A basis for basses

[JimPage]

Hey, Sarah--

So you want to join the bass-playing community, eh?!??!?

I have five basses now, and have owned in the last 45 years darn near every bass you could name, including a late 1960s Mosrite single-pickup one. I counted them up one time and it was over 40 different ones before I stopped counting.

My most-often played bass nowadays is a Japanese-made reissue of a 1951 Fender Precision, which is of course long scale. It's been modified with a Seymour Duncan Hot Pickup and some parts making it closer to the original; a phenolic saddle pair and so forth. Good bass.

I have a couple of custom-made basses, also long scale: a fretless bass much like a cross between a PRS and a Jazz Bass, and a 5-string fretted that looks much like a Hofner Club Bass, but solidbody in long scale.

I've heard many people scoff at short-scaled basses, but I used them for years and they are fast and fun, and the ones I had were far lighter than a Fender. My favorites in that scale were the Hofner Beatle Bass (I have owned six of those, including the one I still have) and a Gibson EB-3 (I've owned three of those; I don't consider that I still own one because my son lent mine to a "pal" and I haven't seen it for four years; the fellow moved to Arkansas with no forwarding address).

The Gibson short-scales are sturdier than the Hofners, in my experience.

I wished I had kept a few, including a purple Ampeg with the cutout holes and, of course, the Mosrite. I also loved a '66 Epiphone (Kalamazoo-made) Rivoli (looked like a Gibson 335 or a Mosrite Celebrity). I had a couple of '60s Fender Mustang basses with short scales, and they are neat basses.

I would just play a bunch at a few stores and see what feels and sounds good to you. As a guitar player, there is a much different mindset to playing bass. I consider it a more difficult instrument to play well than a guitar; almost more like a sax like a guitar.

Another aspect worth considering about playing bass is lugging around a very heavy amp and speaker enclosure. That is why I switched to playing mainly rhythm guitar.

All this valuable insight from me is worth just what you paid for it: Zip.

Good luck!

--Jim

[JimPage]

Hey--

Forgot to mention Rickenbacker basses. I've owned a couple of the '70s 4001s and they are a different breed of cat. Long scale and probably the coolest-looking of all basses, though the lacquer seemed to be very thin on the ones I had and would chip off easily. Both mine were totally stock.

I could just never restrain myself when playing a Rick (with flatwounds; shut up) and got accused of playing "lead bass" all the time, and for some reason, probably totally unrelated to the instruments, I had constant amp problems when using my Ricks. I blew a couple of heads (a Marshall and a Hartke) and a nice old Sunn speaker enclosure a guy had at a party.

I also absolutely shredded an Acoustic speaker enclosure when playing a Rick, but that had a bunch of 10" speakers in it and was not made for bass. I knew that would happen, and it did.

The Rick sound was a tad too hi-fi for my tastes and that may have led to me overplaying the things. They sounded great to me because I could really hear the bass in the mix onstage, and lost all judgement. Fun instruments, though.

--Jim

[Veenture]

Let's just take a break and listen to some of Bob Bogle's bass playing on this 1996 rendition of the famous J.B. theme. I'll bet that sound is coming from 2 single coil Jazz-type pickups getting equal volume each. Enjoy, especially the uncompicated but oh-so-cool part starting at 1:35 into the tune

[Haole Jim]

Tres hip, Paul, thank you for sharing the clip and tune. Bob Bogle was such an outstanding musician and person....

Well, Sarah, 'sounds as though the assemblage has given you enough "bassis."

Thought, don't forget a bass amp. An inexpensive-ish sturdy one personally used on 218 church gigs to date plus many practices is a Line 6 Low Down 150, single 12, enclosed "rough carpet" covered cab and steel mesh grillecloth. Not glam or glorious, but it has enough flexiblity and power and sturdiness to do the job.

Best of fortune in shopping.

[Sarah93003]

I appreciate everyones information and sharing of knowledge! I am on the hunt for a bass that catches my fancy. I have a friend who is going to teach me some things to get me started. I have a Bose L1 system with the bass module that handles a bass just fine. I think I'll just use it for a while and if I get very serious then I'll invest in a bass amp.

[Haole Jim]

Hey, Sarah,

How d' y' like the Bose amp?

'Thought about one some years ago, but the Bose Wave Music System bought is such a disappointing, unreliable P.O.S. in this experience, it turned this potential buyer away from anything with their name on it, for like ever.

'Ended up with a Line 6 Vetta (HD, 412 slant, Longboard) which is a truly amazing, flexible amp, NO regrets. The "2 amps at a time" and "double tracker" (playing an "automatic" 2nd parallel guitar with slight variations in timing and pitch) features are just great.

Have fun!

[Sarah93003]

I like the Bose L1 system alot. We use it primarily for a PA system with four mic inputs. Normally I play my guitar through an amp, but if I want to have a quick setup and tear down at a small venue for example, I've taken the Bose and run two guitar through it with two mics and it works great like that. We use it a lot for practice as well and run either a stand up Bass or electric bass through the bass module and it sounds just fine. I highly recommend taking a look at them. I especially like how easy it is to break down, carry, and set up.