Buying A Bass? Maybe!

[Jeremy Kill]

What things should I look for in getting one? Any good starter amps? I'm thinking a Fender Precision. What's the difference compared to the Jazz?

If I want to customize it a bit, does anyone know of good pickups to replace the stocks?

Mercy bow kew, my friends.

EDIT: These might be some basses I'm thinking of getting:

http://www.fender.com/en-CA/products/an ... ision-bass

http://www.fender.com/en-CA/products/50s-precision-bass

http://www.fender.com/en-CA/products/am ... ision-bass

Mostly based on look. I want a white one, haha.

[X^2]

Jazz-neck is thinner, that's prolly the most significant difference. Jazz gives a bit more tone-variety too - more versatile. Although the precision sound is quite difficult to achieve with anything else than p-bass if that's what ya looking for.
I dunno' if ya play guitar, but if so jazz might fit your hands better. But I don't think you'll be disappointed with either.
As for starter level amps I guess Roland Cube-series is pretty good. Can't go wrong with those.
Hope I helped.

[ÜBERCUNT]

The white one certainly is sexy. But overall- if you want your bass to sound AMAZING- your gonna have to upgrade its hardware (and/or) pickups. because what they give you is shit,( well at least with Fender).

If your gonna use a pick- definately go for the P-bass. The Precision SINGS when it's picked. That's what it is built for!
If your gonna finger it (thats what she said)- get the Jazz.

Overall I prefer the Jazz Bass because I get so much tonal variation. I find the dual pickups make the bass more expressive. While the P-bass has a tight edgy sound..There's not much variation. P-bass generally has a fatter, more rounded sound. (Great for Rock), While the Jazz mostly sounds brighter and more edge. however- with my (Squier) Jazz Bass, I get all kinds of sounds! Because your not limited to just one pickup, or knob.

Therefore I recomend the Jazz Bass cause it's more versatile. Most bassists would agree. The Jazz Bass IS the king of affordable basses.

Now whatever you do- If you get a Fender. CHANGE THE BRIDGE!!! The stock bridge your given is a piece of shit! I recomned getting a Babicz Bridge (they're easiest to set up, and keep your strings in full contact with the bass body. It really brings out the body wood in the sound.) (I'm a "maple" kind of guy- I love maple fingerboards/ bodys...and my bass has both those. And I love the sound!) If you cant get Babicz- Badass Bass Bridge II is also a great bridge. But, it's definately not as solid as the babicz and you will see/hear the difference if you look them up.

Seriously man- spend the extra 100$ and get a new bridge. It'll be so worth it in the end and you'll have a great sounding bass. good Luck

http://www.fender.com/en-CA/products/antigua-jazz-bass
THIS bass is sexy as balls! Just saying.....Im definately a "Jazz Bass Guy"

[silverdolphin]

Jazz basses have thinner necks than P-basses, though I have never played a Jazz bass. I moved from an SG-style electric guitar to a 5-string P-bass style bass without any problems but having to get used to the wider fret spacing.
For starter amps, I recommend a Roland Cube. I have one and I can get any sound and tone I want out of it! I have the 20 watts version and it's awesome. http://www.roland.com/products/en/CUBE-20XL_BASS/
The one thing I did not expect when I bought a bass is that bass strings are a lot more expensive than guitar strings. The shop I bought my gear from didn't even have any!
I hope this was somewhat helpful. Good luck!

[182sins]

I've always liked the p-bass sounds ! I'm not a bass player, but I'd say you can't go wrong with a fender bass ;)

You should really consider using virtual amps. I'm using a profire 2626 + a PRS DI Box, and it goes through a software called Amplitube. I like it cause you can have different amp models, and a lot of people say it sounds close to the real thing ! I can tell you more about it if you're interested !

[silverdolphin]

As Cyril mentioned, virtual amps are a great option, especially if the bass is primarily for recording purposes. Alongside Amplitube and tons of other VSTi's, TSE B.O.D is a great free plugin that I use on MIDI bass tracks and it results in better sound quality. But for practice purposes, having an amp is great because you wouldn't have to sit in front of the computer all the time.

[Tyler.]

Fuck virtual amps get one of these

[Jeremy Kill]

Thanks a bunch for the input guys! I've decided to go for the Precision. Not sure about whether or not to go with a virtual amp or not. I do plan on recording bass to my songs, but I want to practice and actually get fluent with it. I play guitar already, so I'm sure that works to my advantage.

Anyone know anything about Seymour Duncan pickups for the P-Bass? Specifically the Quarter Pound (SPB-3) and the Lightnin' Rods (APB-2).

Fuck virtual amps get one of these

Click to view the fullsize image.

[Dylan]

God dammit, i lost everything i wrote AAAAARRRRGGHHHH....

anyways, i recommend a Geddy Lee Jazz bass. great tone, great feel and great bridge. Price on fender.com is about 1100 dollars but i've seen it in stores for 850 (should have bought it-ARRRGGH). the Geddy Jazz bass has a Badass-II, which is second to the Babicz which Adam mentioned. if you do get a P bass (which you shouldn't), you should change the bridge to a Babicz. its 100 bucks but it ups your sustain and tone ten fold.

