# As a guitarist thinking of picking up bass...



## Whiskey_Funeral

I've played guitar for about 9-10 years and I feel like I've reached somewhat of a plateau. I've always been more of a rhythm player, though I can play some pretty technical stuff. I'm just not big on constructing melodies and if I can say anything good about my playing (albeit, at the cost of sounding cocky) I'm like a human metronome. I play a lot, but I'm really not into recording at home or anything like that at the moment and I'm really all about just playing with other people and having fun. I think that being able to play bass would make it a lot easier for me to find a spot in a band because guitarists are everywhere. I thought of drums, but I really don't have the space to start those and I'd be evicted pretty quick - so bass seems like the logical conclusion for me. For what it's worth, I'm into fast, brutal grind/death metal: Carcass (old), Dying Fetus, Pig Destroyer, Gorguts, Cryptopsy (old), etc., so I want to know...
What are some of the biggest misconceptions/challenges I'll need to face when taking up this instrument? I know pretty much nothing about bass technique or equipment. Are there any tidbits of knowledge you guys have gained from your experiences that you think might be valuable to me? What sort of bass to look for, how to pick an amp, good practice habits/techniques, or even how to view the fundamentals of bass vs. my years of guitar playing?


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## MaxOfMetal

I'd say the biggest misconceptions are A) the bass is just like a guitar, just bigger and tuned lower, and that B) the bass is completely different than guitar. While that may seem contradictory, it's really how it is. It's kinda hard to explain, but the more you get into playing bass you'll see what I mean. 

A few pointers though:

1) Solid State is your friend. While in the guitar world tubes are king, most professional bass rigs are based around high wattage Solid State power sections, with the occasional tube preamps. 

2) Strings are a whole new ballpark when dealing with bass strings/scales vs. guitar strings/scales. It'll take some getting used to the different string types, and how much they effect tone. If you're going to be tuning really low, I highly recommend Stainless Steel strings that are taper wound. 

3) Always go light weight when you can. Bass gear, and basses themselves, can get really heavy really fast. While guitar rigs typically aren't feather weights either, just try lugging an 8x10 and SVT around. 

4) Take your time to work with both fingers and pick style playing. There is no "right" or "wrong", but you can give your playing all kinds of dynamics if you learn to treat both methods as equals early on. 

As for gear to look for right now, look for a solid bass amp with around 500 Solid State watts if you plan on gigging. The "standard" bass cab, analogous to the 412 for guitar, is the 410, so getting one of those will more than likely work out best for your first bass rig. As for the bass, it's like choosing a guitar, look at what specs you want, and go from there.


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## Whiskey_Funeral

Wow! Thanks, Max! That's immensely helpful. The thing about bass being just a bigger, lower tuned guitar vs. being completely different than guitar kind of makes sense and I expect that it will make more sense as time goes on.

As far as fingers/picks, how would you say that..I dunno, differs? I'm having a really hard time thinking of questions for that because I really don't know what I'm talking about. I don't have huge spider fingers like a lot of bassists that I see on YouTube and whatnot so I feel kind of intimidated by trying to learn finger style bass. 
What are the main differences between the two styles and how would each fit into different genres of music? Are there specific bands/bassists that might be helpful for me to check out to get a good understanding of each technique?

Again, thanks so much!


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## Andii

One thing that burns most bassists down is tone. Guitar tone is looked at carefully and honed in carefully. Bassists get something big and popular and go with that. To add to a band you have to fit in the mix of things. Doing that is all about tone. Most people use the bass as background noise to make a recording sound more full rather than taking advantage of it's full potential.

Here's some stuff about bass amplification:
-Don't buy a cab unless the magnets are neodymium. A 100lb cab with ceramic speakers is a weak cab, a 100lb neo cab is a monstrous powerhouse. In bass gear neo is used to get insane performance rather than weight reduction. A 4x10 neo cab usually reaches into lower freaquncies like the 20's while a ceramic cab stops in the 40's. The wattage rating on a 100lb neo cab will be multiple times that of a ceramic one.
-HF driver. I shouldn't have to say but some of the best selling stuff out there is missing one third of the sound. 
-You need something with a strong preamp. The strongest I've heard are: Gallien Krueger RB and fusion, Mesa powerhouse and mesa 400+. They are very strongly voiced meaning they turn the signal from your bass into something incredible instead of just shooting it out of the speakers. The 400+ is the only all tube one out of the bunch. It sounds good(think primus), but the power section is 16 6l6s(cha-ching). That makes it impractical for most. The Galliens and powerhouses are both great amps. The fusion and powerhouse use Tube preamps paired with a solid state power section.
-Mesa bass cabs are pretty much the best there are on the market. They are neo and heavyweight. They are clear and destroy worlds. I recommend Mesa's bass cabs even when you choose a GK amp.
-Don't get carried away with the active EQ on your bass. If you have a strong preamp, it shouldn't be all that necessary to do something extreme. Mids are your friend too.
-Behold he power of using a guitar amp and a bass amp at the same time. Fundamental lows and rich clarity paired with a guitar circuit to add an octave to the guitars will bring a tear to your eye. Not many people are doing this right now, but I want to hear more of it. Good examples of this concept are Human Beansauce, Behold the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia and Beneath the Massacre's album Dystopia.


