I'm a beginner to intermediate player and I've been looking at quite a few basses online, but I don't know much about the quality/finish/etc of the many guitar brands... The ones I like, that look good and have good reviews are mainly the Ibanez SR750 or SR500, the Yamaha TRBX504, and the ESP Ltd B-4e. Would you recommend any of my selection? Or anything else? The style of music I like to play is pretty basic: RHCP, RATM, Muse, ... Thanks a bunch
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
Is there a reason you think you need to change bass guitars? If your hand fits the neck well, but you don't like the way it sounds, then you might consider swapping pickups, or maybe just changing strings. If it doesn't feel good, then it's a matter of finding one that does feel good. What works for somebody else, including the people who originally recorded the music you like to play, may not work as well for you. If you can find the bass guitars you are interested in somewhere and try them out, the decision may become pretty obvious to you. If you can't try them out, the next step would be to figure out what it is you are looking for - sound, neck shape, weight, balance, etc. I realize this is a non-answer, since what really needs to happen is a bit more analysis.
Unfortunately I had to quit the music school I was in for bass lessons, and they were lending the bass and all equipment to me, and I will have to give it all back... And actually trying out the basses is unfortunately a little bit hard, I don't live in an area that is close to much... Thanks a lot for the very in-depth answer, I'm quite happy with the feel of my current bass, so I'll check for those features in the future!
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
Ah, gotcha. If you like it, then one like it could be on your list. They appear to be inexpensive and fairly readily available. It's amazing how good inexpensive instruments are these days.
with the stuff around here, im not sure wat mid priced is
Can't beat Ibanez in the $300-$700 range in my view. I used to work at a MINIMUM dealer and got a hundred bass players started on them. Great instruments for the money.
Fender P and J basses, Lakland Skylines.
There are a lot of good basses in this category.
There are a lot of good basses in this category.
Maybe you should make a trip to a Guitar Center or something similar and just try as many basses as you can. I picked up an Ibanez based on reviews and I ended up not liking the bland tone or the small neck for what I wanted. I then fell in love with a cheap Squier P Bass and the rest is history. Definitely try all that you can before you lay down some cash. Good luck!
I know nothing about the tone of a Toby, but as far as "feel", since you say the feel is good, that's a good place to start. Looking at the Toby Standard IV specs there are two good numbers to keep in mind.
With a nut width of 1.68, the neck is a bit towards the wider end of the spectrum rather like a good precision bass which are often about 1.62. This is slightly less common than the slimmer 1.5 inch necks (similar to a fender Jazz bass) that the majority of basses seem to be going toward. It is, however slimmer than some wider p-bass necks that are 1.75.
With a weight of well under 8 pounds, you should know that most fender, musicman, lakland and other classic styled instruments are going to be heavier than you are used to. Many Ibanez basses and other modern basses with smaller bodies will be similar in weight.
This shouldn't by any means discourage you from trying other instruments, but it will give you some comparisons for the flood of possibilities you'll find on talkbass.
Have you checked out sweetwater.com? Every $300+ instrument is photographed and weighed so you see exactly which bass you are getting. The service is good and so are their demo savings.
They list the spec for the bases and you can sort using various specs. Sometimes something has wrong information and does end on the list it should, but, for the most part, it's right.
They have the toby: Toby Deluxe IV Bass - Transparent Black | Sweetwater.com
You could get a Fretlight to help you learn: Fretlight FB-525 Bass Learning System | Sweetwater.com
They list the spec for the bases and you can sort using various specs. Sometimes something has wrong information and does end on the list it should, but, for the most part, it's right.
They have the toby: Toby Deluxe IV Bass - Transparent Black | Sweetwater.com
You could get a Fretlight to help you learn: Fretlight FB-525 Bass Learning System | Sweetwater.com
You may want to define your idea of "mid-range". (I wish I could afford Jeff Scott's mid-range!) I'm very happy with my SR500- it was my first bass (that I kept) and I wouldn't suggest going any lower in their product line. I'm also very happy with the MIM P bass I bought used off Craigslist for $300 with a case. I second the suggestion about trying a lot of basses. I didn't actually do that until I started looking for a 5-string and I was amazed at the range of feels and sounds available- this is the best way to get a bass you know you will like. I also would suggest looking for used, you could easily get 2 basses for the price of 1 new one and it can be nice switching off, either for a different sound or feel, or just for the fun of it.
