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I bet we've all been there, watching a gig video and thrumming and plucking along to Hooky.
Well how about going a step further, no not trying to upload NO to the dance mat, buying a bass and amp and learning to play a'la Hooky
So the quest is on for a suitable piece of equipment to learn to play, so what if I am a middle aged dreamer without a single piece of musical DNA, its good to have a goal right?
Whats your inspiration?
Jeffari-al-Texani wrote: Here's the only damn guitar I'll be playing...
Looks good
I expect to waste lots of money in order to find out I cant do it and will then sell all the gear for a big loss.
Its how the hobbies usually go, any one want a stupidly expensive Mountain bike, road bike, a pile of fishing tackle
Buy a basic Yamaha full scale 4 string bass - you can't go wrong with them and the tone is great. You can sell them for the same price you bought them if you're careful. Get a 30W or similar capacity practice amp. Don't forget spare strings, a couple of leads and some picks.
You might want a 'Zoom' pedal and set it to E1 or E3 to get a 'Hooky 6 string sound'.
Best of luck. Off to work now...
There's nothing wrong with owning guitars and amps you don't know how to play.
Nothing at all.
The ownership of these things is pleasure in itself.
Chris Nash wrote: Buy a basic Yamaha full scale 4 string bass - you can't go wrong with them and the tone is great. You can sell them for the same price you bought them if you're careful. Get a 30W or similar capacity practice amp. Don't forget spare strings, a couple of leads and some picks.
You might want a 'Zoom' pedal and set it to E1 or E3 to get a 'Hooky 6 string sound'.
Best of luck. Off to work now...
could you point me a suitable one / model?
Rev Big wrote: There's nothing wrong with owning guitars and amps you don't know how to play.
Nothing at all.
The ownership of these things is pleasure in itself.
I can appreciate that.
I have approximately £6000 of car in my garage that comes out for a wash and polish and goes back again each Sunday
Rev Big wrote: Owning things that you only take out to polish is the mark of a real man
I've got something like that, but everytime I polish it, it seems to go off... can you help?
EdelBrock wrote:
I've got something like that, but everytime I polish it, it seems to go off... can you help?
You'll go blind...:wink3:
dt4 wrote:
could you point me a suitable one / model?
Have a look for some basic advice here
There are some very reasonably priced bass guitars around, don't go for something like this
Shop around and for around £400 you can get a good set up. Try a few second hand shops - they'll let you try out the instruments before you buy.
Some good quality, low price basses here
This is the effects pedal I mentioned
Your best bet is to shop around, compare prices and wherever possible, handle the bass, make sure the neck is straight and that the octaves sound right. You don't want something that sounds fine on an open string then is a half tone out when you play the octave.
Take a mate with you who's a bass player if possible.
It all depends whether you're intending to muck around at home or join a band...
Good luck mate! 
Never heard of that bass, and it's scary cheap, but it looks nice and the make a big deal of the action and pickups, which are the first two things to worry about on a cheap bass.
Can't be bad for 100EU but.
The amp on the other hand.....walk away.
Practice amps all sound thin, boxy and totally uninspiring. you're much better using your PC or laptop as a preamp (with software like guitar rig) and plugging that into your hi-fi/headphones. Honestly, praccy amps nearly put me off playing for ever. I'd say it's either a great amp, or no amp.
The bass looks horrible, but you never know how it will play. Not a bad price, but I've never been keen on five strings anyway - four or six for me.
EDIT: As Steve pointed out, they make a big deal of the action and pick-ups. The action can be adjusted and you can replace the pick-ups, but you're probably better off with a better quality bass in the first place.
If it's at all possible, I'd always recommend buying from somewhere that you can actually pick it up, feel it, judge the weight, condition, playability, etc. Or buy from an online store with a good returns policy if you're not happy.
The amp should be fine for practicing, but I'm sure you could get a serviceable, higher spec. similar product for the same price or cheaper in a second hand shop - afterall, when you add the postage costs, it comes to £55 or so.
EDIT: All practice amps sound horrible, but if you want to play along with CDs or whatever to practice, I'd disagree with headphones, pc as pre-amp, etc. but that's just preference. Do it the old fashioned way and make a noise. You learn alot more. Yes, the sound is shit, but how many bands like JD, The Stranglers, The Jam, Police, etc. put anything through a pc when they learned to play? You learn when you can hear fret buzz, smacking the pick-ups by mistake, etc.
Maybe 'Hooky's Six String Bass' or Doctor? would like to make a comment. Maybe Jack would like to add his thoughts?
When I bought my first bass 26 years ago, I simply went for what I could afford, saving up from working a crap Saturday job. I trudged 6 miles through the snow carrying the amp home - I couldn't feel my arms at the end of the journey.
