Help: I don't know what I want anymore

[makanudo]

With 3K and looking to use one bass to cover everything you could go for a five string with P/J neck pickup and a Humbucker on the bridge and use the remaining money on a line 6 Helix.

Hi-fi is just greater frequency extention. Easily rolled back with Low and High pass filters and EQ.

Don't go down a rabbit hole. Everyone loves gear and there is a whole lot of burden of choice. Woods, pickups, pickup configurations, shapes, whatever. In the end, the audience is just going to hear what comes from the PA and the sound guy fancies. Which most of the time makes instrument make/shape/type irrelevant since the audience not only does not know what you're playing, they couldn't care less what you do as long as it sounds good.

With that said, Nice 5 string jazz bass with active electronics is plenty to cover whatever you might need, real talk. As long as you provide clean even tight low end from 400 hz to 80 hz anything else is icing on the cake.

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

TL;DR: I need a light versatile bass that can get me from Gloria Jones' Tainted Love to Muse's Starlight, passing by Dua Lipa's Don't Start Now and Queen's Don't Stop Now.

I've been playing bass for over 15 years now and have owned quite a few Jazzes, Precisions, PJs, Stingrays and even a Warwick at one point. In the past two years, I've had an American Original 60s Jazz and American Original 60s Precision, which I have recently sold for a Music Man Stingray Special HH.

Thing is, I don't like owning more than one bass. I always end up playing my favourite one and leaving the others in the closet.

I loved the tone of the Precision with La Bella flats best, but it didn't work for the faster songs and those where the bass needed to cut through the mix. The nut width (1.73) wasn't the greatest either. The Jazz worked for those songs, but sounded thin for modern pop.

I like the feel of the Stingray HH, but I don't know about the tone. It works great for some things, but too hi-fi or aggressive on other things.

I've been going around music stores trying stuff this past week, but most of them don't have all that many basses. I really enjoyed the Squier 60s Mustang. I've been eyeing Serek basses for a while and was thinking maybe I could get them to build a short scale versatile bass, but I'm worried having a short scale bass as my sole instrument will be limiting. I also really enjoyed the American Professional II Precision. But again, it's not the most versatile instrument.

But again, everything seems, I don't know, disappointing? What would you be looking at with $3k?

No one bass can do it all. Some come
Very close but no cigar .

You need at least 2 basses. Keep that StingRay Special. Add a Sandberg California TM-5 or VM-5.

 

[Bright Midnight]

I have two beautiful L2000s but I still check Reverb every day for another one.
Why?
I don't need another one, I don't even need another bass.
There must be some reason.

My goodness, you have two already and still looking for a third one? That sounds like you love G&L L2000's....
I myself would buy a second one if I had the money, yet a third seems too much, unless of course you're a finish afficionado .

The L2000 is simply very beautiful in all its simplicity. It's absolutely versatile, and then some, yet its looks don't suggest that. It's fair curves and twin, exposed pole humbuckers.....man o man.....it's gear porn to me....

 

[JRA]

What would you be looking at with $3k?

--- a custom parts ax for less than $1K --- all the features you like best rolled into one ax!

-or-

--- lowering your expectations!



good luck with any/all of it!

 

[Bright Midnight]

I totally get your preference for owning one bass!

The way I see it, you need two pickups, versatile strings, and - maybe - a preamp or pedal of some sort to expand your tonal options.

It sounds like you've bonded least with your Stingray. Your Jazz, on the other hand, sounds like it's almost there: What about adding a preamp or a pedal to your Jazz to fatten up the sound when needed? Or perhaps changing to a thicker-sounding set of pickups?

In terms of new basses: A PJ offers a degree of sonic versatility alongside the straight-up P sound you like. And as has been suggested, the L-2000 is very versatile (if you get a G&L, don't forget to use the volume control as part of the tone stack). Another idea would be a P-MM, for instance from Sandberg or Maruszczyk.

For versatile strings that respond well to different playing techniques and bass/amp settings, two stand out to me: GHS Pressurewounds and Thomastik-Infeld Jazz Rounds.

