I’m 70 years old and looking for things to keep my mind challenged. I have never played guitar. The only musical instrument I have played in my life was the trombone in the school band when I was a kid.
I’m thinking I might try a 4 string bass and possibly Josh’s course. So I’m going to ask a few questions and I hope I’m in the right section to do that.
I’m retired, so I can buy what I want. Or at least whatever I can get by the CFO. I’m also in the Nashville area, so I have access to pretty much anything.
My wife claims I have a habit of buying stuff and not following through. There may be some truth to that. So, that coupled with the fact that listening to different reviews it doesn’t sound like there is a real big difference in a bass to start out with. I’m not going to be playing in a band, it will just be a hobby.
So, I’m thinking an $800 Fender Player II Precision Bass might be a good place to start??
I don’t think I need an amp starting out so is the VOX headphone amp a good way to go? Will any headphones work, or do they need to be something special for bass?
If I do get an amp I’m thinking the Fender Rumble 100 at around $300 would be fine??
What about reading music? I haven’t looked yet, does the course go that route?
Fenders are always good choices. Comfortable, easy to work with and very versatile.
I would say go for the amp, and the 100W is a great choice. Some say it’s too loud but I say there’s a volume knob if you need it, plus they are way more portable than amps used to be 30 years ago. Headphone amps are ok in an emergency but IMO you don’t get the full benefit from them.
If space really is a premium, you can always invest in a multieffects box like the Zoom B1 four - you can use it as a headphone amp and it’s got a ton of other features.
First thing first, B2B is a great course. No you don’t need to learn to read music to play. If you want to learn to play bass best route is to learn how to play songs. Unless you are Jaco fan you should be fine learning songs.
As for starter bass, Player II is fine if you have the budget go for it. You can probably get similar quality from a Squier Classic Vibe at about half the price. I own a few expensive basses and the Classic Vibe is still one of my favorite bass.
Fender Rumble is great, you may want to consider Boss Katana as well.
I’m a newbie like you so take everything I say with a grain of salt…
IMO that’s probably twice what you need to spend on your first bass. Josh has some recommendations you might want to look at. I wen’t with a stingray which isn’t on his list because it only has one pickup which I guess gives you less versatility, but I’m happy so far.
You need an amp to start out. One thing you may not have considered is that there is some acoustic noise that will naturally arise from playing and without playing through an amp it can be hard to get a sense for how significant (or insignificant) that noise really is.
I personally prefer the sound coming out of my fender rumble LT25 to headphones and when I do use headphones (So I can mix with a track) my preference is to put a mic next to the amp instead of using the (rocksmith) DI connector that I also have. But even though I have a nice pair of Audio Technica monitors, which sound pretty good, the sound coming out the amp is definitely better due to the physically larger speaker. I also have a pair of IEMs and to be honest bass sounds like crap through them… like unusably bad. The Fender Rumble 100 seems like a fine choice, compared to the LT25 it’s got a bigger speaker, which you will probably appreciate for bass, but no modeling which may or may not matter to you. For practicing it definitely doesn’t. I can’t speak to headphone amps at all.
B2B is a nice course. I have a lot more fun with it than the other stuff I’m doing (through talking bass) but it does feel less intensive than Mark’s stuff. Music reading in B2B is pretty minimal, there will be staves on screen sometimes but they are always presented alongside tabs. There is enough music reading and music theory, but Josh has definitely made the course approachable to students who get scared off by that stuff.
@DaveHD, just go for it. Get a Fender, a Squier, a Sire, or whatever. It’s a personal choice as to what feels best to you. I know you don’t have a point of reference regarding bass feel yet, but you’ll be amazed how certain basses will just speak to you when you hold them. It’s weird, but totally cool, too.
And do buy an amp. A Fender Rumble is always a good choice.
Finally, absolutely sign up for the Beginner to Badass course ASAP. It is the best way to learn bass.
Be sure and get a good strap. 3-4 inches wide. It makes a huge difference in how comfortable playing can be. Those little 2" guitar straps are fine for guitar but basses are around nine pounds and a wider, padded strap helps a lot.
Thanks all, here is a couple of reason I picked the Player II Precision. 1. If I find playing bass isn’t for me, and I have to sell it, I don’t lose as much money as I would on top of the line. 2. I assumed that with the mid range the quality may be better, and make the learning process easier than the lower cost guitars.
If that’s not true, I’ll check out the Squier Affinity at half the price.
I’m also going to check out the short scale Fender Player II Mustang.
I’ll second all of this but suggest a Classic Vibe Jazz Bass instead of a PBass. Why? A slimmer neck that should make playing a but easier for a novice. They list for $450 but most dealers will offer a 10%-15% discount on Labor Day Sales right now. A shortscale bass would be another option that may be even easier to learn on.
