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Post by cusqueno on Nov 7, 2020 13:24:53 GMT
Out of the blue my 16 year old son says he wants to learn to play the bass guitar. I suspect ulterior motives probably involving girls but I don't want to discourage him. I know there are guitar players on the forum. Do you have any advice - what to buy, how to learn &c? Thanks John
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vfrman
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hi-13 lamberts[2 gold, 1 reg harris] 3 10 speeds
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Post by vfrman on Nov 7, 2020 15:10:39 GMT
have him watch Glen Cornich [Jethro Tull] on what to wear and how to move....a good start [watch on youtube]...........
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ks1u
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Post by ks1u on Nov 7, 2020 16:28:24 GMT
The good news is that you can get bass guitars pretty inexpensively to test the waters. It's arguably easier than a six-string guitar to learn. My father was in the Coast Guard Band and everyone in our family plays multiple instruments. If it works out it will be a great thing in his life. If it doesn't, you should know within a few weeks and you can sell whatever you bought without much problem. I played bass guitar for a little while, but it didn't inspire me, so I stuck with keyboards and euphonium, both of which are far more expensive than bass guitars.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Nov 7, 2020 17:33:47 GMT
John - great news! Can I recommend a Squier, very good value for money, part of the Fender family. Superb quality . Buy anything but the Bullet range , and the next 'lowest' is Affinity range, but anything above that range can rival a £400-£500 bass. If you are buying second hand (or new) then feel free to run them past me. Velocipete is also a Bass Man. I would heartily recommenced the Squier Jaguar short scale...it's easier to play but it's a proper grown up guitar. In terms of amp, I am not totally clued up on bass amps. Next thing to research will be sound proofing out in the shed! www.andertons.co.uk/bass-dept/bass-guitars/modern-bass-guitars/squier-vintage-modified-jaguar-bass-special-short-scale-in-black
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Nov 7, 2020 18:58:31 GMT
In terms of learning - Lots of new fangled 'systems' out there. My advice would be pick up a tuner to clip to the head stock, make sure the bass is tuned and then play along to favourite songs by getting the chords off a web site or app like 'Tabs', and he would soon learn those root notes just by looking at the chords. Then he would find the other notes in the scales and relationships. Might take a year or so. But a 16 year old will probably learn the notes on all the frets on the first 2 strings within a month or so, and then so long as his right hand fingers can build up a bit of muscle, and his left hand finger tips get a bit toughened , then he will be ok, The internet is such a great thing for learning these kind of things, that weren't available in the olden days. Franco plays guitar/bass/music too. Don't forget that he needs the coolest looking bass, and a colour that says 'cool'. This is NOT negotiable for a 16year old Here's the places I've had good dealings with www.andertons.co.uk/search?categoryId=&storeId=10151&catalogId=3074457345616676668&langId=-1&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&searchSource=Q&pageView=&beginIndex=0&pageSize=24&searchTerm=squire+bass&authToken=-1002%252CXZvf36sLiPiYegUJrwTEpYgBzE92SYyViFqNTYY0v8k%253D&#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&facetLimit:&orderBy:&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&www.thomann.de/gb/fender_4_string_p_basses.htmlSecond hand can be great as if they have problems, they often get ironed out by the first owner. And if he is happy to have one with some scratches or bumps on it, then there are great bargains to be had.
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Post by franco on Nov 7, 2020 19:30:50 GMT
Great stuff John. I’ll second Squier, you really can’t go wrong for the prices and the Precision and Jazz models are timeless classics. We had a bass player unexpectedly leave a Rock group I was second guitar player in, so I went onto bass for half a dozen gigs. Used a Squier Precision and it was spot on. As for learning there are lots of great tutorials on YouTube which is free, besides dozens of websites that have free tablature. A bit different to when I was learning, I had one book and used to slow records down with my hand to try and hear what the guitarist was doing
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Post by cusqueno on Nov 9, 2020 19:29:38 GMT
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Post by franco on Nov 9, 2020 19:45:51 GMT
Looks a decent starter kit John and will definitely put him on the right track. Only extra thing he will need is a guitar tuner (I can’t see one mentioned on the listing), but they are dirt cheap. Alternatively there is a free online tuner.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Nov 9, 2020 22:00:32 GMT
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Post by cusqueno on Nov 12, 2020 17:22:44 GMT
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Nov 12, 2020 19:34:50 GMT
Brilliant - get ready for your arm chair to vibrate across the floor though.
