Buying A Bass Guitar Online
A bass guitar is pretty similar to a normal electric guitar, except the typical version only has four strings and it has a larger body plus a slightly longer neck. Anyone learning to play the bass (or planning to) needs to first understand the instrument’s place in a band – IE – what it’s main purpose is, and secondly to understand the different techniques employed for the different genres of music played by the band.
There are a variety of different and interesting techniques which can be used to play the bass guitar. For example, slapping is a technique where you use your thumb to strike the E string (normally) before quickly pulling it away to make a slapping sound. The E string is the largest string, the one that plays the lowest sound. Funk music is one of the genres that uses this technique extensively.
Another of the bass techniques is called popping. This is done by slipping one of the fingers right underneath the string and then pulling it outwards and releasing it so that it pops back. Both of these techniques (slapping and popping) can be used effectively by alternating between one and the other. Obviously, this can be done a lot more quickly than repeatedly doing the one technique with either just the thumb or just the finger.
The main backbone of a band is made up of the bass guitar working closely with the drummer. This section provides the rhythm, the main melody and the basic harmonic foundation for the rest of the band who play chords over the top of this foundation. Obviously, the bassist therefore needs to have particularly good timing. You will normally find more men than women playing the bass, not least because of how thick the strings are, therefore it needs a reasonable amount of finger strength and toughness to be able to play the instrument for very long periods of time without causing injury. It is more likely to be the case if it is a particularly aggressive, rapid style of bass playing required for that type of music.
Another reason for this, is that many larger men have wider fingers, bigger hands, and longer arms which makes it much more comfortable than easy for them to play the bass, whereas it can be quite difficult for them to cope with the intricacies of the electric guitar. For example, a rhythm guitarist will mainly play chords which are more suitable to smaller fingers and a dextrous hand. Therefore for someone with quite large fingers who is possibly a little more clumsy than someone without, the bass guitar might be a much better choice.
Bass guitars can be played using the index and middle finger in alternate ‘plucks’. The thumb is often rested on the top of the pick-up nearest the middle in order to support these two fingers while playing. But the bass can also be played with a pick (or plectrum). There is also a pick that is made specifically for the bass which is larger than a typical guitar pick.
Before purchasing a bass guitar on the internet, it’s a good idea to make sure that the person selling it will be using suitable packaging to make sure that the guitar is not damaged in the post. If you’re looking to buy a second hand one, it is also wise to have a good look at pictures of the item to see if it has any damage, scratches or any other kind of signs of mistreatment or evidence that the guitar has previously been dropped, because in the worst case scenario, this can permanently affect the quality of the sound produced by the instrument.
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.
