~$300 versatile bass?

[sudoku]

Hi!

I recently joined a new band, I play in two bands now and i need more versatile bass (I own Squier VM Precision bass. It's cool, but I would not call it very versatile, only one pickup and I can't get satysfying slap tone out of it. I play in a funk-rock band (so I need brighter tone for slap and so on), and a mix of reggae, jazz, soul and rock (I need a darker and warmer tone for that). My budget is around $300.

First of all, I'm not sure if I need passive or active, I asked about this whole preamp thing in another topic.

There are some popular basses around in here, where I live.

What about Squier VM 70's Jazz Bass? Those basses are popular, so they have good resell value, they have two pickups so they should have wide variety of tones. Or maybe Vintage EJM96 or VJ74 bass? Sterling Sub Ray 4? Looking forward to your reccomendations

 

[macmanlou]

If you can, try out as many different bridge pickup-equipped basses as possible. If you like the Squier VM Precision, I think you'll be pleased with the VM Jazz.

 

[Gorn]

Brighter strings and lowering your action will get you plenty of brightness and a great slap tone on your P.

A good jazz, pj, or stingray type bass in the $300 range would also work well. Squier VM J or PJ or an SBMM SUB Ray 4.

Or if you wanna spend a bit more, the American made EBMM SUB is a fantastic bass. There's um....one in the classifieds right now.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

+1 on the Sub Ray 4, that's a great bass for short money. If you want to branch out from a Fender style, try an Ibanez SR300 or higher in the series, fantastic basses.

 

[pcake]

yeah, the sterling SUB Ray4 is a really nice bass that seems very versatile to me.

 

[pedroims]

Sire basses get great reviews here.

Sire Bass Club! | TalkBass.com

Sire Bass Club! | TalkBass.com

 

[40Hz]

You're gonna hate hearing this, but a lot of the versatility and tone you're looking for comes from your hands rather than your bass. But you've probably already heard that before so I'll skip the lecture.

If you only have $300 to spend, I'd suggest either getting yourself a proper setup (if you don't know how to do it yourself) along with a better pickup (such as a Fender CS - or an EMG Geezer Butler) for your VM Squier - or - look for a Classic Vibe Squier or a SUB Ray4 as others have suggested. You can get SUBs and CVs used for <$300 if you shop around - and occasionally you'll see one on sale for close to $300. A pickup upgrade will only set you back about $100 however. And a decent setup by a qualified tech shouldn't cost more than $50-$75.

For active, best bang for the buck IMO are those Sire V7 basses. But they start at $400 so they're outside your budget if $300 is your max. (For the record I've only got a chance to try out two of them so far. But if those were indicative of what Sire is producing they're definitely worth considering. I can't speak for their M3 line, which lists for $299, because I have yet to even see one. But I'd guess they're also pretty nice.)

 

[Eilif]

If you like your VM P and only have $300 to spend check out the following two instruments that have a bridge pickup and a P-width neck.
-Ibanez TMB-300. It has a P and a bridge humbucker. It's also got a nice 2 band eq to get a bit of the bright snap you're looking for. I played one of these a couple weeks ago and was VERY impressed. The blocks on the fingerboard are hot also. Retails for $300 everywhere.
-LTD Vintage 214. A sweet P clone with a J pickup in the bridge and a pretty hot set of passive pickups. (I have one and love it) It's available in Alder or Swamp Ash. Usually goes for 380, but some places often have it for $300

If you are cool with a thinner neck, the Ray 5 will give you alot of snap and an eq or the Squire VM will give you a classic jazz slap tone.

 

[Oldschool94]

Hi!

I recently joined a new band, I play in two bands now and i need more versatile bass (I own Squier VM Precision bass. It's cool, but I would not call it very versatile, only one pickup and I can't get satisfying slap tone out of it. I play in a funk-rock band (so I need brighter tone for slap and so on), and a mix of reggae, jazz, soul and rock (I need a darker and warmer tone for that). My budget is around $300.

First of all, I'm not sure if I need passive or active, I asked about this whole preamp thing in another topic.

There are some popular basses around in here, where I live.

What about Squier VM 70's Jazz Bass? Those basses are popular, so they have good resell value, they have two pickups so they should have wide variety of tones. Or maybe Vintage EJM96 or VJ74 bass? Sterling Sub Ray 4? Looking forward to your recommendations

I only recently acquired the Squire VM jazz and I really like it. Take note, there's two versions I think. One might be better suited for slap. Definitely try before you buy, the other one at the store I tried was way too scooped for my taste. The one I bought has plenty of low mids though, and can be manipulated for a pretty broad range of sounds. Of course, scooped is usually good for slap, so there is that. For even more sounds, I plan on installing a series/parallel push-pull on the tone knob. This mod is really cheap, like $10.

The bass looks good, feels good, and sounds good. It is versatile enough for me, but I use a broad range of techniques, and also eq a lot. It does more sounds than my p so I'm happy. However, if you want something with a huge range of sounds there are probably better (read active) options. I would look into the G&L tribute series. They are more than you are asking for new, but should be affordable used, and have a billion sounds. Here's a clip:



If you watch the clip you will notice it has a ton of options including active/passive and series/parallel. It also will sound a lot different from your P, so plenty of variety for you.
It's especially good for slap too.

I'm seeing some a little north of $400 on ebay right now.

*disclaimer: I have never owned a G&L bass; I am definitely not trying to sell you one.

 

[jd56hawk]

Hi!

