First Bass for a previous guitar player

[murph7489]

he reason they were used was not the limited options. The reason they were used was they created a sound that was useful for that style of music

well that and back then those were basically all there was with professional quality..if the quality and different selections of bass available today were there in the 60s I would think some bass players may have used different basses than the P..who knows..maybe not..but its tough to say...it worked so thats what they used.

 

[mb94952]

I want to learn to play songs by Earth Wind & Fire, Kool and the Gang, New edition, Luther Vandross, and smoot pop songs such as Masayuki Suzuki- Daddy Daddy Do. But i also am interested with playing songs by metallica and megadeth since I have a guitar and have learned to play heavy metal on my guitar for a couple years. Im new to bass but mainly want to learn to play soul music on the bass. I dont know what bass to go with as there is alot of information I still dont know. All i know is ive played and stuck by Ibanez with all of my guitars but I want to get the right bass for the music I want to play. Im willing to spend 650 on a bass I will keep for years. Quality over anything. Any help i appreciated.

Don't buy a bass based on a photo. Would you marry someone based on a photo alone ? First of all, you have GOOD TASTE !! All that R&B stuff is what bass was born for. It's what keeps us alive and happy.

You MUST play the bass before you buy it. Go to a music store that will allow you to go in. I know the mom and pops just require masks. I don't know if GC is open. If you like Ibanez, try that first.

 

[Strung_Low]

A 4 is all you need for soul and funk. And, granted, a 5 feels and plays differently (to a degree), but its super fun to play metal on a 5, and you can play funk and soul just fine with one. So basically, you should get one of each as others have said, go and play a few and see what you like the sound and feel of. Fender p or j, g&l l2500 tribute, or Spector legend get my vote.. or a sterlng stingray

 

[Jack Deth]

I'd spend a little more and get a G&L L2000 tribute. If you work with it a little you can get about any tone you want. Flip a switch and you're active or passive. series or parallel.

I've got a lot of basses and that one is the swiss army knife of tone.

I second this with one caveat: save yourself time, money and headache by getting the L-2500 5 string, particularly since you have Metal in the mix. A 5 string comes with the 4 string already built in, and you can ignore the B for songs that don’t need it. Since you are playing various genres of music across such a wide spectrum, if you get one in black it will fit in with everything from Metal (black is the go-to) to Funk and Soul (it has the classic styling and won’t make you look out of place). The electronics on a G&L L-2500 can be dialed in to provide the classic P-bass round and warm sound all the way to super punchy grit and grind of raw metal (even death and doom metal). The spectrum of music you want to play will require a single bass to be able to dial in all those different sounds, and I have found the L-2500 electronics are more than capable. I own the L-2000 and regret not getting the L-2500 as I find myself picking up my Kiloton 5 more than it because of the B string. Regardless of what may be said about amps not being able to reproduce the B string, you will find that it still invokes the darker, lower tones. Only the most expensive sound gear reproduces the fundamental freq anyway, and 99% of the time what most folks hear primarily is the 2nd harmonic (even with the E string).

[EDIT: I left out that you can also get the Jazz sound of a J-bass as well, not just the warm P-bass tones. If you are not aware, the “L” in G&L was for Leo Fender, it was his 3rd and final company - his apex where he brought his years of knowledge to an ultimate climax (Music Man was his 2nd company).]

 

[EmuBass]

P-Bass!
(split-coil for sure)
Anytime, anywhere.
Can't go wrong with that.
Everyone should have one - at least.

 

[Funky Phantom]

Get a Jazz bass with a maple fingerboard, and throw some roundwound nickel strings on it.
You can play anything on it.

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

All i know is ive played and stuck by Ibanez with all of my guitars but I want to get the right bass for the music I want to play.

Since you like Ibanez, you may as well stick to it with a bass. If you have big hands or just like big basses, you may get one of BTBs. I personally play BTB400QM, and am very glad to have it. Yes, it's a big beast - 35" scale, wide string spacing, a hefty body - but the feel, play nad sound are great. If you like smaller bodies and narrow string space, Ibanez offers a lot of these, too, in SR or RGB series. You should check their other series as well.

 

[nilorius]

You can find some good Ibanez models, also MIM Fender j-bass; jp-bass will do.

 

[Gabe Langfur]

You will probably be better off with a 5-string since a lot of newer pop music uses below E notes. You can find a used Carvin 5-string (LB75) in your price range with Jazz-style pickups that will give you the sound that will fit in with the music that you want to play. Carvins are great basses that are built as well as basses costing much more, but their resale value has historically been bad so you can pick up a great instrument for a fraction of the original price.

+1

I found a used LB75 for well under $650, and had a pro set-up done that still kept it well under $650. The guy I bought it from threw in 2 distortion pedals, 2 tuners, a beat-up gig bag, and a bunch of picks and other stuff.

The neck is super friendly, and the electronics - with active/passive switch, onboard 3-band EQ, a J pickup at the neck and a humbucker with a coil split at the bridge - will get the full range of what you're after.

 

[JimmyM]

5 string basses are much more practical if you play places with big, very capable PA's. If you're going to play through an amp, bass amps aren't designed to reproduce the notes on the B string (they actually don't do all that well on the lowest notes on a 4 string). So, if I were to be gigging with an amp (I do some gigs like this), I ring a 4.

I play mostly ampless gigs, where the PA's are quite capable, so if the music calls for it, I'll bring a 5. Recently, however, we've been doing virtual stuff, where the speaker that's playing my bass is someone's home speaker attached to their computer. I've been playing mostly 4's - no point in playing notes that won't be heard.

