Mark King answers One Two readers bass enquiries.

Dear Mark
Could you please explain to me why all my G strings snap? Am I "snapping" the strings too hard, or pulling them too far up from the fretboard? I have tried all the main makes, even the Superwound 030s, and they all break at the bridge. Please help as I am sick of buying new strings.
Paul Jolly
Chorley, Lancs.

This used to happen to me a lot, too. Because you're using roundwound strings, the fine winding pulls down on to the bridge and leaves the "pattern" of the winding on the saddle. When you pull the string, it moves and the "pattern" saws into the string. I carry a box of spares on the road, but one tip is to take an emery cloth, fold it in half, and rub it into the groove every couple of string changes. This should smooth things out and help counteract the problem. You're not snapping too hard, but perhaps pulling the string up too much – use the very edge of your finger, as shown in the original article.

Dear Mark
What amps do you use and what's your favourite set-up? What do you think of the use of echo units, chorus, octavers etc on bass? Also, I can only find about three harmonic points on the bass – could you go into this in more detail?
Gary Thomson
Saltcoats, Ayrshire.

I use Trace Elliot amps, the AH500 top with four 4x10 cabs, and I consider these to be the best. The TE amp has several benefits for me, particularly the balanced DI out for the PA desk. There's an 11-band graphic, which you can put before or after the DI – I send an EQ'd signal to the PA man because I EQ severely. It's the sort of amp that gives a lot of flexibility, which I like. Ken Scott, who produced the new Level 42 LP, liked the amp's studio potential, too.

Effects depend very much on the sound you want – but remember, the more you put between guitar and amp, then the more you lose signal on one hand, and gain noise on the other. The main effect I use is an old Yamaha E1010 delay which is as good as I've needed. I sometimes go for a 300mS delay on that which has a slight modulation, or "wobble" on the delay, giving some animation to the sound. You can hear this clearly on "Hours By The Window" on the new LP. I occasionally use an MXR Phase 100, too.

There are three obvious harmonic points on the bass, at the fifth, seventh and twelfth frets. You'll find the same note as the seventh at the fourth fret, and another harmonic at the third fret. In fact they're all over the place. New strings can help them come out, but I find a midrange boost particularly helpful to accentuate harmonics, specifically on my TE graphic at 340Hz. They scream out with that boosted.

Dear Mark
I was also a drummer, and I've tried to apply the same style to the bass – is that a good idea?
Pete Cotton
Reading, Berks.

It is a good idea to take the rhythmic ideas from drumming and apply them to bass for certain things: Simon Phillips, for example, is pretty good on slap bass, and Phil, our drummer in Level 42, can slap a good bass too. Not for the notes, but the rhythmic feel. Slap bass has a much more percussive approach to it than finger style playing.

Dear Mark
When it comes to co-ordinating slap and pull (especially when the thumb is at speed), is it just a matter of practice at playing (slowly)? My bass is an Ibanez Musician which encourages slapping on the fretboard but hampers pulling because of the small gap between the end of the fingerboard and the neck pickup. Is it just a poor workman blaming his tools, or "save up and buy a new guitar" time?
N Dickson
Ayr.

It is good to practice slowly – don't run before you can walk. Work out the notes you want to hear, and build up gradually to the speed you want. With the gap on your bass for pulling, do remember that it's not necessary to get your finger right under the string, and you don't have to pull the string as hard as it actually sounds? Don't use the whole arm, and don't stiffen up – spin the thumb and wrist, and develop a light feel.

Dear Mark
When snapping the D and G strings my hand is clenched. This doesn't restrict me at the moment, but is it a bad habit to get into? I was once told I could use a third finger on the right hand to speed up finger style playing. This works fine for putting in little triplets, but sometimes throws me out of time and my left hand can't keep up, especially going down the neck. Do I restrict its use to triplets or persevere with fast runs?
Phil Walsh
Beaconsfield, Bucks.

Clenching the right hand isn't necessarily a bad habit: there are two sounds you can get from the thumb, a hard sound from the side, where it's comfortable, I find, to play with that hand clenched, and a softer bass sound from the flat "front" of thumb, which I can only describe as more of a Louis Johnson type sound. With the latter thumb position, I find it more comfortable with the knuckles out of the way and the hand more open. The best judges, as ever, are your ears – whatever sound you want, adjust your position until it sounds right and is comfortable to play.

The third finger of the right hand can be useful for triplets in finger style, like the "butterfly" things that Stan Clarke does. It's easier if you're matching the left and right hands – triplets on both, say, should co-ordinate quite clearly. It's when you start "crossing" rhythms, maybe a four against triplets, that things get tricky. Just keep playing them!

Dear Mark
As I've recently bought a Westone Thunder I (the previous one was a Vox Standard) I would be interested to hear any comments you have about this guitar.
Chris Hurworth
Birkenhead, Wirral.

The Westone is a fine lower-priced bass. But remember it's up to you to adjust it to your requirements. Too many people seem to get scared of touching their instruments at all. For example, on one of my Pangborn basses I kept cutting my knuckles on the very squared-off edge of the fingerboard at the body end. So I shaved it down with sandpaper, and it's a much more comfortable instrument for it. It's your instrument – it's up to you to make it playable. If there's anything that you don't fancy tackling yourself (polishing down the frets, for example, can make a good difference) then take it to your local repairer.

Dear Mark
When you took up the bass did you follow any courses from books or otherwise, or are you completely self-taught? Do you think it's better to start off with slap style like you did? What basses would you say are playable, within a price range that we mortals can manage?
Cheralyn Mealor
Address not supplied.

Anything that encourages you or tells you what you need to know is good. At the same time, I didn't look at books – and that way I didn't get loaded down with the limitations of one way of playing, or with one teacher's way of playing. The only real function that a teacher or book can have is to tell you where the notes are and how to tune the thing – the rest is really up to you. I just happened to start playing slap style, this isn't necessarily good or bad. Remember, as long as you're enjoying it, then you're doing well. And it can be good to have decent equipment, because the better you sound, the more you'll want to carry on with it.

It's very difficult to suggest a specific bass as I don't know what you're after and exactly how much you want to spend. Secondhand buying can be advantageous – you can get a good bass at a reasonable price, say £150 less than new. Basses get better as they're played, and don't always "mould" themselves to someone's particular style. You might look out for the original Wal Pro 1, the non-active, at about £250, and secondhand Precisions can often be good buys.