Peter Hook. the bass, the basslines

I'm somewhat of a frequent visitor to the site, and am in the 'process' of buying either a guitar or bass. I don't read or write music and have never played an instrument in my life, but Hooky's basslines only took well over twenty years to convince me that I had to able to *try* to play some of them.

Does anyone have any suggestions vis-a-vis a bass guitar, that does not cost, say, more than $300USD, with which I might make a stab at playing? I'm hopelessly unaware of instruments--which will likely make me a sucker at music shops.

Also, has Peter Hook played the same *kind* of bass from Joy Division all the way up to the present? Again, this may sound somewhat naive. Someone told me he played an Alembic six-string bass which would go for about three grand. Is that true or not?

*Any* advice, suggestions, info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hook's basslines are really easy to play, you can pick most of them up as a beginner just by listening and learning the relationship between notes.

As for Hooky's bass guitars, there is an article where he talks about each bass he's used throughout the years. If no one has posted it when I come home I'll upload it for you.

A Fender Precision Bass is a very decent beginners bass. You can get one for $200-300, although if you get really into the instrument you may well want to upgrade.

Have fun, I know you will.

Here's the article sans pictures

PHook interview

Villager wrote:

Also, has Peter Hook played the same *kind* of bass from Joy Division all the way up to the present? Again, this may sound somewhat naive. Someone told me he played an Alembic six-string bass which would go for about three grand. Is that true or not?

*Any* advice, suggestions, info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hooky's basses have changed over the years. Not aware of him having played an Alembic though, Jack? You'll be able to get a decent 4-string for $300, but that won't help you recreate the Hooky sound. You'll need a shedload of gear for that, at the very least an Electroharmonix Clone Theory pedal or two and some Digital Delay, plus a rack full of the very best in gear. A six-string bass such as the Shergold Marathon will give you the high end range, but be warned that only 95 were ever made, and I think Hooky owns most of them these days!

I second the use of a Fender PBass. A fine starting point, and the tuning remains pretty reliable, at least with mine.

Yamaha RBX 370A

That's the first bass I got, it's within your price range too. Four years after buying that bass, it's still great to play. I recommend it.

I am most grateful to all of you who responded. It means a great deal. I particularly appreciated the article from 'Bass Player'--it was exactly what I'd been after for so long!

I really like my Squier Jazz bass, more tonal range than a precision and a narrower neck so easier to play.

Might also be worth looking around for a used Yamaha BB1200 as that's what Hooky uses in the studio (and live in the early days), I think there's every chance of getting one for a decent price. I remember playing one years ago and it was really nice.

Cheers for posting the article, I'm hoping to pick up a 6 stringer in the not too distant future.

you'll find the Shergold Marathon 6 almost impossible to get hold of, an alternative is one of these:

fender jaguar bass VI

The problem with trying to "recreate" the Shergold with other 6-string basses or baritone guitars is that such instruments are tuned C to C, or B to B respectively. The Shergold 6-strings were tuned like a guitar (i.e. E to E) straight from the factory. To get the others set up to be E to E will involve taking it for a full set-up adjustment at a decent luthier, making the necessary neck/saddle adjustments for the new string tensions. OLP do a baritone guitar that looks like the Shergold, but again it'll involve the aforementioned alterations.

Still praying some clueless old Genesis fan drops off a mint Shergold Marathon 6 into a local guitar shop for me to swipe at a knockdown price...

I reckon your best bet's a Yamaha BB1200s. They're relatively inexpensive, and their sound is evidenced on every NO album to date (as well as Closer).

johnny james wrote: you'll find the Shergold Marathon 6 almost impossible to get hold of, an alternative is one of these:

fender jaguar bass VI

I've found out they are impossible to get as well. :/ What do you think of this bass - ebay link a link with some info

Looks alright for my price range.