The Tokai Guitars Company are a Japanese guitar manufacturer based in both Japan and Korea (Korea is used for their low end guitars) – they’ve been around for over 50 years but became popular during the 70’s and 80’s making quality guitars aimed at those on a budget – Over the years these guitars have become quite sought after as the build quality was generally high albeit the materials used didn’t quite compare to that of Fender or Gibson.

Tokai are renowned for their 6 string electric guitars (notably those inspired by the Les Paul) but they also manufacture an array of Basses – into this arena steps the Tokai Talbo Bass.

The Talbo series was original popular during the 1980’s and a range of 6 string guitars and basses was produced by Tokai – over the last few years Tokai have “reissued these and” with them included the Talbo Bass which is available in four colors – Chrome – Metallic Red – Metallic Black and Metallic Blue.

With it’s unique “spiky” design (oddly reminiscent to a Rickenbacker) the Talbo looks quite unlike most other basses – the bass features a metal aluminum body with internal sound chambers that provide the guitar a unique sound.

The Bass has a 24 fret rosewood fingerboard on a Maple neck and features chrome hardware including the tone controls and Wilkinson WGB-4 tailpiece. Using an active system the sound can be controlled via the two Bass and Treble tone controls – there is also a master volume control.

The instrument produces some lively tones and is very playable – the unique looking round TB-8AL pickup can be a little microphonic at times though – the bass is also quite heavy and this may be a factor if you intend to gig regularly – not for the fainthearted.

Tokai are not as broadly known as they might be (especially for basses) although they have been played by a number of artists there biggest problem is perhaps one of availability there are some importers in Europe and the US but you may need to look around a little before your able to get your hands on one of these Asian beauties.

Comments(0)

Major Scales

The notes that are associated with a given key are called a scale.
There are great many number of different scales (both harmonic scales and scales in different “”song keys”"

One of the easiest scales to begin to play is the major key scale. For example C major. Major key scales are
constructed by using seven notes starting on the root (in this case “”c”"), all notes are then a whole step apart
except for the 3rd and 4th notes which are a half step apart.

So for example the scale of C major in bass tab is

G—————–2–4–5–

D——–2–3–5———–

A–3–5——————–

E————————–

This scale is tranferable so the Key in D Major (slide up the fretboard) is:

G—————–4–6–7–

D——–4–5–7———–

A–5–7——————–

E————————–

So there’s nothing really to it - now practice these with a metronome, trying them in different keys up the fretboard, make sure tha that you
practice at different tempo’s too.

Comments(0)

One of the most important things about playing any instrument is to make sure that it’s in tune – the two most common problems for most musicians is playing in time and playng in tune – the latter can be easily solved.

Traditionally the Bass Guitar has four strings and these are tuned from Bottom (i.e. nearest to you) to top in the following way – E A D G

First of all – if your serious about playing bass - make sure that you have a good quality electronic tuner – these days they can be obtained for around $30 dollars and will ensure that your Bass sounds perfect – and more importantly in a band situation – in tune with the rest of your friends!

Another option is to try a pitch fork, or tune against another instrument (piano for example) pick a note to tune against for example tune your A string. If your bass is a 4 string, the A string is the second thickest string. After the A string is tuned, hold down the 5th fret on your E string. Tune it to sound like the A string played open. Next, hold down the 5th fret of your A string. Tune your D string, played open until it sounds like your A string held at the 5th fret. Finally, hold down your D string at the 5th fret and play your G string open. Tune the G until it sounds like the D played at the 5th fret.

Now your bass is in Tune! – make sure that you check your tuning regularly – for live situations or jam sessions tuning up should be the first thing you do and having an instrument tuned to the correct pitch will help you develop your ear.

Comments(0)

The Importance of Practicing With a Metronome
By Adrian Martin

Musicians are often criticized for two things, playing out of tune and playing out of time. Both of these can have catastrophic results for your audience and the rest of your band! The good news is that help is at hand, your timing can be improved through using a simple piece of technology which coupled with some regular practice can solve any tempo issues that you have.

Musicians often claim to have a natural sense of rhythm and timing. While, on rare occasions this may be the case generally we can all improve, being able to keep time with you’re your fellow musicians is one of the most important things for any musician. Imagine any piece of music where the bass player and drummer and guitarists are all out of sync – what a din!

