how has your taste in basses changed?

[Jack Butler]

Here's the bass I lusted after in the Mid-80's when I was in high school

Here's 1 of my 2 basses I currently own

So, no change

 

[Altitude]

Man, I've been through all sorts of basses, woods, finishes, fanned/parallel frets, electronics... In the last few years pretty much settled in on fiver Js (34" scale, rosewood board, burst finish) or variations of it.

Hmn...well, a few months ago I did place an order with the Sandberg factory for a build. It's a cosmetic departure for me: matched headstock, gold hardware.

View attachment 3846602

I've definitely thought that if all my basses were stolen, a Sandberg like that would be a good single bass replacement. Good choice.

 

[sotua]

I used to love pointy basses with fancy wood tops (10-15 years ago my dream bass was something like an Alembic Europa with Buckeye Burl top?). Right now I want all classic models in pale classic pastels - if I could wish for a bass right now, it would likely be a sonic blue Stingray with vintage-tinted maple board (my guitars have already made this transition, currently a seafoam green yamaha pacifica and a vintage white yamaha revstar). If I could refinish my "forever" JBass into vintage white and tort (currently black with white pickguard) without risking changing sound I would be over the moon.

 

[SJan3]

Confession time; I used to hate the MarkBass tone with a passion, especially the Little Marks. A wall of harsh honky nasal unpleasantness that no amount of tinkering with the 4-band, no change of bass would tame. I swore I'd never own one.

Then I learned what the VLE and VPF controls did. I got (what I now realize was) bad advice even from MarkBass owners, that the VLE and VPF knobs should stay at minimum if you know what good tone is. Hogwash; a tasteful high-end rolloff and a bit of contour (both knobs around 10-12) turns the LM series and its combo variants into extremely useful general-purpose gigging amps for anything from country to jazz.

I now have a CMD 102P combo on its way to me.

Other changes in taste:

• I started on four-bangers; my first five instruments were all four-stringers, most of them J-style. However, I have come to embrace the five-string, as the two basses purchased since were both fivers, one is now my primary, and my shortlist for the next one is all fives as well. I don't use the B string a ton, but when I don't have it I definitely miss it.
• I really thought Fender was the end-all be-all; my first bass was a Yamaha RBX because it was cheap, but I bought a Jazz as soon as I could afford one. I've since come to realize that even the USA Fenders, while nice and totally gig-ready, aren't the last word in bass brands or even bass styles. My primary axe now is a dual-soapbar, and the only thing I find lacking is the direct recorded tone (not a new problem or a rare one) which is why my secondary is a passive Jazz.
• Bindings, especially on necks, always looked gaudy to me; trying to look expensive and not really succeeding. Then I got used to playing a few bound fretboards and realized what they do for player comfort. I can handle a white stripe around the fretboard if the tradeoff is not getting the side of my index finger destroyed while sliding around on the neck (yes, I realize that this is a sign of bad technique, it's also unlikely to improve). Even with excellent attention paid to crowning and finishing, an unbound board has those fret slots, and wood shrinks and swells with humidity.

But some things, I predict, will never change. For instance, while I love fivers, I don't think you'll ever see me moving to six. The new highest string, closest to my fretting hand on the fretboard, just messes with my equilibrium whenever I pick one up and try to noodle or groove on it. The low B can more or less be ignored if I'm not using it; the high C demands attention the minute you pick up the instrument. If I were ever to get used to a 6, I foresee the same problems moving back to a 5 or 4. So, as much as I see the utility of all those notes in one position, the sixers stay on the store wall.

+1 on the MarkBass amp. I'm still very pleased with it after 11 years.

 

[funkinbottom]

Well, let's see.... I bought a used Jazz bass in 1970 (71?) and that was my only bass until about three years ago or so. Then for some reason, I decided I needed to own something active and non Fender. Enter, Spector. Then a year after that, shoulder issue. Enter Tiesco short scale. Then, end of 2018 hand surgery, and enter a Brice short scale 5 string to test the waters of 5. The shorter scale was nice, but that extra string for all the position options was the right call for me. It's nice not to have to go all the way down the neck for that low F thru G, and, almost 2 octaves straight across the board. Then I played a friends medium scale and realized that the 30" was just a little cramped for me, so I built a med scale 5er. These days it is all active 5 string med. scale for this old dog.

