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HELP IM NEW

J

JamForChrist

May 18, 2008
18
0
Twin Cities, mn
#1
I've played electric guitar for 5 or so years and I just decided to convert. I like blues, alternative rock, oldies, jam music. I want a bass that fits these verbs: creamy, smooth, warm. Get the picture? I've got lets say up to $600. I'm thinking I might get a used one. Any suggestions

Oh yea and has any one ever played a King Blues Bass made by St. Blues? http://www.saintblues.com/ thats the website. One side of me says they look quality and the other side says they're phonies. I need an opinion on that too.

All the feed back is really appreciated, thanks a lot.
 
#2
The Fender Standard Jazz, or the Squier VM Jazz for a start.
Go to your local music store and see if they have them. Neither should run you more than $600US. If you want a thick buttery ol' skool tone, like Jamerson, try a Precision Bass. Any Precision Bass.
If you go to a vintage guitar shop, chances are they might have a bass with flats on it, and that may or may not be your thing.
 
#5
whats the difference with the precision and jazz. i went to guitar center, asked the guy the same qquestin im asking yall and right away he said the jazz. but some one please convince me of the precision.

QUESTIONS: 1what are flatwound string?
2"chances are they might have a bass with flats on it, and that may or may not be your thing"-fetfet what are flats? why would or wouldnt it be my thing

last but not least im a copmplete bass newb so any random tips, advice, anything, on strings pick ups, bridges, just from seeing what kind of sound I want give me feedback, THANKS A LOT
 
#6
Couple things- The precision vs. jazz debate will get beaten to death here and you won't be any closer to knowing what's what, so my advice is go play them yourself.

Flatwound strings (commonly known as "flats") are the strings wound with flat wire like you'd find on a violin or cello or other orchestral instrument. They're incredibly easy to distinguish because of their smooth feel and look. They also tend to be much "thumpier", not so clear in the highs, definitely not as "zingy" as rounds. They are wonderful with blues music.
 
#7
JamForChrist said:
QUESTIONS: 1what are flatwound string?
2"chances are they might have a bass with flats on it, and that may or may not be your thing"-fetfet what are flats? why would or
wouldnt it be my thing

l
Click to expand...

Sorry, should have been more clear.

Flats are referring to flatwound strings, flatwound string being a string with instead of a round wrap like most guitar strings, they are wound with a ribbon, and give a more defined bass response, along with less finger noise. For a good example of a classic flatwound sound, check out Invalid Link Removed.

Like i said, should have been more specific.
 
#8
THANKS

what do you guys think?????? i might get this today sorry to throw everything else out the window http://www.saintblues.com/King-Blues-Bass-p-5.html

can you guys tell me what all this means:
BODY Select grain two piece ash, bound top with contoured back & top. String through body
SCALE LENGTH 34 inch
PICKUPS St. Blues custom wound PJ set
NECK "C" shape single piece hardrock maple or with AAA Indian Rosewood slab fretboard
FRETS Large size 18% nickel silver
BRIDGE Nickel plated St. Blues custom brass hardtail
TUNERS Nickel 15:1 ratio vintage style tuners
 
#13
I've also never heard of he brand.. so no clue what the quality control is like.

Fender is the standard and they know it so their stuff is pretty standardized coming out o the factory. I'd say go for a Squire VM P-bass with flats.

The other choice would be a hollowbody if that's the tone you like.. check outt he hollowbody club (it's a thread on here somewhere) and see what you like
 
#14
St.Blues was a line of guitars and basses launched by Strings
and Things the music store chain back in the 1980's I do believe. They were of fairly high quality with artists such as Joe Walsh and Jeff Carlisi as well as blues rock legend Roy Buchanan using their guitars. The basses were pretty decent too, but I can't recall off the top of my head their then, big
name endorsers for the bass models they made. They were
making some headway as a brand name but alas they suffered
from internal buisness problems that killed them too early.

The new St.Blues is fairly recent, and Vintage Guitar magazine
I think has taken a look at the revived version of
St.Blues and product wise things seem to be fairly decent quality
wise from initial reports. The basses are obviously
influenced by Fender and follow a sort of somewhat fancy
P/J concept. From what you posted it seems to be a decent
quality bass pretty much made to the original specs of their
80's basses. In other words it's gonna be good stuff for the
money if the reports coming in are accurate.

I don't know who is behind the current St. Blues instrument
line but if they are built to the standards of the short lived
originals it could be good stuff indeed.I'll have to check the web
site out in detail to see what's up myself.
 
#15
JamForChrist said:
Oh yea and has any one ever played a King Blues Bass made by St. Blues? http://www.saintblues.com/ thats the website. One side of me says they look quality and the other side says they're phonies. I need an opinion on that too.
Click to expand...

I don't know how they are these days, but the St. Blues brand used to be great basses. I didn't know they were still making them. If I'm not mistaken, they used to be an "in-house" product of Strings and Things, a local music store here in Memphis. I'm not a native Memphian, so maybe Kenny Allyn can give me some help here. But people I've talked to that owned them used to rave about the St. Blues basses.
 
#17
I would really recommend against buying a bass, especially your first bass, without ever playing that particular make and model. Different makes and models of basses have different neck profiles. You might not like the profile of the neck on that bass - but how will you know if you buy it without playing one first? There are lots of other parameters, too, like overall weight, balance, sound, range (or lack of range) of the tone controls. Please don't buy a bass you have never played.
 
#18
I own a new King Blues, which I must say is great quality all around; Wilkinson clover tuners, nice heavyweight vintage Fender-style bridge, great setup/fit & finish work.

My only misgiving is that it cannot be a "hot swap" for my MIA Fender stage bass; the St. Blues P-bass p/u is way hotter and thicker sounding than the P, sort of like a G&L L-1000 with its switch set to the middle position. It's a good sound, but I'd need a two-channel amp to make it a backup. That said, it does sound great and play great.

P.S.: I don't go near the J p/u; never liked them.

Lowbrow
 
#19
For creamy, smooth, and warm, for blues, jam, and oldies, with a $600 budget, I recommend this bass:

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with some flatwound strings. For alt rock, stick with round-wounds. You'll need a decent bass amp, like this one for example:

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I have this amp as a backup to my Markbass/Crown/Schroeder rig; they're not bad at all.

Frankly, the amp is very important when it comes to bass. I'm a former guitar player myself, and you really need to spend at least a couple hundred on a decent bass amp, unlike guitar, to get a good sound with enough power to carry over a drumset. Rondo's SX basses are very highly recommended around here; play one and you won't believe it was under $450. If you want to spend a little more, I also highly recommend Schecter's Jazz copy:

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Hope this helps!
 

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