Greetings miscreants. After some testing I've decided that, despite how great I think the various virtual bass instruments are, a real bass still sounds better. Even, to my ears, my cheapo no name brand bass sounds better.
After trolling through many a bass thread, I've come to a few conclusions and many assumptions. So I herewith submit them to you for your scrutiny my findings, thoughts, and unanswered questions. I have numbered them so you can simply quote the number when responding. There is no need for block quoting.
This thread is by no mean authoritative, in fact quite the opposite. If I knew what I was doing I would not have read dozens of threads looking for answers. I also want to make it clear that by “non-bass” player that I am aiming this at squarely at guitarists who, like many (including myself), find themselves performing the bass player’s duties for whatever reason.
Of course everything I've written here could be complete rubbish, but this is where my research has led me to. I’m sure there’s plenty I’ve left out, this is by no means complete. Please correct me where I'm wrong, add your own thoughts, or even confirm anything that is valid.
1. Bass models. Ibanez, Fender, Musicman seem to be the most common in this metal world. Having said that…. Fender Jazz bass. These seem to be the staple rock/metal bass. They have a great reputation as being easy to record and capture a good sound. They also have an appeal much wider than metal.
My main confusion here is what model? The American standard seems like a good life long investment where a cheaper Squire or Mexican model seems like it could get the job done but I'm not convinced it would be your go to thunder broom in a few years.
2. 4 vs 5 string. If you play a 7 string guitar I think a 5 string is a no brainer. Especially if you'll be performing the bass duties yourself. I've read conflicting information on the string spacing of 4 vs 5 strings, some say it has little impact on the playability others hate the tighter string spacing.
As for other tunings, well I guess it depends on how far down you need to tune. Again if your main machine is the guitbox then keeping the tuning interval pattern is important for porting from one instrument to another.
3. Scale length. Although subjective, whether you use a 34" or 35" is not only impacted by how low you tune but the scale length your guitar that you play. If you're accustomed to longer scale lengths on your guitar neck then an extended bass neck will afford you the same tuning and intonation benefits.
4. String gauge. Although the same rules apply as for guitar strings, I do however think slightly heavy strings are a good idea. Keep in mind that as a non-bass playing bass player you are less likely to perform bends, vibrato, etc like you would on a guitar or if you were a full time bass player. Getting a good solid bass track will be easier if the strings intonate well, don't go too sharp when you smack them, and don't bend too much under the fingers.
As for an actual string gauge for a 5 string, based only on a slight prevalence and by no means a consensus, 45 - 135 is a good place to start. Any of the reputable brands are recommended.
5. String life. Unfortunately I’ve seen (I admit I’m guilty of this) many bass players, and I mean bass players not guitarists playing bass, leave stings on for years. Just like guitar, you need to change your strings regularly. If your recording it depends how you play. Obviously different players are going to go through strings at different rates. I’m going to say change them every song if you can.
6. Timbers. Maple necks with maple or rosewood fretboards are pretty standard. As for bodies Mahogany is darker sounding so is more prevalent on thinner bodies such as Ibanez where Alder bodies for the bigger shapes like fender. Ash is not uncommon.
7. Pickups. This is unclear to me. In the guitar world almost no one use stock pickups. Ratios of active to passive vary, active is certainly more prevalent in the metal world. But with bass I’m not so sure. My limited experience is that a good stock active or passive in say a fender Jazz is a pretty good pickup that most non-bassist should be happy with. Having said that, there are a lot of Jazz basses that have both active and passive modes.
8. Using controls. When it comes to guitar controls I have one rule, if there's a tone or volume knob, I say if because I'm prone to pulling them out, put it on 10. What's the deal with the bass controls? I don’t even understand all the controls on a jazz bass? Is it the same kind of thing as for a guitar or is there more of a science to it? Pup selection?
9. Picks. IMO those sharp little buggers (you know what I’m talking about) don’t cut it. I prefer something more along the lines of the more standard Dunlop tortex 1mm garden variety of pick. Unless you’re super skilled and most likely a real bass player then avoid using the fingers.
