What is there to know about the bass?

Question

Hi.

I am interested in starting bass and I'd like to know what I should know about them if you catch my drift.

For example what's a pickup, what's the difference between active and passive? What kind of bass guitar's do most rock bands use?

ETC.

Thanks.

Answer 1

Ok first a standard Bass guitar has 4 strings tuned E-A-D-G low to high. A pickup is a device placed under the string and an electric instrument to amplify the vibrations of the strings in technical terms. Active and passive electronics Active electronics are low impendance wiring and low noise which means you will not get as much noise as with passives. But they do run on a 9-volt battery and will not work without it. Passives take no batteries and are slightly noisy and have less output.(Aren't as loud) but cheaper in the long run. There isn't a really set brand everyone uses. It's Personal preferance try an esp ltd they are very high quality and sound great. Also stick with it and it may seem boring when first starting but stick with it. Hope that helps

Answer 2

Active and passive doesn't really matter that much, it just means whther you control the sound at the bass or the amp(respectively).

Bass can be an instrument, or part of one. In a rock band setting you are usually part of an instrument when combined with drums called the rhythm section.(not literal, but the imagery is good lol) all that means is you can be the backbone, but also the frontman.

don't ask people which bass to get, go out and try some out, get what feels right that you can afford.

Answer 3

It goes deeep dooown ...

Oh boy oh boy ...

Answer 4

its a fish

Answer 5

You should know that the standard 4 string bass guitar has the same bass strings a 6 string guitar has, only an octave lower. They are; G, D, A & E from high to low. The strings are 5 steps apart, for those familiar w/ music. The bass guitar is seen as mostly a rythym instrument, that is, something that reinforces the beat of the drums, though there have been some players who have made them as important to the song as the lead guitar w/ some fancy fretwork; notably Paul McCartney, prob. the first rock player to do so, followed closely by Chris Squire and Geddy Lee.

  A pickup is a simplified step-up coil. It takes the vibrations created by the strings and converts them to an electrical signal. That sound is then routed to an amplifier, which makes it audible to other listeners. A passive coil relies solely on the sound waves of the strings to create the electrical field. An active coil creates its own field, usually w/ a dry cell battery.

   There have been numerous bass guitars used by rock bands over the years, but at least in the early days, the most prominent ones were the Fender Precision Bass and the Rickenbacker 4001. Modern players have a wide variety from which to choose brand wise as well as additional strings; 5 string and 6 string being used quite a bit.

   If this is your first musical instrument, you should get some lessons from a bass guitar teacher, as they will teach you how to read music and keep time, as well as some elementary principals of music and theory.

  Cheers!

Answer 6

I would suggest buying a Fender Bass Guitar. If you lose interest, you can always get your money back by keeping it a few years as they hold their value quite impressively.  Now, the difference between active and passive....I dont know what that is.  Most rock band bassists play Fenders.  The things you need to know about a Fender is they make an American made Fender and an Import.  The American made is the pricey one and for good reason.  The imports are cheaper and less valuable to musicians.  Buy American, it's like getting a corvette.  I would finally suggest calling or going online to Musiciansfriend.com.  They will answer all your questions and school you on the different guitars and they will also have a better price than any music store in your state.  That is a fact.