I need a bass guitar

  • Thread starter Thread starter peckhart
  • Start date Start date
P

peckhart

Active member
I have a side project doing heavier Chevelle, 3 Days Grace type originals starting up and at least for now I am going to play bass. Timing is good as I wanted to get one anyway for messing around at home and jamming over bass lines I record.
That said I want something versatile enough to get the heavier rock done but also be cool for bluesier low gain rock or jam band type stuff.
What am I looking for? Active or passive pickups and what type?
Trying to stick to $500 or less.
 
MIM Jazz or Precision.... swap the pick-ups if you don't like the stock ones. done. solid basses.

OR

Used 80s USA Peavey basses, can be had cheap, solid as hell built well, and sound killer too.
 
I have always found that guitar players take well to Ibanez Soundgear basses. You can find them used for dirt cheap pretty much anywhere.
 
If you live near a Guitar Center or something similar, just head down there and play what they have to get a feel for what you like. There are so many variations of pickup types and string spacing.

But the standards are the Jazz and Precision. I'd go for either of those. Plenty should fit within your budget. (I prefer the Jazz because you can really get it snarling and growling, but the Precision certainly has its charms).

Ibanez tend to have thinner necks and narrow spacing, so in some ways its easier for guitar players to adjust, especially if you plan on playing with a pick. But if you think you'll be doing any slapping or even for finger style, the tight spacing actually makes it harder. And most Ibanez are active, and I tend to prefer passive basses. I find that I just don't need to boost or cut the way that the active preamps allow. They just tend to sound clinical and unnatural to me.
 
Another decent yet inexpensive choice are the OLP basses from Music Man, or the SUB series. You can find them dirt cheap and they get the job done.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I have been researching a bit and the Yamaha TRBX504 seems pretty cool with the ability to switch from active to passive electronics. Having both in one bass would theoretically allow me to cover a lot of ground going between various genres.
That Peavey Grinder looks cool, but the longer scale lenght scares me a bit. I do like the look of their Millenium 4 AC, but not sure I want active only electronics.
I'll have to look into the Fender stuff more. Wasn't sure those would cover the modern rock as well.
 
Fender basses are the standard for pretty much anything that would use electric bass. Tim Commerford (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave), Chris Wolstenholme (Muse), Rex Brown (Pantera), and Robert Trujillo (Metallica) are a few guys off the top of my head that play Jazz basses often. Jean-Michel Labadie (Gojira) I think tends to play Precisions. I'm sure there are tons and tons of others.
 
I have a couple of old Guild Pilot basses from the 80's for when I need a bass. They're basically a high quality USA built Jazz-style bass with EMG pickups and electronics. They sell for absurdly low prices for the quality. I own both a 4-string and 5-string. The only downside of them is that the body is light enough that they can unbalance if you don't pay attention and hold the neck. The bonus is that means they weigh about what an electric guitar does, rather than a lot of basses.
 
Not to discount everyone else's opinions here, but I think there's a right answer here for what you're looking for (versatility): a used G&L Tribute L-2000.

Used they're all over for under $500. They have the same hardware and electronics as the USA counterparts, and are about as versatile of basses as are made now. You can cop Jazz, P, and convincing Stingray type sounds out of one. Switch Active/Passive, Series/Parallel, etc. The L2000 is Leo Fender's most evolved bass design. I've done the Soundgear thing pretty comprehensively and I've played countless Fender basses also. The G&L is the only bass that seems to be able to go from vintage to modern tones with the flick of a switch and roll of a knob.
 
I bought an '82 Hamer Cruisebass (1st generation) off of E-bay for around $350 used plus shipping. One piece mahogany body & neck with rosewood fingerboard. OEM Schaller bridge/tuning machines/Dimarzio P + J pickups already installed on the guitar. Finish was worn/dinged/chipped, but plays great after I replaced the nut and had the truss rod & action adjusted. I've used the bass when I used to host the jam nights or the occasional bass gig. I use a Tech 21 Bass Driver DI box to record bass into a mixing board or audio interface to simulate the Ampeg SVT tone.

