Category — Bass Guitar

If you’re a bassist, you probably already know that you’re going to be carrying a much bigger case than anyone else, you’re probably going to have the heaviest and largest instrument that can actually be held on stage, and you’re a much  more integral part of the band than you probably get credit for.  You probably already know that you’re going to need more tools and gadgets than a regular guitarist, but what kind of things should you always have on hand?  What, in short, is the shortlist of tools you need?

I’m glad you asked.  I just found a pretty insightful little post that aims to tell you just that, what You need in your tool kit as a bass guitarist.  The tools are easy to come by, easy to find and you should have no trouble outfitting your bass case with them in no time at all.  Here, according to the article, are the most important items for your bass kit:

# “A philips (cross-head) screw driver.
# An allen key or two (hex key).
# A good set of wire cutters.
# A flat-head screw driver (if you have an older bass).”

What is great is, there are actually full guitar kits, like this one by GIGmate that give you all the tools you need in one fell swoop.  Not too shabby, not too shabby at all!  Toss in a few extra sets of strings, a cleaning cloth and extra straps and picks and you should be always prepared for whatever hurdles a live gig can throw at you!

I don’t think I have done any posts regarding a bassist or bass in general since I started this blog. I am mainly a guitar player but I like playing bass a lot as well and I figured, what better bassist to post about…

Justin Chancellor is the English-born bassist for Tool. I’m not going to really delve into his background or try to do a bio or whatever. He is one of my favorite bassist’s for a few different reasons. He never limits his playing to just keeping the pulse or groove. In Tool, Chancellor and guitarist Adam Jones trade off with parts and assume the roles of each others instruments pretty frequently.

Chancellor also is capable of writing amazingly creative riffs, usually in odd time signatures, sometimes changing time signatures mid-measure, check out “Lateralus” and “Schism.” On Tool’s latest album he displays his ability to flat out attack the bass with crazy distortion as heard on the song “Jambi” which features him destroying his D string to the songs beat in 9/4.

I also appreciate Chancellor’s use of effects, which is not traditional at all by bassist standards. He uses Distortion, Delay, Flanger and the discontinued DigiTech Bass Whammy among others. He uses Wal basses, which were made in England. He also is a cool, down-to-earth guy. He owned a very small record/book shop in Topanga, CA called Lobal Orning and responded back to me when I sent him a copy of my bands 7inch record, saying he thought it was great. I visited the shop and was amazed to see my bands record sitting up on the shelf.

Here are some of the Boss effects pedals used by Justin Chancellor…

-Boss Delay

-Boss Flanger

-Boss Chorus

This is one of the coolest basses I’ve seen in a while. I’m not exactly sure how many of these were ever manufactured, but its a completely clear, (made of Lucite) 1970’s Fender MusicMaster bass. I found out about this after reading a post at guitarz.blogspot.com, which features a link to the eBay auction of the guitar.

I’d personally love to get this, (or one like it) myself, as I love the Bronco Bass that I have. This bass and the Bronco basses are 3/4 scale and very easy to play. These are especially great for someone who is mainly a guitar player but needs a bass to record with or workout parts. The fact that this one is made of Lucite and clear makes it all the more unique.

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