KVR Audio

Glooper · Post by **Glooper** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 10:48 am

I'm hopefully going to buy a bass guitar this weekend. Anybody got any recommendations? I have about 300 quid to spend, and want a versitile guitar for recording purposes. I'm probably going to record it direct for a while until I can raise the cash for a Bass-amp or one of those Pod line thingies. So with that in mind what do you people think I should look for? and what should I be avoiding? and any other shopping advice?

Cheers
Ben

Stupid American Pig · Thu Jun 03, 2004 11:15 am

I dunno if its anygood, but Rogue(samick) makes an imitation beatle bass that looks like the hofner paul played.

Aside from that I have played on my bros ibanez bass that was decent, though it looked alittle too heavy metal for me

michu · Post by **michu** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 11:38 am

edit: have to loose that single blunt sentence manner

I think most versatile would be some Jazzbass copy, you can see/hear Jazzbasses in all kinds of music from raggae to metal

as what to look for, apart from usual stuff like frets properly placed,
i think most important is dry tone of wood, ie if unamplified bass sounds good with enough body and sustain.
Electronics in cheaper guitars and basses tend to invariably suck, but those can be replaced, if you have a guitar that sounds wrong to start with, you are stuck...

blaster78 · Post by **blaster78** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 11:54 am

I had a really nice fretless warwick about 8 years ago that I bought (second hand) for about £300, It was a great bass (sold it to buy a sampler when my band disbanded?)

It was the bottom of the range one (can't remember the name) but it was lovely

I think they about £700 new but you might find a bargain.

pfung · Post by **pfung** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 12:25 pm

How about going software? May I suggest "Trilogy"...mainly for recording purpose of course.

I know, playing a real bass is probably different.

Patrick

Glooper · Post by **Glooper** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 12:35 pm

Cool, I'll have a look at the rogue and JazzBasses... is it jazzbasses that have longer thinner necks?

Not sure I could cope with a fretless bass!! But someone else has been recommending the Warick brand of bass guitars to me.

Michu... I have been using Synth basses... however I'm a guitarist and as such can play the bass guitar a lot better than a keyboard so would be able to create a much better sound/expression/dynamics using a bass guitar.

What do people reckon, Active or Passive?

Ben

gmstudio · Post by **gmstudio** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 12:44 pm

I'm a bass player. I have a couple of Fender Jazzes and Precisions (and a Bass Pod) that all get me just about any sound I want. My #1 bass is my 1997 Fender Jazz.

Rabid · Post by **Rabid** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 12:52 pm

On a budget Yamaha is a good place to start. And don't bother getting a bass with batteries. Just one more thing to worry about.

Robert

Vegetarian · Post by **Vegetarian** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 1:01 pm

If you're already a bass player, you kind of get used to playing a fretless after a while ... might be a bit "fretful" if you're not that experienced

As for active or passive, I guess it depends ... Active basses have a built-in preamp, which might be useful if you're planning on going straight into a computer (admittedly I have almost no experience with active basses, I've been playing a passive bass for years which has been fine for me). If you have some sort of preamp already you could probably save yourself a few squid on a passive bass, although you might not get as much control over your tone and such.

pschelfh · Post by **pschelfh** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 1:04 pm

Best bass I ever had was an Ibanez Musician with active EQ. I could plug it in for recording without preamp and it still sounded OK!

The fact that it was one piece of wood might also have contributed to the good sound.

I don't think they make them anymore now, but maybe you can find a S/H for $300?

Peter.

gmstudio · Post by **gmstudio** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 1:43 pm

You can run a passive bass straight into a recorder as well...doesn't need to be active to do that. Before I got my bass Pod I did all my bass recordings plugged right into the mixer.

I've owned a few active basses over the years and each time I've gotten rid of them after a few months or so. I just like the more natural, open tone of passive basses. Many prefer actives, though, so it's more of a taste thing, not a "better or worse" thing.

Jaco, Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, Carol Kaye: all passive players.

Wooten: active.

It's just a preference...I don't think you'll be missing out on something if you go passive.

Rick1114 · Post by **Rick1114** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 1:50 pm

I just purchased a warwick rockbass for $479 but have seen the used in the $300 range on ebay. After visiting numerous music store in NYC and trying every bass under $500 I realized 99% of the basses in this category are very similar in terms of sound, feel & electronics. The Warwick however, resonated very nicely, had well-made active pickups and even sheilded paint inside! It sounds snappy and punchy and lends itself to jazzy tones even though it's called rockbass. I end up playing slapbass alot on it cause it just screams to played that way. The one thing though is the tone thins out after the 12th fret, so if your gonna spend alot of time up there may be better options. But for the the first 12 frets you feel like your playing a $1000+ bass - love it.

gmstudio · Post by **gmstudio** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 1:52 pm

Rick1114 wrote: But for the the first 12 frets you feel like your playing a $1000+ bass - love it.

As the old saying goes "There's no money above the 5th fret."

Sicklecell666 · Post by **Sicklecell666** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 1:56 pm

If 22 years of playing has any merits, here's my recommendation:

For the money you have, hit the used guitar/
& pawn shops & grab an old Fender Precision or jazz if you can find one. Older the better. Best bass I ever had was a 69 Precision.

If you want new, look into Ibanez. PLenty of Ibanez models you can pick up for that kinda $$.

Edit: I concur with the notion that there's no advantage over active EQ's on bass. One big advantage of bass over guitar is that the frequency range of the bass is better suited to direct recording. You can't do that with a guitar & expect decent results, but can get great sound directly into your computer. Just make sure you raise the impedance if you can to raise your signal as high above the floor as possible.

gnu23 · Post by **gnu23** » Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:01 pm

For 300 quid...(doing a rough currency coversion in my head!...)

The general consensus is Fender or Warwick and I'd have to agree, if you're going to buy a new bass.

A Fender Jazz, fretted or fretless, is a good choice. I have a fretless Jazz, made in Mexico, that ran me the equivalent of about 180 quid? ($300 US) It has great tone.

I've heard much about Warwick, all good, and I've eyed them in the magazines more than once, but I am under the "No More Basses!" edict from The Spousal Unit (tm), so...

You had mentioned thin necks...if you are going used, check out Rickenbacker. I love my 4003 (used), which I got off E-Bay for about the equivalent of 300 pounds. The neck is thin and the fretboard is narrow. The sound doesn't have to be Geddy Lee or Chris Squire - Paul McCartney plays a Ric as well - in other words, a very wide tonal spectrum is available. Oh - the dual truss rods means the darn thing rarely gets out of tune!

Good luck!

Buying a Bass Guitar.