beginner rockabilly bass

[petebanana]

hi guys.could anyone tell me if the laminated rockabilly bass on thomann music store is any good for a beginner.also i see on some websites half carved and fully carved basses.they all seem to be made in germany.anyone played one or own one.thanks in advance.ps i am on a fairly tight budget ,i just dont want to buy a dead donkey.it is slap bass that i want to play btw

Edited October 30, 2012 by petebanana

[thisnameistaken]

You don't really need that nice-sounding a bass to play rockabilly style slap, especially not if you're going to be playing with drums and electric guitar - most likely once you're amplified to a level where you can mix it with those instruments you won't hear much of the character of your bass anyway.

So yes, the cheaper Thomann ply basses would probably do the job just fine. You will need to replace the strings though - expect to spend about £80 if you want more traditional-sounding hybrid strings (think '50s rock n' roll - you'd probably want Innovation Silver Slap strings) or £130-ish if you want more of a psychobilly steel sound (you'd probably want Spirocore solo tuning so you can tune them down to E-A-D-G for lower tension).

Also factor in the cost of a pickup. There are a lot of options ranging from piezo bridge wing pickups (plus perhaps a fingerboard percussive pickup and a 2-channel mixer to blend the two signals), maybe look at the K&K range, or maybe a magnetic pickup like the Schaller or Kent Armstrong if you're using steel strings (but bear in mind a mag pup won't work on hybrid strings like the Innovations).

Edited October 30, 2012 by thisnameistaken

[keeponehandloose]

Second hand will get you a better bass for your bucks. Cant go wrong with a boosey and hawkes, check ebay. The cheaper thomann basses are chinese origin which just dont seem to last. Take time to read this forum along with doublebass hat and talkbass. Laminate is all you will need for rockabilly, not carved which are more expensive and less robust.

[keeponehandloose]

Ha ,doublebasschat , not hat..

[TheRev]

I'll probably get shot down for this but........

....if you're on a tight budget and you want to get playing like, now, and you don't know anyone with enough knowledge to help you buy a good second hand bass, then you could do a lot worse than buying one of the cheap Gear4Music or Thomann basses and a set of Superior Bassworks strings. The bass will not be great, but it will function. The stock steel strings are pretty high tension, which makes the bass creak like a Spanish galleon under full sail, but a set of low tension Superior Bassworks strings wiil sort out the creaking and groaning and general feeling of impending implosion and get you slapping for around £400.

Bear in mind that there's a possibility that afer a couple of year's playing the bass could well fold up in on itself mid gig (though this can happen with £2k+ basses on tour...) and you will have to throw it away when you eventually upgrade as no-one wil buy it from you.

Edited October 30, 2012 by TheRev

[ChrisF]

Heres the thread I started...the very helpful chaps on here answered most of the questions you probably have on it... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/177932-is-a-gear4music-upright-any-good/page__fromsearch__1"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/177932-is-a-gear4music-upright-any-good/page__fromsearch__1[/url]

To cut a long story short...I went with a £400 Thomann. Had to change the strings as they were useless, but apart from that I love it. Ive gone down the piezo bridge wing pickups route...mainly due to money being damn tight at the moment. Ive got one on the bridge and one behind the finger board for the slap sound. Its through a mates Peavey amp..and it sounds pretty darn good....even without a pre-amp..One day I will upgrade to a decent pickup....a new bridge....and a good amp of my own, but for now it good enough for me.

Its got Innovation Psycho Slap strings on it at the moment (which I got from someone on the site for £20....see they really are a great bunch ) ...they sound ok, but I really want to try out some other strings..just to see what they sound like.


This is the one I went for... [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_rockabilly_01.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/thomann_kontrabass_rockabilly_01.htm[/url]

If you want to ask anything at all about any of it, just message me......

good luck.....and have fun

Chris

[invicta59]

I've not actually played a Thomann bass, but I know a few that do and they seem happy with them. I did try and show a mate a few slappy things on his newly acquired G4M bass, and it wasn't a particularly nice thing to play. Having said that - any bass you buy will need a setup, but without playing one, you won't have any idea how you want it set up :/ I would suggest popping along to a local luthier and having a chat with him/her about the possible costs that you may incur to turn your out-of-the-crate bass into something nicer.. a bridge setup, action setup, etc. He/she may be able to advise you if they have done any work on those basses or even advise you of any local basses for sale. It costs nothing to ask and you WILL need your luthier at some point.. .

If you're new to double bass factor in for new strings, as already mentioned. Once you've got it and got going, it may, in time, be worth considering an adjustable bridge (you may need your luthier to fit that for you) so that you can figure out the string height you are most comfortable with, then you can have your original bridge set to the same height.

Incidentally, your luthier may be able to supply basses and you might get a real good deal on a bass that comes with a good setup already done to it... just a thought!

BTW, what part of the country are you in? Someone may be able to point you at their pet luthier

Edited October 30, 2012 by invicta59

[petebanana]

thankyou all for taking the time to answer my questions.

[zero9]

Another thing to do might be to go check out some rockabilly bands and get chatting to the bass players. They're usually very approachable and knowledgeable. Some might even know someone who's moving a bass on, and you could pick something up that's ready to slap!

Good luck

[keeponehandloose]

Another good reason to buy second hand, already set up. Check ebay, theres always basses "set up for rockabilly" or "slap style" .
If you find a boosey and hawkes one described as such it will get you on your way. There is still a wide variation in set ups , high or low action . You wont know till you try. Where are you?

[thisnameistaken]

[quote name='TheRev' timestamp='1351618436' post='1853340']
if you're on a tight budget and you want to get playing like, now, and you don't know anyone with enough knowledge to help you buy a good second hand bass, then you could do a lot worse than buying one of the cheap Gear4Music or Thomann basses and a set of Superior Bassworks strings.
[/quote]

One thing I would say is that G4M basses are practically unplayable out of the box, they desperately need a setup and of course that's going to add more to the cost, whereas I've heard (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) that Thomann do a reasonable setup job on every bass they ship.

Also worth a look: Gedo Musik currently have a few laminates on special offer for EUR500, so approx. £400. I bought a bass from them earlier this year and I'm still using it with the factory setup, haven't felt the need to get it fettled they did such a good job. I would happily recommend them to a beginner.