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## Soubi7string

Andii said:


> -Behold he power of using a guitar amp and a bass amp at the same time. Fundamental lows and rich clarity paired with a guitar circuit to add an octave to the guitars will bring a tear to your eye. Not many people are doing this right now, but I want to hear more of it. Good examples of this concept are Human Beansauce, Behold the Arctopus, Dysrhythmia and Beneath the Massacre's album Dystopia.



How do you set that up?
Just guitar amp head into bass cab?

I just got my entire first set up today as well.it's a carvin r600 with a 1x15 it does the job and gets me the sound I want and I got me this 5 string Ibanez and it has active pups in it it honestly makes a big difference.if the pups are active they are clear and more versatile.the standard passive is well..lacking imo.they're warm, good for sabbath but other than that I cand really think of anything else than that fact :/
And finger technique is kinda like just rolling a rhythm when you tap your fingers on your right that is and the left well if you played guitar it's like playin a heavy duty acoustic action and tension.your arms and hands will get tired and sore real quick but it all builds up.
Be sure to pick an amp you'll be happy with cause bass is a hell of a lot more expensive than guitar a pack of strings is 20$ and up if that gives you any idea


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## Andii

Soubi7string said:


> How do you set that up?
> Just guitar amp head into bass cab?


No. You run a guitar amp and cab running a high gain sound and a bass amp and cab running a clean bass sound. Or alternatively models of those things on a digital unit. There are a lot of ways to split your signal. You can do anything from using an active DI to putting a separate jack on your bass for each pickup. On a digital unit splitting your signal isn't necessary.


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## xtrustisyoursx

Andii said:


> -You need something with a strong preamp. The strongest I've heard are: Gallien Krueger RB and fusion, Mesa powerhouse and mesa 400+. They are very strongly voiced meaning they turn the signal from your bass into something incredible instead of just shooting it out of the speakers. The 400+ is the only all tube one out of the bunch. It sounds good(think primus), but the power section is 16 6l6s(cha-ching). That makes it impractical for most. The Galliens and powerhouses are both great amps. The fusion and powerhouse use Tube preamps paired with a solid state power section.
> -Mesa bass cabs are pretty much the best there are on the market. They are neo and heavyweight. They are clear and destroy worlds. I recommend Mesa's bass cabs even when you choose a GK amp.



These are very shortsighted statments. There are plenty of companies such as mark bass, shroeder, thunderfunk, epifany, avatar, and trace elliot that make cabs and amps that are every bit as good as the ones you listed. I know alot of people here (nashville) even just go to gigs with a sansamp bass driver and run direct.


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## Andii

xtrustisyoursx said:


> These are very shortsighted statments. There are plenty of companies such as mark bass, shroeder, thunderfunk, epifany, avatar, and trace elliot that make cabs and amps that are every bit as good as the ones you listed. I know alot of people here (nashville) even just go to gigs with a sansamp bass driver and run direct.



Those statements aren't short sighted at all. There is a lot other good stuff out there, but bassists should use amps with a strong preamp. Yes there are a lot of people who use all kinds of things. There is a reason why bass is almost always in the background to the point where it's almost muted too. 

Why don't you(or anyone else) get a guitar sansamp and just use that instead of your amp?  Because it doesn't sound good. The sansamp bassdriver doesn't cut it. It doesn't offer much advantage over just using a direct box with no tone circuitry at all in it. The preamp is pretty weak. 

The haphazard approach with bass stuff is why the instrument isn't often used to it's potential even in todays modern music with all the technology available to us. 



I think Ampeg JUST started making neo cabs.They aren't high power and don't extend as low as they should. Ampeg makes a lot of cabs with no HF driver too. That works for some styles but I've seen many people be in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong thing and be inaudible. 

There are a lot of preamps available to pair with power sections as well. 

