Conference napalm::guitar

    I always thought that a good bass ffor not a lot of $$$ was the Peavey
    T40 (gasp's of horror fall over the notesfile as people say "Oh no,
    not the "P" word!!!).  Yes, I had one of these and thought it was a
    great bass...I'm sure a used one could be had for in the 200ish range.
    I loved the neck on this beast!
    
    Buck
    
    PS - I see we're on the same node...do you work in PKO3?

    
    RE: -1
    
      Buck,
           I agree with you also. I think Peavey makes some great bass
    stuff. Both for begginners and more advanced. Also some of their
    bass amps sound good to. Now that I think of it the only time I've
    disagreed with you on anything is on the Mary murder. SUICIDE!!!
    
                                                              R.C.
    
    

    	No, I'm over here in PKO1.  
    
    	So Peavey can make an O.K. bass?  (I don't have any prestige
    problems.  My wallet keeps me in check, no pun intended).
    
    	How about the Peavey amps?  A friend of mine has a TK75 (75 watt)
    and says he likes it, it's supposed to have built in compression and
    graphic eq.  
    
    --mikie--

    The Peavey amps are *ok*.  They do the job.  Not much in the
    Tons-o-tone dept. IMHO, but they are made ok and sound pretty good.
    
    B.

    
    
    Mikie,
    	I tried to send mail, but it didn't go thru. 
    
    	I have a Peavey Fury Bass for sale. If you're interested,
    send mail.
    
    -Tom
    

    While were on the subject (although this may not be the note)
    does anyone have any coments on the peavy foundation bass? I played
    one while trying out an amp and fell in love. Im just starting out
    with the bass as well so maybe I was just over come by the newness
    of the beast but I sure did like it.

    
    
    	Re: Peavey Basses
    
    		Peavey instruments are well built, quality intruments.
    	The PV line is also, for the most part, very affordable. PV guitars
    	don't have the prestige of other "major" brands, but for my money,
    	PV intruments are great. A lot of people will disagree with me, 
    	but I like 'em.
    
    -Tom
    

    The bassist in RnR (the band I'm currently affiliated with) has a 
    Foundation bass, and he *loves* it.  Seems to lack top-end to me,
    but it's probably just his EQ setting, not his bass...
       
    Fwiw,
    jc 

    A little over a year ago, I went through a similar search for beginner
    bass equipment.
    
    I tried a lot of different bass guitars, and while none of them
    had any mechanical flaws they do have big differences in how the
    neck fits into your hand, how th body forms to yours, position
    of your picking hand, and of course that good old characteristic
    tone.  The net result was that instead of ending up with a big
    name bass, I found one that fit my needs at the time.
    
    My humble advice is to try a lot of basses so that you can
    build your own comparisons.  Also, identify what kind of
    music you will play most, and where.  The amp will need
    to be fairly powerful to be heard in a band; playing
    the bass at home alone can get very lonesome since the
    instrument is part of the rhythm section.
    
    Peavy ?  I've had very mixed results with their equipment,
    but the basses seem popular.
    
    Prices used ?  Expect up to $200 for each - be sure to look at
    the Want Ads.
    
    Don't forget that some form of instruction goes a long way
    toward enjoying the instrument...
    
    Good Luck
    

 
  >  Foundation bass, and he *loves* it.  Seems to lack top-end to me,
  >  but it's probably just his EQ setting, not his bass...
    
    Coop,
    
    The day Jim brought that new amp to practice, I asked him to kick up
    the treble a little, and it knocked me out.  That Bass has a super
    high end, a bass tone that I'm partial to, but Jim doesn't like.  He
    runs his tone knob (on the instrument) nearly "off".  Maybe if YOU
    suggested he usa a little more treble.....?
    
    FWIW
    
    Steve

    Well, I have.  Stubborn pr*ck!
    
    ;^)

    RE: -1...
    
    	What's a-matter Jeff, can't get it straight??? ;^)
    
    joe (sorry couldn't resist)
    

    	On the same lines, does anyone have plans or a book that shows how
    to make an amp yourself via Rat Shack or such?  I saw a book once that
    showed various speaker enclosures, but didn't explain the whole thing
    (i.e. electronics).  I'm a good hack when I have a recipe.  Any info
    would be appreciated.
    
