Question for the ladies only please!

[Jimmy Stump]

Originally Posted by Evil Undead

I'm wanting to know what kind of bass you feel most comfortable playing.

The info I'm interested in is brand/model, scale length, number of strings, string spacing, etc.

I just want to get a feel for what type of basses women feel suit them best.

Thanks for your time

I'm not a lady, but I do play one on TV.

Kidding, but that aside, I felt compelled to answer as a man because I have always sought out smaller basses. I would assume that a smaller bodied bass might be better for many females.

Spector basses are very small.

Warwick Thumbs are too.

I once owned a MusicMan Sterling (the US made Sterling) which IMO is the most comfortable bass I've ever played. Loved the feel of it, the length of the neck, the thin Jazz style nut width, and the smaller body. Just couldn't get with the tone of it unfortunately.

As others have mentioned, Sadowsky makes a downsized Jazz bass, as does Mike Lull (which I own). I believe Warmoth sells a small Jazz body as well if you wanted to do a custom build.

[jnslprd]

How about Spectors? Every time I try one I fall totally in love with the feel and sound only to realize I'm a big guy and the bass looks like a ukulele in my lap. Should be a great fit for a smaller frame, plus depending on which model you try some are unbelievable.

[thiocyclist]

Originally Posted by Evil Undead

What about my OP made you think I was asking what bass I should buy?

I don't believe that was my question at all.

This part:

Originally Posted by Evil Undead

After playing a million basses (ok, slight exaggeration) I can't seem to find one that I feel best with. So I want to see what other women play, and maybe try those out.

Originally Posted by BFunk

Well thank goodness upstanding citizens such as yourself are around to remind us that we can think for ourselves. Keep up the good work.

I'm sorry it bothers you to the point of sarcasm that I'd rather people think for themselves, because it is definitely something in short supply around here and a lot of other communities.

[BFunk]

You must be a blast at parties.

[billiam5billion]

I have a few female bassist friends who swear by Squier's vintage modified stuff. More specifically, the 72 style TB (comfy neck) and the 51 VM.

[khutch]

I guess if I were going to claim to be a lady I would have to be the bearded lady from the carnival, eh?l! But I do know exactly one woman who plays bass guitar and she is one of the other bassists in the worship band rotation at my church. She plays an Ibanez SR506 and I have talked to her about it a little. I know that she likes the Ibanez but she used to play a five string (sorry, I don't recall which), got the six string because it seemed like a good idea at the time, and now wants to go back to a five. She said she would have been a lot happier with an SR505.

The SR50X basses are pretty well known. I had a 505 for a while myself. It was about 7.5 pounds, 34 inch, 5 strings obviously, has a neck that everyone agrees is thin, and 16.5 mm at the bridge. The 506 would be quite similar but I do not know the string spacing. Sorry that I can only offer a woman's opinion second hand.

Ken

[M. Owen Santy]

Look at MTD - They have some very affordable models as well as US Made series and you can find something that will fit most any budget. Even the Kingston (import models) sound great stock and with a few mods have astounding tone.

Have been teaching my daughter who has tried everything I have, and tons of stuff in music stores and she LOVES my Kingston KZ4 due to it's light weight, deep cuts and sculpted back. It's the most comfortable thing that she has used she says.

This being said - we have noticed that choosing a properly wide and cushioned strap that has plenty of room to adjust is a huge +. Also note that wiz-kid Tal Wilkenfeld uses Sadowsky basses so I would imagine that those are comfortable as well.

[curbowman]

OK, I'm not female, but very skinny (5ft. 8in. tall and 135lbs) with a lower back injury caused by playing a heavy ash-bodied bass. Doctor ordered to play a lighter bass so I agreed.

Since 2000 I've been playing a Cort Curbow 5 string, and it's been a blast. The instrument looks cool, is very comfortable, weighs only 7.5 lbs and is incredibly well built for the price -especially when you realize they come with a Bartolini pickup & active electronics.

