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Coming back at 15 years

#21
OlSpoons said:
You're right, its hard to beat the neck on an ibanez, it was my favorite thing about my old one, that and the bartalonis. I wanted to go with something with more of a classic style like a p or jazz bass, but haven't found one that I felt really comfy with yet. But the music mans have that classic style as well and I took a liking to the sterling H i played.
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I currently play in a punk band. I have a J that I used at first, but I wanted something that really captured the "punk" bass tone, as I conceive it. So I bought a Squier P, and yeah, that did it. So a P would be my first suggestion.

That said, Joe Lally played a Music Man for most of Fugazi's albums and it sounded great. So a Sterling H is a good choice as well. So is a G&L as mentioned above (at least, I think that's what was used on the last Frodus album..)
 
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#22
Welcome back the fold! Take a look at the Squier Classic Vibe line of basses. Very good for the money.

I also have the Sterling sub 4 H and 4 HH models. Not bad either, takes a little setup but mine play and sound incredible.
 
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#26
OlSpoons said:
Hey guys, so I am looking to purchase a bass again. I had an ibanez sr700 before and played in a metalcore band, I liked it but I was thinking about going for something different this time. Would like something with some grindy mids for punk but that also has good lows for metal in case i play it again. Looking to spend no more than $500. I saw the Sterling stingray HH and single humbucker version that looked and felt good, would you guys have any other suggestions? Thanks guys
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Welcome to TalkBass!!!! .....and back to bass!

Roughly where are you? Many of us are Threat Level Ninja when it comes to spotting deals on used basses. Your money will go much further on used gear.

Nothing does punk like a P bass (in my view). But there are lots of other options out there.
 
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#29
I also came back to playing bass after a two decade long hiatus. After trying many basses at a Sam Ash store I spotted a strange but cool looking bass hanging on the wall. I played it and it sounded and played so much better than anything else so I bought it. It was a Kubicki X-Factor at a price that would make me a fool if I didn't buy it, so I bought it (I'm still a fool but for other reasons). That was several years ago and now I have 8 fine basses more than I need not to mention a collection of pedals, amps and cabs.

There is so much more available now than there was 15 years ago. In particular, basses priced under $500 are abundant and the quality has improved significantly. There are too many basses out there to recommend just one and there is a plethora of good used basses in that price range.

Playing again was a challenge and took a lot of practice to get my skills back to where they were. Taking lessons and studying basic music theory really helped. I'm more disciplined and committed to practicing and much better now than I've ever been. Welcome back and stay with it this time.
 
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#30
I'd go play a Sterling and some P basses, hopefully you're near a bigger store that has stuff, and see what you like. I'd think a black Ray34 would be what you like, they have an awesome grindy tone when you dig into them. You may have to watch Reverb 'till a good deal pops up on a used one. Finding a P is a whole other can of worms as far as options and price.
 
#31
Levent said:
Lot of things has changed for Metal in last 15 years so I'd suggest an active 5 string and 2 pickup bass to be versatile and low.
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honestly I’ve been contemplating that. Figured if I’m coming back might as well start it off with a 5 string this time to make it more versatile for when I do play metal. Maybe the 5 string version of the ray would be better then.
 
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#32
Spectre Gunner said:
I also came back to playing bass after a two decade long hiatus. After trying many basses at a Sam Ash store I spotted a strange but cool looking bass hanging on the wall. I played it and it sounded and played so much better than anything else so I bought it. It was a Kubicki X-Factor at a price that would make me a fool if I didn't buy it, so I bought it (I'm still a fool but for other reasons). That was several years ago and now I have 8 fine basses more than I need not to mention a collection of pedals, amps and cabs.

There is so much more available now than there was 15 years ago. In particular, basses priced under $500 are abundant and the quality has improved significantly. There are too many basses out there to recommend just one and there is a plethora of good used basses in that price range.

Playing again was a challenge and took a lot of practice to get my skills back to where they were. Taking lessons and studying basic music theory really helped. I'm more disciplined and committed to practicing and much better now than I've ever been. Welcome back and stay with it this time.
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yeah I was stupid to stop but hey that’s life. You’re not the first person to tell me how much the quality of cheaper basses have improved over 15 years. That’s good to hear.
 
#36
The used v. new aspect of these discussions annoys me. People always say "find a used deal on a XXXX for $XXX," but those recommendations are conceptual at best and who knows when, or if, you can really find that deal available in the wild. Also, the used market is for the fully informed. There are a zillion ways to end up with a bad deal on a used bass if you don't know exactly what you're buying.

So, focusing on new - $500 buys an imported instrument built from commodity parts. The good news is that manufacturing tolerances are excellent now and the quality of instruments at that price point can be quite good.

I'd start with what kind of bass you want - a Precision-type, a Jazz-type, a P/J-type, a Musicman-type, or something else. You can spend a lot of (very entertaining) time here researching and debating which of those is right for you.

Once you know that, it's pretty easy to search. I saw a snarky response above that said "go to Sweetwater and set the price parameter to a maximum of $500. Those are your options." Snarky, but not wrong. But if you get to that point already knowing what category of instrument you want it will be easier to make a choice.

Frankly, there are many builders working at that price point. Ibanez, Yamaha, Cort, Squier, Sterling, Sire, and maybe 20 others. In some cases their entry-level products are private-labeled and all built in the same factories by a small number of companies. The more important thing is to choose your bass format and then look for a good deal.

Have fun!
 
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#38
Altitude said:
The used v. new aspect of these discussions annoys me. People always say "find a used deal on a XXXX for $XXX," but those recommendations are conceptual at best and who knows when, or if, you can really find that deal available in the wild. Also, the used market is for the fully informed. There are a zillion ways to end up with a bad deal on a used bass if you don't know exactly what you're buying.

So, focusing on new - $500 buys an imported instrument built from commodity parts. The good news is that manufacturing tolerances are excellent now and the quality of instruments at that price point can be quite good.

I'd start with what kind of bass you want - a Precision-type, a Jazz-type, a P/J-type, a Musicman-type, or something else. You can spend a lot of (very entertaining) time here researching and debating which of those is right for you.

Once you know that, it's pretty easy to search. I saw a snarky response above that said "go to Sweetwater and set the price parameter to a maximum of $500. Those are your options." Snarky, but not wrong. But if you get to that point already knowing what category of instrument you want it will be easier to make a choice.

Frankly, there are many builders working at that price point. Ibanez, Yamaha, Cort, Squier, Sterling, Sire, and maybe 20 others. In some cases their entry-level products are private-labeled and all built in the same factories by a small number of companies. The more important thing is to choose your bass format and then look for a good deal.

Have fun!
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There was no snark in my post. I'm sorry you were annoyed.
 
#39
Welcome!
It was an over 30yr hiatus for me and playing almost a year since my return.
My BB435 gets most of the tones I want. There is lot's of good advice here already, but I will say if you hang out here long enough, you will have plenty of basses to choose from in short order!
 
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#40
OlSpoons said:
You’re not the first person to tell me how much the quality of cheaper basses have improved over 15 years. That’s good to hear.
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You'd be suprised man, check those 100-250$ Harley Benton demos etc. Those price range 15 years ago would never hold tuning, neck adjustment, intonation, fret buzz, electronics making noise etc. Now non of that exist. Ofcourse they have worse wood and varnish and a little less defined pickups but nothing extreme as It was.. I'd bet people without OCD would notice any. Buy a cheap NEW bass, set It up correct and rest is in your fingers.
 
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