set up questions

[bovinehost]

every band i've heard all tune the same.

It was kind of like that when I was growing up, too, except it was mostly just regular tuning. We old people call what you're experiencing a "fad".

 

[sitonmybass]

i don't have that long playing bass. i'll hit a year in july. My friend who taught me to play bass in my first month told me that bass was just there to make the band look good. He's the singer to his own band and he loves bass he says.

Looking good! Must be talkin about sitonmybass.

 

[IvanHardy]

sorry bro you know i wasnt talking about you. and to jack yeah i guess. but all i the bands i listen to all play in standard, drop D, or C together.

 

[sitonmybass]

sorry bro you know i wasnt talking about you.

Actually, it was 57fenderjazz's response to your quote that I was curious about.

It got me thinking, "Uh, oh... what did I do or "say" now?

This is the fun part of being on this forum! We "rib" each other all the time!

 

[kevins]

My friend who taught me to play bass in my first month told me that bass was just there to make the band look good.

lol thats beautiful. listen to some jazz or ska or old motown records, the bassist does so much more in those band. i always thought the bass was there to give the music a feel, it kind of pulls the melodies of the flashier instruments into the primal rythms of the drums by capturing an over all feel that the song has. you can tell a about the over all "mood" to a song from a bassline alone.

why check out this example(if you like punk you should love the specials, they're a ska punk band with an amazing bassist.)
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr2HTUlUrDo"]YouTube- The Specials - Rat Race[/nomedia]

that bassline is ridiculously easy to play but incredibly dynamic and the bassist is in no way mimicing the movements of the guitarist on the fretboard


and theres this band which may or may not be your cup of tea but check out whats going on here
[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl6sBJIjOj8&feature=related"]YouTube- Narcolepsy- Ben Folds Five[/nomedia]
theres a piano being played in there and in this particular instance the piano often hits notes that are lower than the low e on the bass. the bassist is tuned to standard EADG and the bassline doesnt sound crappy or muddled, he uses some fuzz but thats it. but the point is that if you're not able to hit the low C in drop C tuning its not a big deal, you shouldnt be copying the guitars movement anyway!


no offense but drop tunings are made for guitars and they're only going to stifle you in learning the bass and lead to you not being able to develoup good fingerboard framiliarity which is incredibly important to a bassist being able to play interesting bass lines that arent simply following the guitar fret for fret

 

[cellkirk74]

no offense but drop tunings are made for guitars and they're only going to stifle you in learning the bass and lead to you not being able to develoup good fingerboard framiliarity which is incredibly important to a bassist being able to play interesting bass lines that arent simply following the guitar fret for fret

+1!
That's the main point. Drop tunings will not help your process of learning the instrument and if you go for a BEAD tuning like we mentioned above, you will have any tone you will need, even the low c or c#, right at hand, but in the right fret.

Try it out, it will help you to improve a lot faster than you would by copying the rhythm guitar.

 

[Powman]

Cool thread. Its no longer about setup really, but alternate tunings. I find it interesting to hear different people's opinions on this. I personally don't like to sue alternate tunings and I am glad to see I am not alone.

 

[five7]

Cellkirk makes a good point. Why not trade one of your 4 strings for a 5 string and be able to play any notes.

 

[sitonmybass]

Adapting to and getting comfortable with a 5-string is something that you should at least consider.

I thought this was worth repeating.

 

[IvanHardy]

guys i appreciate all of you replying to this and helping a noob like me understand all this. i'm thinking about 5 strings and BEAD but for the moment i'd like to stay with 4's and learn my fretboard in Standard and Drop D. with all of you guys helping i don't think i'll ever tune so low again. when i was in my first band the guy who supposedly was good at bass and was called best bassist in new york kept pressuring me to go drop C at the studio when we went to record and i clearly told i had no experience in C at the time. he was temporarily the drummer also before switching to rythym and then we broke up after one epic show!!! anyway i'm glad im here on this forum with you wonderful people to help me see that what i'm told by others isn't true. even the guy who taught me to play bass said i had to get my bass set up to match my singers sound and blend with the band. i jumped the gun and put power slinky's on my maple Stingray and havent set it up nor will i at this point.

now i remember someone posting that instead of matching frets i needed to match sound or somehting like that. how does that work?

