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How to switch from guitar to Bass
| Message Board > General Chitchat > How to switch from guitar to Bass |
| Brad | I been playing guitar for 2 years and my pals want me to play bass instead. How do I know what to play? One dude says just play the same as guitar but only the lowest note. Another says it will be like starting over. A third says keep a beat with the drums and stay in the same key as the guitars. What to do? - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 2:44am | ||
| Brad | oh and what about watts of the bass amp? one says its the same and another says I need at least double what the guitar uses. - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 2:48am | ||
| Anonymous | All you need is a neck extension and fatter strings. Everything else stays the same. Dont listen to other idiots, listen to me. I'm one of the best bassists in the world. The only reason I dont leave my name is fans would be pounding my door down. And buy some really expensive sub bass speaker for yer gitar amp. Practice long enough and you could get almost as good as me. - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 3:01am | ||
| Anonymous | yup,bass does take alot of wattage - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 3:06am | ||
| Anonymous | Joe's right - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 3:07am | ||
| Anonymous | no! you dont need more wattage ive known bass players who play through jcm800 marshall guitar amps and it works fine unless you need to drown out yer bandmates 15" speakers seem to provide more low end though remember ...there were no amps especially for bass at first actually i play my guitar through an old bass head cuz i like this particular amp try different things and yeah you only have to play root notes if ya wanna be a boring bass player...bass is an entity to itself it depends on what you wish to acheive as a bass player that matters find a teacher - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 3:27am | ||
| Anonymous | i switched over from guitar to bass in september when i joined a band, and i used a pick up until the middle of february. so it was about a month ago that i decided to pretty strictly use my fingers on my right hand to play, and not rely on the pick. since then i've gotten a lot more strength and dexterity just by forcing myself to use my fingers instead. i'd suggest that you start by giving your fingers the muscle memory of good alternation between your index and middle finger, and once you've got that down on all four strings, try using your ring finger, and maybe move on to other techniques like slapping and popping etc. the style of music you're planning on making will determine somewhat the way in which you play, but don't let it limit you to the genres stereotypes. i found it very helpful to have a relatively good knowledge of scales/modes and all that, because interesting bass playing relies heavily on alternating basslines in verses and moving around the neck.. it's easy to overdo it though, and you have to decide what sounds right for your band. as far as the bass amp goes, i only use a 100 watt amp, and it gets fed through a d.i. (direct in) box at shows, so i don't have to get an amp that can be turned up really loud. i think you can easily teach yourself.. i wouldn't hand out the cash until you've done at least a couple weeks of good practice of technique to see if you can do it on your own. hope this helps. - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 9:33am | ||
| jackass | some tips you might find usefull: - in general, the bass is going to be playing the root note of the chords the guitars play in. You can play any note in the key though, so move around a bit if you like and it sounds good. Definitely don't go crazy, unless you feel you have something to prove. - I used to pay a lot of attention to the kick drum, but it's also a really good idea to listen to the highhat. Bass is definitely part of the rythm section, so whatever you do, make sure you and the drummer are working together in time. Be meticulous...it makes all the difference. Drummers with poor meter are your enemy. Timing is everything. - get a good bass right off the get go. Amp and cab to follow. When you get some gear, consider if you'll be playing bar shows or all agers. All agers will definitely require more power as you don't usually mic the cabs. I'd suggest going for 4x10" speakers instead of 1x15", but the more the better. It's nice to have the extra power of a high wattage amp, you don't always need it though. - change your strings often - pick/fingers...it's up to you. Picks generally get better tone which is always an issue with bass players, but fingers take some dexterity. Be able to play both ways. - you're the bass of the band...so go for consistency. Always try and keep the low end solid...it really affects the overall sound of the band. - - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 9:56am | ||
| KnifeGhost User Info... | When I got my bass, it took a little while for me to build up strengthin my left hand, but since then I can almost play it like I play guitar.... (Which isn't to say any good, but you get the picture...) I play with a pick, but I'll use my ring or middle finger to alternate with a higher string..... No slaps or pops yet, but I've never needed to...... Just start playing the thing, you'll soon figure out what works... - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 10:48am | ||
| Jason User Info... | using a pick isnt really a bad thing either. I find it gives you a way sharper attack that lets you cut through the mix a little more. ofcourse it's relative to the style of music your playing. - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 12:22pm | ||
