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Sam:
I'v been "on bass" for over 25 years now. Althought there
is very little out there as far as written surf bass tab or
surf bass theory, I would tend to agree with the comments
from other bassists on this list who have offered replies
to your inquiry. I've learned the great majority of the
"surf bass" I know mostly from listening to everything I
could get my hands on. I think the main objective would be
to become "a good bassist" no matter what the genre or
style. A good bassist is the "glue" that unites melody and
rhythm into a single coherent musical statement.
I have found many good general "bass theory" books out
there that can help you with chord theory, modal playing,
scales and other junk like that. Ideally, you need to know
what the other musicians around you are doing in order to
be an effective bassist.
As far as equipment goes, here's my list:
Gallien Kreuger 800RB biamp head into
1965 Fender Bassman 4X12 Emminence loaded cabinet (lows)
2001 home-made 2x12 Celestion loaded cabinet (highs)
MIJ Fender reissue '51 Precision bass (you know, the
"slab-body" Telecaster looking bass)
Danelectro MIK reissue Six String Bass (super twang!)
I do have a 1965 Fender Bassman tube head, but it usually
stays at home in the studio. It has a great warm tone, but
I am nervous dragging my "baby" around to gigs. The
Gallien Krueger has plenty of power and crisp clear
tone...and it's rugged as a Jeep. I use a Blue Tube pre-amp
pedal to add a little tube warmth and crunch to my tone.
I am absolutely in love with my '51 p-bass reissue...the
only bass I ever played that sounded/felt better than this
bass was a REAL 1953 original Fender P-bass that an old
girlfriend owned...she probably pawned it by now!
The Japanese Fender reissues are an amazingly great deal in
my book.
The Danelectro Bass 6 is a cool bass for recording...I use
it like they did back in the old days of Carol Kaye...it is
great for that treble-y "tic tac" Duane Eddy bass sound...I
layer the Dano6 on top of the Fender bass line
rudiments...often times, I will add a touch of reverb to
the Dano6 tone for that super-surf bass twang!
Often, I utilize surf guitar tab/sheet music to get a
general idea of the chord progression or harmonies of a
song and then I go from there to figure out a bass part.
Ultimately, you'll develop your own sound and style on
bass. There's tons out there to listen to...old LP records
and a bunch of CD reissues...plus there's tons of "3rd
wave" groups out there producing killer reverberated surf
magic.
I think a great place to start would be to pick up any of
the Space Cossacks CDs...their bassisst, Katherine, really
nailed the bass tone and technique. I was fortunate to see
her play live once...she tore it up!...I had to get her to
sign my program in permanent ink...she's dead-on "surf
bass"...
Also, one further suggestion...the "Play Guitar With the
Ventures" series of LPs and CDs has some cool tab-like bass
music included...check it out.
I started out in the 1980s listening to John Entwistle of
the Who and Mike Watt of the Minutemen and Flea of the RHCP
and the jazz legends Ron Carter and Oscar Pettiford...but I
always ended up spinning all my old surf LPs whenever I
practiced alone...anyway, eventually, I found my niche and
ended up here at Surf Guitar 101...so my final advice would
be to simply find out what you like, strap on the old bass
and go for it...
reverberatedly yours,
Dave P
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