Buying A Bass Guitar
The bass guitar is very much like a slightly larger version of an electric guitar, but it usually only has four strings and also has a longer neck and a slightly wider body. If you are planning on learning to play the bass, then firstly you should educate yourself about the instrument’s ‘role’ in a band, and secondly you might want to understand the varying techniques used which change depending upon the type of music genre that the particular song belongs to.
There are some interesting techniques for the bass guitar which also have interesting names. ‘ Slapping’ is a technique where the guitar player strikes the E string (usually) with their thumb before quickly pulling away their thumb. The E string is the ‘ fattest’ string-the one that plays the lowest note. You can hear this technique being used extensively in funk music.
Another technique is known as ‘popping’ and this involves putting one of the fingers underneath the string and pulling it outwards, before releasing it so that it ‘pops’ back. These two techniques (slapping and popping) are often used in quick combination to create some amazing sounding riffs.
The electric bass guitar is used very closely in combination with the drums to create the ‘backbone’ of a band – they provide the rhythm, or the melodic ‘bottom’ of a melody and the harmonic foundation for other members of the band who are playing chords. Therefore it is important for the bass player to have good timing. There are a disproportionate number of men who play the bass because due to the thickness of the strings, it needs a certain amount of strength and finger toughness to play for long periods of time without causing injury (particularly if the music genre involves an aggressive, rapid style.)
Also many larger built men find that their finger tip size, hand size and limb length make it much more comfortable and productive for them to choose the bass rather than the electric guitar. Specifically, a rhythm guitarist will quite often only play chords, which require hand dexterity and ideally, thin fingers. So for someone with big ‘sausage’ fingers, who also might be a little more ‘clumsy’ than others, the bass is the best solution as they may find normal guitar playing quite frustrating.
Bass guitars are most usually played by using the middle finger plus the index finger to alternatively pluck the strings. The thumb is usually used as a support and is most commonly rested just on top of the pick-up. You can also play the bass guitar with a pick (otherwise known as a plectrum) and there are bass pics manufactured specifically for the bass guitar-these are thicker and more sturdy than the typical electric guitar pick.
If you are looking to buy a bass guitar on the internet, some good tips are to check that the sender will be using adequate packaging to protect the item in transit. Also, you should view pictures of the guitar closely if it is second-hand in order to try and find any marks or other giveaway signs that the instrument has been mis-treated or dropped, as any damage could affect the quality of the sound produced by it.
As with any online purchase, particularly if it isn’t cheap, one should take great care to examine the credentials of the seller (if it’s on eBay) or website. Look into their selling history, check their refund policy and look for any other information that will help you to make a safe and satisfying purchase.
