Looked at their webpage- 24.9K Ohms sounds potentially beefy, but bridge string spread only?
Please inform me as to options and tone. Please.
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Good basses that arent fender?
- Thread starter GuyMcee
- Start date
Looked at their webpage- 24.9K Ohms sounds potentially beefy, but bridge string spread only?
Please inform me as to options and tone. Please.
There are many bass builders out there. if you are drawn to Fenders that is fate. Aria was overtaking Fender in the eighties then their Matsumoku factory burned down. Many years of rebuilding and new North American distributors put them in an enviable position of being seen as a newcomer but with solid instruments. The first new shipments are being ordered now and should be in stores soon. They could give Fender another run for their money. Try them out. They have proprietary pickups that sound different than any others.
What would he have said? Sorry, but my old stuff is better?
You're tired of having a sound that blows the others out of the water?
Check out the Yamaha BB series: the 4xx series are superb for their money. Ibanez's are real nice, the SDGR series are beautiful and have nice, thinner, tapered necks. German Warwicks - baseball necks, thick growl, truly metal, yet can be subtle, and especially the fretless ones, are extremely versatile tonally.
Out in America? Gibsons - beautiful mud, good for blend in rock. Danelectro - idk if there are any American made ones currently produced, but I could only describe the tone of the Longhorn as a crunchy P-bass - awesome. And...Ruck&buck'rs.
In other words, a lot.
Out in America? Gibsons - beautiful mud, good for blend in rock. Danelectro - idk if there are any American made ones currently produced, but I could only describe the tone of the Longhorn as a crunchy P-bass - awesome. And...Ruck&buck'rs.
In other words, a lot.
Well the most famous bass in the world is a Höfner. That might be a place to start. Any high quality instrument from a quality builder is going to be as good or better than a stock Fender, I would have thought. It will sound different, but that's the whole point of getting something different.
I don't understand this mania for Fender. Is it because bassists are very conservative?
I don't understand this mania for Fender. Is it because bassists are very conservative?
The internet would collapse if we listed all of the good, great, excellent, and awesome basses that aren't Fender. It's a big world out there. 
M. M.
M. M.
No, it's because Fenders sound better than anything else I've tried. I don't understand why people who don't like Fenders always have to insult those of us who do like we're stupid. I can play any bass I want, dude. I've played most basses and I use Fender most of the time because they always work. OK, sometimes they need a mod or two to work, but that's small potatoes.
Obviously Fender makes outstanding instruments, but respectfully to all Fender lovers......there are many, many other exceptional bass manufacturer's.
My two cents....go to music stores, pawn shops, and people you know selling basses, and put basses in your hands.
Play them plugged & unplugged, and put your money down on what "feels" right in "your" gut.
We can all go on forever about what we like, it's your party bro, and yours alone.
My two cents....go to music stores, pawn shops, and people you know selling basses, and put basses in your hands.
Play them plugged & unplugged, and put your money down on what "feels" right in "your" gut.
We can all go on forever about what we like, it's your party bro, and yours alone.
You certainly can, and it's not intended as an insult. But to insist that one company makes the best possible instruments to the total exclusion of all others looks more than a little strange. I guess it's similar to the car enthusiasts who are in love with a particular brand. But then, I don't understand them either!
When I read this I started mixing and matching parts in my head to make weird hybrids with amusing names...
Nordwick, Yamland, Ernie Bull, Sad Man...it's fun
I like fenders. They are good basses that hold up well over time and they look great. But for my modern rock band they just aren't the right flavor. So I'm currently rocking a stingray
My suggestion
1 Musicman, if you like fender but want to try something new Fender has some history with musicman but to me especially the newer stingrays, musicman is doing what fender is not. While fender keeps pumping out classic basses will little to no innovation year after year., musicman seems to listen to their customers more these days. Better 5 string neck profiles, you can get necks in oil/wax, satin, or gloss finishes. They use a bigger variety of woods. For example if you like ebony boards your choices are pretty much limited to a couple sognatire fender or spending thousands with the custom shop. They also just started making neck through stingrays if you want a neck through bass that doesn't look like a coffee table or import. Not to mention fenders custom shop prices are outrageous and mm will build you a bass for you with everything you want For much less money. Granted I had to wait a few months to get the bongo I ordered. But I really think Ernie ball makes their money selling strings and because of that they build good basses but they aren't trying to retire off of every bass they sell like some companies.
2 Lakland. Lakland makes some nice basses. They have their own shapes and some fender clones.
3 G&L another brand with some fender history. I don't have any experience with them personally. But most G&L owners seem pretty happy. There's no G&L dealers around so I've never been able to try their stuff but I've been debating picking one up lately. I've seen several people play them at shows and they sound pretty good.
4 warmoth. Ok the resale value sucks, But by far the least expensive way to build a fully customized fender clone. Warmoth is no joke. If you know what you want, especially when building a fender clone it could be the way to go.
5 well this isn't a company but if you do like your jazz but are bored of its sound or it's just not your preference for the particular gig. I have to mention the nice thing about fender basses is they have by far the biggest variety of aftermarket parts. And truthfully most of the guys I know locally that play fender mod the heck out of theirs. Nearly all of them swap the pickups for something more modern or hotter. one of my favorite local metal bassist plays a jazz with Duncan/bassline quarter pounders and and removed all the pots and wired the pickups with just an on/off toggle, BA bridge, and that bass sounds much more lively than when he first got it. Others go active and I personally think the audere pre works nicely with Jazz basses. And the all Aguilar electronic setups sound cool.