Finally, I don't have much experience with preamps or pedals, so I can't offer anything beyond suggesting that they could be a tool further expand the sonic palette of your bass. (In the meantime, don't forget that there are bunch of knobs on your amp...)

(if you get a G&L, don't forget to use the volume control as part of the tone stack).


@fermata, what do you mean by using the volume control as part of the tone stack?

 

[jd56hawk]

My goodness, you have two already and still looking for a third one? That sounds like you love G&L L2000's....
I myself would buy a second one if I had the money, yet a third seems too much, unless of course you're a finish afficionado .

The L2000 is simply very beautiful in all its simplicity. It's absolutely versatile, and then some, yet its looks don't suggest that. It's fair curves and twin, exposed pole humbuckers.....man o man.....it's gear porn to me....

Well, I look all the time and dream, at least.

 

[coy garcia]

I have a suggestion. Stick with a P and flats chambered for weight reduction, maybe a jazz neck if you prefer. Replace the tone knob with a rotary switch that goes between different caps like .05 and .1. I use the dark setting for most tunes and the brighter setting for songs that use a pick and solos.
I play a @Bruce Johnson scroll bass. It has the P style quarter pounder single pickup and works for every style I play. I use my right hand placement and switch to mimic upright type tone, aerosmith type pick tone and everything in between. I could easily do this with one of my P-basses though.

 

[mb94952]

Here we are on the verge of 2022 and it seems that $3,000 has become the amount of money one might now expect to spend on a quality instrument. It's crazy to me, but I get it. So many new IMPORTS (to the USA) are over the $1,500 price point. What happened to the days of $50 Squiers ?

If you're talking affordable AND quality, nothing beats SIRE in MY opinion.

 

[Titch]

The only bass I have used when in a cover band, playing a wide variety of genres, songs and tones is an early version of the Ibanez 405... 3 band eq. Active pickups, thin-streamline neck, 5 strings with nylon coated flatwounds.
Failing that, try finding a Maton JB4.

Having said all that: there's always amps and cabs to consider too.
I own several amps, cabs and basses.. I'll use a particular amp/cab/bass rig depending on the band I'm.playing in.
Unfortunately, it's a costly exercise to purchase bass rigs for particular sounds or styles but ultimately the choice is yours.

 

[GreyBeard]

I've been playing bass for 50 years. In my opinion there are basses that have 1 or 2 great sounds and there are basses that have 5 or more so-so sounds. It sounds like the bass you like the best is the p-bass but it's not cutting through the mix. Boost the mids and pluck near the bridge and it will cut. Also the new Ultra Precision has a p-j noiseless pups with a 1.625" nut and 3 band pre-amp.

fender ultra precision bass | Sweetwater

 

[CallMeAl]

I’m the same way. One bass gets all the play time. And mines a P bass. To me “versatile” doesn’t mean it makes a bunch of different sounds; it means it fits the widest variety of genres and bands. I recently got to play the Am Pro II and holy smokes what a great bass. That’s probably what I’d get.

My P also wears rounds. Cutting power when I want it, but easy enough to dial it out when I don’t .

Otherwise I’d say PJ. Neck pickup when you want it a little more mellow, dial in some bridge when you want some stank. G&L SB2 is fantastically versatile- the pickups get aggressive full on but totally mellow out if you dial back the volume knob.

 

[JW56789]

You've tried or owned all these different basses, you want one bass to 'do it all', and you don't mention what kind(s) of amp you're using (which of course is a huge part of why you sound like you do), and you've got a three-thousand dollar budget . . . . and you still haven't found that bass . . . .

I would have no clue what to recommend with no more information than what I've seen. We can throw out names and different brands all day long, but I still don't have any more to work with except so far, this one, then this one, then this one, then that other one . . . . wasn't what you were after.

I mean, you don't know, so how could we ? ? ?