P bass is good only for picking, which if your starting to learn bass is a bad idea. learn to play with your fingers first, you'll be faster and more accurate in your playing (not to mention you'll gain more dexterity in your index and middle fingers on your right hand -you'll girlfriend will like that, if ya know what i mean ;) ).

all that being said, go to your favourite guitar shop and play EVERY single J and P bass they have. they all feel different and you need to feel it to make a decision. also take a look at some Ernie Ball Music man and Ibenaz basses. MM basses are wonderful, but usually more expensive whereas Ibenaz are stepping up their game with basses and should not be over looked.


if you're really divided between P and J bass, look for this guy;

http://www.fender.com/products/duff-mck ... ision-bass

or one similar.

[ÜBERCUNT]

God dammit, i lost everything i wrote AAAAARRRRGGHHHH....

anyways, i recommend a Geddy Lee Jazz bass. great tone, great feel and great bridge. Price on fender.com is about 1100 dollars but i've seen it in stores for 850 (should have bought it-ARRRGGH). the Geddy Jazz bass has a Badass-II, which is second to the Babicz which Adam mentioned. if you do get a P bass (which you shouldn't), you should change the bridge to a Babicz. its 100 bucks but it ups your sustain and tone ten fold.

P bass is good only for picking, which if your starting to learn bass is a bad idea. learn to play with your fingers first, you'll be faster and more accurate in your playing (not to mention you'll gain more dexterity in your index and middle fingers on your right hand -you'll girlfriend will like that, if ya know what i mean ;) ).

all that being said, go to your favourite guitar shop and play EVERY single J and P bass they have. they all feel different and you need to feel it to make a decision. also take a look at some Ernie Ball Music man and Ibenaz basses. MM basses are wonderful, but usually more expensive whereas Ibenaz are stepping up their game with basses and should not be over looked.


http://www.fender.com/products/duff-mck ... ision-bass

or one similar.

Haha! I agree totally. The Geddy Lee Bass is a REALLY sweet bass. It's so punchy. I really think you should go for the Jazz bro. It's overall more versatile. I mean if your going to spend money over a thousand- get the JAZZ! you cant go wrong!

I can make a Jazz bass sound like a P-Bass (bridge pickup off), but i CAN'T make a P-bass sound like a Jazz.

Oh and also- before learning to play bass you have to watch these 2 videos. It's pretty much a law.

(Notice the JAZZ basses!!....hmmm?! )

[Tyler.]

Serious advice though, there's just something I don't like about virtual amps compared to a real one, although I do use them occasionally when I can't be fucked going to the garage to use my amps haha, they're not bad these days! (they were absolutely horrible 5 years ago...) but they always just sound a bit off to me...

Don't just buy a guitar without playing it though, like someone else said, go into a store and play whatever you can and play it for like 30 minutes not just 2 minutes. Actually try stuff out! We can't really tell you what you'd like, cos everyone seems to like different guitars for no real reason. You might even end up liking something you hadn't thought much of before playing it - looks aren't everything :P

You can record bass just DI'd as well, without any amp at all, they actually sound pretty nice without an amp! The best bass recordings I've gotten at home are DI only or DI and a little bit of a mic for some more low end. And I don't know anything about Seymour Duncan bass pick-ups but they make some sweet electric guitar pickups!

[X^2]

Not sure about whether or not to go with a virtual amp or not. I do plan on recording bass to my songs, but I want to practice and actually get fluent with it.

If you want to do recording and get a HUGE variety of different sounds/effects from your amp for a reasonable price range, I suggest Fender Bronco. It's only 40W but if that's not a problem I think it might suit you. Not only does it have a myriad of features but it also sounds great. (Plugged to a computer you get this software that's basically a virtual amp.)
One of the best amps for it's price range. Though, since you plan on spending 1000$ on your bass I dunno' if you're looking for a bigger amp that packs more punch.
http://www.fender.com/en-FI/products/bronco-40
As for the pickups I don't think they suck so bad as many seem to imply. It's definitely not a MUST to buy new pickups.

[182sins]

You can record bass just DI'd as well, without any amp at all, they actually sound pretty nice without an amp! The best bass recordings I've gotten at home are DI only or DI and a little bit of a mic for some more low end. And I don't know anything about Seymour Duncan bass pick-ups but they make some sweet electric guitar pickups!

Yeah a DI'd bass sounds great ! I usually use both DI and Amped tracks, that makes it sound pretty good !

For the amps I'm using Amplitube with Cab's IRs, it gives a very nice sound (only if you've got an audio interface that's good enough).

I agree that the feel you have with a virtual amp is really different from a real one. I prefer real amps, obviously, but the tones I get with my virtual amps are very flexible, and yeah, it's much cheaper !

[Dylan]

Don't just get a dry DI though! depending on the bass you get, the dry DI tone can sound terrible or okay. if you want more tone out of a DI signal get a Sansamp Bass Driver DI.
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifie ... -driver-di

it's not cheap, but with a preamp you don't need to buy a cab combo. this DI plus a 1x12" or a 2x10" speaker cab will be all you need. but if your starting out and are already spending 900+ on a bass, maybe its best to get a small 100 dollar practice amp and upgrade later.

FYI this is what i have;
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/amplifie ... unt-preamp

[ÜBERCUNT]

For DI's I recomend:

http://www.zzounds.com/item--HTKATK
ultimate tone and shaping control right here.

[wiggs1441]

If you're shelling out that much on a bass, I'd say go for an Ernie Ball Sting Ray. So versatile and comfortable to play.