Walking Bass Line

Just released by Fender, behold the Jaco Pastorius Fretless Jazz Bass. This is a great sounding, extremely well-made instrument. The price tag reflects that, but if you can afford it, this is probably your dream bass unless you play death metal or something. Alder jazz bass body, 20-fret bolt-on maple neck, rosewood fretboard with dot inlays, 2 vintage jazz pickups. Get some.

What makes a “great” bass guitar? If you ask every bassist, you would probably get a bunch of different answers. For me it is its “feel”. More specifically, the feel of the neck. You can always replace the pickups, try different strings, etc, but you need to like the neck. That Gibson Thunderbird does look pretty sweet, and lots of people play it so it must be good. But then you actually get to play it and the neck is huge, and you have small hands. This is gonna be difficult. A lot of brands use the same necks on almost all of their guitars/basses, so one ESP bass is going to feel very much like the next ESP bass. At least get to know the brands’ tendencies. As a general rule:

Gibson necks are about the largest, they are jokingly referred to as “baseball bat necks”
Fender necks are smaller than Gibson, slightly flatter, but still relatively round
Ibanez necks are extremely thin and flat; better for small hands; some say easier to play fast
ESP/Schecter necks are fairly thin and flat, not as extreme as Ibanez, slightly more round
Ernie Ball/Music Man necks are fairly thick and round, but not overly large, Fender-ish
Dean Necks are about midrange on thick/thin and round/flat; V-Necks start off fairly round and come to a “point” towards the neck joint

Hope this can be helpful as a rough guide; try many basses before you decide. You will know when you have found the right one. Be sure to check out more helpful info at promusicianschoice.com too!

Metallica recently announced a release date for their latest album, Death Magnetic, which is due out September 12th. This will be the first studio recording with new bassist, Robert Trujillo. Dates for the corresponding tour were also announced. Some of the dates are with Lamb of God, some are with Down, both should be pretty awesome. Go check them out, unless you live in the south that is, in which case prepare for a serious road trip.

Aug 22 2008 8:00P
Leeds Festival -Leeds
Aug 24 2008 8:00P
Reading Festival -Reading
Oct 21 2008 8:00P
Jobbing Arena -Glendale, Arizona
Oct 23 2008 8:00P
Tingley Coliseum -Albuquerque, New Mexico
Oct 25 2008 8:00P
Spring Center -Kansas City, Missouri
Oct 26 2008 8:00P
Wells Fargo Arena -Des Moines, Iowa
Nov 1 2008 8:00P
Rose Quarter -Portland, Oregon
Nov 3 2008 8:00P
Energy Solutions Arena -Salt Lake City, Utah
Nov 4 2008 8:00P
Pepsi Center -Denver, Colorado
Nov 6 2008 8:00P
Qwest Center -Omaha, Nebraska
Nov 8 2008 8:00P
iWireless Center -Moline, Illinois
Nov 9 2008 8:00P
Schottenstein Center -Columbus, Ohio
Nov 17 2008 8:00P
Scottrade Center -St. Louis, Missouri
Nov 18 2008 8:00P
BOK Center -Tulsa, Oklahoma
Nov 20 2008 8:00P
Toyota Center -Houston, Texas
Nov 22 2008 8:00P
Alltel Arena -Little Rock, Arkansas
Nov 23 2008 8:00P
New Orleans Arena -New Orleans, Louisiana
Dec 1 2008 8:00P
Key Arena -Seattle, Washington
Dec 2 2008 8:00P
GM Place -Vancouver, British Columbia
Dec 4 2008 8:00P
Pengrowth Saddledome -Calgary, Alberta
Dec 7 2008 8:00P
Rexall Place -Edmonton, Alberta
Dec 12 2008 8:00P
Citizens Business Bank Arena -Ontario, California
Dec 13 2008 8:00P
Save Mart Center -Fresno, California
Dec 15 2008 8:00P
Cox Arena -San Diego, California
Dec 17 2008 8:00P
The Forum -Los Angeles, California
Dec 20 2008 8:00P
Oracle Arena -Oakland, California
Jan 12 2009 8:00P
Bradley Center -Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Jan 13 2009 8:00P
Joe Louis Arena -Detroit, Michigan
Jan 15 2009 8:00P
Verizon Center Washington DC, -Washington DC
Jan 17 2009 8:00P
Wachovia Center -Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Jan 18 2009 8:00P
TD Banknorth Center -Boston, Massachusetts
Jan 26 2009 8:00P
Allstate Arena -Chicago, Illinois
Jan 29 2009 8:00P
Nassau Coliseum -Uniondale, New York
Jan 31 2009 8:00P
Prudential Center -Newark, New Jersey

It gets on my nerves when people assume that bass is easier or requires less skill to play than a guitar. I think the beauty of the bass in any form (electric, acoustic, brass, upright) is that is can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be. You can get by with root 1/4 notes most of the time if you are learning a new song, and then eventually you can really go for it. I have played bass in two different bands and I had a lot of fun with each of them. I did not feel inferior to the guitar player, we had different objectives, we did not compete. Playing shows with my friends were some of the best times in my life.

I am not going to say that one musician is “better” than another, but here is a list, in no specific order, of 4 bassists you should at least know about.

*Les Claypool (Primus, pictured above) Born 1963, he is the master of funk and slap bass using tapping and sweeps and things most people can’t do on a bass. I remember reading an interview with Les and he said he auditioned for Metallica and they turned him down because he was “too good”.

*Cliff Burton (Metallica) Born 1962, Died 1986; he was a part of Metallica’s first three albums before he died when the tour bus ran off the road and flipped in Sweden. He was known for his amazing bass solos involving wahs and effects. His last album, Master of Puppets, set the standard for metal at the time.

*Jaco Pastorius – Born 1951, Died 1987; John Francis Anthony “Jaco” Pastorius III was voted “The Greatest Bass Player Ever” in Bass Guitar Magazine. He got his start in jazz but was the master of many different styles. Go listen to his self-titled debut cd. Seriously.

*Geezer Bulter (Black Sabbath) Born 1949; he is a huge part of the “first heavy metal band”. He wrote most of the Sabbath lyrics. He and Tony Iommi were two of the first to tune down to C# and play slower to make the music that much heavier.