| Anonymous | thanks man! You guys know alot. - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 12:45pm | ||
| ROSS B AY User Info... | this might not be your thing, but the way I taught myself to play both years ago was I sat down pretty much every day and listened to the first 4 black sabbath records over and over and over. switch the side of the speakers from left to right because on those records it was bass only on one side and guitar only on one side and you can really check out how they both play off each other, what to do in certain situations (on both instruments) and how they both work with the drums. that and they're killer records anyway, it really helped me with learning song structure too. check 'em out. - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 1:30pm | ||
| Virge User Info... | Fuck i just spent a long ass time writing here only to get the entire message eaten by the fucking board monster! GODDAMMIT! what i said was that i found the walking scale of 5ths a good place to start. the 1st,3rd,5th,6th,& octave notes of a scale and then back down again. this is basis for a lot of bass work and just good to know. FUck, i also said guitar amps usually use less wattage than basses because guit amps like to distort the sound by nature, making the sound SEEM louder while bass, piano, and vocal amps only amplify the signal given off by the instrument. I started off playing guitar and i'd say that i like playing the bass a lot more now. I like taking off my footwear while playing, you can feel yourself play ;) - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 1:44pm | ||
| ian too late User Info... | i'm a big fan of using my fingers always have always will its worth the blisters for the tone as far as what u play play what u want just as long as ur in key with the rest of the band what i like to do is fallow the chord progresion of the guitar and do licks with that so its like i'm still playing off the guitar and i get to use a lot more of the neck another thing i've been enjoying latly is octaves u can really change the feel of a song by going an octave lower or an octave higher its fun to play around with, i use a 1x15 and usually d.i. it at shows um...dotn know what else to give u as far as advice as far as transitions i started on bass and went to guitar so i geuss all i can tell u is get a good teacher - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 1:50pm | ||
| jackass | Virge..I think guitars use less wattage becuase you don't need a lot of power behind the higher frequencies. You'll kill everybody's ears. You need a lot of power behind the lower frequencies because they're low and felt more than heard. If you're focusing on tone and not so much on low end, you don't really need as much power. Try it...turn the gain on your amp down low and start with the volume low. Crank your treble and high-mid, turn down the bass. Keep increasing the volume till you start hearing the bass through the drums and guitar mix. Sounds like crap eh? Now, turn the gain and bass up a bit and turn down your treble and high-mid. You'll start feeling that a lot more, but you won't hear much tone. Lower power amps and dinky little speakers won't get far in that part of the test. If you like some distortion on your bass, use more gain than volume..it'll thicken up the sound. Drivers are kickass for sound thickening, plus you can get stupid amounts of high end too. Ernie Ball Music man basses are killer for tone, same with G&L...also Fender Pbass Deluxes..they've got the P style pickup with the fat soap-bar pickup too. Ahh..I could go on all day. - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 4:08pm | ||
| Chris | A Solid wood bass like my walnut Warwick fretless will give you great tone especially if you play through a good pre-amp and cabinet. I really recommend the David Eden Traveller Bass amp/400 wtts . - Fri, 21 Mar 2003 4:26pm | ||
| Mike J. | To the person who said get a neck extension and fat strings-wtf do you get a "neck extension"? - Mon, 14 Apr 2003 4:41pm | ||
| Gleamer User Info... | He might just mean get the full scale bass rather than a smaller EBO, EB3 or such. But I don't play bass so I dunno. - Mon, 14 Apr 2003 5:27pm | ||
| Anonymous | Remove two strings. (Idiot) - Tue, 15 Apr 2003 1:17am | ||
| crow | thanks brad.you know what i mean.and its been 3 yrs asshole lol.and thanks everyone else i'll try to figure it out. - Tue, 15 Apr 2003 2:28am | ||
| A*Funk | Just about everything I could say has been said on this board (except the secret stuff they pay me to teach little kids)... except for one thing. If you're gonna go with the fingers (and I highly reccomend you learn how to do this), they're gonna get blisters. There is only one way to combat this: grow calluses, QUICK! there are ways to promote this. 1) go to L&M and buy their shitty in-house strings, they'll really cut into your fingers nicely. 2) play every day. 3) now that you've got blisters, POP THEM. Your teeth will quite suffice for this task. Hurts, doesn't it? well, if you can tuff it out for about a week (remembering to play EVERY DAY), they'll soon heal over nicely into rather well developed calluses. I can't remember how many times I've gone back to classical playing and lost my calluses, only to get em back using this method. YOu'll grow 'em in three weeks max, guaranteed! Then you'll be able to be a kickass bass player! Oh yeah, and take lessons. Props to Ian too late. - Tue, 15 Apr 2003 2:47am | ||
| Anonymous | Oops! lol - Tue, 15 Apr 2003 2:47am | ||
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