Good basses that arent fender?

[99Z3]

Oh I totally understand.. just like I said, I am not a hater, nor am a big fan either.. eh.. I own one!

 

[GoLeafsGo]

I like Fenders. Started with a cheap Squier (still have it too. blast to play with 1/4 pounders in it). A while later I got a more expensive Squier, a CV 60's P. Liked it, but sold it so I could get a "real" Fender. Went shopping for my MIA P. Oops. Came home with a Godin Shifter Classic. Canadian made, hardware and electronics at least as good as the MIA. Beautifully made and finished, just like an MIA is. Cost about the same as an MIA. But I preferred how it felt and played. But one day I will have an MIA P. And one day my little Gretsch Junior Jet will become a Thunderjet. So many really great options out there today, some are Fender, and some are not Fender.

 

[peledog]

So many out there - half the fun is the journey trying them all!

IMO, nothing replaces a good old passive jazz bass - but that's not the only tone I like.

I play Spector almost exclusively, but keep my passive jazz around.

 

[JustForSport]

re: the title...what a difference 2 letters would make...
jk'g,...

 

[Gaolee]

I have six bass guitars. Only one is a Fender. None are Squiers, although sometimes I think it would be great to put a Squier logo on all of 'em. They are all keepers, and I don't have much urge to own a Fender other than the Precision I already have.

 

[Antisyzygy]

I feel like whenever I go anywhere, if I'm trying out basses the fenders just seem to blow the others out of the water. I really love fender, but I'm growing so tired of my j-bass sound, and am wondering what other basses sound good?

I know a lot of it personal preference, so what have you guys had luck with in the past?

Someone may have mentioned this, but G&L is a good place to go if you're used to Fender but want something different. The L2000/L2500 for example is a pretty unique bass. It's not a normal active bass, it's more like a passive bass that goes half-way towards being what we normally think of as an active bass.

On an L2000/L2500 you have :

1. 3-way pickup switch (yeah I know, wow!)
2. Series/Parallel switch for the humbuckers
3. Passive/Active/Treble-Boost modes
4. Passive treble and passive bass roll off knobs

The passive bass roll off is a unique feature. The G&L passive treble and bass roll-off system works in any mode your bass is set to, it doesn't require a battery or preamp. I installed one in my buddy's guitar and he loves it since he can use it to get a much brighter tone or reduce any muddiness, however it's also useful on a bass. If you're hooked up to a sound system that is really pushing the low frequencies you can dial it back, but it has other uses :

The series/parallel switch is like your low-end boost, in series you can use the bass roll-off to dial in the amount of bass boost.

The active + treble boost setting is obviously your treble boost, and you use the traditional tone knob to dial in the amount of treble boost.

You also have your straight up active mode that boosts frequencies using a flat EQ curve I believe (someone correct me if I'm wrong) so you can dial back the treble and bass in that mode too. It let's you get a slight mid boost, or slight boost to treble+mids or bass+mids depending on how you have the knobs set.

You also have series + treble boost to play around with.

Aside from that the MFD pickups on the L2000s don't sound like traditional Fender pickups. They're thunderous and thick sounding, instead of being more colored and organic like Fender pickups. Both have their uses, I love my Jazz and P basses as well.