I am trying to pick a new bass but I am stuck between three those being a music man stingray, a rickenbacker 4003 and a made in Japan fender jazz bass. Can I please have some advice and help?
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Help me pick a new bass
- Thread starter stormmaster202
- Start date
godofthunder59
Life is short, buy the bass.
- Feb 19, 2006
- 9,058
- 38,407
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Cataldo Basses, Whirlwind products, Thunderbucker pickups
I play all sorts of music and I already have a made in Mexico jazz bass my. My influences are flea, John Entwistle and jaco pastorius
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I like the sound of rickenbackers the only thing is I have only had the chance to play with the pickup cover on and it really gets in the way
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godofthunder59
Life is short, buy the bass.
- Feb 19, 2006
- 9,058
- 38,407
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Cataldo Basses, Whirlwind products, Thunderbucker pickups
Rics are great basses, very versatile. I could never get into a MM because of the pickup location. If you are a Entwistle fan I suggest the Epiphone Vintage Pro Thunderbird, best Thunderbird built since the 60's, even better in some ways.
I fear an opinion will steer you towards a choice that would’t have been your own. The best advice I can think is to control the anxiety and do your best to try these instruments before you buy, so then you make an informed choice.
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
Well... both the Ric and the MM are needed. As always play first, if possible. I like new MM’s better than the old ones. I think they’ve done a good job with them. I also feel they are a bit more versatile than the Ric, but both for sure— eventually. I like Jazz Basses too, but it would seem you’ve got that covered so, skip that one.
Well... it isn’t food, water, shelter, and precision with flats, but if one wants to pursue various tones, they are needed.
scottfeldstein
Roots and fifths and a little extra.
I would be afraid to get a Ric. I could sit around at home pretending to be Geddy Lee, but when it came time to gig or record I'm afraid I'd be unhappy with it's distinctive sound. It also looks uncomfortable. As for the Jazz bass, you already have one, so... If I were in your shoes I'd definitely get the Stingray. At the very least I'd know I was getting a good all-arounder that excels at slap sounds. Sounds like a winner to me.
The thing is the made in Japan jazz bass sound and feels very different to my made in Mexico one
Hiya,
Remember this is my opinion, it may not be right for you as I don't know you or what you play, we are all different with what we hear in our heads as the sound we want so here goes...
I would go with a Jazz for the versatility of the sounds you can have with it. (I should say "Jazz style" as there are many makers of Jazz style basses) I'll admit I'm a Fender guy, with an affinity for Jazz's (with either alder or ash bodies and slim neck profiles) so I may be biased a little but to me, a Jazz fits into just about every musical nitch you will encounter. And if you don't like a certain aspect, they and the P's are the "small block Chevy's" of the bass world. Meaning that there are so many makers of replacement parts for them, you can turn them into any type of sounding instrument you want.
I've owned a MM Sterling (US before they started the import line), great sounding bass, for a limited set of sounds. It does those sounds better than other basses, but you can't cover the range of sounds that a working bassist needs. The Ricky is in my opinion, even more of a specialized instrument. It has a sound that defines it, it walks into a gig and everyone in the band knows what the bottom end is going to sound like that night. That can be either a very good thing or not, depends on the situation.
For me, when I was really active playing out, it was more important for me to be able to fit into a situation rather than bringing my own sound as I didn't have an established band and I bounced around, one night playing R&B, the next top 40 the followed by a jazz setting the next. My Jazz allowed me to have one bass for pretty much anything.
Edit: Seems I got lost in my own reply. The Jazz I was thinking about when I wrote this is my E series MIJ Jazz from the '80's. (I purchased it in '85 or '86) They do sound different than US models of the same era. To me it's a more versatile sound, I would look for one in good condition and play it, see what you think.
My 2 cents,
Tom
Remember this is my opinion, it may not be right for you as I don't know you or what you play, we are all different with what we hear in our heads as the sound we want so here goes...
I would go with a Jazz for the versatility of the sounds you can have with it. (I should say "Jazz style" as there are many makers of Jazz style basses) I'll admit I'm a Fender guy, with an affinity for Jazz's (with either alder or ash bodies and slim neck profiles) so I may be biased a little but to me, a Jazz fits into just about every musical nitch you will encounter. And if you don't like a certain aspect, they and the P's are the "small block Chevy's" of the bass world. Meaning that there are so many makers of replacement parts for them, you can turn them into any type of sounding instrument you want.
I've owned a MM Sterling (US before they started the import line), great sounding bass, for a limited set of sounds. It does those sounds better than other basses, but you can't cover the range of sounds that a working bassist needs. The Ricky is in my opinion, even more of a specialized instrument. It has a sound that defines it, it walks into a gig and everyone in the band knows what the bottom end is going to sound like that night. That can be either a very good thing or not, depends on the situation.
For me, when I was really active playing out, it was more important for me to be able to fit into a situation rather than bringing my own sound as I didn't have an established band and I bounced around, one night playing R&B, the next top 40 the followed by a jazz setting the next. My Jazz allowed me to have one bass for pretty much anything.
Edit: Seems I got lost in my own reply. The Jazz I was thinking about when I wrote this is my E series MIJ Jazz from the '80's. (I purchased it in '85 or '86) They do sound different than US models of the same era. To me it's a more versatile sound, I would look for one in good condition and play it, see what you think.
My 2 cents,
Tom
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