Guitar George
 

Attachments

  • Cruisebass front.JPG
    Cruisebass front.JPG
    1,020.2 KB · Views: 723
Hamer95USA":1f59gn37 said:
I bought an '82 Hamer Cruisebass (1st generation) off of E-bay for around $350 used plus shipping. One piece mahogany body & neck with rosewood fingerboard. OEM Schaller bridge/tuning machines/Dimarzio P + J pickups already installed on the guitar. Finish was worn/dinged/chipped, but plays great after I replaced the nut and had the truss rod & action adjusted. I've used the bass when I used to host the jam nights or the occasional bass gig. I use a Tech 21 Bass Driver DI box to record bass into a mixing board or audio interface to simulate the Ampeg SVT tone.

Guitar George
Click to expand...

Every bass player should have a Tech 21 Bass Driver.
 
The Jazz and P are like the Strat and Les Paul.

Sure, there are lots of other designs out there that maybe "improve" on that design or maybe do the same thing but cheaper or with a different look, but at the end of the day, they're the standard.
 
sutepaj":1pjnlwdq said:
Every bass player should have a Tech 21 Bass Driver.
Click to expand...

I second this!!! I just got one of those about two weeks ago and love it! I do home recordings and have an Axe-Fx II. I could never get a good bass sound from that unit, using plug-ins, etc. Someone recommended that and as soon as I put it into a recording, the search for a good bass tone was over. I haven't even adjusted the knobs much. I set it once and haven't had to touch it. Great tone!!
 
MIM Jazz bass :thumbsup:
And the stock pickups actually sound pretty good too.
 
romanianreaper":gbw9vjf6 said:
sutepaj":gbw9vjf6 said:
Every bass player should have a Tech 21 Bass Driver.
Click to expand...

I second this!!! I just got one of those about two weeks ago and love it! I do home recordings and have an Axe-Fx II. I could never get a good bass sound from that unit, using plug-ins, etc. Someone recommended that and as soon as I put it into a recording, the search for a good bass tone was over. I haven't even adjusted the knobs much. I set it once and haven't had to touch it. Great tone!!
Click to expand...


They make the Bass DI's right now with the mid knob...and they sound great. But the old ones, without the mid knob...they are the gold nuggets. I am not saying the newer ones are bad, I think they are one of the best things any bassist could add to make a marked improvement to their tone...but the older ones have a grind and presence the newer ones don't.
 
I have an Ibanez 5 sound gear bass that I think I paid 270 and its actually damn good. Its served me well. I think bassist have it better than guitarist as far as bang for your buck. I tried out several basses here recently then I looked at the price tag and have been floored by how cheap they are. Go to a store if you can and pick some up. The sub 500 market is usually catered to by the big box stores. There were some basses I thought I would love that I hated and vice versa. I would have never guessed without playing but for 3-500 you can get a damn good bass.
 
I stopped at my local GC. A lot of Ibanez and Jackson in the sub $200 range. They had an Epiphone Thunderbird that played ok, but I didn't love the body and how it felt unbalanced. The Yamaha they had was like a 204 or something...a few steps down the line from what I was looking at. Action sucked and just felt its price. Grabbed a Fender that was a short scale. That was pretty cool, but not what I am looking for. Then I played a Sterling MM Stingray. Very nice feel and playability. Very similar was a SUB series that I also liked a lot. For $299, that one is a very strong candidate. I didn't plug anything in yet. That will be the next step.
 
sutepaj":10fi5hnj said:
romanianreaper":10fi5hnj said:
sutepaj":10fi5hnj said:
Every bass player should have a Tech 21 Bass Driver.
Click to expand...

I second this!!! I just got one of those about two weeks ago and love it! I do home recordings and have an Axe-Fx II. I could never get a good bass sound from that unit, using plug-ins, etc. Someone recommended that and as soon as I put it into a recording, the search for a good bass tone was over. I haven't even adjusted the knobs much. I set it once and haven't had to touch it. Great tone!!
Click to expand...


They make the Bass DI's right now with the mid knob...and they sound great. But the old ones, without the mid knob...they are the gold nuggets. I am not saying the newer ones are bad, I think they are one of the best things any bassist could add to make a marked improvement to their tone...but the older ones have a grind and presence the newer ones don't.
Click to expand...

That's good to know. I also liked the Aguilar Tone Hammer preamp pedal as well and was considering selling my Bass Driver DI v1 box.

Guitar George
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top