I got my cheap secondhand bass one day ago...
It's a Weststone raider with 4 strings...looks kinda like Jackson's Kelly's.

I already paly guitar, and I have managed to learn Mayhem - Deathcrush and some riffs of the Opeth song caled "The funeral portrait". Those songs, I could play on guitar, and just converted them to bass...


Do anyone know a few cool/fun songs who are posible to learn and maybe has good tabulature?


It's a strange feeling... I kinda can play bass... But I don't know any songs

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Are you playing finger or pick? (Just asking, haven't got any advice.... sorry)

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On guitar, I play pic...
On bass I try to use my fingers, but it's easyer to use a pic... Pic is good for more agresive metal(?), but I like the soft sound I get from using fingers.

Can't se any wrong using pic realy...

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well, this may not be a beginner song, but wade your way through the riffs on Anesthesia (Pulling Teeth) by metallica, its a distorted bass solo, and its really pleasing when uve played it all thru.. other than that.. i dunno what songs..??

maybe slayer ''raining blood'' lol

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haha@recommending anesthesia

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thats what i wus hacking at when i wus beginning on basss!!! just try it!! people!!

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anesthesia isn't THAT hard, it just takes practise, I've got a student thats been playing for one year and he has it down, untill the drums come in, lol. after that he makes a mess of it.

Learn most of the sabbath or Maiden songs on bass; good to start off on those...

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yeah, maiden stuff is great for practising triplets, songs like the Trooper and 10 minutes to midnight and stuff

Mainly Jack the Ripper/Fairies Wear Boots bass line.
fuck, soo groovy.

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yeah, great stuff, have you seen them live?

hehe, he puts up a great show!

Come on! Try and use your fingers!(at LEAST 2)...and learn how to play Phantom of the Opera by Maiden.

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Thanks for the tips!

I 'm using my fingers now.
Pic is more for punk-bass I think... I don't wan't to play like that

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first, play with your fingers, is the only way you get to be a good player
second , play sabbath, real fun and not-hard to play songs, and some maiden, they are all the same in bass line (more or less), play them well, and then pass to morningrise by opeth, thats a good bass album, good luck you bass-brother

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Thanks

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''10 minutes to midnight''
Was this purposely done?

I decided to post this here since the topic is help anyways. These are things I'd like advise/help with. Either answer here or direct me to other threads or websites with the answers and I shall be happy.

Before listing the questions, it might be important to mention that I pick with the four fingers, in the order index, middle, ring, pinky, and then over again. I figure that's really the fastest way because each finger has the time of three notes to prepare for the next note. Anyways here are the questions.


1. When I play, my strings physically hit the pickups as I strum them, and this makes a clicking sound on my amp. This always happens on the A and E strings and sometimes on the G and D. Am I picking too hard? Should I pick harder? Is there any other way to eliminate the sound without distorting or otherwise making my sound less clear?

2. The problem I often encounter with finger picking, is that while I play in my band I can't hear myself as well as I'd like to, due to the muddy sound from fingers as opposed to the clear sound of a pick. I don't want to revert to using a pick. I hate picks. I guess this is similar to the first question but how can I sound clearer, even duplicate to sound of someone using a pick.

3. Concerning slap, should I be popping the higher strings with just the index or would it be better with four fingers? I haven't practiced much slap so I can easily change to four, although that would mean I'd probably have to get a new bass, because there isn't enough room between the fretboard (24 frets) and the pickup for four fingers, even my small fingers.

4. Concerning tapping or hammer ons with the picking hand, bassically same question as the last. Should I tap with all four fingers?

5. My amplifier is a Yorkville 210B Bass Cabinet with 300 watts (2 x 10 inch speakers). A very good amp. The problem is, the lower notes sound alot louder than the higher ones, and in one song with the band I do this high soloish thing but I can't even hear myself. I set the mixer so that the higher frequencies are almost maxed and the lower ones are low. Should it be otherwise?

6. I like to tab out songs I like. Usually if I can hear it I can tab it. Unfortunately, the general rule is that the bass is mixed so low you can't hear it. Megedeth is a good example of very hard to hear bass. Anyways I try putting the discman through a mixer, and turning the bass up, but that just makes the guitar's low notes louder. Any tricks to hearing the bass better?

7. I'm also considering doing some finger picking with the thumb, where you can play two strings at once. Is this a waste of time or worth it. I had 'Running with the Devil' in my head and I found that I can play the bassline at the same time as the guitar part.

8. Concerning power chords. I like to play some Maiden but it's often so fast you can't tell if you hit all three strings in the power chord, and I have become aware that I develloped a bad habbit in power chords since sometimes I miss the highest or lowest string. Is there anything I can do to tell when I'm screwing up, and thus coreect myself? Also how do you guys pick power chords? I stay consistent with the four finger picking (I can actually get all three strings with the pinky) but I find that in order to reach, it involves some arm movement, which means I will never be able to do power chords as quickly as I play on a single string. I don't know if there is any better way to do it that more effecient.

Well that's it, man that's quite the list eh?

I am no bass expert.
But I will try to help you enyway

1. Do you have your strings very low? I don't know.

2. Maybe I did not understand you question. As I understand it, you just need to set the amp on higher volume. Don't come here and say you practise with an 300watts on full..or do you

3 and 4. I can't slap so I cant help here at all.

