't get used to it.
For pedals, electro harmonix QTron is the funkiest thing on the Earth.
Post by ziggyandthemonkeys on Apr 4, 2006 20:57:40 GMT -5
I'm definatly interested in a pedal, because i figure while i still suck a lot it can still be fun to mess around with the pedal. Thanks for all the input guys.
I think for a beginner a good choice of bass would be an Ibanez soundgear 200-500$. Thats what I started out on, its a good all around bass. You can slap good on it, the neck is slim, its light, and the tone is good.
That's what ive got, an ibanez soundgear 4-string. Sounds great. I'd recommend a guild bass as well if you can get ahold of one, slim neck. Ibanez has a great solid tone, go with that if you want a budget bass.