    Thanks,
    --mikie--

    
    Re: .13
    
    You'd be hard pressed to save any money building an amp...honest!!!  
    Go look for a second hand Fender Bassman head, there's even one for
    sale her in notes this week. These are easy to find for $100-150 and
    are really nice amps to start with, reliable, cheap and great
    tone.  
    
    I CAN'T RECOMMEND BUYING ONE HIGHLY ENOUGH.  
    
    I've had one for over 12 years and it's been my main amp, my backup
    amp, my guitar player's backup amp, the monitor amp, etc. over the
    years, you name it, a real workhorse.  I'll sell mine once I can't get
    tubes for it anymore. 
    
    							Brian

    
    
    
    	YeeeHaawwww... had my first bass lesson today and I am psyched!!! 
    Yep, I've got two fingers stickin' out of my cast jeeeeest enough for
    my root and fifth stuff..  Sheesh I didn't really have a feeling for
    how much responsibility and influence on (in) a band that a bass player
    has..  So what's the advice for "day one" bass "greenies" like me!!  I
    was going to ask which amp to buy, but Rostie cleared that up for me in
    .-1  [;^)
    
    
    Gree Veee One Handed Bass Dude!!
    

    Bass player :== the most important guy in the band: he connects the
    the melodic players (like guitarists, and keyboardists) to the 
    the engine (drummer).  Being a guitarist, this is clearly a biased
    point of view, but the bass player is the first thing I check out
    when I see a band.
    
    My personal likes are for a big (no, make that HUGE, or YUGE, as
    they say in the Pittsburgh, Chelsea,...) bass sound.  I'm into
    reggae bass players, so I have an exagerated view of what a big
    bass sound is.  You need a big power amp and at least 15's, 
    preferably 18's, as speakers.  Compression is good, if used sparingly.
    
    Elaborate bass runs do not, IMHO, make it.  I feel like the groove
    of the song gets lost when the bass player plays guitar-like lines.
    
    If I hear any treble distortion out of the bass amp, I have to be
    restrained from rushing up to the stage and rolling off the treble.
    I HATE treble distortion on a bass.
    
    The best bass players I played with had always been with the same
    drummer for a while.  I'd vote for finding a drummer you like and
    jamming with him until you both function as a unit.
    
    Finally, I don't believe you'll have any difficulty getting work,
    particularly if you are part of a bass/drums two-person unit.
    
    ...and you can use that 'root and fifth stuff' to bass your way
    to success in nearly any country band and most of the R&B bands
    out there.  
    
    My faves are: Kenny Gradney (Feat), 'Family Man' Barrett (Wailers),
    James Jamerson (Motown house band), and 'Duck' Dunn (Stax house
    band).
    
    

	Yes, don't let that root-5th fool you. It works for so many things,
	but is quite useless for others. I love the way the Bass player
	of the Miami Sound Machine puts his progressions together (definately
	not your average effort). The Bass player can't get too bizzare in
	thier patterns, otherwise it detracts from the rest of the band, but
	if the Drummer & Bass player are in sync, it can have a very powerful
	effect (no matter what the style of music is). Root-5th is a good 
	start point; from there, start playing with some Octave switches
	(ie. the same notes, but different octaves). Then progress to the time
	honored Bass 'Walk' lines, where you progress from the Root to the
	5th by walking up or down the neck to the notes. Another variation of
	this is the 'Kansas City' Bass progression. You'll be throwing in
	variations of these no matter what you play.

	I like a percussive bass on occasion. Slapping the strings with
	your finger tips (instead of plucking the strings) every now and
	then can liven up the Bass parts, without it becoming busy or
	detracting from the sound (When I sequence, I tend to mix bass
	timbres to do this). I also like octave slides (press on the note
	an octave lower than you want to play it & slide up to the note
	that you want, plucking the string when you get to the note, but
	not before).

	Of course, you can use a Pick (get a medium to heavy nylon pick,
	all others will break very fast) if you want, or you can pluck  the
	strings with your fingers (I play Bass this way most of the time),
	You could use your thumb (yuck) or you can slap the strings. Play
	what feels right, just don't play it like a 6 string guitar.
	They are similar, but quite different in character & what they
	are used for. Patterns from 6 string (normal guitars) don't always
	translate well to Bass & visa-versa. After a while, you'll come to
	appreciate the Bass player quite a bit more.

								Jens