Here's my story.
My cousin and I have started getting together for the past 4 or 5 months. We are both guitar players. Together we have been coming up with some “original†songs and have been going over some covers (mostly metal and alternative) and we think we are making some improvements and are working well with each other. We understand that we will need to look for a bass player and a drummer soon but, I told him I wanted to have enough stuff to bring to a bass player and drummer first before we look for one. I say “look†but, we have a drummer in mind already. Just a bass player really.
Now the curveball!
My cousin said that he thinks he should play bass and have me as the rhythm, lead, and vocals (which I don't mind). I know he'll want to play the guitar on some songs (which is a story in it self (i.e. wouldn't we need a bass to fill his spot?)) but anyway, now we need to look into a bass guitar for him.
I looked here on the main page and found “Shop Till You Drop†and found it extremely helpful in what we need to do together as a team, and for him individually for the fit, and â€what to look for†(and look out for) but, I figured I would ask here as well to get some live feedback.
So, what would you guys and/or gals recommend for a fretted 4-string bass? He said he wanted to look into Fender or Ibanez. Any do's and don'ts for each brands/models and any others to consider? I read in that article that many Fender owners replace the bridge immediately, is it really that common?
Bio/Genre – Metal/Alternative/Punk
Think (in no particular order) Nirvana/Alice In Chains/Velvet Revolver/Metallica---ish?
If you need to ask some questions, fire away!!!
Thanks for any and all help,
Mike
I don't know too much but for the styles that you're looking to play, Ibanez's and ESP's (should they be in your or your cousin's price range) would be good ones to consider... basically i'd go to the music store and try them out, my brother recently bought a cheaper bass guitar (cheaper meaning lower in price rather then a $10,000 guitar, not cheap in quality) and it seems like a really great bass. So what i'm saying is consider all brands and models and make sure you play them plugged into an amp and unplugged (since amps can mask certain flaws, especially when playing with distortion).
Steve-0
Sorry about that, price range around $400 or less....
And yes, I agree and he plans on trying them out first. Just wanted opinion's being new to the field and all.
The Ibanez in that price range are fair. I have a Peavey in that price range that I really like. If you can bump up a bit, there is a Rockbass by Warwick that runs about $480. The Rockbass series by Warwick is really, really good. They will be the next line of Basses I get, just depending on my cash flow, which one I'll get.
It is a small world for metal fanatics. I welcome you fellow musicians, especially the metalheads!
Well, we picked up a used Ibanez SRX300 BLK yesterday for $180. They go for over $300 new.
He really liked it over all the other ones he tried. He said he figured getting something to learn on and later down the road he will buy a better one if he has to.
We practiced yesterday and........it's weird. I'm use to him playing along with me and I would go off on the lead and we would meet each other back on the rhythm. Not complaining, just never played with a bass player before.
Before it was easy, if I messed up….he would cover it up and vise versa. Now, if either of us messes up we both sound off. I know this will make us both better players.
I just thought I would write down a couple of quick thoughts and observations on my first experience.
Thanks to all who helped,
Mike
