Best bass for studio work

[jessiejs]

Hi again ladies and gents. I am a musician that did at one point do a lot of gigging but I find myself now doing almost all studio recordings and songwriting. I finally upgraded and got the Fender Strat that I always wanted and my studio recordings are definitely much better. Now, I want to upgrade my bass. Since I was never a regular bass player I never put any money into that other than an old 25 year old Yamaha 4 string and a cheap Harley Benton bass.

Now I want to upgrade my bass. I write mostly R&B, Soul and Country while doing some old Motown covers. What type of bass should I be looking at for recording purposes. I need something with not a lot of fret noise, thats for sure and low hum if thats possible.

Thanks

Jessie

 

[Nedmundo]

The traditional answer would be some kind of P-bass, and for the genres you mention I think that's probably the right call. Add flatwound strings for old-school tone and less fret noise. It doesn't have to be expensive either, because the current Squier offerings are quite good.

 

[Gorn]

What do you want out of a bass that your Yamaha and Harley Benton aren’t giving you? Are they set up properly with good strings?

 

[Eilif]

A PBass is a good choice.

That said, my bass of choice for recording country and rock for years has been my1979 Peavey T-40 with old Pure Nickel strings. Strong, smooth-yet clear, tone that records very well, even response across it's range, minimal fret noise and no hum. It's too heavy to wear for 3 sets but I keep it just for recording.

Even had an engineer like it so much he offered to buy it!

 

[filwitheneff]

I write mostly R&B, Soul and Country while doing some old Motown covers. What type of bass should I be looking at for recording purposes. I need something with not a lot of fret noise, thats for sure and low hum if thats possible.

Precision Bass with flatwound strings is what you're describing.

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

Another vote for Precision with flats.

It took me over 15 years to "get it", but now I do.

 

[jessiejs]

What do you want out of a bass that your Yamaha and Harley Benton aren’t giving you? Are they set up properly with good strings?

I've had the Yamaha for 25 years and its pretty beat up but its part of my history so I'll keep it just for that. The electronics are old and it just doesn't sound good anymore.

The Harley Benton just sounds clanky. Lots of fret noise and hum and it just doesn't sound good to me. To be honest I only paid $170 for the HB and I just don't want to invest any money in it for strings, pickups and electronics if its just a cheaply made guitar and not worth the effort. I'd rather go out and buy what I need. Am I wrong for thinking this? Like I said before, I'm not a bass player by trade so I'm looking for good sound advice before I jump into the deep end.

 

[jessiejs]

Precision Bass with flatwound strings is what you're describing.

Thanks

 

[jessiejs]

Another vote for Precision with flats.

It took me over 15 years to "get it", but now I do.

How does it do with fret noise and hum?

 

[marchone]

How does it do with fret noise and hum?

Strung with flats there is no fret noise. The Precision’s split pickup is designed to eliminate hum.

 

[BassNugget]

Whenever I did a studio gigs, the sound guys would usually breathe a sigh of relief if it was a Fender or MusicMan. They knew how to work with those.

These days, it is so much easier to eq during and post production. But yeah, P, J, Stingray. You will have a lot covered.

I would usually only bring the Stingray unless I was specifically asked to bring a "Fender." Sometime I would reply that the Stingray IS a "Fender," but would then pull out a Fender-shaped object to assuage fears (I had a Moon JJ and a Bacchus Woodline that I could bring).

 

[BassNugget]

A PBass is a good choice.

That said, my bass of choice for recording country and rock for years has been my1979 Peavey T-40 with old Pure Nickel strings. Strong, smooth-yet clear, tone that records very well, even response across it's range, minimal fret noise and no hum. It's too heavy to wear for 3 sets but I keep it just for recording.

Even had an engineer like it so much he offered to buy it!

The T-40 is classic! Thick and rich. Love em!

 

[ruju]

Stick with the Yamaha!

 

[jessiejs]

Strung with flats there is no fret noise. The Precision’s split pickup is designed to eliminate hum.

So the Squier Classic Vibe 50's P Bass without the split would have some hum then?

 

[marchone]

I’m not familiar with that bass. Others will soon chime in.

EDIT: I just looked it up. It’s a single coil modeled after the 1951 Precision Bass. Yes, it will hum near many 60hz devices. I have a 1969 Telecaster Bass. I know the issue well. But a step or two away it usually goes away.

Go for a split coil model.

 

[PJ Muzikmansky]

I have a CS '59 Precision that records beautifully. Perfect sound for Country, Motown, Soul, R&B etc

I recently sold an 2012 American standard Jazz that also recorded beautifully. A little smoother sounding than the P.

Last year I picked up an '84 Yamaha BB3000 that is an absolute dream to play - and believe it or not, it "out-precisions" the CS precision. Sounds great.

My point: You're good to go with anything Fender shaped in the Precision or Jazz line, or any Yamaha BB, especially the older ones - from BB300 up - with the trad P pickup configuration, including PJ (like the BB3000). The reverse P ( ala BB1200/2000) is also good, but sounds a little more 'rock / funk' to my seasoned ear, though it could easily work for what you've described.

 

[jessiejs]

I’m not familiar with that bass. Others will soon chime in.

EDIT: I just looked it up. It’s a single coil modeled after the 1951 Precision Bass. Yes, it will hum near many 60hz devices. I have a 1969 Telecaster Bass. I know the issue well. But a step or two away it usually goes away.

Go for a split coil model.

Ok thanks!

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

Hi again ladies and gents. I am a musician that did at one point do a lot of gigging but I find myself now doing almost all studio recordings and songwriting. I finally upgraded and got the Fender Strat that I always wanted and my studio recordings are definitely much better. Now, I want to upgrade my bass. Since I was never a regular bass player I never put any money into that other than an old 25 year old Yamaha 4 string and a cheap Harley Benton bass.

Now I want to upgrade my bass. I write mostly R&B, Soul and Country while doing some old Motown covers. What type of bass should I be looking at for recording purposes. I need something with not a lot of fret noise, thats for sure and low hum if thats possible.

Thanks

Jessie

Easy answer .. Fender Custom Shop Pino Palladino Precision bass strung with LaBella DTF 760 FL flatwound strings

 

[marchone]

Easy answer .. Fender Custom Shop Pino Palladino Precision bass strung with LaBella DTF 760 FL flatwound strings

Great. The OP is looking at Squiers and a $5K Custom Shop bass is suggested. I’ve read that Pino uses TI flats.

 

[Gianni "Orlandez" Orlati]

I’ve read that Pino uses TI flats.

I use them as well but the LaBella may be the icing on the cake on the Motown R&B field