Are we now getting a resurgence of new bass players on the site inspired by the idea of Freebass?
:)
Just to clarify, I meant the bass looks nice in terms of that it may feel and play nice.
As Chris said, it's best played in a darkened room.
Oh and he's also right about the 5 string thing, especially since it'll come tuned with a low-B and you want a HIGH B or C (Jack, mate, what's the 2nd string on the Marathon?).
Low-B+praccy amp=silence BTW.
I managed to find a lucky purchase with my first practice amp - a very solid 'Torque' amp - no rattling, good bass delivery and therefore not too thin on the sound. Cost me £20, which at the time was a fortune to me...
Not a make you hear of that often now!
Got a 50W Torque amp, mildly fire damaged, for 80 bills.
It was OK-ish, apart from a habit of not switching on now and then.
My dog pissed down it, which made the grill rust away. It ended up being used as a monitor during our attic residency in a belfast club. One night nobody could be arsed carrying it downstairs, it just so happened we never went back to play, and could never be bothered to go back for the rusty amp.
I was a very clear sound, not TOO rich, but certainly worth the cash. Shitty op-amp preamp but, no warmth to any overdrive you could coax out of it.
PS, those zooms do have a lucious chorus 
Thanks for the input and advice folks. I should also add that I am left handed just to reduce choice a bit.
A true story, one of my sisters got an acoustic guitar for christmas and my Mum paid for lessons for her, when she came home she tried to teach me but in reverse so to speak.
My mother heard the horrible noise that was coming from the garage and phoned the teacher to say she thought my sister was a lost cause and cancelled the rest of the lessons
I'd highly recommend the Yamaha BB 614, it's a fantastic bass for the price. On the one I had I changed the shite bridge for a chrome badass II bridge. The only reason I sold it was because I have 3 vintage BB 1200s's and it wasn't getting a look in...
The zoom effects that Chris mentioned will do the job and are a good starting point.
If you're a 'leftie' Dave, most good manufacturers do a left handed version.
I wouldn't recommend re-stringing a right-hand bass as the tension on the strings can screw things up - you have to start cutting strings down, etc.
For instance, on a full-scale bass, you might have to buy two sets of strings - one long scale and one medium scale, just so they fit.
Tanglewood aren't brilliant, but if you just want to mess around, learn, practice, etc, then you could do worse (Encore, Marlin, etc.)
I like the look of the Tanglewood. Once I have abandoned the idea of playing, I can see it looking nice on display.
Doctor? wrote: Just to clarify, I meant the bass looks nice in terms of that it may feel and play nice.
As Chris said, it's best played in a darkened room.
Oh and he's also right about the 5 string thing, especially since it'll come tuned with a low-B and you want a HIGH B or C (Jack, mate, what's the 2nd string on the Marathon?).
Low-B+praccy amp=silence BTW.
marathon E,A,D,G,B,E.
Could never figure out if he had B E on top or C F (for the sake of keeping the whole thing in fourths).
The aspiring bassplayer could also use one of these up there ^^
They smell and don't have a volume control, but you can't learn better than playing with a live skinbasher.
Very true Steve. If only you could go into a music store and just pick up your very own Leadfoot from the shelf...
Still, as a beginner, once you've learned a few tunes, it's fun to play along with live recordings - see if you can get through a whole gig without your fingers falling off.
I usually used to use a pick. Lost my box of picks at one gig and had to go back to picking the strings with my fingers. Halfway through the set, the newly formed blisters on my fingertips split and my T shirt, my bass and I ended up covered in blood - we played our fastest song last 
Hooky is so inspiring I nearly bought a New Order record. Unfortunately I didnt have the money and continued to listen to the genius of Erasure and Modern Romance.
If I was to buy my first New Order record (or CDs as they call them now) what would anyone recommend? World or Raise The Pressure?
NO Regret wrote: Hooky is so inspiring I nearly bought a New Order record. Unfortunately I didnt have the money and continued to listen to the genius of Erasure and Modern Romance.
If I was to buy my first New Order record (or CDs as they call them now) what would anyone recommend? World or Raise The Pressure?
I suggest gettting their Sam's Town album first, definately a classic!
i love keyboards and pianos. been playing since i was 11, but not classically trained. not really have a fav keyboardist. but i like new order's songs cos they are fairly quick to pick up on and learn.
EdelBrock wrote:
NO Regret wrote: Hooky is so inspiring I nearly bought a New Order record. Unfortunately I didnt have the money and continued to listen to the genius of Erasure and Modern Romance.
If I was to buy my first New Order record (or CDs as they call them now) what would anyone recommend? World or Raise The Pressure?
I suggest gettting their Sam's Town album first, definately a classic!
Quality
The Killers have been a great tribute act
Doctor? wrote: Could never figure out if he had B E on top or C F (for the sake of keeping the whole thing in fourths).