10. Amps. I’m not even going to touch this.
11. ?
After trolling through many a bass thread, I've come to a few conclusions and many assumptions. So I herewith submit them to you for your scrutiny my findings, thoughts, and unanswered questions. I have numbered them so you can simply quote the number when responding. There is no need for block quoting.
This thread is by no mean authoritative, in fact quite the opposite. If I knew what I was doing I would not have read dozens of threads looking for answers. I also want to make it clear that by “non-bass” player that I am aiming this at squarely at guitarists who, like many (including myself), find themselves performing the bass player’s duties for whatever reason.
Of course everything I've written here could be complete rubbish, but this is where my research has led me to. I’m sure there’s plenty I’ve left out, this is by no means complete. Please correct me where I'm wrong, add your own thoughts, or even confirm anything that is valid.
1. Bass models. Ibanez, Fender, Musicman seem to be the most common in this metal world. Having said that…. Fender Jazz bass. These seem to be the staple rock/metal bass. They have a great reputation as being easy to record and capture a good sound. They also have an appeal much wider than metal.
My main confusion here is what model? The American standard seems like a good life long investment where a cheaper Squire or Mexican model seems like it could get the job done but I'm not convinced it would be your go to thunder broom in a few years.
2. 4 vs 5 string. If you play a 7 string guitar I think a 5 string is a no brainer. Especially if you'll be performing the bass duties yourself. I've read conflicting information on the string spacing of 4 vs 5 strings, some say it has little impact on the playability others hate the tighter string spacing.
As for other tunings, well I guess it depends on how far down you need to tune. Again if your main machine is the guitbox then keeping the tuning interval pattern is important for porting from one instrument to another.
3. Scale length. Although subjective, whether you use a 34" or 35" is not only impacted by how low you tune but the scale length your guitar that you play. If you're accustomed to longer scale lengths on your guitar neck then an extended bass neck will afford you the same tuning and intonation benefits.
4. String gauge. Although the same rules apply as for guitar strings, I do however think slightly heavy strings are a good idea. Keep in mind that as a non-bass playing bass player you are less likely to perform bends, vibrato, etc like you would on a guitar or if you were a full time bass player. Getting a good solid bass track will be easier if the strings intonate well, don't go too sharp when you smack them, and don't bend too much under the fingers.
As for an actual string gauge for a 5 string, based only on a slight prevalence and by no means a consensus, 45 - 135 is a good place to start. Any of the reputable brands are recommended.
5. String life. Unfortunately I’ve seen (I admit I’m guilty of this) many bass players, and I mean bass players not guitarists playing bass, leave stings on for years. Just like guitar, you need to change your strings regularly. If your recording it depends how you play. Obviously different players are going to go through strings at different rates. I’m going to say change them every song if you can.
6. Timbers. Maple necks with maple or rosewood fretboards are pretty standard. As for bodies Mahogany is darker sounding so is more prevalent on thinner bodies such as Ibanez where Alder bodies for the bigger shapes like fender. Ash is not uncommon.
7. Pickups. This is unclear to me. In the guitar world almost no one use stock pickups. Ratios of active to passive vary, active is certainly more prevalent in the metal world. But with bass I’m not so sure. My limited experience is that a good stock active or passive in say a fender Jazz is a pretty good pickup that most non-bassist should be happy with. Having said that, there are a lot of Jazz basses that have both active and passive modes.
8. Using controls. When it comes to guitar controls I have one rule, if there's a tone or volume knob, I say if because I'm prone to pulling them out, put it on 10. What's the deal with the bass controls? I don’t even understand all the controls on a jazz bass? Is it the same kind of thing as for a guitar or is there more of a science to it? Pup selection?
9. Picks. IMO those sharp little buggers (you know what I’m talking about) don’t cut it. I prefer something more along the lines of the more standard Dunlop tortex 1mm garden variety of pick. Unless you’re super skilled and most likely a real bass player then avoid using the fingers.
10. Amps. I’m not even going to touch this.
11. ?
