Any bass Players here?

[mustanghater]

I was thinking about learning how to play and was just wondering what a good Bass would be for me. I was thinking about a Fender and there is a 1978 Fender Musicmaster on ebay right now for a good price.

[Old Moparz]

I had a friend who's brother figured the bass was easier than a guitar since there were four strings & not six. He couldn't play it, didn't have the patience to really learn, & brought it back to the store & exchanged it for a guitar. He couldn't play that either, & I don't think it mattered how many strings it had.

Now my friend had a POS electric guitar that he bought used, & the intonation was messed up so it made it sound like not being able to play ran in the family. My friend swiped the guitar from his brother & was supposed to pay him for it, but never did. He used that new one & actually sounded very good.

He never went on to play proffessionally, but did get paid once to play at his college as a fill in for someone who couldn't make it. I guess that means he was a semi-pro guitarist. I don't play bass, I play the drums, so I can't help you with what to buy, but do you have a brother & do you think he'd ever pay you back?

[mustanghater]

I got a brother in law that plays the drums and thats it.

[jaak]

peavy basses are pretty good basses, usually can pick up a used one pretty cheap, Peavy Foundation is a Fender Strat bass knock-off, they look and play pretty good I played one for a while. Yeah bass is pretty easy, you just play notes, not chords. But if you have knowledge of guitar playing... you can play bass. I had been playing guitar for a couple of years (about 8 yrs ago) and a local group needed a bass player, So thats the first time I played bass. Good luck finding you one.

Jason

[moparguy01]

Fender, Hammer, and Ibanez are the 3 I like best from when i used to play bass. But keep this in mind, each has its own tone that is unique. a jazz bass doesnt sound good when you "slap it" but Hammers sounds damn good that way. ibanez is a good all around

another to look into is a beginner level Carvin. go to www.carvin.com i think is the site, they build guitars and basses and are extremely reasonably priced for the quality of the instrument that you actually get.

[JimShine]

Fender Musicmaster basses are short scale for kids and people with small hands. You should get a standard scale to learn on. they sound better and it isn't hard to adapt to other basses after you have been playing a while.

[Charger1970]

I am a bass player. I currently have 8 basses and 3 amplifiers. Plus I am full of free advice. 

You can get a good sounding brand new (Mexican built) Fender Precision or Jazz bass for not much cash. The Asian built Fenders seem to have cheaper hardware and electronics.

I've also owned two Carvin basses and both sounded great. There are bargains on used Carvins all the time on eBay.

My experience is that a Peavey with a good tone is hard to find, although I do own a Peavey TL-5.

My $.02 ...

Don't get a Musicmaster. Your ear for playing will quickly become more sophisticated and you'll outgrow it.

The bad thing about buying from eBay is that you can't try it out first. If that's not a big deal then you might also check out:
BassGear.com
Musiciansfriend.com
SamAsh.com

As a general rule if a bass sounds good without plugging it in you can usually get a good sound from it. Get one that feels good to hold, doesn't weigh a ton and has active electronics. (they require a 9V battery or two)

Also I would fork over the bucks to get a good amp...maybe like an Ampeg or SWR.

Since you are starting out I would keep in mind that you might lose interest and sell your equipment. You'll surely take a loss on equipment you bought new.

Rock on dude.

[bull]

Large mouth. Oh wait, you're talking about something else...

[moparsons]

I have a bass and amp for sale. Where are you located?

[Old Moparz]

I got a brother in law that plays the drums and thats it.

Brother in law, from which side of the family? Do you think he would sell his drums to you if you lose the ebay auction?

[moparsinbarns]

I play guitar and bass. if ur going for a bass..a good beginner bass is a Samick or for more advanced..Fender Precission

[74-StreetMachine]

   I played bass for many years. My recommendation is the sturdy Rickenbacker.  Mine if from the mid '70s. I bought it used in '82. What I like about it is the neck goes the entire length of the guitar which gives it excellent tone and long sustaining notes. The neck is nice and thin too. The down side is that it's a little heavy.
   I had an Ampeg head and Peavey bottoms. Excellent sound. I later traded the amp for a Lab Series L2. It sucks. I wish I had the Ampeg back.
  I quit the band back in 85, a few months after this picture was taken. I still have the guitar and play it once and a while. It rests in the case most of the time and it's a shame it doesn't get played more but there is no way I could ever get rid of it. Too many memories.