Tip - If you start to get weary of the very low frequencies, introduce him to the style of Peter Hook and get him to play higher up the neck
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Post by franco on Nov 12, 2020 20:26:41 GMT
Great stuff!
I’ll second Peter Hook, Jean-Jacques Burnel from The Stranglers as well. He wrote some great bass lines like ‘Peaches’ that aren’t too difficult to learn.
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Post by cusqueno on Nov 12, 2020 21:06:07 GMT
Some extra information from JC jr - apparently he and his friends can practice at school using school equipment. His friends are into the likes of Nirvana and Pink Floyd. A bit retro for 16 year olds! I introduced him to John Entwhistle's bass solo on My Generation.
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Post by franco on Nov 12, 2020 21:12:47 GMT
It’s surprising what kids are listening to these days, all my daughters friends were into stuff like Joy Division, The Smiths, Bauhaus, Nirvana... Can’t beat a bit of Entwhistle I hope he enjoys the whole experience, it’s a brilliant hobby with lots of benefits if you get into it.
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Post by cusqueno on Nov 12, 2020 21:13:51 GMT
Should he be using a plectrum/pick? In normal times he could go and chat about such things in the local music shop, run by Ray Charles no doubt.
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Post by cusqueno on Nov 12, 2020 21:22:30 GMT
Just heard Baby She's got it - Bananarama? Coming from his room. What are the younger generation coming to?
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Post by franco on Nov 12, 2020 21:37:44 GMT
Should he be using a plectrum/pick? In normal times he could go and chat about such things in the local music shop, run by Ray Charles no doubt. Down to personal choice and sound. Personally I like to hear bass players that use a pick, as mentioned Hooky and Burnel, their sound is more punchy and aggressive. You can achieve that with the fingers but it takes time. Haha, Bananarama? Are they cool again, I must’ve missed that one.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Nov 12, 2020 21:58:06 GMT
Lots of tutorials on YouTube , but this is a great site & sale on at the moment truefire.com/search/?q=bassMy preference is fingers and no pick James Jamerson is boss of that Then the absolute queen of the bass is Carole Kaye and talking of queens , here is a superb clip that my younger punk self would have been embarrassed to admit to loving (I was a big Stranglers fan too Franco. ) It's Rutger Gunnarsson playing such a classic line ( if you watch this and aren't impressed by it's musical imagination for a bass line, then I'd happily buy you a pint and persuade you otherwise - serious challenge )
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Post by franco on Nov 12, 2020 22:19:36 GMT
Love a bit of ABBA, incredible musicians!
How about Bootsy Collins?
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Nov 12, 2020 22:22:51 GMT
Love a bit of ABBA, incredible musicians! How about Bootsy Collins? I love Bootsy and copied that '1' formula that he uses. - that is a great place to start
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Post by velocipete on Nov 13, 2020 7:40:50 GMT
John - great news! Can I recommend a Squier, very good value for money, part of the Fender family. Superb quality . Buy anything but the Bullet range , and the next 'lowest' is Affinity range, but anything above that range can rival a £400-£500 bass. If you are buying second hand (or new) then feel free to run them past me. Velocipete is also a Bass Man. I would heartily recommenced the Squier Jaguar short scale...it's easier to play but it's a proper grown up guitar. In terms of amp, I am not totally clued up on bass amps. Next thing to research will be sound proofing out in the shed! www.andertons.co.uk/bass-dept/bass-guitars/modern-bass-guitars/squier-vintage-modified-jaguar-bass-special-short-scale-in-blackSorry,but Velocipete has never played the bass guitar, 6 string Burns yes,bass no. I would make sure JC junior's bass has a proper set up though. There are plenty of tutorials on line. Dave's World of Fun is one for the more broad minded amongst us. Good luck with his new potential career. Cheers, Pete.
