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Bass guitar


Viaene

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Hello!

I'm planning to buy a bass guitar. It'll be my first so I was looking for a beginner's model, not to expensive. A trusty friend of mine advised me a squier standard jazz bass with a Roland Cube amp.

I don't know if there are any bass players on here, but please share your opinion and knowledge :)

links and pics:

Squier Standard Jazz Bass

Roland Cube 30 bass Combo

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Sébastien, these next words may enlighten you;

I've always been a lead guitarist per se.

However, I've always admired a skilled bassist. I encourage you to play bass.

Fundamentally, it's the backbone of ANY melody as

this next song proves . . .

I think too bass guitars (or contrabasses) are fundamental for great sounds.

Unfortunately Youtube doesn't allow that video in my country, so I don't know what melody you posted there :(

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Sébastien, these next words may enlighten you;

I've always been a lead guitarist per se.

However, I've always admired a skilled bassist. I encourage you to play bass.

Fundamentally, it's the backbone of ANY melody as

this next song proves . . .

Ouch, that's Elton John.....

Oooff, singing soul.....

Well OK, great bass, that's true

If I were a starting bassplayer, I'd try Bill Wyman's lines in "I'm a King Bee".

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  • 3 weeks later...

I read on the Shout Box that you decided on a bass guitar. What did you decide?

You can't go wrong if you got a Squire. A good first choice, they're made by Fender and the neck has the "feel" of the other Fender basses.

I've played P-bass for years and the biggest things to decide on a bass (in order of importance) are:

1. 4 or 5 strings: I'm definitely "old school" since I'm a converted string bass player but I'm liking the 5th B string on the newer basses more and more.

3. Neck gauge: Us ex-string bass guys usually prefer the P-bass neck since it's wider; guitar players usually like the narrower neck on the Jazz Bass, Gibsons, etc.

4. Pick-ups: Old P-basses only had the single split pick up; Jazz Basses had more tonal range on the high end since they had two pickups. Now days you can get whatever you want - you just have to special order and pay for it.

5. Amps: I personally use a small Fender practice amp with a headphone jack, line in, and line out. I used to have "refrigerator amps" but got tired of hauling them around. The amp I have now is fine for practice, has decent affects, and I can always line out to the house PA board if I need more volume for performance. If I was doing a lot of live performance, I'd go with an Ampeg tube amp 'cause I like the sound, but this is a matter of personal taste.

Hope this helps.

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Thanks growler :)

I prefer the 4 string basses myself, I feel like the fifth string is more for higher level bass solos, which I'm far from capable of ;)

Playing classic acoustic guitar for a few years now, I like the narrow neck on my squier. I have quite big hands and now I feel like I'm able to reach every note with a minimum of movement.

Mine got 2 pickups indeed, and plugged into my Roland Cube, I can reach a wide varity of tones. Yes I can say I'm very happy with it :)

Yesterday I had my first jam session with a friend-guitarist, we had lots of fun!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've played bass for over 27 years and I've had A LOT of time to compare quite a few bass guitars. If you're looking for that sweet spot between value and playability, the Fender Jazz Bass or Precision Bass are hard to beat:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Fender_Jazz_Bass_American_Deluxe.JPG

You can find them new for as low as $300, but the real value lies in finding one used. These guitars have been in continuous production for over 50 years and remain very popular among musicians. As a result, there are a ton of them out there. Pawn shops, garage sales, ebay, you name it and there's an excellent chance you will find one there at a price you like.

How do they play? Like a dream. Whether you use a pick or prefer your fingers, the action, spacing, and size of this makes for a very forgiving instrument, both for beginners and for pros. You will discover that finding your place on the fret board and hitting your notes will come more easily on a Fender than most other guitars.

And the best part? You won't out grow it. No matter how good you get, these guitars will always be able to give you what you need. What do Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Adam Clayton (U2), Timothy B. Schmitt (The Eagles), John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), and Sting all have in common?

Fender Bass guitars.

- Heretic

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A fishing line wrapped around a pie tin - you gave me my best belly laugh in years just now because your statement was so succinct. And true !! Chuck

Anybody here a fan of the knackbase style Ladi Geisler developed with Bert Kaempfert? It defined the Kaempfert sound and became widely copied in the early 60s. I've got 2 Bert Kaempfert playlists on my youtube channel - chkjns - if anyone is unfamiliar with how it was used OR would just like to be reminded. It created an awesome percussive effect in the baseline!!

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