 

[JazzyJacuzzi]

Yeah, the one-bass-that-does-it-all thing is a toughie… you can get close - something like an L2000 gets you most of the way there - but there isn’t really such a thing that gets you all the way there that I’ve been able to find in 30+ years of trying to find it.

So what I do instead of trying to sound like X,Y and Z, is do it with a sound that isn’t like X,Y, or Z. I’ll try my own tone, and even playing style, to an Old Standard instead of trying to imitate the original. Something like use my Tony Franklin to play Yes - Tempus Fugit is quite approachable and gives a very unexpected sound on a P bass with a ton of muah. Or Toto, Daves’ gone skiing on the Jaco soloing the neck pickup. Try YYZ on the L2000 (until my hands start to snap off my arms).

Also, jam to something where, say, the original is primarily slap, but play completely finger style - Rock You by Dirty Loops is one I jam to sometimes on my FLs kinda hacked up with my own fingerstyle version of it.

and so on. But the idea is try to get away from imitating the original and instead redo it with your own playing and tone, and your own basses.

Thats what I do. And in a lot of cases I actually enjoy my tone and improvised playing almost as much as I would if I could cop it correctly. More often than not, I sound horrible, but, at my skill level I’m used to that. But the experiment can be fun, at least.

anyway just a different approach that may help get you out of the I-just-can’t-nail-that-Jamerson-sound-what-bass-do-I-need syndrome…

L

That is really good advice, actually.

 

[eccles77]

You lost me at “I don’t like owning more than one bass.”

Right, you get the pitch fork and I will get the flamin torches!

 

[JW56789]

That is really good advice, actually.

This prompted something in me:

Whatever bass / amp I'm on, if I'm playing covers, I don't worry about note for note, but I am certainly going to capture the vibe of the original. If it's a thumpy, flatwound kind of tone, I know how to set the bass and amp. If it's some really hard, bright, new-string kind of aggressive tone, I know how to set the bass and amp.

But . . . . if I DON'T play the style of what the guy did authentically, I've missed the target. Like this:

When I moved to Nashville in the 90's, so were lot of other guys. You'd go to auditions or jams, and the guys that played country like a country player would be walked right in. On the other hand, other guys fresh off the plane from elsewhere who'd slap and pop in 'Walking After Midnight' or 'Satin Sheets' wound up as parking valets.

This is, of course, oversimplifying it, but playing true to a given style is a big part of it. I came up playing in East Texas, where it wasn't uncommon to play Texas Swing, Chuck Berry-era old rock and roll, gut-bucket George Jones country tunes, Zydeco, Tejano, Springsteen, Seeger, and a Cajun waltz or two . . . . in one set. You had to know how to work in a lot of different styles, or you didn't work. Being authentic is rarely talked about.

So once you have a solid, versatile amp and axe under you, until you're a player that can do it all, or at least grow some ears to tell you where you need to head towards, I found this or that bass wouldn't make up for it.

Far more than practicing this scale or other exercises, for me, the ears have to lead, and I still have to work at this all these years later.

 

[red_bassist]

What about installing an active/passive switch with a passive tone control in the Stingray HH?

 

[JazzyJacuzzi]

This prompted something in me:

Whatever bass / amp I'm on, if I'm playing covers, I don't worry about note for note, but I am certainly going to capture the vibe of the original. If it's a thumpy, flatwound kind of tone, I know how to set the bass and amp. If it's some really hard, bright, new-string kind of aggressive tone, I know how to set the bass and amp.

But . . . . if I DON'T play the style of what the guy did authentically, I've missed the target. Like this:

When I moved to Nashville in the 90's, so were lot of other guys. You'd go to auditions or jams, and the guys that played country like a country player would be walked right in. On the other hand, other guys fresh off the plane from elsewhere who'd slap and pop in 'Walking After Midnight' or 'Satin Sheets' wound up as parking valets.