 

[Altitude]

When I was in college ('89-'93), I wanted a Status Series II like the one below so much that I could taste it. Mark King was playing them, Guy Pratt showed up playing one in Pink Floyd, and there was a nice specimen for sale at Guitar Resurrection (which was on Guadalupe near the UT campus then) for $2500 and therefore about $2450 out of my reach.

I've bought more expensive basses since, but nothing so pointy.

 

[Mikey F]

I played Warwicks only for about 10 years. I still love my Thumb, but a 70's Jazz is now my bass of choice.

 

[Jonahlane]

I used to prefer incredibly slim necks and small nut widths... but now more than ever I find myself gravitating towards chunky P basses.

 

[ad9000]

1970's: In 1970, an EB-0 until I realized it sucked (which didn't take long), then a P-bass and eventually Jazz Basses and a P occasionally.

1980's: mainly a Steinberger L-2 (I actually said in 1982 "I'll never play a bass made of wood again" WRONG), various Jazz basses also. Added Stingray 5 in '88 - first multi-string bass.

1990's: mainly a 1990 Yamaha TRB-6P (with some altered electronics later on) plus Jazz Basses - significantly a '64 I got in '95, and later a Warmoth/Fender P that is still my #1 recording bass.

2000's: All over the map, but more than anything else Fenders (or Fender clones like Lakland and Alleva Coppolo). MTD was big also. Added Vox Apollo and Eko violin hollowbodies for occasional use.

2010's: same as 2000's. Moollon J-Classic V and 1970 Mustang Bass were significant additions.

Present: Top 5 most used (pre-lockdown) are '62 P-bass, Road Worn P-bass, Elite Jazz Bass V, MTD 535-24 and another Yamaha TRB-6P (You CAN go home again!)
I denied for a long time being a P-bass guy, but I guess I have arrived at that point.

 

[Joedog]

I'm just not that picky. Give me a decent bass to rock and I'm a happy camper.

 

[Revolver]

Not at all. The type of bass I liked early on is what I still like today (and I've tried a very decent amount of instruments). The opposite holds true as well; The basses I didn't like early on are the ones I still don't like today (looking directly at you 'fat strat' [p-bass]).

 

[Deleted member 271037]

I started out on a cheap P-bass clone without even knowing it was a P-bass clone. Then I noticed all the other metal bands had ACTIVE basses with SLIM necks. So I went through my Aria Pro II and Ibanez phase.

Then I got interested in 5-strings basses for about 2 seconds. Of course it didn't take more than 2 seconds to buy a super expensive exotic coffee table monstrosity that ended up gathering dust.

Then I got a Rick because Cliff Burton played a Rick. That was the start of my "vintage" phase I guess.

The next step was re-discovering the P-bass but this time it was original Fenders (and Squiers). The P-bass has been my number one favourite type of bass ever since. Well, P-bass and quirky vintage European short scale basses from the 60s. I love stuff like Hagstrom, Crucianelli, Burns, Framus, etc.

Then came the phase when I realised that Yamaha, Sandberg and many others make far better P-basses than Fender.

And then came the phase when I realised that none of those other P-basses sound QUITE as FAT and groovy as an original Fender Precision.

I thought that would be the end of it. Full circle back to the P-bass. I have however started down a slightly worrying path lately: I've entered my second active bass phase. Recently I got myself that outrageous statement of bad taste: the Ibanez SR2600!!! And I've even started to think it looks beautiful! It gets worse: I even put Optima Gold strings on it just because it looked... gold! I don't even like how the Optima Golds sound OR feel! Actually I hate them! All this just to own the bass equivalent of a baroque palace! I blame mid life crisis.

 

[ToneMonkey]

I’m less about covering every conceivable situation and more about meat and potatoes throwing down roots on 1 and keeping the groove alive. Can’t remember the last time slap and pop was called for.

So these days not much into Swiss Army knife basses with active electronics. Passive P gets ‘er done.

 

[bdplaid]

but that wasn't so much taste as injury. on the other hand,

I see what you did there...

sort of a machismo thing - can women have machismo?

My wife has bigger balls than I do. Not literally, thankfully.

so what - if anything - has changed when it comes to your bass taste / preferences?

When I started I disliked P basses but never knew why. I didn't like the look of the pickup (thought it looked messy; OCD maybe?). I was all up into Stanley Clarke and that super bright snappy sound. However, every time I had a bass modded I put in a P pickup. Again, not sure why. But I recall I had an Ibanez that didn't sound like I wanted it to onstage, but I heard what our soundman did with it out front; sounded like a killer P bass. I loved it.

I figured out I loved Mars Cowling and Freddie Washington, and Ps are what they played.

