Best bass $3000 or under

[wallshakerpbass]

Hey, I'm looking for a new bass, have a budget of about $3000, and want to upgrade from my fender mia pbass. Any suggestions?

I haven't been able to test any of them yet, but some basses catching my eye: the warwick corvette $$ neckthru, and the lakland joe osborne.

Again, throw what you've got at me, please. I'll be grateful for any suggestions.

 

[TAZ]

$3K? Dude, everything is available.

 

[NoobOnRoad]

yeah, just go try everything in a music store and take what you want. That's what I would do.

 

[Kwesi]

$3K? Dude, everything is available.

Agreed.

On another note, I will never understand why these threads are made so often without giving any indication as to what kind of bass or bass preferences the OP likes or dislikes. I don't mean to pick on you OP because your not the first and definitely not the last to do this but $3000 can buy you A LOT. Hell, you could go custom with that kind of cash, so you've got to give us more to go on.

What to you like / what are your preferences?

scale length?
number of strings?
pickup type?
brand?
sound?
band that you like?
music that you play?
string spacing?
features?
neck shape?
weight?

Not saying we need all of that but there's a lot of info we could give that would help you out more if you gave us a more specific request.

 

[cmewhinney]

What are you looking for in a new bass that your current bass doesn't do?

 

[capnsandwich]

Are you looking for a custom built bass, a boutique parts bass, an assembly line bass etc.? $3000 is a nice limit to work with.

 

[basspraiser]

Answer the questions above and we can help more....

I would say a sweet used Lakland 55-94 would do you in all circumstances and it will run you $2K or less......you should be able to get a new one for a tad over your "budget"....

any Lakie Q's.....let me know...

Peace:

Doug

PS - a JOE Osborn with the CHIsonics would be fantastic as well!!!!

 

[SlingBass4]

$3K? Dude, everything is available.

+1 - ABSOLUTELY

 

[knigel]

I'd think about maybe upgrading my Behringer amp first. For three k, you could get a whole new set up. For 3k, you could buy every bass I own or have owned, and every amp I own or have owned.

 

[EagleMoon]

There is no upgrade from an MIA P bass.

 

[cmewhinney]

$3K? Dude, everything is available.

Unless you want a Fodera, Ken Lawrence, good Zon, Alembic, Carl Thompson, or a decent double bass.

 

[sloasdaylight]

Music Man Bongo 6.

Everything you could ever want, it can even come with piezos!

 

[wallshakerpbass]

I'm looking for check marks in these areas:
34" scale
4 strings
nice thin, playable neck (but not too thin, like those anorexic-neck ibanez sr's)
powerful, hits-you-in-the-face tone that's like a fist, not a warm blanket

 

[SpamBot]

SX. 30 of them.

 

[EagleMoon]

An American Spector fits all of your criteria.

 

[sloasdaylight]

I'm looking for check marks in these areas:
34" scale
4 strings
nice thin, playable neck (but not too thin, like those anorexic-neck ibanez sr's)
powerful, hits-you-in-the-face tone that's like a fist, not a warm blanket

MusicMan Bongo 4, Sterling 4 are the first two that come to mind for me.

After that you could maybe look at an MTD KZ4 possibly, though that has an asymmetrical neck profile, so you'll need to play it first, personally I like it.

Maybe also check out an ESP 1004, it's their top model bass as far as I'm concerned. Neck through body, nice neck, good pups/eqs, you can really get a punchy sound out of it without much trouble.

You could maybe see what you could find in the used Lakland area as some one else mentioned earlier. Spector also makes really bad ass basses, but I think the majority of them are 35", so while you may not be initially interested, try a few of them out before you discount them.

That's about all I can think of off the top of my head right now.

 

[wallshakerpbass]

Does anyone have any experience with warwick 'vette $$ nt's, because they look SEXY with the bubinga bodies, but I don't like the tone from MM pickups

 

[cgordonfreeman]

Music Man Bongo 6.

Everything you could ever want, it can even come with piezos!

Since when are Bongo 6ers available with piezos?

 

[sloasdaylight]

I've played some, they weren't the NTs, but they were still the double buck versions of the corvette.

Personally I found them to be only meh. I think the pups are spaced too close to one another to really bring out much tonal anything other than loud. The coil tap switches though are neat, and useful, but overall my impression was just meh. If you want to go with a Warwick body I'd suggest the model with J pups, greater tonal versatility I've found. Also know that they Warwicks have rather thick necks and tend to be kind of heavy, so just fyi.

Since when are Bongo 6ers available with piezos?

Pretty sure I read that was an option somewhere. I could be mistaken though and it said it was only for the 4 and 5 string models.

After further research! I have discovered that I was talking out of my ass, as the 6 is currently not available with piezos.

 

[GregC]

I'm looking for check marks in these areas:
34" scale
4 strings
nice thin, playable neck (but not too thin, like those anorexic-neck ibanez sr's)
powerful, hits-you-in-the-face tone that's like a fist, not a warm blanket

This is one possibility. The DJ's tone definitely hits you in the face. This finish is stunning in person, IMO. And US Lakland necks are amazing.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]