I have it with almost no relief & extremely low action (think Jeff Berlin/Brian Bromberg), and being a bass & guitar tech with nearly two decades of experience I can tell you I haven't been able to get that action from most instruments.

One of the most remarkable comments I got was from a very 'colorful' sound engineer who said: "your bass looks gay, but sounds amazing!"

[waidada]

Originally Posted by DandersonCooper

From my experience, I have learned that it is never a good idea, to try to ask such a loaded question.

I once dated a musician who was shopping at a local GC. One of the employees approached her and said that the particular guitar may be too heavy for her, and that she should pick a selection of guitars that were more suitable for girls. She was seconds away from swinging that Les Paul into his face (her main axes were in fact vintage les pauls). Her rage carried on for several days.

Since then, Ive always seen every kind of instrument suitable for all age, sex, size. If you're passionate about playing a certain instrument, its specifics will not make a difference to you.

woah.. a bit over-reacting to a well meaning suggestion? I mean, he didn't lead her to daisy rock, at least (although also a bit ignorant on the saleman's part) btw, nothing wrong w/ daisy rock, only if someone thinks a female bassist can ONLY play girly bass.

I play Ibanez's SR300, and sometimes a Yamaha long neck.. I feel more comfortably with the SR's neck. I have a very short pinky though, so I just ordered a Squier Jag short scale, can't wait for it to arrive.. I tried a warwick jazz bass in band before (forgot which model) it was too heavy.

eventually I would love to grow into a medium scale 5 string. (hmm the Warwick rockbass medium scale 5 string... wonder how much that weight)


sorta OT - I wonder why we don't have a ladies bassist club? or is that offending to anyone? I am sorta new here..

[khutch]

Originally Posted by waidada

sorta OT - I wonder why we don't have a ladies bassist club? or is that offending to anyone? I am sorta new here..

Pretty sure there is one, perhaps in the Bassists section, and I doubt it offends anyone. I may be brave enough to butt in on a thread like this one if I have something to say that could be relevant, but I wouldn't impose my presence on a women's club. Even so, I think I have seen one in the list of thread titles from time to time.

Ken

[GAPendragon]

Originally Posted by khutch

Pretty sure there is one, perhaps in the Bassists section, and I doubt it offends anyone. I may be brave enough to butt in on a thread like this one if I have something to say that could be relevant, but I wouldn't impose my presence on a women's club. Even so, I think I have seen one in the list of thread titles from time to time.

Ken

There is one: Here it is.

Anyway... I'm female, about 5'4 in height with pretty small hands. I think my Ibanez is about the most comfortable bass I own. It's a Soundgear of some description but it doesn't have a model stamped on the back of the head so I can't be more specific than that. I love the width and speed of the neck and the lighter weight is pretty helpful but I wouldn't say that playing lighter basses is essential for me unless I'm going to be playing for hours. I used to struggle to play my Columbus Jazz due to the weight of it but that was made in 1976 and I'm more used to it now.

The only bass I own that I'm not entirely comfortable playing for long is my PBass which is mostly due to neck width. I built it from parts just to learn how but it has a standard Squier neck. I can play it but my hands tire more easily than if I'm playing one of the others. Stingrays seem fine, most Fenders seem fine... haven't tried too many yet since my local store doesn't have a great range of stock and I'm a relatively new player.

I don't think I've had any other problems with the basses I've tried so far really, except occasionally with the angle I have to play at due to the size and placement of the upper horns as Titania said. I haven't tried a Thunderbird yet but this is one of the main reasons that I've avoided them.

[Chuck King]

Some years ago, a female friend of mine expressed an interest in taking up bass, and we went shopping to find her a good one to start on. She was concerned with getting something that wasn't too big. Initially, she ended up with an Ibanez GSR.

But, some months later, she was over at my house and I showed her the old Peavey T-40 I had recently picked up, and she FELL IN LOVE. Now, a T-40 is one of the bigger basses out there: it's heavy as a rock; it's long; it has a wide fingerboard---everything she said she didn't want, but, after playing it a bit, she bought it from me and has been using it ever since, for about five years.