Bassists that can be heard(this includes some stuff not previously mentioned):
Viraemia-Mesa 400+ paired with PJB cab
Tool-GK and Mesa heads paired with Mesa cabs and Demeter pres live
Jeff Hughell (ex Braindrill currently of Reciprocal)- GK RB head and cab
Jeroen Paul Thesseling of Obscura- Jonas Helllborg pre


The main point of all this:
Modern bassists need to be taking advantage of what is available and be heard. Now is a great time to be a musician. The bass guitar is a wonderful instrument that I want to hear more of rather than experience as clanky background noise or rumble.


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## Deadnightshade

Soubi7string said:


> if the pups are active they are clear and more versatile.the standard passive is well..lacking imo.they're warm, good for sabbath but other than that I cand really think of anything else than that fact :/



Believe me passive EMGs kill in the right bass...However if you have to deal with a budget or mid priced bass,yes active pups do a lot


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## Soubi7string

I'm not much of an EMG fan so I wouldn't know I'm thinkin of swapping my basses actives with some Seymour Duncan bassline actives


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## punisher911

To quote Andii.. "mids are your friend".. I couldn't agree more. I love deep boomy bass... until you have a drummer and a guitar player.. DON'T scoop the mids. Take a chance, bump them UP a bit... see how it cuts through.. awesome... My only advice, as a guitar player going bass.. Think of it as a bass. Don't be a frustrated rhythm guitar player. Write BASS lines.... Less is more.. all that goodness. When a bass player doubles a guitar line, if he stops, the people think the guitar player's amp fudged up, when a real bass player drops out of a song, everyone notices something is missing.....


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## All_¥our_Bass

MaxOfMetal said:


> A) the bass is just like a guitar, just bigger and tuned lower


From a construction standpoint that's actually true (body+neck+strings+pups, switches, etc.), but what he's getting at is how the instrument is used.

I do completely agree that bass is often just used to make music sound thicker, fuller, and I despise when the bass is mixed to sound like it's part of the guitar and not it's own thing.

Also, mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids mids 

Like desu, you can't possibly have enough of it.


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## MistaMarko

I agree with Andii about the amp/cab selection, and I felt much better because I actually have a GK RB head and a GK Neo cab, and the tone is RIDICULOUS, and the cab isn't heavy at all. So, big +1000 to that.

- You can get away with a scooped sound in the studio if you're into that thing, since everything is in nicely-tempered rooms and all these plugins and editing control these days makes it possible. Live, or at practice? You'll be swallowed by the low-end of the guitars and especially the kick drum. I'm not one for the "high-mids" sound (around 1K), but I'm a firm believer that low-mids act as a "bass sound" but don't carry along the "wash the mix out" side effects, so keep your mids boosted around 500Hz or so. Don't think that because you play "bass" that you need to boost the "bass". 

- Get used to paying $30 or more dollars for a set of strings, and say goodbye to the days of picking up three packs of strings for under $15. It sucks, believe me.

- This is completely my opinion, but I think you'll adapt better to the entire experience/mindset of bass playing if you go finger-style only. If you come from being a guitarist for 10 years as you say and pick up a bass and use a pick, you're just going to sound like a guitarist with a bass and try to play guitar things. I see it all the time. Finger-style is much more versatile in my opinion, and don't let anyone tell you that finger-style won't cut through the mix in metal, because that's bullshit. It's all about your EQ and technique.

- There's something rewarding about playing bass. Sometimes when playing with a group I'll just quit playing for about 2 seconds, and then start playing again, and realize how much I'm adding to the sound and how much "foundation" my instrument brings to the table. It's a good feeling.

- You have a lot more "freedom" in your parts, even when playing in a band with precisely-written music. A guitarist can't really get away with a random fill or run, or a random octave or something thrown in. You can. 

And don't get me wrong with any of this, I also was a guitarist before a bassist. I prefer bass any day.


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## Konfyouzd

MaxOfMetal said:


> I'd say the biggest misconceptions are A) the bass is just like a guitar, just bigger and tuned lower, and that B) the bass is completely different than guitar. While that may seem contradictory, it's really how it is. It's kinda hard to explain, but the more you get into playing bass you'll see what I mean.


 
They're not contradictory if you don't view them as mutually exclusive (I think that's the proper terminology  )

I picked up bass about 2 years ago (I've been playing guitar for about 13 or 13 years now) and I never really got in the habit of playing my bass like a guitar simply because of the techniques I chose...

I absolutely HATE the way it feels to use a pick on a bass so that helped. And I can't stand fingerpicking on guitar so this helped me to put a little day light between the two. The mechanics I related the alternating pattern of index/middle finger when plucking to the alternating up/down strokes in alternate picking. 

