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Going back to 4 string.

Dr3thepooner

Dr3thepooner

Nov 5, 2009
266
37
Glorious Canada
#1
Hello TB,

My first decent bass was and still is - Ibanez SR505, which I love and which served me well though gigs, practices and recording.

But now more and more I realize, for the kind of music we play, I tend to avoid the low B (tuned down to A in my case), having to play same notes on higher A string for sake of cutting through and just liking that way.

I am thinking of switching my primary bass to a 4 string, unfortunately with my budget, I will not be able to keep Ibanez.
I am looking for something in 600-850$ range. Since I really liked the weight of Ibanez as well as very thin and fast neck.. I was looking at Sterling SB14 by MM.
Would that allow for the same tonal control that Ibanez provided (which had quite an extensive on board eq and 2 pups vs one) looking for mid oriented punchy pick tone to complement GK rig.

Or any other suggestions would be great! (We play alternative Rock, pretty loud - one guitar)
 
#4
Well maybe its just the way this bass is, but the B string, seems way too bassy for my likes... I would say it lacks of tighness and punchiness, becomes pretty much a background noise in our band setting .. any kind of use of ligh OD / Fuzz makes it disappear from the live mix.

Would have been more suitable for different kind of music, or maybe its just my preference.
 
#6
Dr3thepooner said:
Well maybe its just the way this bass is, but the B string, seems way too bassy for my likes... I would say it lacks of tighness and punchiness, becomes pretty much a background noise in our band setting .. any kind of use of ligh OD / Fuzz makes it disappear from the live mix.

Would have been more suitable for different kind of music, or maybe its just my preference.
Click to expand...

What gauge is the 5th string and what kind of strings are you using? Also, Are you hitting the 5th string the same way you hit the 4th string? Not a good idea; hit the 5th string lighter and you will get a better/more defined tone. Are you plucking more towards the bridge for a punchier 5th string tone?

I bring up these issues about the 5th string because I used to have the same problem. I had to change my technique around to get the B string to sound better.
 
#9
My B string is 135 usually ... tuned down to A, bass has been professionally set up for that.
We play all our stuff in Drop D... so low A is being used primarily to spice stuff up.

Thanks for the interesting advise though with high C! I will look into it.
But just in case, Any Positive / Negative comments about MM Sterling SB14?
 
#11
ggvicviper said:
Your current player is an Ibanez SR505, and your budget is $600-$850.

If you like your Ibanez (the SR505 is $650 new), and want a 4-string (the SR500 is $600 new), how is Ibanez out of your budget?
Click to expand...

Nah, i never said Ibanez was out of my budget, its that I will have to trade in / sell my current bass to be able to fit within 600-850$. And would rather go for something higher quality.
 
#12
Dr3thepooner said:
Nah, i never said Ibanez was out of my budget, its that I will have to trade in / sell my current bass to be able to fit within 600-850$. And would rather go for something higher quality.
Click to expand...

Mmmmm, I see. I misread.

Well, the SR500 has the features you want, so that option is always available.

I don't think a Sterling Ray would be a good choice for a replacement - it's really not the same features.

Spector Legend is around the same quality, but not as many knobs for flexibility.

My other recommendation would be a Yamaha TRB1004. Yamaha makes pretty good quality basses.

Video demoing the TRB1004J:
 

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