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Post by brianbutler on Nov 13, 2020 13:50:33 GMT
Right, proper setup is very important for any stringed instrument. It can make a huge difference in playability and enjoyment of the instrument, which ultimately influences whether you stick with it. What is setup, you ask? Bridge placement for intonation. Even string spacing. Nut filing for easy action and intonation. Bridge height for easy action. Neck relief for easy action without buzzing. There are probably other items for electric instruments. I only play acoustic (tenor banjo, tenor guitar, mandolin) so can't say for sure. My first good axe, though, was a 1968 Fender Telecaster that I never had set up properly. Hence, I gave it up and sold it to my brother for $150. Used the money to buy a 1962 Chevy Impala convertible that I later sold to my brother's friend for $150. Ah, the things we let slip through our fingers.
Brian
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Nov 13, 2020 14:41:33 GMT
Apologies Pete - I mixed up the bass and the Burns, easily done
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Post by franco on Nov 13, 2020 18:13:55 GMT
Set up is really important as Brian points out, a badly set up guitar won’t encourage a new player to persevere. Thankfully, Squier are usually a decent standard straight out of the box but may need some attention further down the line.
Thinking back to some of the rubbish that was sold years ago from places like Woolworths, the action (string height) was like you’d have it set up for slide guitar, strings sticking in the nut, poor machine heads...
I used to repair guitars for a music shop in my spare time and the quality of budget guitars has improved vastly over the years.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Nov 13, 2020 19:30:41 GMT
+1 on the set up.
I must admit that due to the variables of nut, bridge, neck shape, intonation up the neck, fret height and then personal preference - it's quite tough to do. I used to try, and was somewhat successful, but honestly the demands where just beyond my abilities, so eventually about 5 years ago took my guitar to well regarded guitar tech. It was pretty amazing difference- best money I spent.
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Post by brianbutler on Nov 13, 2020 23:00:04 GMT
+1 on the set up. I must admit that due to the variables of nut, bridge, neck shape, intonation up the neck, fret height and then personal preference - it's quite tough to do. I used to try, and was somewhat successful, but honestly the demands where just beyond my abilities, so eventually about 5 years ago took my guitar to well regarded guitar tech. It was pretty amazing difference- best money I spent. Agree 100%.
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Jem
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Post by Jem on Nov 13, 2020 23:36:16 GMT
Great photo by the way Brian....which one are you? If that's you on bass you have quite a substantial bass amp/stack set up.
I can imagine what a 1968 Telecaster would set you back today. Somewhat more than $150
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Post by brianbutler on Nov 14, 2020 3:13:44 GMT
Great photo by the way Brian....which one are you? If that's you on bass you have quite a substantial bass amp/stack set up. I can imagine what a 1968 Telecaster would set you back today. Somewhat more than $150 I am the one with the '68 Telecaster and blue shirt. I still have the receipt for that guitar, bought it new with the rectangular plush case for $225. I'm sure the price today is up there. My amp (behind me) was a Fender Twin Reverb with JB Lansing speakers.
BRian
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Post by velocipete on Nov 14, 2020 7:56:00 GMT
Apologies Pete - I mixed up the bass and the Burns, easily done No bother Jem. Burns did make some rather splendid bass guitars though. Cheers, Pete.
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Post by brianbutler on Nov 17, 2020 14:51:01 GMT
Time to post some recordings: I am (or at least was pre-COVID) pretty active in the Boston, Massachusetts and Providence, Rhode Island amateur Irish traditional music scenes, which are among the most active in the country. It is primarily play-for-your-pint pub sessions with the odd paying gig thrown in. The music is almost entirely traditional dance tunes (reels, jig, hornpipes) with the occasional song. This is me playing a slip jig on tenor banjo: O'Farrell's Welcome To LimerickAnd here I am playing a reel on tenor guitar: Sean Sa CeoHere I am playing a set of jigs with my flute-playing musical colleague, Leslie: Patsy Geary's - Humours Of RaheyLooking forward to playing out again. Brian
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