But things like slapping I learned entirely on bass although they can be performed on a guitar as well.

There are also techniques like tapping that I use on both guitar and bass.

The point is, though... If you learn what each instrument's "role" is in a particular musical instance you shouldn't have to worry about whether you're "playing one like the other" only that they make beautiful music together.

@OP - If you're like a human metronome, I'd say bass is a good call. It's all about timing. And yes, when ppl find out you play bass as well as guitar they're a little more likely to pick you up assuming they think you fit the bill.


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## josh pelican

MaxOfMetal said:


> I'd say the biggest misconceptions are A) the bass is just like a guitar, just bigger and tuned lower, and that B) the bass is completely different than guitar. While that may seem contradictory, it's really how it is. It's kinda hard to explain, but the more you get into playing bass you'll see what I mean.


 
I think the biggest misconception is the asenine heard so often, "Pfft, bass is easy. Anyone can play bass."


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## Konfyouzd

josh pelican said:


> I think the biggest misconception is the asenine heard so often, "Pfft, bass is easy. Anyone can play bass."


 
Or... It's boring...

Jaco Pastorius anyone? ... Or Stu Hamm...? (I didn't wanna go w/ the obvious Victor Wooten )

Most ppl that say that either listen to music where the bass is mixed down to the point that you hardly notice it unless you're sitting on a subwoofer OR the bass parts in the song just follow the guitar part root note for root note and are, in fact, boring.


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## josh pelican

Konfyouzd said:


> Or... It's boring...
> 
> Jaco Pastorius anyone? ... Or Stu Hamm...? (I didn't wanna go w/ the obvious Victor Wooten )
> 
> Most ppl that say that either listen to music where the bass is mixed down to the point that you hardly notice it unless you're sitting on a subwoofer OR the bass parts in the song just follow the guitar part root note for root note and are, in fact, boring.


 
"Why bother playing bass? No one is going to hear it..."


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## Konfyouzd

Someone actually said that?


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## MaxOfMetal

josh pelican said:


> "Why bother playing bass? No one is going to hear it..."



The sad thing is, after years of listening to extreme metal, I can see that that statement can hold true on numerous occasions.


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## synrgy

MaxOfMetal said:


> The sad thing is, after years of listening to extreme metal, I can that that statement can hold true on numerous occasions.



No doubt. Far too many metal bass players either A) get buried in the mix completely or B) have a 'tone' dialed in that DOESN'T ACTUALLY HAVE ANY BASS IN IT. (Think the 'click-click-click, click-click,click, click-click-click' bass sound from Metallica's 'Enter Sandman'..)

A life-long friend of mine plays in a (I dunno what they consider themselves) metal band called "High Five For Suicide". For the longest time they had no bass player, and their shows just sounded like a big wall of white noise. Then for a little while they had a bass player and it was like the fucking sky opened up and finally let their riffs come through the wall of noise. Why? Cause the bass player (who's no longer with the band unfortunately) had an awesome tone that provided the low frequency groove, but also the *perfect* middle ground of low-mids and mids to sit between the 2 guitar players who were essentially mid/treble city.

*edit* PS -- Just do it. Playing more than one instrument is the bee's knees.


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## MistaMarko

synrgy said:


> Then for a little while they had a bass player and it was like the fucking sky opened up and finally let their riffs come through the wall of noise. Why? Cause the bass player (who's no longer with the band unfortunately) had an awesome tone that provided the low frequency groove, but also the *perfect* middle ground of low-mids and mids to sit between the 2 guitar players who were essentially mid/treble city.





MistaMarko said:


> You can get away with a scooped sound in the studio if you're into that thing, since everything is in nicely-tempered rooms and all these plugins and editing control these days makes it possible. Live, or at practice? You'll be swallowed by the low-end of the guitars and especially the kick drum. I'm not one for the "high-mids" sound (around 1K), but I'm a firm believer that low-mids act as a "bass sound" but don't carry along the "wash the mix out" side effects, so keep your mids boosted around 500Hz or so. Don't think that because you play "bass" that you need to boost the "bass".


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## Disco Volante

I played bass for the last 10 years and moved to guitar about 2 years ago. MaxofMetal pretty much nailed a lot of the instrument on the head already with a very good post. 

It is very much a guitar and not a guitar at the same time. I think that with your guitar experience that you'd have much difficulty adjusting your left hand to bass. The right hand is where a lot of the magic happens with fingerstyle and so forth. It will take some grinding and getting used to, and as with guitar you'll have to build up the proper calluses that goes along with the territory. I learned all these techniques before YouTube was around but you could probably find plenty of material on there that explains all the various aspects of what your right hand can do on a bass. (There is a LOT)

Best of all there will be one more person in the world (YOU) who will come to appreciate all that the humble bassist has been doing all this time.