To learn to play in time you should really have a metronome. If you do not have one already I would advise that you should obtain one or a similar device (a drum machine for example) as soon as possible and incorporate it into your practice regime.
Metronomes are a device (either mechanical or digital) used for sounding beats per measure at a user definable tempo.

Metronomes are great when practicing to ensure that you keep a standard tempo throughout the piece of music.

Often metronomes have two tones – one to indicate each beat and a further sound to indicate the start of the measure. Metronomes come with a setting to either increase or decrease the speed of the beat –this is often very useful when practicing complex pieces and allows you to start out with a slow beat and as you become more proficient increase the tempo.
Perhaps the best use of a metronome is when it’s combined with regular practicing.

Metronomes are ideal used when practicing scales, arpeggios, or complex pieces of music. Try a slow tempo and aim to play a note exactly on each beat, mix it up and play notes on alternate beats – speed up the tempo and practice playing 8th notes.

Regular practice of this kind will bring on your timing and you will find that your musical technique comes on leaps and bounds.

Adrian Martin runs ShanzuGuitars.com. The site offers the latest guitar news, resources, tools and tips for budding guitarists everywhere

Comments(0)

Bass Guitar Tablatures
By Thomas Morva

A guitar tab is a system of notations, letters, symbols and other visual representations - instead of the traditional musical notation. Guitar tabs give directions to the player as to how to play a musical piece through a diagram of strings of the guitar.

Tablature consists of a diagram of strings of the guitar with finger positions indicated by numbers corresponding to the appropriate frets and sometimes with the numerical representations of the fingers. Guitar tabs are very important for those who are enthusiasts and are keen on learning new tunes and technicalities of guitar and especially those songs which have extensive guitar uses, both plucking and other types of fingering as well as lead parts.

A bass guitar is slightly different in shape from other guitars (rhythm guitar, classical guitar, Hawaiian guitar, etc.) A bass guitar is used for complementing and filling up the sound in an orchestration or a band and it goes in tune and rhythm with the drums and percussion. A bass guitar’s neck or fret board is much longer than the fret boards of any other guitars and it has four strings called the bass strings.

Nowadays tablatures, guitar tabs in particular, have vertical lines which represent the strings of the guitar (no matter what kind of guitar it is) horizontal lines for the frets, and dots signifying the position of the figures. In the case of a bass guitar there will only be four horizontal lines signifying the four strings of the bass guitar. A bass guitar can never be played with a spectrum (an object used to strum the strings of the guitar). Instead, it is played with figures just by plucking. Therefore, a bass guitar tablature is different from those of the rhythm or the classical guitars.

Guitar Tabs provides detailed information on Guitar Tabs, Free Guitar Tablatures, Classical Guitar Tablatures, Bass Guitar Tablatures and more. Guitar Tabs is affiliated with Guitar Tabs.

Comments(0)

Fender’s American Jazz Bass guitar features the innovative S-1™ switching system, which gives you great Jazz Bass and Precsion Bass guitar tones from one instrument.

Pushing the S-1 switch reconfigures the pickup wiring from parallel to series, resulting in a fatter, almost humbucking sound similar to that of a Precision. Other features include a solid alder or ash body (depending on color) and a graphite-reinforced, modern C-shaped maple neck with a satin polyurethane finish and maple or rosewood fingerboard.

Comments(0)

The American Series Precision Bass fitted with the new S-1™ switching system results in an extremely versatile bass that gives players an array of cool new sounds.

Features include a solid alder or ash body (depending on color) and graphite-reinforced, modern C-shaped maple neck with satin polyurethane finish (available with maple or rosewood fingerboard). With the S-1 system, you can switch the split single-coil pickup from series to parallel, giving the bass a brighter, snappier tone similar to that of a Jazz Bass guitar.

Comments(0)

The Fender Precision bass guitar is one of the most influential instruments ever made. In celebration of their 60th year Fender have recently released the Series 60th Anniversary Precision Bass guitar. The instrument has an alder body with a Three-color Sunburst finish, a graphite-reinforced modern C-shaped maple neck coupled with a rosewood fingerboard, and jeweled headstock inlay.