Randy

[ipstrategies]

I mainly play guitar and have for 25 years. The biggest thing about learning any instrument is to learn the basics and practice. My daughter has played since she was 6 and is 17 now.  I have a great friend that is a music teacher and he used to tell Megan that even if you only practice 20 minutes a day but do it every day, and you will get better.  My nephew wanted to play bass a few years back and picked up a nice playing Ibanez for $100 at a pawn shop. Megan got him started and he practised hard an with in a few months they were playing songs for us all at one of our family gatherings. It was cools seeing my daughter and nephew in the back yard amps cranked with Zeps Ramble On  (Cool bass and guitar song)  as well other classics.

[mustanghater]

Would this be a nice bass? would it be the right size or is this for a kid?

http://cgi.ebay.com/fender-precicion-bass-copy-in-70s-green-free-hsc_W0QQitemZ7404706085QQcategoryZ64401QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

[Brock Samson]

If I were you I'd spent mucho time in a music store trying the insterments and absorbing info by listening to what the shop visitors and personel talk about...

To play bass it help to have a strong phyiscal makeup cause they are relitivly heavy, it takes finger/hand streangth cause playing solid Bass "in the Pocket" is grueling and hard to maintain/sustain and, an appreciation of theroy, especially "the circle of fifths" are traits that will best suit the insterment.


That Bass you posted looks fine... nice price, but every insterment has it's own quircks... but, i belive you should "bond" with your axe.. that's where the shop time comes in...
P.S. I started playing in 1970. I've spent hours and hours in shops and now have two basses and ten guitars,.. my basses are a 1989 Fender Squire 5 string heavy metal... and a cheap white "Lyon" which is about perfect for where your at...
The better basses have two pickups the above get deeper warmer tones and the one below is much brighter,.. tends to cut through, cause the thing about bass (and/or low bass frequencies) is the vibrations are longer and take more time to "unfold" so sustain and finding an articulate insterment that can get the detail, crispness, and articluation as well as a wide tonal range are imparative.

My next bass is prolly gonna be an ESP...  "slick as snot those things!" (Yoda voice here)...
if you examine some expensive basses inna shop and get a couple lessons to get going you should be fine... 

[mustanghater]

Its says P-bass copy. Does that mean it was "cloned" in to one or is that a model?

[chrisII]

a couple people have mentioned some nice bases here . i have a peavey melenium (cant remember the model #) it was $200 new and is a really sweet playing bass with fair tone. ive never played a peavey that played bad or had much fret noise. my opinion of ibenez (I BEN HAD !) they make some cheap bases that sound pretty good. but EVERY ibenz ive ever picked up had fret noise somewhere around the 11th to 15th fret on the G string. some even on the D. to some bass players that area doesnt matter much, I love old metallica so to me it matters and ill never buy one. i also agree that SAMIC bases are flat awesome for what you pay for them. be aware that over the years samic has made bases for almost everyone, includeing fender at one point. i have a VANTAGE 5 string that is just an samic with a different name. i believe J TERCER  (sp?) is also now comin samic name. my favorite 4 string is an old washburn lyon i got for about nuttin.the pickups are cheap but its a really nice playing bass with a solid mable neck and maple fretboard.
   for amps i like Gallen Kruger, they are solid state amps unlike most other good amps. they sound great and are more dependable IMO i like the tone of the ampeg and SWR but they are heavy and make alot of heat.

[JimShine]

P-Bass is the nickname for the Fender "Precision Bass" model. It is the most copied bass of all time. J-Bass refers to the Fender "Jazz Bass". Fender was the company that pretty much invented the electric bass as we know it. It was designed to be an instrument a guitar player to pick up and play bass lines on. Ofcourse it revolutionized music as wel know it.