Oh and one more thing. As others have mentioned.. properly EQing a bass guitar is a BITCH. Hopefully you're up to the challenge of finding your place amongst guitars and drums to find out where you'll cut through but not make the mix muddy.


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## TimSE

I recently did exactly this myself about a year ago - the only slight difference was i was a advanced lead guitarist (not meaning to sound big headed!)

I play for a few rock / metal proggy bands and acoustic stuff and altho iv always been into crazy heavy death metal i havnt done it in a band for many years.

I joined this band as i knew them and they needed a bassist:
Bloodshot Dawn on MySpace Music - Free Streaming MP3s, Pictures & Music Downloads

Never played bass in a band before. only had a 5string bass. No amp - i used a Boss GT8 pedal board and set up a Direct to PA sound on there and just DI it. Or borrow a bass amp off other bands at gigs.

the thing about Bass is that it is a very similar instrument to guitar (just scaled up and tuned lower) but its roll in a band is VERY different and is not PLAYED like a guitar.

This is something iv become more aware of over the last year. 

cus iv never played fast with my fingers i went to using a pick with bass right away and am now making myself get used to playing with fingers cus i prefer it if i could.

Compression and distortion are your friend!


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## punisher911

I think too much distortion muddies up your sound and you lose character with notes just blending together from my experience. I use a slight overdrive with no fuzz.


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## vampiregenocide

MaxOfMetal said:


> 4) Take your time to work with both fingers and pick style playing. There is no "right" or "wrong", but you can give your playing all kinds of dynamics if you learn to treat both methods as equals early on.


 




Whiskey_Funeral said:


> Wow! Thanks, Max! That's immensely helpful. The thing about bass being just a bigger, lower tuned guitar vs. being completely different than guitar kind of makes sense and I expect that it will make more sense as time goes on.
> 
> As far as fingers/picks, how would you say that..I dunno, differs? I'm having a really hard time thinking of questions for that because I really don't know what I'm talking about. I don't have huge spider fingers like a lot of bassists that I see on YouTube and whatnot so I feel kind of intimidated by trying to learn finger style bass.
> What are the main differences between the two styles and how would each fit into different genres of music? Are there specific bands/bassists that might be helpful for me to check out to get a good understanding of each technique?
> 
> Again, thanks so much!


 
With a pick, your sound is going to be sharper and have more attack, great for metal and you'll be able to do fast triplets and whatnot easier. Using your fingers gets a softer, smoother tone with less attack. This is great for grooves, and means you can swap into other techniques easier like tapping, slapping etc. Using a pick is easier, but if you learn with fingers early on you'll be better.


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## Andromalia

> but the power section is 16 6l6s(cha-ching)


That made me laugh.



> - There's something rewarding about playing bass.


Yup. You're the one with the largest and longest.


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## welsh_7stinger

i myself play bass nd guitar (guitar for just ove 2.5 yrs, bass a 0.5 yrs) i use to practice on my dads friends bass (my dad looked after it) nd i luved paying it. so i got my own (6 string bass) i play simlar music but also deathmetal, nd i personly got the switch from guitar to bass easly. tip look at bass likw a completly diffrent instrument almost. thats what i did/do. but thats just me. nd tbh theres no right or wrong way to play bass. i play with both pick nd fingers. but dont think u cnt paly fast music wit fingers.i can play 16ths wit 2 fingers (not blowing my own horn). but over all teh transition from guitar to bass isnt dat difficult imo. hope i help even if it was not noticable lol.


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## MistaMarko

Andromalia said:


> That made me laugh.
> 
> 
> Yup. You're the one with the largest and longest.


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## giantchris

I'd say a couple things might not wholly apply because of the music you are playing - 

#1 - less is more - MOST of the time its better to keep youre playing simple to not muddy up the sound and make strange harmonies

#2 - TIME - WHERE you place notes is actually more important than what notes you play on bass. Bass bridges rhythm and harmony sometimes you want to accentuate one more than the other play accordingly.

#3 - As someone else said Mids are you friend! Mids are what allows you to cut through (mostly low mids) the rest of the frequencies are what shapes your tone. 

#4 - Too much bass ruins the mix! If you EQ your bass frequencies too high you bleed into the bass drum and make it sound like crap. You're playing metal the bass drum is what everyone keeps off of (usually). 

#5 - Learn both fingerstyle and pick - Its better to be more versatile you might find you like one or the other better but some songs call for one more than the other.