Have fun and let us know what you get.
Have fun and let us know what you get.
I would recommend the ibanez, and of the SR's from 500 to whenever go they put the nordys in them are about the same and are all quality, however once you get to that upgrade point the sound improves drastically. You can find a premium ibanez used for a very good price online.
How much you wanna spend is really the question? And remember you can always mod a crap bass's electronics! New pickups(Nordstrands) new preamp(Delano) etc. But if you buy a crap bass and it doesn't hold up let's say a Soundgear with their bad necks(had 2 they both had problems 1 actually broke and not from dropping it) or a non German Warwick(their glue that holds the bass together falls apart in high humidity, so your head-stock will spit, and pieces of your body). These are some of the things to think on when buying cheaper item anything in today's day and age. How long will it last? How good of quality do I get for my money? Would it be better to save for a little more time and spend the extra money for a better item?
Check out ZZounds.com, Sweetwater, and AmericanMusical.com . They have pay as you play, and you can get a bass and gear maybe you couldn't get without making payments. No credit check, or it's not a crazy one at least. Lakland Skyline is one of the best ummm made in Asia basses I've ever played, have 1 that's about 8yrs old still sounds great. But Fender's are popular, necks always need maintenance though, meaning if the weather changes at all you'll have to work on your bass, plus I recommend changing out at least the pickups as they are always noisy as hell even on their top of the line stuff same thing with their guitars. Same with Ibanez on the neck part. Hmmm intermediate bass...I would say that would be about the $1000 mark.
Ever consider buying used? Reverb.com and of course ebay.com you can get warranties with paypal and all that jazz. Then there's the used section at guitarcenter.com look for specific items on there, youtube some stuff with decent headphones maybe hear something of how they sound if you compare maybe 20 videos of the same bass tone...ha
All options. And for the bigger companies buy something try it, if you don't like ship it back and get a refund. Might have to eat the shipping but it's better than having a bass you don't love to play. Cause if you don't love to play it, you won't play it! It's gotta be like that 1st hit of bl+w you do....just gotta have more
But TBH Lakland Skyline look into those. I live in Chicago humid in summer, cold and dry in winter and havn't adjusted my neck in 1yr, it's maybe a 1/8 turn off in all that time but that's not much. Might do it next string change...DR Fat Beams sound great on MM/J style Laklands btw well if you like super tone. Also play out all the time so it goes everywhere. But get the ones with Lakland pickups in em, Bartolini's suck the high's off your tone only good for that style and from the bands you listed it's not your style....talking old school tone like through an am speaker or something. At GC you can call em and have the dude check if you can't tell from the pic.Lakland Skyline Deluxe 55 02 Electric Bass Guitar 5 String 810401010245 | eBay
Lakland Skyline 44-01 4-string Bass - 3-Tone Sunburst (796) | Reverb
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Just fyi I'm old for a musician late 30's is ancient considering, and now that im older I don't have time to mess around with gear that doesn't hold up on quality or tone. Not just with bass/studio/music gear, pretty much everything. For example, I had the 1st gen Samsung Galaxy phone. Took great care of it, didn't drop it. Returned it 5x for a replacment with that carriers insurance. Also at the same time had a Samsung Blu Ray player got sent in to Samsung 2x to fix, then I smashed it in the midle of the road some night I don't know when. Now I won't every buy anything from Samsung as all their products suck in quality and take a dump after the warranty is up, which is also usually 1y. And that shat ain't cheap, or it wasn't at the time. But this was when Blu-Ray players where $200 on sale for Xmas. Now you can find em dirt cheap. Also you don't want your gearing taking a dump on you while your on stage. Had that happen as well with Hartke and Carvin rigs in the past. I don't go near them with a 10 ft pole. But hey that's me, I try to learn from my mistakes.
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
I recommend you try something in the Musicman family. The sub series are modestly priced, and you get a hell of a lot of bang for your buck.
<<<<<pretty solid review.
<<<<<pretty solid review.
