Hello,
I'm a newbie. I'm not really a bass "player", but I do play bass quite a lot on my own recordings. I've played bass in a band once, and that was eye-opening.... taught me all about the pocket and after about 6 months, I found it. I've always loved playing bass, but I play a lot of instruments so the truth is that I'll not likely be a terrific player. I do strive for good form and good tone though - and to that end I've done pretty well as long as the parts are not too over the top complex.
I play a big range of styles. I'm a kids/family musician and have 3 CD's out with a huge swing from folk-jazz-rock-blues-funk-pop. I'm all over the place. I don't play much live, so I'm looking for a sweet sounding bass for recording. I've always loved vintage tones - Dire Straits comes to mind at the moment...
I currently own a Music Man Stingray. I've tried like crazy to love this bass, but I've just never bonded with it. It has a little too much midrange punch for me. If I crank the low end to compensate (and roll off high end and mids), I feel like the bass gets muddy and tubby. I have tried lots of eq-ing, and I'm still not getting the sound I want. I've also adjusted the neck and pickup to no avail. I have flat wounds on it now, but used to have round wounds. Just not getting what I want. I have an Ampeg B2 amp, but I usually go direct into a high quality preamp (Great River, UA 610, etc) and then use Ampeg's modeling software which I like.
I recently played my friend Rebecca's '72 Jazz. Now THAT's the tone I want. It sits in a mix like no other bass I've recorded. It is huge sounding, yet somehow it knows it's place. BUT....
Thinking that a Jazz bass is what I wanted, I played Reb's Jazz up against a few Fender Jazz copies. I have a friend who has a collection of 'em. I think one was a Lakland (not sure which model), and the other two were kits - they were high quality, but they weren't Fenders. Reb's bass killed them all. It was, by far, the better bass and the others sounded anemic in comparison. No question about it.
SO - now you have heard my sob story. I'd like to find a new bass that does what I want, but I need to keep the cost down. I'd like to get something that I could sell my Music Man for and not spend much more.
I want primarily three things out of the tone:
1. The capability to get a big ballsy low end, without taking over a mix.
2. Great sustain - I like to play a note and have it hold without loosing volume for a good long time. I have a buddy who has a Modulus bass that just kills it in the sustain dept (but it is a little to modern sounding for my taste).
3. Flexibility. I need to go from pop to blues to folk and I can't have multiple basses. (BTW - I don't do much slapping, if any).
What would you get? I have my eye on a new Fender American Standard Jazz, thinking maybe it would approach the tone I got out of Reb's bass, but I'll bet I won't get that tone, will I? Like I said, I still haven't tried a Fender Jazz in the studio, only kits. Do you think that's the way to go?
Oy. I need help. Been thinking about this for a good long time and I need a nudge in the right direction. Low end is really important and I want great tone....
I'm a newbie. I'm not really a bass "player", but I do play bass quite a lot on my own recordings. I've played bass in a band once, and that was eye-opening.... taught me all about the pocket and after about 6 months, I found it. I've always loved playing bass, but I play a lot of instruments so the truth is that I'll not likely be a terrific player. I do strive for good form and good tone though - and to that end I've done pretty well as long as the parts are not too over the top complex.
I play a big range of styles. I'm a kids/family musician and have 3 CD's out with a huge swing from folk-jazz-rock-blues-funk-pop. I'm all over the place. I don't play much live, so I'm looking for a sweet sounding bass for recording. I've always loved vintage tones - Dire Straits comes to mind at the moment...
I currently own a Music Man Stingray. I've tried like crazy to love this bass, but I've just never bonded with it. It has a little too much midrange punch for me. If I crank the low end to compensate (and roll off high end and mids), I feel like the bass gets muddy and tubby. I have tried lots of eq-ing, and I'm still not getting the sound I want. I've also adjusted the neck and pickup to no avail. I have flat wounds on it now, but used to have round wounds. Just not getting what I want. I have an Ampeg B2 amp, but I usually go direct into a high quality preamp (Great River, UA 610, etc) and then use Ampeg's modeling software which I like.
I recently played my friend Rebecca's '72 Jazz. Now THAT's the tone I want. It sits in a mix like no other bass I've recorded. It is huge sounding, yet somehow it knows it's place. BUT....
Thinking that a Jazz bass is what I wanted, I played Reb's Jazz up against a few Fender Jazz copies. I have a friend who has a collection of 'em. I think one was a Lakland (not sure which model), and the other two were kits - they were high quality, but they weren't Fenders. Reb's bass killed them all. It was, by far, the better bass and the others sounded anemic in comparison. No question about it.
SO - now you have heard my sob story. I'd like to find a new bass that does what I want, but I need to keep the cost down. I'd like to get something that I could sell my Music Man for and not spend much more.
I want primarily three things out of the tone:
1. The capability to get a big ballsy low end, without taking over a mix.
2. Great sustain - I like to play a note and have it hold without loosing volume for a good long time. I have a buddy who has a Modulus bass that just kills it in the sustain dept (but it is a little to modern sounding for my taste).
3. Flexibility. I need to go from pop to blues to folk and I can't have multiple basses. (BTW - I don't do much slapping, if any).
What would you get? I have my eye on a new Fender American Standard Jazz, thinking maybe it would approach the tone I got out of Reb's bass, but I'll bet I won't get that tone, will I? Like I said, I still haven't tried a Fender Jazz in the studio, only kits. Do you think that's the way to go?
Oy. I need help. Been thinking about this for a good long time and I need a nudge in the right direction. Low end is really important and I want great tone....