#6 - If playing fingerstyle you get a stronger fundamental and more string vibration the lighter you hit the strings. This gives you deeper tone.

and finally #7 - Just because you can slap doesn't mean you should  Self explanatory that one lol


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## LLink2411

I put flatwound strings and foam bridge mutes on my basses, and play with a pick through a pushed-to-the-limit 900W hybrid MESA amp. This gives me a cannon-like "Jamerson on steroids" tone. Think 60's Fender Bass through a 70's Ampeg or Sunn amp with the clarity of an 80's Trace Elliot amp.

You want this tone. Do not question why.


Also, make sure to use it sparingly as it is illegal in 17 states for causing numerous Bass-related fatalities.



And if you want a good, clean, transparent Bass overdrive, look at the Fulltone OCD pedal. It gives that nice tube tone without adding the silly synthy-ness of a fuzz box, and on top of that it does not suck any Bass freq. from your signal!


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## progmetaldan

I've just recently taken up bass after about 9 years on guitar as well, and I have to say its in some ways rekindled my passion for music. I found it similar enough to guitar that it wasn't like starting entirely from scratch, but different to be a new and challenging venture. And I reckon there's more 'cool' stuff you can play in a wider variety of genres on bass and I'm just loving it! Really sick bass players stand out more than guitarists I reckon, I'm really getting into guys like Gary Willis, Jonas Hellborg, Marcus Miller etc. its a whole new world and opens up my listening experience, no longer worrying about whether a recording has a guitarist on it, but instead listening for what the bass is doing and trying to recreate it...


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## Dethfield

I basically did the same thing you are doing a few weeks ago. Band was looking for a drummer and a bassist, but no luck for months. I recently bought a 6 string bass for my own use, and decided to switch to bass in the band, the idea being it would be much easier to find another guitarist than a bassist. So far its been really fun.

All of the info here is pretty good. I would suggest a few things:

- Really try and work on your fingerstyle. practice using it on songs normally played with a pick, and work towards increasing your speed. One test i find is good is to practice "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden. If you can make through that song without tiring out your right hand and grabbing a pick, you are doin great.

- When getting and amp, you might want to actually considering have a Direct-to-PA setup. Its kind of a long running debate in the world of bass, but i found i could get a nice tone running into a PA system and using the 3 band EQ on my bass. It still nice to buy your own PA, but that in itself is a good thing to have as it can be used for multiple purposes. Also when you play gigs, its much easier to only have to bring your bass and a pedalboard, and not have to lug 100 lbs of gear around. Many bassplayers outright refuse to plug direct into a PA, but i think its something every bassist should at least give a good try with.


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## ZEBOV

Seeing the kind of bands you like, if you use speakers with ceramic magnets, you'll need 5 times the power the guitars are putting out. Every metal band I have been in, they liked playing as loud as they possibly can, and I could barely hear myself with a guitarist with a 150 watt amp and another guitarist with a 50 watt amp (not to mention the drummer), and it's hard to get band mates with big egos to turn theirselves down.
Yes, mids are very much your friend. Before I knew better about EQ, I tried out for a band with the guitarists playing through 20 watt solid state amps. My 5 band EQ was full on for just bass and treble (50 Hz and 10 kHz), and I couldn't hear myself unless I was pounding out 500 watts while standing right next to my cabs. If I was the only one playing, I could hear everything rattling in the garage because of the decibels I was putting out. Decibels meant nothing in that case. I didn't make it into that band. Oh well, they lasted for only a few more months anyways.


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## LLink2411

Also, remember that it is a lot easier to increase your volume by adding another cab than by buying a more powerful amp.


Also, hardcore audiophiles say you shouldn't mix speaker sizes, because it causes the output from the speakers to clash with and slightly mute each other's frequencies. But if you bi-amp your setup (I hear that if you can slave out your signal to an independent power amp, you won't need to buy a second amp to do this... I'm not entirely sure how that works, I would like to though) and change the eq slightly on the second amp, you won't need to worry about such silliness.

Personally I would just run a 4x10 and 1x15 into the same amp and not lose a wink of sleep over it, but some people are really adamant about this stuff. Nothing beats a 4x12 though.


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## josh pelican

LLink2411 said:


> Personally I would just run a 4x10 and 1x15 into the same amp and not lose a wink of sleep over it, but some people are really adamant about this stuff. Nothing beats a 4x12 though.


 
My ideal rig is a 610 with a matching 215.

... and maybe some 18s.


