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Advice Please

J

JimFiore

Mar 26, 2008
23
0
Utica, NY
#1
I'm looking for a little input regarding a new bass. There aren't a lot of stores in my area where I can try out instruments so I'm hoping to get a little feedback here.

I have a Fender American Standard J w/ DiMarzio p'ups. I love the feel of the instrument but I was never crazy about the sound of it (the new p'ups helped but still not what I'd like). I also have a Musican Man Sterling 5 HH (the original made in USA version). I absolutely love the sound of this instrument. It's a bit of a beast though, as I'm not a big guy (and to be honest, I got the Sterling 5 over the Stingray 5 because it's a little smaller/lighter).

If I could find a 4 string that felt more like the Fender but had the growl and thump of the Music Man, I'd be a happy guy. FWIW, I also have an MIJ fretless special w/ P bass body/J bass neck that feels equally nice and a Ric 4003 but that's a completely different sort of animal.

Any thoughts are welcome. Oh, no rich recently deceased uncles to pay for this. I'd sell the J bass to finance a bunch of it. Thanks.
 
#3
Have you tried any 4 string Music Man basses? I love my Sterling 4H as well as my Stingray 4H. The Sterling has the smaller body and neck but sounds awesome and is very versatile. It is also a pretty light bass too. Actually, the only Music Man bass that I own where I notice it's weight is my Stingray Classic but it isn't even that bad. Maybe 9lbs. max.
 
#6
You could look for a StingRay 4 SLO. The TLO is a SR with a Sterling (i.e. not as beefy) neck.

Or, check out a G&L SB-2. These can be had with a J-style neck. I LOVE my SB-2.
 
#7
Thanks. Unfortunately no place around here sells Music Man or G&L. How do the Big Al and Bongo compare to the Sterling 5, sound-wise?

I picked up a StingRay 5 and it almost broke my neck. Let me put it this way, my favorite guitar is a Parker Dragonfly. Even my Strat seems heavy by comparison, so perhaps you can understand my issues with some basses!
 
#8
JimFiore said:
Thanks. Unfortunately no place around here sells Music Man or G&L. How do the Big Al and Bongo compare to the Sterling 5, sound-wise? !
Click to expand...

When I was playing my own music, the Bongo was my main bass. It's got a character all it's own, and I loved the way it fit into the music we were playing. Since I started playing a lot more of other people's music, and since I bought a Big Al my feelings about the Bongo have changed a bit. The Bongo is a super agressive MoFo, and it takes a little work to tame it. At least for me. I set my active basses flat, and then start tweaking from there, but with the Bongo I now set all the knobs about 1/3 of the way up and consider that the flat setting. The Bongo has a definite personality, much like the Stingray has it's own personality, and I think after playing it for so long I just grew a little tired of it and started wanting something different. If you listen to pretty much any Bongo youtube vid, you'll hear the personality I'm talking about. Hard to describe, but it's a certain element that I don't hear in other basses.

The Big Al on the other hand covers a few more bases (pun intended). It can pretty much nail the sound of lots of other basses, including a P, a J and a stingray. IMO you can't really ask for much more. It goes both passive and active, has a seperate tone control for passive mode. It can be super aggressive, or thick, mellow and rich. I own lots of basses, love lots of them too, but if I was only able to hold onto only one of them it would without question be the Big Al.
 

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