You don't seriously believe that.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

For the type of music I want to play, would you recommend active or passive pickups?

All the artist you mentioned cover a wide variety of scenarios tonally. I'd recommend you stick with Ibanez and get something with a p / j configuration and a passive/active switch. Something like this:
Ibanez SR650E 4 String Active Bass Natural Browned Burst Flat | eBay

 

[mcnach]

I want to learn to play songs by Earth Wind & Fire, Kool and the Gang, New edition, Luther Vandross, and smoot pop songs such as Masayuki Suzuki- Daddy Daddy Do. But i also am interested with playing songs by metallica and megadeth since I have a guitar and have learned to play heavy metal on my guitar for a couple years. Im new to bass but mainly want to learn to play soul music on the bass. I dont know what bass to go with as there is alot of information I still dont know. All i know is ive played and stuck by Ibanez with all of my guitars but I want to get the right bass for the music I want to play. Im willing to spend 650 on a bass I will keep for years. Quality over anything. Any help i appreciated.

I played guitar for many years before I even tried a bass, and at first I found the larger neck (width, profile, thicker strings...) was giving me a bit of a workout. I found slimmer necks much easier to play, initially. From that point of view, a Jazz bass would be a good match, both for its versatility for the music you want to play and also for comfort. If yoy like Ibanez that's a good thing, for they make really nice instruments and they seem to specialise in slimmer necks too. My first bass was a Jazz and then I bought an Ibanez SR400. The Ibanez was a P/J (one precision pickup, one jazz at the bridge) and with an active on-board EQ which made it really versatile. Ibanez has a wide range of instruments, so I would recommend you go and try whatever they have near where you live and see what you like best. For 650 you'd be able to get a nice Ibanez bass, and I'd definitely choose active so that you can get the widest range of sounds... but if you find that the one you really like is passive, go for it. Active/passive really doesn't matter a great deal.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

well that and back then those were basically all there was with professional quality..if the quality and different selections of bass available today were there in the 60s I would think some bass players may have used different basses than the P..who knows..maybe not..but its tough to say...it worked so thats what they used.

‘Having grown up in the 50’s and 60s, there were other electric Basses on the market. Sure, some were crap. I dare say I saw and played some Fenders back then that I wouldn’t wish on anybody, but the Gibsons, and Guilds, Gretch, and such were considered respectable. Most of what was used on the British Invasion Music was not recorded using Fender Basses as there was a severe tariff tax on imported items, and those instruments, whatever was used was certainly respectable.

I do agree 100% with you that there is much more of a selection, and higher quality of instruments today than ever before. And to your point, who knows what all is being recorded today is very valid.

 

[micguy]

View attachment 3959617

You don't seriously believe that.

What part of my post do you doubt?

 

[sonic 7]

My 2 cents, start with a decent 4 string short scale bass , active / passive doesn’t matter, Basses have controls, turn the knobs and experiment. As far as 4 or 5 string ,if you have to ask if you need a 5 string , then you don’t need one. As your playing experience progresses you’ll know when and if you need a 5. Im thinking that a short scale would be easier to transition from guitar, but I might be wrong about that. You play bass completely differently than guitar , it’s difficult for me to articulate it but it’s a different mindset. A big fat 34 inch bass might be just the thing to remind you that the bass isn’t just a guitar with 4 strings.

 

[EatS1stBassist]

I want to learn to play songs by Earth Wind & Fire, Kool and the Gang, New edition, Luther Vandross, and smoot pop songs such as Masayuki Suzuki- Daddy Daddy Do. But i also am interested with playing songs by metallica and megadeth since I have a guitar and have learned to play heavy metal on my guitar for a couple years. Im new to bass but mainly want to learn to play soul music on the bass. I dont know what bass to go with as there is alot of information I still dont know. All i know is ive played and stuck by Ibanez with all of my guitars but I want to get the right bass for the music I want to play. Im willing to spend 650 on a bass I will keep for years. Quality over anything. Any help i appreciated.

Buy yourself a Precision.

 

[manchego_eggo]

The Fender Player series is great (Precision, Jazz or Jaguar). The Jaguar might be the best bet since it's PJ. I'd also recommend the Squier Classic Vibe series as it's a bit cheaper. The classic vibe Jaguar bass is a 32" scale (shorter than the usual 34") and be easier to adjust to when switching from guitar. Similarly, the Mustang bass (Fender makes a Player PJ model that is a bit more expensive than the Squier Classic Vibe one) will have a 30" scale and be even easier to switch to. People might say short scales can't always handle heavier music, but JMJ plays one in NIN, so they can hang.

 

[BassCliffK]

I want to learn to play songs by Earth Wind & Fire, Kool and the Gang, New edition, Luther Vandross, and smoot pop songs such as Masayuki Suzuki- Daddy Daddy Do. But i also am interested with playing songs by metallica and megadeth since I have a guitar and have learned to play heavy metal on my guitar for a couple years. Im new to bass but mainly want to learn to play soul music on the bass. I dont know what bass to go with as there is alot of information I still dont know. All i know is ive played and stuck by Ibanez with all of my guitars but I want to get the right bass for the music I want to play. Im willing to spend 650 on a bass I will keep for years. Quality over anything. Any help i appreciated.

 

[BassCliffK]

You might want to go to a guitar store and check out the mid length scale basses. They are less common but i find they are much easier to play for guitarists.

 

[Dragan]

Buy a bass guitar. Play it.