Which bass should I get for bedroom recording?

Metalhex

Metalhex

Well-known member
I'm just record a metal "album", which is probably going to sound more like a demo, so I'm not looking for it to be super serious; but I'm looking for a cheap bass that will sound passable for recording direct into Reaper with amp sims, not a mic'd cab. My guitars are set up in Drop B, so a 5 string would be more appropriate since the low is already at B right?

Should scale length of 34inches be suitable? Do pickups matter? Should I be looking for something with Emg's? I'm looking for sub $400 even used, the cheaper the better, as long as it sounds decent.

I will be playing it like a guitar with a pick. Any tips would help. Thanks.
 
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Find a Ibanez Soundgear used, if you can find a Japanese one like a SR 800 even better. Easy necks for guitar players to get used to. Can find them all over the place. Also if you don't have any amp sims in mind try the Sansamp bass plugin, it rocks.
 
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I'm a big fan of the Musicman Sterling basses, for a killer value recording setup. I got this one for around $300 brand new from sweetwater, just a few months ago, listed as a scratch & dent, but arrived in fantastic shape. Guy I played with for a few years had one, and I liked it so much I finally bought one.
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If it wasn't for the B tuning requirement, i'd say just grab an Ibanez Mikro Bass. I've played two of them so far and it's ridiculous how good those little fuckers are; they sound epic and you can absolutely shred on em.
 
Metalhex said:
Thanks for the recommendations!

How are Ibanez Gio basses?
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Decent.

Honestly, same kind of league as the lower-end Squiers, just more modern-feeling.

I'd personally aim for a Classic Vibe Jazz Bass. The CV's are REALLY good for the money and punch well above their weight class. I'd put a CV against ANY much more expensive PRS SE, TBH. At least if you don't mind the vintage-y looks for metal.
 
Rex Rocker said:
Decent.

Honestly, same kind of league as the lower-end Squiers, just more modern-feeling.

I'd personally aim for a Classic Vibe Jazz Bass. The CV's are REALLY good for the money and punch well above their weight class. I'd put a CV against ANY much more expensive PRS SE, TBH. At least if you don't mind the vintage-y looks for metal.
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https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...er-contemporary-jazz-bass-ocean-blue-metallic
I liked these pretty well for the price also, bummer they discontinued them. I got one locally from a buddy of mine.
 
34” is okay for B, IMO. Maybe it’s not ideal, but it’s fine. And there’s no reason you can’t tune a 4 string to B.

Using a pick and being a guitarist you’ll probably want to find a bass with tight string spacing (at the bridge). Some basses have 18mm or 19mm spacing, which will feel W I D E. Lots of those Ibanez basses have around 15-17mm spacing, and it typically doesn’t get any tighter than that in the bass world. I think a Floyd Rose guitar bridge is around 10mm, for reference.

Pickups is personal preference, but with bass, if your bass has passive pickups you can easily install an active preamp in the bass which will turn your passive pickups into an active system.

Tons of threads at Talkbass.com you can search.
 
boltzthrower said:
34” is okay for B, IMO. Maybe it’s not ideal, but it’s fine. And there’s no reason you can’t tune a 4 string to B.

Using a pick and being a guitarist you’ll probably want to find a bass with tight string spacing (at the bridge). Some basses have 18mm or 19mm spacing, which will feel W I D E. Lots of those Ibanez basses have around 15-17mm spacing, and it typically doesn’t get any tighter than that in the bass world. I think a Floyd Rose guitar bridge is around 10mm, for reference.

Pickups is personal preference, but with bass, if your bass has passive pickups you can easily install an active preamp in the bass which will turn your passive pickups into an active system.

Tons of threads at Talkbass.com you can search.
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Very helpful response thanks! I went to that website and i was having trouble navigating it. Why would someone want active or passive bass pickups? Anywhere, I saw this Dean edge 4 string bass with emgs from GC used, should I jump on it?
https://www.guitarcenter.com/Used/Dean/Edge-4-String-EMG-Electric-Bass-Guitar.gc?source=4SMAMQCE
 
Don’t even. Spend $160 and get Toontrack’s EZBass.

It has a thing where you can run a direct track from your guitar, drop it in and it’ll transpose it to bass.

Easiest thing I’ve ever used for bass; there are numerous basses and pick attacks, and you can add/subtract notes as MIDI in your DAW.

If you’re primarily a guitar player, this is an easy and great option. It’s going to work, sound and feel better than you playing bass.

Seriously. Also, buy it from a major retailer (MF or Sweetwater or whatever) because Toontrack will never undercut their dealers, anything they have now or in the future will be cheaper from a major retailer.

Hope this helps, good luck with the album man!
 
Buy an old USA Peavey. They usually go cheap cause everyone associates Peavey with cheap starter guitars, except the Wolfgangs. I got a USA Fury a few years ago for $125 with EMGs in it. I like it more than the '78 P-Bass, Warwick Thumb and Prestige Ibanezs I used to have.
 
MatrixClaw said:
Buy an old USA Peavey. They usually go cheap cause everyone associates Peavey with cheap starter guitars, except the Wolfgangs. I got a USA Fury a few years ago for $125 with EMGs in it. I like it more than the '78 P-Bass, Warwick Thumb and Prestige Ibanezs I used to have.
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People have caught on to that value. I've had a few over the years and they are FANTASTIC, those ferrite pickups are badass. But prices have gone up on the good ones, still affordable and below most imports these days. This is a great recommendation.
 
I have an old Kramer era Spector 4 string with EMGs that's great but not cheap, and a USA Peavey 5 string I got pretty cheap that would work, so I'd recommend either of those.
 
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