This is, of course, oversimplifying it, but playing true to a given style is a big part of it. I came up playing in East Texas, where it wasn't uncommon to play Texas Swing, Chuck Berry-era old rock and roll, gut-bucket George Jones country tunes, Zydeco, Tejano, Springsteen, Seeger, and a Cajun waltz or two . . . . in one set. You had to know how to work in a lot of different styles, or you didn't work. Being authentic is rarely talked about.

So once you have a solid, versatile amp and axe under you, until you're a player that can do it all, or at least grow some ears to tell you where you need to head towards, I found this or that bass wouldn't make up for it.

Far more than practicing this scale or other exercises, for me, the ears have to lead, and I still have to work at this all these years later.

I'm with you on not worrying about playing note for note (depending on the song), while still trying to capture the vibe of the song.

But going from Amy Winehouse's "Valerie" to Muse's "Uprising" passing by Gloria Jones's "Tainted Love" and The Cranberries's "Zombie" using one bass is a tonal mess.

Some have pointed out using an active bass with a passive switch would be a good start. I like that idea. I found an Ultra Jazz I plan on trying out later today. I tried getting a passive tone out the SSHH, but I can't get that hi-fi sheen out of the thing. (I did try a very, very nice CS Jazz today. But it was out of my price range..... I think...... )

The amplifier at the rehearsal space is an Aguilar Tone Hammer, but I sometimes bring my Mesa WD-800. The Mesa works wonders, but I also don't want to have to tinker with the EQ for every song.

 

[bass12]

Regarding music styles and bass, I can't think of any styles of music off the top of my head that require a specific sound that isn't determined much more by EQ (and perhaps effects if we're talking synth bass) and playing style than by the actual bass.

 

[luciens]

This prompted something in me:

Whatever bass / amp I'm on, if I'm playing covers, I don't worry about note for note, but I am certainly going to capture the vibe of the original. If it's a thumpy, flatwound kind of tone, I know how to set the bass and amp. If it's some really hard, bright, new-string kind of aggressive tone, I know how to set the bass and amp.

But . . . . if I DON'T play the style of what the guy did authentically, I've missed the target. Like this:

When I moved to Nashville in the 90's, so were lot of other guys. You'd go to auditions or jams, and the guys that played country like a country player would be walked right in. On the other hand, other guys fresh off the plane from elsewhere who'd slap and pop in 'Walking After Midnight' or 'Satin Sheets' wound up as parking valets.

This is, of course, oversimplifying it, but playing true to a given style is a big part of it. I came up playing in East Texas, where it wasn't uncommon to play Texas Swing, Chuck Berry-era old rock and roll, gut-bucket George Jones country tunes, Zydeco, Tejano, Springsteen, Seeger, and a Cajun waltz or two . . . . in one set. You had to know how to work in a lot of different styles, or you didn't work. Being authentic is rarely talked about.

So once you have a solid, versatile amp and axe under you, until you're a player that can do it all, or at least grow some ears to tell you where you need to head towards, I found this or that bass wouldn't make up for it.

Far more than practicing this scale or other exercises, for me, the ears have to lead, and I still have to work at this all these years later.

Since this is a follow up on my original comment, I’d add that you still want to be artistic about it too. I don’t mean to suggest anything-goes, like slapping one’s way through a Simon & Garfunkel cover, or some other totally egregiously bad choice, either.

So how far to stray is a value judgement; my suggestion is just to consider straying a “little more”. There will always be some error bars around anything you play that’s someone else’s music, bass part etc. anyway. And sometimes you have to because all you got is your Tony Franklin and not a Rick, but you still want to play some Yes…

Course, that’s trumped if someone’s paying you to replicate something, then you have to stay within the limits of who’s signing the checks. If my hearing still permitted gigging, my playing and equipment would be very different, in general, in a gig vs how I might want to “interpret” a style or piece of music for my own experimentation or enjoyment…

L

 

[J_Bass]

I'm missing something here.

How many basses do you guys take to a show? 2? 4? 10? One per song?

One or two pedals, a bass with some options, like active/passive and 2 band eq, so that you don't have to mess with the amp, tone shaping with the right hand, and let's go.