5. Try to stroke the lower notes not that hard, and the higher notes harder.

6. I don't know... somtimes you just have to follow the guitar I guess. Goes fine to play the song doing that, but tabbing it out is another thing.
It's easy for me to sitt and give give advices on 5 and 6, but doing it is another thing...

7,8. I havent come to playing more than one string on bass. Did not know anybody did that...
But I play guitar too, thats my main instrument. I play power chords hitting two strings. I use a third string if needed, but the sound is the same.
when you need it is on chords played on high fretts and you got lott of distortion

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as for slap, use you thumb for the upper strings, pop using your pointer/index finger.

your amp's eq should help bring out the higher tones, if not, your strings might just be worn, then they don't bring out the high notes verry well

change the pickup height, it'll improve the sound, higher on the high strings, lower on the low strings (they travel more)

you can tap any way you want to, but you usually use a right hand technique with one finger, you can use all of your fretting hand, obviously

ya can't bring out the bass in some records, just practise your ears to hear the bass better and start tabbin.

the bass guitar was originally meant to be played with your thumb, go figure, its pretty old and you dont' use it much, but its worth learning anyways.


hope that solves some of your probs.

1. Problem may be that you play to hard. Another problem is that the strings are to low as daggerfall said. You can adjust them at the bridge. But if you do so, you have to adjust the "octave-clearity" (same note on fret 0 and fret 12, use your tuner), too.
If you can adjust the pole pieces in your pickup you can put them lower, but that means that you're not so loud.

2. Put the high frequences at your amp or at your bass up. If you have an active EQ in your bass, it may be that your battery is empty.
Or you solve this problem like the acoustic-players. Grow your nails. You get a complete different sound.

3. I pop with my index and sometimes with index and middle-finger, but i never popped with all four fingers.

4. You can tap and hammer with all fingers and in all combinations, if they are strong enough.

5. Set your EQ in your bass as the EQ in your amp. You'll get a real shitty sound.

6. I never tabbed a song out. I'm to stupid.

7. Some famous bass players (forgot the name) just played with the thumb.
Ok, it may sound a little strange, if you play the bass part and the lead part of a song with a bass. But it's your taste.

8. I play just two strings often, because i'm to lazy. It's a powerchord, too. But sounds a little different, but it's not wrong. You can play powerchords in deifferent ways.

-------------------
-7------------7---
-7---7---5---5---
-5---5---5---5---

These are all powerchords. The main thing four powerchords, is that you can't say whether it's minor or mayor, you don't have the third note.

I personally form my hands as if i would play with a pick. Then i hit the strings with the whole nails, not just with the nails-tips (the white substance, that you cut off. Damn, does somebody understand me!?!?!? My English sucks!!!). So i can do downstrokes (hit with my nail of the index) and upstrokes (hit with my nail of the thumb) while i just turn my wrist.


Hope you understood me and i could help.

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Fuck yeah! I learnt that ages back and its fun to play and great if you play it as fast as possibly can (without sounding terrible that is) As people have said, all maiden is great to learn. Also i found learning some songs from the 80s era where every song relied on the awsome slap/finger basslines pretty cool. Try learning some duran duran songs for example.

Also for beginners, most metallica/pantera songs are cool to learn. If youre really retarded then you can try walk by pantera and learn it in about 3 seconds. All rex's bass behind dimes solos rule

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Jup Rex Brown has cool basslines, 5 minutes alone is fun to play!

My strings aren't low, I adjust the E and A strings to be as high as possible with an allen wrench at the bridge, but it doesn't really help, and they always seem to slowly move back to the original height. I had the exact same problem with my old bass. The strings I've had for I think 3-4 months, but this is because a bassist told me you rarely need to change strings, and that he had the same ones for over a year. He also said that once they get old, if you don't want to buy new ones, you can boil the strings in water and they will sound almost as good as new. I will try changing the pickup height if possible. Def you're right, since the low strings move more, that's why this is happening (it's especially bad in the odd time that I tune down). The bass has no active equalizer. Is this the same as active pickups? Either way I don't have em.

'Set your EQ in your bass as the EQ in your amp. You'll get a real shitty sound.'
Assuming you cannot adjust the EQ on the bass, how would it be set on the amp to sound 'shitty'?

I don't put my amp on full, but this is because I fear blowing it. The previous owner was the drummer's father and he had warned me not to blow the amp, even though I use it louder now than back before I owned it.

'bass guitar was originally meant to be played with your thumb' Interesting. There are things you can do with this style that you cannot do otherwise. Like playing fret 3 on the E string and fret 5 on the D string at the same time.

MetalPoldi I know what you mean, picking with the index and thumb nails, but it I wonder if you'd have better control with a pick, since it's practicly the same thing.

Anyways thanks for the tips, I will try that pickup adjusting as soon as I get home.

Its actually advised that bassists change their strings monthly. However I change mine every 4-5 months because a nice set of bass strings arent cheap. Not changing strings for a year will do some damage to your sound, so advise changing a lot more often than that, cant beat the sound of new strings

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I meant your potis, that low the depths and highs. Mine passive bass has got one of them.


But it's quite hard to hold a pick in the same song when you play in the same song fingerstyle, too.

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