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## btfsam

id say go for it! don't put down the guitar, just pick up the bass! honestly bass is really fun to play and I think from having experience on guitar you could pick it up quite easily and find a technique that works for you.

but I would never JUST be a bass player because there's no other position available and then just dumb down all the basslines and make the bass playing really mediocre. try it! if you're having fun and making up cool stuff then find some other people to play with

good luck


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## iron blast

Do it! I used to be a rythem guitarist for my band and started playing bass because we couldnt find a decent bassist and I fell in love. I would suggest getting at least a 5-string with a 35 scale if play death metal that low b is excellent even if you are just shortening scales.


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## progmetaldan

Has anyone who is going from guitar to bass and back again retuned a 6 string bass like a baritone guitar? I was just thinking from the point of view of being able to keep the scale shapes and patterns the same. Or is the normal 6 string tuning actually more useful anyway? I've only got a 4 string bass atm, but I was just pondering this randomly and thought I'd see if anyone has tried it?


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## Varcolac

progmetaldan said:


> Has anyone who is going from guitar to bass and back again retuned a 6 string bass like a baritone guitar? I was just thinking from the point of view of being able to keep the scale shapes and patterns the same. Or is the normal 6 string tuning actually more useful anyway? I've only got a 4 string bass atm, but I was just pondering this randomly and thought I'd see if anyone has tried it?



I play 7 string guitar and 5 string bass. I've never even considered that. Bass is tuned in straight fourths and that gives you the easiest access from whatever note you're fretting to the third, fifth and seventh, which if you're doing anything more than just playing the root note you should be highlighting. Guitar has that silly major third in the tuning to make chords easier, and barre chords on a bass don't exactly sound nice. Fourths all over means that your major/minor/whatever shapes are exactly the same all over the neck. It's foolproof: even _I_ can play bass.

But then I see them as two distinct instruments. Tuning a bass like a guitar makes as little sense to me as tuning my violin in fourths so I can use shapes from my bass.


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## chucknorrishred

bass is just as awesome as guitar, start playing now....


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## progmetaldan

Varcolac said:


> I play 7 string guitar and 5 string bass. I've never even considered that. Bass is tuned in straight fourths and that gives you the easiest access from whatever note you're fretting to the third, fifth and seventh, which if you're doing anything more than just playing the root note you should be highlighting. Guitar has that silly major third in the tuning to make chords easier, and barre chords on a bass don't exactly sound nice. Fourths all over means that your major/minor/whatever shapes are exactly the same all over the neck. It's foolproof: even _I_ can play bass.
> 
> But then I see them as two distinct instruments. Tuning a bass like a guitar makes as little sense to me as tuning my violin in fourths so I can use shapes from my bass.



Yeah fair enough, I definately approach bass with more than just the root notes. I was just interested to see if anyone had experimented with it.


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## SirMyghin

chucknorrishred said:


> bass is *MORE* awesome as guitar, start playing now....


 

Fixed, just look at that bass in my avatar and tell me you have seen something awesomer.


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## Cancer

Varcolac said:


> I play 7 string guitar and 5 string bass. I've never even considered that. Bass is tuned in straight fourths and that gives you the easiest access from whatever note you're fretting to the third, fifth and seventh, which if you're doing anything more than just playing the root note you should be highlighting. Guitar has that silly major third in the tuning to make chords easier, and barre chords on a bass don't exactly sound nice. Fourths all over means that your major/minor/whatever shapes are exactly the same all over the neck. It's foolproof: even _I_ can play bass.
> 
> But then I see them as two distinct instruments. Tuning a bass like a guitar makes as little sense to me as tuning my violin in fourths so I can use shapes from my bass.




This (although I have 6 string bass). I started playing bass when I needed to learn basslines to record our last album and I (while I still primarily play guitar) it's been an eye opening experience. Because of my experience I adopted straight fourths tuning on my 7 strings, and will definitely be using it on my 8 string (not really got along with that maj3rd on guitar anyway, it always used to piss me off). While they are different instruments, I don't really have an issue with tuning them the same, as patterns learned on one can translate to the other (but admittedly that up the player to deicde).

Also, as far as a bass rig, for a simple floorboard, the POD X3 is your friend. Having parallel chains within the unit Is extremely useful (I've been experimenting with running a guitar amp on one chain and bass amp on another). It's not a perfect solution, but it sure is fun.


