Should i bought a bass or just program it?

[Drew]

I wouldn't overthink things like scale length and string guage at first - I'm sure you've been playing guitar long enough that you have preferences for all of these things, some of which probably align with common wisdom, and some of which probably don't. You'll get there with bass fairly quicky too, and the best way to do that is play a bunch of basses and figure out what YOU like.

The number one reason 'd recommend buying a bass over programming basslines, aside from the fact I can't possibly believe it wouldn't be faster to record a part rather than program it note by note, is that I've found that I tend to write a bit differently on bass than on guitar, and it might inspire some new ideas.

 

[WarMachine]

One of the only upsides to this is the "fresh string" sound. Or maybe if you have a very simple baseline that you could just copy and paste over and over.

 

[ixlramp]

From where i live the biggest gauge i could find is .135, so what's the lowest note they could go on the "34 scale squier J bass?

.135 is sometimes used for A, which is low tension but practical. So G# is perhaps practical, although it will be very low tension.
However ...
A 35" scale allows you to reduce gauge by .005 while maintaining a similar tension, so a 35" scale is helpful if you intend to tune very low but you cannot find strings larger than .135.

Also should it be fine go through the bridge slot and tuning pegs?

Looking at a photo of the '5 string Squier affinity Jazz bass', it is top-loading with strings running through holes.
A .135 is a standard heavy B gauge, so a non-taperwound .135 will probably fit through the hole.
A taperwound .135 has more chance of fitting through the hole because the end of the string will not be so fat.
A .135 will fit tuning pegs because strings always taper before they reach them, as long as you measure your bass guitar and carefully choose the correct string 'winding length'.

If i have to fix all of that i'll probably just use vst.

Well ... =) ... This sounds like you are insisting on choosing a potentially unsuitable bass guitar, which might need modification, which therefore makes you not buy a bass guitar. Instead, how about choosing a suitable bass guitar that does not need modification? This is why i am giving advice.
You should not insist on a particular bass guitar as the first step, you should let your needs determine the bass guitars you choose between.

 

[Taylord]

Programming all the nuances of crazy metal riffs seems pretty difficult, but if you've got it down then you'll have the fresh strings perfect sound every time. I just play the bass in and accept the imperfections.

 

[gabito]

I've tried both approaches, and I find it easier and faster to play a real bass for recording. I only program things I don't want to learn how to play, or don't want to / won't buy, ie: drums.

You can play bass like a guitar player, that won't be a problem, but it's better for the music and your understanding of it if you try to play it with a bass player mindset: follow the bass drum, do not play only the root note, etc. (not saying that not following the bass drum or not playing only the root note won't work). Try to study how bass players you like play. The same could be said when programming any instrument, though...

Have fun!

 

[Rob Dial]

Should be simple, buy it - use it - program it if it feels like needed! Be patient!

 

[TonyFlyingSquirrel]

I midi-bass for demo only, never as a final product. Nothing can replace the nuance of a bass performance by an actual bass player. Not a guitar player on bass, but an actual bass player. Allow room for an actual bass player to interpret and invoke themselves into the performance as a true bass player just has that bassist sensibility that is not the same as a guitarist on bass.

Having said all that, I don’t get caught up in scale lengths or string gauges, but I do find that for my music, the dual jazz pickup confit just sits in the right spot in the mix. Both pickups to the pot, straight out. To me, the fret noise & clank of the strings are all part of the finger performance, and you don’t get that from midi, at least not the randomization of it that you get from an actual performance.

 

[jaguar78]

Depend on what you want...You can buy it and program it, still depend on what you want

 

[LunatiqueRob]

I do both. I play bass for enjoyment and a sense of fulfillment, and I sometimes record the basses for songs. But sometimes if I need a very complex and difficult to play bassline for a song, and I don' have the time to first learn and practice it for weeks or months just to be able to record it, then I'd just program it with a high quality bass sample library. The good thing about having learned to bass, is that it informs my bass programming and makes it even more authentic sounding.

 

[creepymcpeepers]

I'm really interested in playing bass recently for recording my own music and playaround with some songs i like. i find their sound is really cool but as a guitar player i know absolutely nothing about it.

I mainly play modern metal on my 7 string guitar tuned to Drop G# and pitch shift to anything higher or lower. Example of bands like : Periphery, Meshuggah, Vildhjarta, Alpha Wolf, Monuments, Architects, Gojira.

I'm really not sure if i should start playing bass or just program it. I have my eyes on a 5 string Squier affinity Jazz bass and using Neural dsp Parallax plugin as my amp. Is a J bass capable of playing music like this interms of pickup,scale length etc. And what string gauge should i use? I see people recommended some Ibanez and Stingray but i really hate how they looks. Also should i be fine pitch shifting bass using the same pitch shifting plugins for guitar?

I don’t really play bass but I bought the American p
Bass and it is the funnest thing to play dude. I have had cheaper basses before and they were fun intil they weren’t but when I got that p bass I play it just as much as I play my guitars I wonder if I could make bass vox kool again. I never could sing and play and can’t really sing good but I would like to be like a screamer that jams bass and stuff but that’s just some wierd thing I think about but I made. A video of me just practicing getting the syllables and the finger movements down and started with a easy song and it was this one


Like I said I can’t sing good but I would like to be able to play mudvayne and sing it at the same time that would be so bad ass

 

[creepymcpeepers]

Sounds like you answered your own question. Interested in bass? Try out some bass. Bass is fun in it's own way.


Lots of people play J-style basses for metal. I play a Jazz V, but I don't downtune much. If money was no object and I wanted to downtune really far, I'd probably look into a Dingwall Super-J. They look cool, probably play well, but they're gonna cost. J- style pickups work great for lots of things. Long scale lengths will help if you're downtuning, but they're not a necessity. Someone who knows better can answer the string gauge question.


I don't see why not.

Hello i had a question about your response here about I don’t see why not I tried plugging my bass into the petrucci plug in and got all kinds of wierd noises and pops when I started playing kind of hard on the petrucci vst I just got a clean amp and turned off all reverbs and delays and figured it would be ok do you have any idea how to make it jot down that