Can you guys recommend me a Bass.. guitar

[CYKLVM]

I have a PRS SE CE 24 guitar, what Bass should I buy that's around the same quality level? Budget is ideally 600 and under. I want it to be very versatile

[EyeCloud]

Do you mean versatile in range of sounds? I have a Precision Bass Special that was good before upgrades, but now has a set of replacement Seymour Duncan pickups and a Fender HiMass bridge.

There’s nothing I can’t do with it, and even if you leave it stock it gives you the best of P Bass and Jazz Bass worlds.

[jamcat]

Sterling by Music Man StingRay RAY4 active preamp bass

https://sterlingbymusicman.com/products ... black-bass

[Dirk Diggler]

Yeah I'd vote Sterling MM Stingray too in that price range.
P's and J's from Squier are not in the same class.
Stingray can go from vintage sound to modern, very diverse range of tone.
Active also helps for more modern tones and versatility.
The FSO's (fender shaped objects) really tend to sound great for vintage tone.

Another brand worth looking at is Yamaha, really good bang for the bucks.

[mountainmaster]

If you are primarily a guitar player maybe a short scale bass works better for you. I know it does for me.
I actually have a Sterling short scale bass coming my way. That is, if all goes well... it has been on back order ever since I placed the order in March.

[jamcat]

I actually have a Sterling short scale bass coming my way.

Is that a Music Man Sterling, or a "Sterling by Music Man" StingRay (or Sterling)?

The whole naming thing makes it a bit confusing. A bit of a backstory for those who don't know (or can't follow it):

In the 1980s, Ernie Ball (the company, by then run by Ernie's son, Sterling Ball) bought Music Man. It's actually been called "Ernie Ball Music Man" or "Music Man by Ernie Ball" since then. Back in the '90s, Sterling Ball designed the Sterling bass, based on the StringRay (which itself was designed by Leo Fender in the '70s with input from Sterling), making a lighter version of the StingRay that looks mostly the same, but sleeker and without the metal plate under the knobs. It is (or was) a fairly pricey bass, costing about what a StingRay does, or a little more.

At some point after all that, Music Man came out with a budget line, similar to Squire, called "Sterling by Music Man". Or I suppose the full name is "Sterling by Music Man by Ernie Ball."

So if you get a Music Man Sterling, that is an expensive bass. It may or may not still be in production. If you get a "Sterling by Music Man" you get a budget (but still very high quality) bass. To make it all even more confusing, you can get a Sterling by Music Man Sterling, which is definitely still in production. Yes, there is a budget Sterling by Music Man version of the Music Man by Ernie Ball Sterling model. And yes, it actually says "Sterling" twice on the headstock.

Apparently, the Sterling by Music Man Sterling is passive. The original Ernie Ball Music Man Sterling is most definitely active.

[mountainmaster]

It is a Sterling by Music Man: https://intl.sterlingbymusicman.com/pro ... ging-green

And yes, I prefer passive pickups.

[ksandvik]

If you are really lucky you could find a used Music Man Stingray S.U.B (check the neck where it was made not to be confused with the Asian SUB ones), that was Ernie Ball's attempt to build cheap Music Man bass guitars in San Louis Obispo but they gave up due to the high costs making them. I still am annoyed I didn't pick up one for $500 I saw years ago. Otherwise the new Sterling Music Man bass guitars are good, but get one of the newer versions.

[ThoughtExperiment]

Ibanez Talman is a very versatile bass, combination of P-type and J-type passive pickups with an active 2-band EQ. It's actually well under your budget but i think it's worth checking out. Apparently they make a short-scale model now also, with a conventional tone circuit.

[BertKoor]

I've played with many (semi-pro) bass guitar players. Without exception, they all started with something cheap and affordable but technically not too bad. Something they often just stumbled upon by accident, or got as a gift. They all managed pretty fine and most fell in love with their first instruments.

<tl;dr> it does not matter. Just buy any random one.

[mystran]

<tl;dr> it does not matter. Just buy any random one.

I'd rather recommend finding a guitar store and just trying them out.

When you try playing an instrument, you will typically know in about 10 seconds if the thing (mainly the neck I guess) feels good to your hands and since everyone's hands are different, no amount of reading forums will help with this.

[ThoughtExperiment]

<tl;dr> it does not matter. Just buy any random one.

I'd rather recommend finding a guitar store and just trying them out.

When you try playing an instrument, you will typically know in about 10 seconds if the thing (mainly the neck I guess) feels good to your hands and since everyone's hands are different, no amount of reading forums will help with this.

I absolutely agree with you in principle, but it depends where you live. In my hometown (Sheffield, UK) about 30 years ago there were dozens of small independent guitar shops and a few bigger stores. Now there are no big stores and only a handful of smaller shops, nothing at all in the city centre. So if you're looking for something specific you might have no option other than mail order.
Anyway, luckily, I can't afford any more guitars now so I don't have to take that risk