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## SirMyghin

Cancer said:


> This (although I have 6 string bass). I started playing bass when I needed to learn basslines to record our last album and I (while I still primarily play guitar) it's been an eye opening experience. Because of my experience I adopted straight fourths tuning on my 7 strings, and will definitely be using it on my 8 string (not really got along with that maj3rd on guitar anyway, it always used to piss me off). While they are different instruments, I don't really have an issue with tuning them the same, as patterns learned on one can translate to the other (but admittedly that up the player to deicde).
> 
> Also, as far as a bass rig, for a simple floorboard, the POD X3 is your friend. Having parallel chains within the unit Is extremely useful (I've been experimenting with running a guitar amp on one chain and bass amp on another). It's not a perfect solution, but it sure is fun.



The major third is a very small hurdle, here is a simple trick for translating the patterns. If you end up with a string now on B (from G) as in translating the pattern up, add an extra semitone on the B. Going down from B to G, remove 1 semitone. And your done. Try it with a major traid (1-3-5, so G-B-D would be the simplest to finger, which would progress C E G, F A C, a# d F)


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## Mr12ax7

josh pelican said:


> My ideal rig is a 610 with a matching 215.
> 
> ... and maybe some 18s.


 
Josh your " ideal rig " sounds like a brutal ass wall of speakers.... We think alike we need more people like you in stockton!


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## mortality

welsh_7stinger said:


> i myself play bass nd guitar (guitar for just ove 2.5 yrs, bass a 0.5 yrs) i use to practice on my dads friends bass (my dad looked after it) nd i luved paying it. so i got my own (6 string bass) i play simlar music but also deathmetal, nd i personly got the switch from guitar to bass easly. tip look at bass likw a completly diffrent instrument almost. thats what i did/do. but thats just me. nd tbh theres no right or wrong way to play bass. i play with both pick nd fingers. but dont think u cnt paly fast music wit fingers.i can play 16ths wit 2 fingers (not blowing my own horn). but over all teh transition from guitar to bass isnt dat difficult imo. hope i help even if it was not noticable lol.



16ths at what bpm?
lol just wanna know so i can compare how far I've come since I started.


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## iron blast

vampiregenocide said:


> With a pick, your sound is going to be sharper and have more attack, great for metal and you'll be able to do fast triplets and whatnot easier. Using your fingers gets a softer, smoother tone with less attack. This is great for grooves, and means you can swap into other techniques easier like tapping, slapping etc. Using a pick is easier, but if you learn with fingers early on you'll be better.



Agreed strongly finger technique is sexy. I'm buliding up my four finger technique speed. I'm at a bit of a wall speed wise, Im trying to get abit faster and more accurate. Ive never much been a fan of picks with bass other then when I record I never will use one even so when I'm recording I only use a pick minimally if I need a really defined sound on a part. Other than that a good compressor and technique goes a long way.


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## Zugster

I am a long time guitarist, but I find bass fascinating and really appealing. I spotted the above BTB with hard case for only $300 on ebay and nabbed it. Don't play it much though because I have been having a hell of a time learning finger style and I just don't want to be one of those guys who treats it like a guitar. (Also, I don't have a bass amp, lol) Can someone give me some tips on how to learn finger style?


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## Xodus

Zugster said:


> I am a long time guitarist, but I find bass fascinating and really appealing. I spotted the above BTB with hard case for only $300 on ebay and nabbed it. Don't play it much though because I have been having a hell of a time learning finger style and I just don't want to be one of those guys who treats it like a guitar. (Also, I don't have a bass amp, lol) Can someone give me some tips on how to learn finger style?


Practice. I like using Alex Webster's right hand technique: 32123. It will start off hard but come easy real quick.


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## Origin

I played bass long before I was really into guitar and I like to play kind of like Myung with twists, which is generally alternating index and ring fingers for straight fast lines and integrating 123 for faster triplety stuff and galloping. For normal easy riffs it's just 123 wherever they're needed or I'll hammer with the index repeatedly in a kind of cupping motion like Geezer Butler who's my original idol. I'm looking to improve my technique once I actually get back into it. 

Trust me, get into bass. Skills at either will complement the other, and they're both ridiculously fun and engaging.


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## TemjinStrife

Spending more time on bass is making my lead playing and riff writing more rhythmically interesting


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## Encephalon5

Origin said:


> I played bass long before I was really into guitar and I like to play kind of like Myung with twists, which is generally alternating index and ring fingers for straight fast lines and integrating 123 for faster triplety stuff and galloping. For normal easy riffs it's just 123 wherever they're needed or I'll hammer with the index repeatedly in a kind of cupping motion like Geezer Butler who's my original idol. I'm looking to improve my technique once I actually get back into it.
> 
> Trust me, get into bass. Skills at either will complement the other, and they're both ridiculously fun and engaging.


 
its always funny seeing "123" or "1313" as I've always lead with my ring finger. "321" or "3131"


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