I'm willing to bet money it's EADGBE - watch how he plays the opening riff of Dreams Never End.
So far I have been disappointed with my zoom b1 and had more success with my brothers zoom 607. Seems easier to get the balance of warmth and crunch.
Ive bought a cheapo bass, I am looking for a practice / ebay bargain amp. Are there any recommended on line or written tutorials??? I am left handed if that needs to be borne in mind?
Being left handed makes no difference to the amp you use.
Go for something cheap and solid. Check out some on Google - the cheap range are all pretty similar. What tends to make the difference on a practice amp is the weight/build, especially for bass. If it's good and solid, it generally won't rattle around and you'll get a better sound. No matter what anyone says about tone, response, etc. you won't notice the difference on a cheap practice amp.
Tutorials won't matter either - you (no joke) just need to look at the bass tabs upside down - their 'top' or 'E' string will be your 'G' and vice-versa... Oh, and in that case, read the tabs from the bottom of the page, right to left...
Bloody left-handers!
The leftyness was a referance to the tutorial Chris, I realise that my awkward handedness didnt matter in terms of the amp
I will search out a book or dvd to get me started, I just wondered if the tutorial needed to be for a lefty?
Not sure you'll find 'How To Learn bass When You're A Lefty'
When you listen to a tune, can you pick out the bass part in your head?
I learned to read music when I was five years old, and had forgotten by the time I was ten.
All the instruments I can now play, I learned simply by copying what I heard - maybe that would be your best bet.
Try 'Transmission' - it's a good one to get you picking the strings in time and at regular intervals. There's not alot to it really.
Chase, I'm pretty sure leadfoot's info can be considered to be of an equine oral nature (even if, as a drummer, "tuning" to him, means fucking about with the floor tom until it rattles something on (preferably, IN) every other shell 
).
Other thoughts......
Southpaw bass=normal bass+3mins+(1xhand drill)+(1xscrewdriver). In fact, since most strap nubbins are fitted with self tapping screws, you can usually omit the drill, you just poke a hole 5mm deep with something, and start screwing. Obviously, swapping the strap nubbin works best on symetrical-ish basses, doing it on some freak thing with a huge top horn and a near cutaway at the bottom is going to knacker the balance of the thing. However, necks are not generally profiled accross-ways, so work both ways up. Saddle heights need adjusting too, BUT, you can just swap them around (take the one from the 1st string, put it where the 4th was, and vice-versa), this is a good plan since it negates having to try and set the string radius....which is a bitch, 22 years behind a bass, and I still make a hog's fanny of it mostly. Why am I suggesting all this surgery?
Praccy amps, are, quite honestly, horrid things. Avoid like the proverbial, seriously. By all means, buy a low-wattage amp, but if the words "practice amp" appear within 4 feet, think "wasp in a cereal packet" and walk away.
If not hitting the higher end of the ricther scale is an issue, just buy some nice heaphones, and a nice long minijack to 2xphono cable to connect your PC to your Hi-Fi, and a semi-decent soundcard (anything with full size 1/4" sockets (in which case, sod the minijack lead), the low end M-audio delta's for instance, quite reasonable on ebay), then beg/borrow/steal/buy Native instruments Guitar Rig. Problem, 100% solved, minimal cost, and guitar rig even comes with a hooky preset (well, it's like a goth-shit guitar preset really, but kill the 'verb and delay, and bung a bass through it and yer onto a winner).
This post has been brought to you by the fact that the usual suspects are not being all that funny, nor indeed prolific, so I've had to post something that might be useful instead of talking about anal prolapses. I feel ashamed.
cheers Doc, I understood about 10% of that at the first reading, I will keep coming back to it
I am on the look out for a "decent" amp, deffo not one that has practice in its description.
Chris Nash wrote: Not sure you'll find 'How To Learn bass When You're A Lefty'
When you listen to a tune, can you pick out the bass part in your head?
I learned to read music when I was five years old, and had forgotten by the time I was ten.
All the instruments I can now play, I learned simply by copying what I heard - maybe that would be your best bet.
Try 'Transmission' - it's a good one to get you picking the strings in time and at regular intervals. There's not alot to it really.
I can hear the bass parts fine and can assimilate that into hand action, the next step is to work out what shape my right hand needs to take to produce the noises in my head
Rev Big wrote:
dt4 wrote: Ive bought a cheapo bass
Nice one
Have you tried playing it yet?
I have picked it up a few times and cant understand why my ability doesnt match my enthusiasm.
Well you have to start somewhere, so I dived into PC & L Had a go at Age of consent and Leave me alone. Both efforts bare a passing resemblance, close but no cigar.
I need some tuition I think to show me the basic chords etc.... Looking for boks and dvd's now.
