The Electric Bass Guitar

An introduction

Prepared by Paul Tkachenko, 4^th October 2003

Outline

This guide is intended to inform music teachers about the following:

• Basic information about playing, tuning and technique.
• Learning resources, internet links and tutor books.
• Equipment selection.
• Technical aspects and FAQ.

Basic Information

The bass guitar is tuned like the double bass (in fourths) and sounds an octave lower than it is written:

sounding:

The instrument is fretted like a guitar, with each fret signifying a semitone.

The strings are normally sounded with the index and middle fingers alternating. This technique is identical to rest stroke or apoyando style of playing. Alternatively a plectrum (pick) may be used. This gives a different, more trebly, sound but can save your fingertips if you are not accustomed to playing bass. Look for a hard / thick plectrum.

The fretting hand typically uses one finger per fret except in root / fifth and root octave patterns. See the following three examples:

Due to the low frequency of the notes, the bass guitar can be difficult to tune by ear. I would recommend the use of an electronic tuner. Alternatively an octave harmonic can be sounded by resting a finger lightly (not fretting the note) on the string directly over the 12^th fret and picking hard. This is, however, not easy to achieve with any success for the beginner.

Learning Resources

The tutor book that I most recommend is Bass Today by Jerry Snyder.

It is unfortunately dull and dreary, but it professes to teach both double bass and bass guitar side by side. The progress is nice and slow and is suitable for adults as well as children. It also comes with a CD or tape.

Should you wish to get a grounding in classical guitar before moving to bass then I would recommend Learn to Play the Ensemble Way by John Anderson. Book 1 covers rest stroke (the style also used on bass), book 2 covers free stroke or tirando (picking chords etc.) and book 3 takes you to about ABRSM grade 3 standard.

If you have some experience of playing the guitar (chords and the like) then I would recommend Fred Noad’s two excellent tutor books Solo Guitar Playing:

There are a number of internet resources, but they are mostly tablature based and not very useful. Probably the most comprehensive is:

http://www.harmony-central.com/Bass/

Equipment

Basses

I will only be referring to instruments suitable for children and one should always be aware of the ever-changing market.

There are two distinct types of bass guitars:

• Passive (simple magnetic pick-up system)
• Active (pick-ups running together with a battery powered built-in equaliser system.

In terms of simplicity and price passive basses are preferable for school use and most budget basses are "passive". Beware of cheap "active" basses as the quality of the electronics are normally very poor and will break easily.

The main advantage is that the scale length is shorter. Most short scale basses are 30" as opposed to 34" on a standard scale bass (e.g. fender jazz bass). 32" is referred to as medium scale but is not so common.

I would highly recommend the Squier Bronco bass. It is cheap, plays very well and looks good (like a "real" fender):

Amplifiers

In order to make an electric guitar / bass loud you need four components:

• A preamplifier.
• An amplifier.
• A loudspeaker.
• Cables / Leads to connect the various components.

Normally you will be looking for a "combo" system that will integrate all components. There is a huge amount of choice on the market and I will try to highlight the most important things to bear in mind when purchasing one for either yourself or your school.

Pre-amp section

I would recommend buying a combo with a parametric equaliser (EQ) rather than a graphic one. That means there should be a knob for treble, one for bass and at least one for mid-frequencies. A graphic EQ has a little fader for individual frequencies and whilst this offers more possibilities for shaping tone it also offers more possibilities to get a bad tone. Better parametric EQs allow you to "sweep through" frequencies allowing a comfortable even sound.

Some models have a DI (direct injection) output, which allows you to plug directly into a mixing desk, recording or PA system. The function of this output is to match the impedance (ohmage) of mixing desk inputs.

Some models have a compressor function, or auto-compression. This reduces the amount of dynamics, therefore allowing greater volume. Essentially, when you play softer it boosts the signal and when you play harder it limits the signal.

Amplifier / Speaker section

This refers to how loud the amplifier will sound. It is also dependent on the kind and size of speaker that it drives. You may find the following guidelines useful.

It is useful to remember that the smaller the Ohm rating on a speaker the more powerful it will be and the greater load (or strain) it will put on an amplifier.

For example:

• 2 X 8 Ohm speakers make 4 Ohms.
• 4 X 16 Ohm speakers make 4 Ohms.
• 4 X 8 Ohm speakers make 2 Ohms.
• Etc.

Most classroom PA systems support 2 X 8 Ohms speakers. If you connect any more it will overload and short the amplifier! Don’t plug a bass into a keyboard or guitar amplifier, as this will potentially damage the speaker.

The lower the Ohm rating the more powerful (and heavier!) the speaker will potentially be.

Cables / Leads

It is very important to remember that microphone, instrument and speaker leads are all differently wired and sheilded.

NEVER use a speaker lead with an instrument or an instrument lead with a speaker.

F.A.Q.

Q: What is meant by action on the bass?

A: Action refers to how high the strings are from the fretboard.

Q: What do I do if the action seems very high?

A: Don’t use the bass in the classroom – there will be something wrong with the neck and you will need a lutier to correct the problem. The action can sometimes be too low. Climatic changes are enough to "bow" a neck.

Q: What about strings?

A: Make sure you get the right scale length or you will put unecessary strain on the neck. The guage of the strings refers to the thickness of the individual string. Always try to go for "medium" or "standard" guage and you won’t run into any problems. Never overtune strings. When a bass string breaks, it’s not normally dangerous – it’s only the core which breaks (usually) and the winding stop the string from flying into children’s eyes etc.

Q: The bass sound keeps dropping out and making crackling noises.

A: There is obviously a cable loose somewhere. The most likely place is the jack input on the bass. Unless you know about electronics, it’s best to leave this to a technician. Someone in the Design Technology department may well be able to help.

Q: My fingertips are getting really blistered practicing bass!

A: It is possible to develop calluses without blisters. If you get any painful calluses, I found that bathing them in saltwater can help.