 

[kevins]

just remember you are not there to play what the guitar is playing whatsoever, otherwise they would just crank up the bass on the guitar amp. the drums playing the guitar line would be senseless right? so is the bass playing the guitar line. it works sometimes but when its done for every song thats usually when most bass players in the audience are thinking "hack."


as for the five strings there are some i outright hate the heck out of because the ludicrous size of that neck. but ive actually played on five strings i like. i dont see the need of going into those sonic ranges so i never invested in one. try em out, you may find one with a skinny neck.

play what the song feels like, you may not sync up with what music theory majors deem as acceptable each time, and you may end up sounding like crap but eventually you will be so good at playing what the song feels like that you will sound good even if you are off theoretically a few notes. remember that in a band situation, as the harmony section, theres going to be a lot of trial and error as you're jamming along. what you're playing may work or not work, a few notes may have to be ommitted or added or other changes may be necessary. you may even have to come up with a skeletal bassline and then flesh it out into something awesome. regardless of all these types of changes, there is going to be a lot more trial and error than just following the guitar. and trust me you'll make something that you can play in a room with a bunch of folks without a band behind you and people will still be moved by it.

also its been said before, worry less fret more!(puntacular!)

 

[danny-79]

play what the song feels like, you may not sync up with what music theory majors deem as acceptable each time, and you may end up sounding like crap but eventually you will be so good at playing what the song feels like that you will sound good even if you are off theoretically a few notes. remember that in a band situation, as the harmony section, theres going to be a lot of trial and error as you're jamming along. what you're playing may work or not work, a few notes may have to be ommitted or added or other changes may be necessary. you may even have to come up with a skeletal bassline and then flesh it out into something awesome. regardless of all these types of changes, there is going to be a lot more trial and error than just following the guitar. and trust me you'll make something that you can play in a room with a bunch of folks without a band behind you and people will still be moved by it.

also its been said before, worry less fret more!(puntacular!)

There are no rules, Just what ever gets it out, and you as a bass player.... Thats your job
Your sound is your your signature so just have fun an you will get it...

 

[maddog]

yes. worry less, fret more.

 

[IvanHardy]

yes. worry less, fret more.

that's not the first time ive had that said to me here. kevins and danny i see where you're getting at. i loved it when you said play what you feel is right. i totally love the sound of that. i'm definately gonna be trying that now. gonna be alot of trial and error.i know not a damn thing of theory as flea once said. gonna keep both my basses at standard then. man i wish i had someone to tell me all this before. better late than never.

 

[maddog]

there are only 12 notes. Lots of ways you can string them together but there are only 12 of the little guys.

 

[IvanHardy]

A-G right and one doesnt have a flat and the other doesn't have a sharp right? but i don't know when i'm playing a sharp or flat note.

 

[Stephen]

Besides playing the gig you like and playing how you feel is right, I think it's a good idea to back all this up with some theory - it will help your music, and your confidence, for that matter.

Now, into how many evenings or weeks does "some theory" translate? You can go through the basics pretty quickly and then literally spend the rest of your (musical) life to master them! And it will be a fun life, full of discovery and understanding, like your personal frontier ... (am I getting a little carried away here? Actually, no, I don't think so )

I highly recommend to take some lessons with an experienced bass player (!) and teacher, the earlier, the better. And you might want to get Ed Friedland's excellent "Bass Method" book! For less than a set of strings it will take you very far, including understanding the notes and frets, time and timing, and how to string all of it together. Since you are clearly passionate about your instrument I can tell you are in for a fun journey!

Cheers

 

[Stephen]

Cool thread. Its no longer about setup really, but alternate tunings. ...

In a way, it still is about setup, too, I think.

Point being that deeper alternate tunings are doomed to mess up just about any decent setup by pushing gear, read strings and neck, designed for pretty specific purpose to and at times way beyond their limits.

 

[bovinehost]

i don't know when i'm playing a sharp or flat note.

Story of my life.

 

[strummer]

A couple weeks ago we were in the studio, and one song we did was a cover of Kiss' Modern Day Delilah, just for fun you know. Anyway, that song is originally in E, we tune to Eb and I play a fiver that I for this song tunded to drop Ab. Letting that B-sting (erm, Ab-sting) rumble made the drummer urgently need a break

IvanHardy: Get familiar with your fretboard, and don't think too much about what tuning you want to accept, just rock the hell out of your bass and remember sometimes (actually a lot of times) one octave highter might be the way to go.