If that works for her, I seriously doubt there is any consensus on what are good basses for women, aside from the very valid bosom-friendly concern regarding certain body styles.

[SamanthaCay]

A ten pound precision works great for me.
Although I keep thinking I may get older some day and need something lighter.

[77stingray]

I am petite - just about 5' 1" (ahem) and I have played a ton of basses. I loved my vintage stingray and all the jazz basses I have owned. I have to say though, that when i saw pics of me with a jazz bass, it looked pretty ridiculous, and I was embarrassed by comments about how big my bass was in comparison to myself. As I have gotten older I have found my self gravitating towards tight string spacing and shorter scales, because I can play a lot faster, and it seems the tight spacing really tightened up my right hand technique. I play 5 string only now, and I have a Birdsong Hy5 with 16mm string spacing which I love and a Veillette Minotaur 5 which i think has 18mm spacing - not sure, but that is the nicest bass I have ever laid hands on. I really loved the feel of my ibanez SR 505 which was a fast player as well. That bass was 34" scale and 16.5mm spacing. Lastly, I have an Ibanez GWB35 which is really an incredible bass - 34" scale 16.5mm spacing. As far as scale goes - it is just what you are used to. Now that my main basses are short scale the 34" scale suddenly feels too big. If anyone has a 32" scale 6 string with 16mm spacing that is light weight let me know - that is on my wish list. Unfortunately, you really have to special order something like that .

[CJAtheBassman]

Originally Posted by Evil Undead

I'm wanting to know what kind of bass you feel most comfortable playing.

The info I'm interested in is brand/model, scale length, number of strings, string spacing, etc.

I just want to get a feel for what type of basses women feel suit them best.

Thanks for your time

If a bass feels, sounds and plays good, then that's all that matters. If there is a specific bass that you like playing the most, then go for that one.

[fourstringbliss]

Originally Posted by Evil Undead

I don't really get how it's a loaded question. My apologies if it seems that way. I'm not planning on suggesting that the ladies of TalkBass switch to a different bass!

Some people here are too touchy. Your question is completely valid and unloaded - sorry you're getting unloaded on.

[Stilettoprefer]

My girlfriend really likes her ibanez acoustic bass. It's a shorter scale (32") and has a neck feel similar-ish to a squier affinity P, which is what her other bass is.

She likes the weight of the acoustic a lot and her being 5' 2" with small hands, the shorter scale makes playing much easier. It still looks gigantic on her, but she makes good sounds with it.

She's also taken a liking to my Schecter stiletto since I've put super light strings on it. That neck is more jazz bass like and the bass is lighter than her squier P. It's also "pretty" according to her (black cherry finish with black chrome hardware).

Hope a guy like me can be of some help with my observations! If you want specifics about these basses, feel free to ask, I've done setups and string changes on all of them, so I know them pretty well.

[LordRyan]

I'm not a lady or even female but I play in two bands with female Bass players. (Yes, I am a multi-instrumentalist known to play Keys and Guitar when the need arises.) One uses a Rick exclusively. The other mostly plays a Hofner for it's light weight since she has back problems. Before that she was playing a Music Man Stingray which she still uses on occasions where she can sit while playing. So it seems that in general women use much the same equipment as male Bass players.

[BawanaRik]

It seems that any hint that there might be differences can lead to events like the one you've experienced.

Originally Posted by DandersonCooper

Hah, no I wasnt bored or trying to stir the pot. From my experience, questions like these would lead opposite sex into intense arguments. Maybe I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Anywho.... interesting thread so far, carry on!

[sxaxsx]

(Not a female... hope that's okay)

Basses come in as many different sizes and shapes as women themselves do. My advice is what you always hear on here, try it out before you buy it!
But to add to that, I would suggest trying it out with a strap, somthing people usually don't do when they go to a music shop, but you can't tell weight, balance or comfort by sitting down on a stool playing it. Deppending on how low you wear your bass will make a big difference in comfort, if you are wearing it Ramones style verses Tim Commerford from Rage Against the Machine.