Any Suggestions? Words of wisdom?!

[grizliadams]

Im a 22 yr old doublebass player from Belfast, NI. Ive been playing upright for 8 years, but having left the youth orchestra i was playing in, im now without an instrument. I also find myself woefully lacking in the funds to purchase one of any kind of quality.
So ive recently started to try and transfer my db skills to the electric bass, and being reasonably happy with the results, im looking to buy an electric bass.

Guys, i know nothing about them, can anybody tell me what to look for, what to avoid, who to avoid?! From what ive already found out, i think im looking to get my hands on a 4-string bass with active circuitry...and im looking to spend about £800, i think thats about $1200. Its for general use...rock, jazz...dare i say it, musicals?!

Any advice would be a great help!! Thanks!

[Jiggybass]

Fender Jazzes/Fender jazz copies are very versatile, and the Fender deluxe jazz 24 has active electronics, and costs less than what you are going for....with the extra money, use it for a nice amp

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

I'm very partial to the Bongo, but any Ernie Ball Music Man bass (StingRay, Sterling or Bongo) is an excellent choice. Check them out!

[janekbass]

what is it that you're trying to do? what kind of music are you trying to play? how many strings are you looking for? did you budget for an amp?




www.myspace.com/janekgwizdalaproject

[grizliadams]

Originally Posted by janekbass

what is it that you're trying to do? what kind of music are you trying to play? how many strings are you looking for? did you budget for an amp?




www.myspace.com/janekgwizdalaproject

Dude...without meaning to sound ignorant, did u even read my post before writing a reply...all the information u asked for is there. A 4-string bass, active circuitry, for general use...basically a bit of everything, so a good all rounder is waht im looking for. I have budgeted for a practice amp, but thats seperate from the amount stated above.

[ric1312]

Originally Posted by grizliadams

Im a 22 yr old doublebass player from Belfast, NI. Ive been playing upright for 8 years, but having left the youth orchestra i was playing in, im now without an instrument. I also find myself woefully lacking in the funds to purchase one of any kind of quality.
So ive recently started to try and transfer my db skills to the electric bass, and being reasonably happy with the results, im looking to buy an electric bass.

Guys, i know nothing about them, can anybody tell me what to look for, what to avoid, who to avoid?! From what ive already found out, i think im looking to get my hands on a 4-string bass with active circuitry...and im looking to spend about £800, i think thats about $1200. Its for general use...rock, jazz...dare i say it, musicals?!

Any advice would be a great help!! Thanks!

Musicman Bongo Bass, or a Stingray. They sound great and have very adjustable sounds for different types of music.

[grizliadams]

It seems like musicman is the way to go!! The only thing is, if i get a musicman i cant afford an amp...the musicman brand is more expensive here, i think the price you guys would pay in dollars is roughly the price i have to pay in pounds. Does anyone know of any US websites that would ship a musicman to the UK, but without breaking the bank?

What does everyone think of warwick basses? And fenders?

[ebe9]

Warwick are very good basses along with the Fenders.

An idea might be to have a look a the Cort Artisan B4FL, its a fretless which might be an idea for you going from double bass.

www.cort.com

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Bear in mind that Fender's quality control isn't the best and IMO is not a good idea to buy a Fender without trying it first. MM's QC, on the other hand, is superb.

Warwicks are great basses, but they're also (in)famous because of their weight and neck dive issues (the Thumb model, at least). Of course I'm a big EBMM fan and my opinion might be biased, but you've already said it:

Originally Posted by grizliadams

musicman is the way to go!!

...and Bongo rules!

[morf]

It depends on the sound and feel you're looking for. Jazz basses are great because they're very versatile so if you're still unsure of what kind of sound/feel you want, a jazz bass would probably be a good idea.

Since youre already a strong player you're gonna want a quality bass too, so if you're going the fender way follow the advice above and test the bass out before buying (unless its a custom shop, those are all great basses as far as I know).

[grizliadams]

Whats neck dive? Does that mean the necks warp easily or something?

[morf]

it means the neck leans down, the balance isnt perfect.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by grizliadams

Whats neck dive? Does that mean the necks warp easily or something?

No. It means that the instrument's weight is unbalanced due to a heavy neck. Ideally, your bass should keep in position when you let it hang from your strap without supporting it. Neck dive means that the neck "falls" when trying to do that because it is heavier than the body.

[grizliadams]

Ahh, i know what ya mean now...and would that be a model specific thing, or is it just the odd instrument? And how would that affect ur playing? Does it make it very awkward, or is there not that great a difference?

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

To each his/her own, but to me it's very annoying. I mean, your fretting hand is supposed to be used just for that: PLAYING. Not for helping to keep your instrument in place.

[grizliadams]

Active Vs Passive circuitry...which would you go for, and why? What are the advantages of one over the other?

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

An active bass gives you more of a hi-fi tone because of the 9V (or 18V) powered preamp inside the instrument. Virtually noise-free (if it's a GOOD active bass) and adds the possibility of EQing low, mid and high frequencies independently. You must carry one or two 9V alkaline batteries in your gig bag, specially if your bass doesn't have the option of switching to passive mode: Dead batteries = Dead instrument. Average life varies from six months to one year.

On the other hand, a passive bass just picks the strings' vibrations without any kind of "boosting" before sending the signal to the amp. This result in a rawer tone, more prone to noise (specially if you use a really long cable), and it only has a tone knob for controlling the amount of treble in your sound (the Rickenbacker 4003 has independent tone knobs for each pickup). No batteries required.

The above description sounds as if an active bass is "better" than a passive, but it isn't necessarily so. Many players find the active tone "sterile" and prefer the raw, "dirty" qualities of passive. I've favored active basses, but my passive Rickenbacker 4003 doesn't cease to amaze me.

[morf]

Its hard to pick. Really depends on the bass tone and playability, and your own taste in those. Reminds me I should get a passive fretless.

[grizliadams]

What about pickups...is there any advantage between split pickups, or soapbars or where theyre positioned? Ive noticed the EBMMs dont have a neck position pickup, just a single humbucker (i think haha) in the middle.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by grizliadams

Ive noticed the EBMMs dont have a neck position pickup, just a single humbucker (i think haha) in the middle.

It used to be like that, but now EBMM also offers dual-humbucker configuration for StingRays and Sterlings (the Bongo was born with them, as far as I know).