A question from a relatively new guy :D
 

Which of those two basses would you choose?

1st one:

Five piece neck thru bubingo neck.
Mahogany body, fretboard wenge, seymour duncan stc-3p electroinics, two single coil pickups, hand crafted.





2nd one:

Bolt on neck, ash-tree body, maple neck, active electronics, hand crafted warwick-like body, hambucker and a single coil.

Pictures of the second one


Thanks in advance for all the help I hope I'm going to get! :D

I can't guarantee for the first one, but my six-string's body shape, pickups and (I assume) electronics Are very similar to the second one. The J-MM combination is very versatile and you can get a million sounds out of it. If you can try before buying, do it.

Thanks. I'm in a dillema between those two. I can try them before purchase but I have to travel for a couple of hours to do it. Let me note that the first one is like 200e cheaper, but I'm worried about double single pickup on a bass.

I've had Yamaha rbx375 and it worked quite well for me with double hums.

I would need to play them first.

Why are you worried about the MM pickup?

Is the second one amazingly cheap by any chance? It looks a lot like a range of basses that were being poorly assembled in Germany from Chinese parts a few years ago, under various brand names. They were extremely poor quality.

If it is one of those, avoid.

Haven't had any expiriences with them so I can't tell if they are what I need :/



620 euros. Could be. Don't know. I will try them both. I can get the first one by trading some of my gear tho so I can get it off for like 250 euros less then the original price, it's a bit of an advantage.

To be honest, the first one's model is a bit weird and I'm worried by the singles, but SD electronics & neck thru construction can't be done by absolute amateurs.

While the words about Chinese parts scared me a bit about the second one.

I guess I'll go for the 1st option :P

I'd of course like to try both first - playability a huge factor and for me the weight and the sound. Not sure if the pups in the 2nd bass are Delano or not, but they sure look like it. If so, and the MM-J electronics all work right I'd likely opt for that bass because I like that configuration, but all the other factors are deal makers. Definitely try them out first is my advice. Good luck and let us know what you decide.

Both have too many strings for me.

If I had to choose between the 2, I suppose I'd have to pick the 2nd one just for the sound versatility of a HS pickup combination vs SS in the first bass.

Couldn't pick. I think a lot depends on those pick ups.

I like the look of the first one better, the second one's a bit shiny and I like a matt finish on natural wood. However I think the humbucker makes all the difference: You get so much more versatility from them and you still have a single coil for the snappiness if you want it! I'm not really a six stringer type o'guy so I'm no expert but if it were two four stringers in question I'd be in no doubt as to choose that second guy. Good luck choosing the right one for you!

Are two single coils any good on bass?

I think 620EUR is too much money for a bass of pretty much totally unknown provenance, unless you play it and you immediately think 'Wow, this has the best feel and/or sound of any bass I've ever picked up - this is definitely worth 600EUR!'.

It might happen, but it probably won't. Do yourself a favour and take a good look around all the screw holes and the neck joint and the truss rod cover and machine heads and the bridge and everything else - see if you can see anything that has been put together carelessly. Ask for the rear control cover to be removed and take a good look at all the construction going on in there too. You'd be surprised by how amateurishly some jobs are done and might overlook some really horrifically cheap work purely because you don't expect to see it.

If you see any evidence that someone who didn't care too much about quality was involved in building or assembling the bass, turn it down. You can get much better attention to detail from Squier's operations in Korea these days.

I like #2 I love that pickup combo.

The pickup combo on #2 is probably more versatile, and I prefer bolt-on basses because the ones I own have always been punchier than the neck-thru basses. Overall you have to buy the one that sounds better to you.

For comparison, this cost barely 300€.



Not sure you're getting enough bang for the buck, really.

Where'd you get it?

Generally, instruments here qre quite expensive :/

I already PMed you, but here goes, a local shop in my town sells these, they're rebranded J&D basses.