This bass comes equiped with the Vintage ’62 Precision Bass split single-coil pickup, paired with the S-1™ switching system to produce an endless range of Precision and Jazz Bass® tones.

Comments(0)

When you look back at the world’s great singer/musicians – there aren’t that many bass player/singers – sure there’s Jack Bruce – Paul McCartney – Phil Lynott but popular music seems to favor the singer who’s prepared to strap on a six string rather than those that fill out the low end of the spectrum – however with the recent announcement that The Police look set to reform (they are defiantly playing at 2007’s Grammy’s) the music world can once again conclude that the bass is a worthy instrument for a front man.

As most are probably aware already – Sting originally found fame with the 70/80’s band the Police – their music was an eclectic mix of reggae pop and punk and Sting’s relaxed but resourceful playing style came to prominence – most notably on their 1984 record Synchronicity. However given Sting’s superstardom, it’s often forgotten that he’s a great Bass Player.

Despite comments that he’s influnced by Stax/Motown and the Beatles (he’s quoted on McCartney as saying ““It’s hard to seperate McCartney’s influence on my bass playing
from his influence on everything else–singing, songwriting, even becoming
a musician in the frst place. As a child, I would play my Beatles albums
at 45 r.p.m so I could hear the bass better. He’s the Guv’nor.”) Stings playing is also developed from a love of Jazz.

Sting’s love of Jazz develops a texture and musical direction that is not present in too many other acts - in an interview regarding how he plays bass he states that the dynamic of a chord is that it isn’t a chord until “the bass player has put his note in”. That’s really refreshing in a world of root notes that Sting sees the bass as taking the musical direction of the band. Check out “An Englishman in New York” as an evidence of this.

Sting (as with many bass players) has had his fair share of classic riffs – both during his years with the Police and as a solo artist, for our favorite check out the reggae influenced “Walking on the Moon” perfectly balanced against the percussion and the vocal - simple but equally brilliant.

Gear wise Sting has favored Fender bass’s over the years most prominently a 1962 Fender Jazz and ’57 and ‘55 Fender Precisions (These days’ mostly favoring the P-Basses). Though over the years he’s featured a range of instruments (including uprights) – amps wise – he’s used the likes of Carver over the years amongst others. His playing style is pretty standard and he’s moved between pick and fingerstyle over the years (more predominantly finger style)

Whilst neither Sting’s tone or technique are that unique – he’s inventive enough to be highly regarded – his jazz leanings make him different from many other pop or soft rock bassists - There’s also a simplicity in his playing take tracks such as Field of Gold, “Every Breath you take”. Which although simple are beautifully constructed to support the composition. Favoring the song over technical virtuosity – a theme of Sting’s style is allowing space for other band members (in the case of Police leaving room for Andy Summers Guitar)

Like Jack Bruce with Cream – Sting also sings when playing bass – Sting’s been quoted in the past saying that his playing style tends to be simpler when singing – indeed he’s also employed a second bass player when touring – and he’s also been noted to pick up other instruments notably guitar and keyboards.

As the reformation of the Police will no doubt prove – Sting has an enduring appeal both as a songwriter and musician – his ability to develop simple yet effective songs with beguiling influences ensures that there’s more depth to him than initially meets the eye.

Comments(0)

Perhaps best known for his work with Sly and the Family Stone during the 60’s and 70’s together with his own band (Graham Central Station). Larry Graham is best known for bringing the slap technique to the electric bass.

Graham’s technique provides a fast percussive texture by slapping the bass strings with his thumb and plucking with his index finger. His right hand technique utilizes hammer on’s and pull off’s adding to the percussive effect.

Graham’s tone was obviously formed by his technique but he’s often credited with using effects such as distortion to color his sound.

With a rich and varied career Graham has played with a variety of artists over the years including the likes of Lenny Kravitz, and Prince.

Graham is one of the most influential bassists of the last 40 years and with his unique style is often cited by modern bassists.

Gear wise during his “Sly and family stone” period Graham was known to have used Fender Jazz basses, these days he has a custom bass built by the Japanese moon guitar company.

Comments(0)