The Rumble 40 or 100 or the Katana are all good home amps. I’ve owned a Rumble 40 and it’s more than enough for a starter amp. I think it’s great that you’ve decided to try your hand at bass. Best of luck to you.
I started about a year ago and quickly bought an Orange bass amp, that I’ve used … three times. Basically, for home practice, you don’t really need one.
I have a Zoom B1four and a Hotone Ampero One. Both are multi effects, the Ampero being a couple of rungs up on the B1four. Both have aux in (plug the iPhone in so that you can play along) and both have headphones out, so you can hear what’s going on.
The Ampero One also acts as an interface, useful if you want to record yourself.
I tend to use the B1four when I go away - it’s cheap, light and I’m cool if I damage it. The Ampero tends to stay are home. It is robust - metal case - but it looks to pretty to damage
A lot of people will say you need an amp. Unless you’re are playing with others - and there is a thrill in that - frankly, silent practice (ie playing through the multi-effects pedal) is the way to go. You don’t upset others in the house, but you can absolutely hear what’s going on. I often practice at 5:30am. No one would thank me turning the amp on at that time, and anyway, I don’t want to deafen myself. In all seriousness, loud amps are not good for one’s hearing!!
Oh, the Vox thing is cr@p. I had one. It sounds awful. I sold it on.
I have a B1Four I’ve used with headphones. But my ultimate headphone system is a Waza Air-Bass.
Still, there’s something great in pumping air from a bass amp speaker that headphones can’t equal. I don’t crank my amp up much, but the physicality of hearing and feeling my bass lines is still there.
I like my set up, the Marshall bluetooth speaker I use as a monitor does an admirable job, but I’m missing the ability to queue up some old school punk and make the house shake. Next on my GAS list is one of those Ampeg 2X10 combo amps.
I spent about 9 months when I returned to bass with a headphone setup but there’s no substitution for a good amp.
Your bass would sounds so good it’s unreal on a good headphone setup but you’ll never get that kind of tone in real life.
Plus many pros like Billy Sheehan have to put the rumble pack on his strap to mimic the air wave vibration when everything goes through the PA systems. He’s not getting enough feedback.
Thats interesting, and goes to the heart of the difference:
headphones you hear the bass,
amp you hear+physically feel the bass
can you learn the bass just by hearing? Of course you can, but for many the feel is a big part of the bass (if not THE part) so a speaker is needed (preferably a big one)
(or maybe headphones and a subpac atleast)
I would spend the $25 or $30 and get a better tuner than the typical Snark they give you. Save a lot of frustration trying to tune the low E and it’s more accurate.
Squire Classic Vibe is a good option. Sire is another good option. Fender Player is a good bass, and I have had a couple of them; Squier is a Fender brand and about the same quality and no where near the cost.
I’m an old guy too with no musical training at all, but have always loved music and the bass in particular. I bought a Gretsch Jr. Jet (short scale) to start learning and love it. Highly recommended. I have a Fender Rumble 40 and the Fender Mustang plug in. Probably 50/50 which I use when learning with BassBuzz.
70 years young-good for you! I am 58 and just started playing bass. I am learning to both read music and play tabs. It is a mental work out for me and my mind is not as malleable as it once was
I watched a bunch of Josh’s videos on you tube when I was deciding what instrument I wanted to play. His videos are so much fun and informative. Josh is a gifted teacher. It did not take me long to decide that the bass was for me. I love the sound and feel of it. I was ahead of the game even before I picked up a bass. He has videos on guitar and amp selection.
I would go to different music stores if I could (I am sure there are alot in Nashville), check out what they sell and what they recommend and get a feel for the staff and support you will receive. As another replier to your post stated they all feel different and hold them.
I have 2 music shops in town. One is a Fender dealer and the other is a Sire dealer. I could buy what I wanted too. I decided on a Sire P7. I will not outgrow this instrument.
I would also suggest a metronome and tuner-there are aps on your phone and computer but I like playing with a non computer metronome.
Don’t worry too much about what you wife says-she is probably playing with you.-JUST DO IT!! She should be ecstatic for you that you are using your mind, creativity and trying new things. Good for you!
First off, welcome @DaveHD ! Those are both great choices in equipment (if one had the means, that is.) They are both really well made and worth the investment. Plus you already know what many of us learned later. Starting out with cheap equipment that isn’t set up well costs more in the end. Primarily because you’ll be buying new equipment to upgrade.
Best of luck, go make some noise!
I definitely recommend getting an amp. I’ve got the Rumble 100 and it’s great, light weight, sounds great, and you can turn down the volume. The amp lets you hear mistakes much more easily which is key to not committing those mistakes to memory.
Wow I didn’t know that was a thing! There’s no way I can get away with creating actual bass waves in my apartment
I’ve been to some incredible dub and drum n bass nights where I’ve felt bass soaring around the whole room, up and down my arms … it was next-level mind blowing