I recently joined a new band, I play in two bands now and i need more versatile bass (I own Squier VM Precision bass. It's cool, but I would not call it very versatile, only one pickup and I can't get satysfying slap tone out of it. I play in a funk-rock band (so I need brighter tone for slap and so on), and a mix of reggae, jazz, soul and rock (I need a darker and warmer tone for that). My budget is around $300.

First of all, I'm not sure if I need passive or active, I asked about this whole preamp thing in another topic.

There are some popular basses around in here, where I live.

What about Squier VM 70's Jazz Bass? Those basses are popular, so they have good resell value, they have two pickups so they should have wide variety of tones. Or maybe Vintage EJM96 or VJ74 bass? Sterling Sub Ray 4? Looking forward to your reccomendations

Believe me, I've been through my active phase, but I've come to realize passive is the way to go and I decided to go for something under $400 and splurge on a top-notch amp.
So, if you're going to buy a Squier, do yourself a favor and spend another $75 and get the best Squier has to offer...a Classic Vibe Jazz!
I did, and I still can't get over how incredible they are. Fender must be crazy for selling these for $375 and I wouldn't be surprised if they realize it some day and up the price by a hundred dollars.
By the way, I play in two bands, too.

 

[devnulljp]

CV Jazz or a G&L Tribute should do the job.

 

[chungweishan]

I'm going to go a different direction and ask "What strings are you using?"

When I play slap on my two-pickup bass ($330-ish Peavey Millennium BXP5), I actually prefer just the neck pickup. It's active, so I turn up the treble slightly. The key, for me, is I have brand new bright-strings on it now - Ernie Ball Slinkies. Not that I recommend those strings, but they're a lot brighter than the old stock ones that came with the bass. Unfortunately, since I lack a "tone" knob, so for the darker tone I just turn down the treble and pluck over the neck pickup.

My brother had a short-scale Squier P-bass, and I loved the slap sound from it. Again, I'm pretty certain it was due to the newer strings than worrying about the lack of a bridge pickup.

I used to think the slap sound was because of the bridge pickup, but it become too bright, twangy, brittle or whatever thesaurus word. I want a beefier slap, and the pop to almost be percussive. Not sure if it's true, I read somewhere Flea tended to use only the neck pickup so I gave it a go, and it sounded better to me on my bass.

I prefer the Robert Trujillo slap technique and sound, however I am learning the "Wooten" technique for more precise slapping.

By the way, I didn't buy the Peavey because it was active, I bought for the comfortable string spacing. It's definitely useful when playing live for quick EQ fixes, but if I had the opportunity (and money) I'd go with a passive again. I have neither.
--

If just changing strings work, great ... you spent about $30 - which is why I rarely buy strings (I'm cheap). If not, then take everyone else's advice into consideration.

 

[MatronMother]

Peavey T-40 (used of course). Most versatile and under utilized bass on the planet. No tone it cannot come close to replicating. I have one for the studio just for that reason, versatility.

 

[japhy4529]

G&L Tribute series. Here's one: SOLD - G&L JB -2 Tribute Bass Natural 5 Shipped ! | TalkBass.com

 

[wpc1996]

Ive been using one of the Sterling by Music Man SUBs for 2ish years I personally think their one of the biggest bangs for the bucks, and really versatile. Currently saving for a real one tho (800 bucks to go haha)

 

[davegt666]

The sterling sub 4 is probably one of the best basses for $300.

Keep a lookout, they go on sale for $250 all the time at GC.

 

[Bajo Clarkko]

I wasn't in the market for a Bass, but a couple of months ago, I came across a super clean, used, Sterling Sub4 at a great price. Pulling the trigger was a no-brainer. Sounds really good, plays well; lottta Bass for the buck.

 

[AdamK]

Was gonna suggest Squire VM Precision but then I read the first line. It's what I have and I play the same exact genres as you do. But only one thing different... I don't slap.

 

[JZQuantum]

A used Peavey Foundation from the mid 1980s or maybe a Peavey Dyna Bass might do the trick. The Foundy is passive, the Dyna is active and also has a passive bypass switch.

Both are awesome and will leave you some cash to spare.

 

[sudoku]

For active, best bang for the buck IMO are those Sire V7 basses. But they start at $400 so they're outside your budget if $300 is your max. (For the record I've only got a chance to try out two of them so far. But if those were indicative of what Sire is producing they're definitely worth considering. I can't speak for their M3 line, which lists for $299, because I have yet to even see one. But I'd guess they're also pretty nice.)

Is the quality of Sire basses superior to Squier VM and CV basses? I can only afford Squier, but in the future I can install a preamp in Squier if there's a need.

I'm going to go a different direction and ask "What strings are you using?"

I experiment with strings and gauges, currently I have Ernie Balls on my bass as well. I tested some bright, like Hi Beams or Sadowsky Blue Label and not-so-bright strings like those from Warwick any many sets from Rotosound. My P-bass obviously sounds 'better' with new strings, but it just is not my favourite guitar for slapping. And I prefer basses with 2 pickups or one pickup and EQ with tone shaping.

Believe me, I've been through my active phase, but I've come to realize passive is the way to go and I decided to go for something under $400 and splurge on a top-notch amp.

Well, yeah, active bass is not neccesary if you have outboard preamp, or an amplifier. It's useful when you have no amp.

Thank you guys, you responded so quickly. Sterling sub ray and Squiers were proposed so many times, definitely I have to check them out.