Nowadays, PJ and P with a Jazz neck are almost all I play. With the exception of a couple of Jazzes that I have (Sandberg and parts bass).

 

[LeoTzu]

years ago, i, too, felt that anything but fender was the way to go. turned out that when i gave them a chance, i love fenders and squiers.

It's funny. I was the exact opposite. The first bass I had was a used Jackson Futura EX Professional Series. It was the best bass I could afford at the local music shop, but really wished it was a Fender. My bass teacher had a really awesome vintage 60's Fender P. It seemed like the coolest thing on the planet... even though we weren't allowed to play it. We all learned on a Peavey Foundation. I ended up becoming a real headstock snob and I was even moderately "ashamed" of my Jackson. Then a MIM Jazz Bass rolled into the guitar shop. I snapped it up immediately and played it for a while before realizing that I liked my Jackson more. Years later, I ended up selling both of those basses, but I only regret selling the Jackson, because it was my first!

After that bubble sort of burst, I started giving more brands a fair shot. These days, I'm fine playing anything that feels and sounds good, but have a bit of a soft spot for Schecters in general. I'm a sucker for budget/value instruments that can give you a good bang for your buck. Fenders... I often feel like you're paying the headstock tax on them, despite most of them being really solid instruments.

 

[tb4sbp]

I used to be hard core P bass but could never get the tone I wanted. Strings, pups, finger placement, nothing worked for me. To me it was too flat and muddy. It wasn't the bass it was me, my fingers. After years of being stubborn I got a J bass and there was the tone I was looking for. Sometimes it is just finding that right tool for the job.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

when i first started playing bass in 1994 and for years after, i played black PJ basses with rosewood fingerboards. then i changed... i started thinking a little variety couldn't hurt. i got a minty green (ibanez called it lime) mikro. i enjoyed it. the world didn't end.

now i have a red bronco (maple neck, fingerboard is part of the neck), a surf green mustang, a wood finish GSR100EX, a roadster orange mezzo (i always like that orange, but it didn't used to fit in with my dark color scheme). i also owned a sunburst traveler TB-4P that i sold.... apparently along with all my black basses. my semi-hollow ibanez SRH500 doesn't even come in black.

when i went to order my smallguitars.com bass, i went with daphne blue, and it was then that i realized both of my black basses, only bought to mod, aren't even with the basses i currently play. * gasp *

and the only bass i'm pondering now is a short scale EBMM stingray. not a PJ, not black.

i also moved from long scale to short scale, but that wasn't so much taste as injury. on the other hand, i love my short scales - i just hadn't given any a chance before that. sort of a machismo thing - can women have machismo?

so what - if anything - has changed when it comes to your bass taste / preferences?

LOL...not much has changed for me. I started playing a 1965 Jazz Bass in 1966 and I'm still playing a Fender MIA passive Jazz Bass today. I'm not playing my '65 anymore because it was stolen in 1976.

My taste for bass necks has stayed exactly the same since 1966. I "need" a 60's shallow C-shape neck with a 7.25" radius. I'm so particular about that that it took me almost 10-years to find and buy another MIA Jazz bass with that same neck profile.

I liked the look of my '65 with its sunburst body, rosewood fingerboard and tort pickguard, but I wasn't so stuck on the color of my bass or its accoutrements. In 1985 I bought my '82 MIA passive Jazz in Olympic White with a maple neck, white neck binding, white pickups, white pickguard, and white strat-type numbered control knobs. It's about as far from the color scheme of my '65 as you can get. I call her my "White Lady".

Being Olympic White, she is slowly changing color. Olympic White was very white to begin with and now the color has softened to a cream color. Eventually it will get to a light yellow, and that's fine. But I'm in no hurry to get there and she doesn't seem to be either. I've had her and played her for 35-years now and it's just gotten to that off-white cream color.

I do believe I like her sound better than my '65. With her maple neck and the 70's spacing on the pickups, she is a little bit brighter, she growls more easily, and has far more sustain than my '65 had. So perhaps I've changed my preferences a little bit.

Unfortunately I don't have a color pic of my '65 Jazz, but here's a B&W pic of me playing my '65 in about 1971.

And here's a shot of me playing my White Lady last year:

 

[tgriley62]

After deciding on trying to learn bass about 10 years ago at 47 I started on a Peavey Millennium BXP. Since then I'v decided that I like Peavey's & that I also like the color white

 

[40Hz]

Hard to think of what might have changed when I pretty much liked (and still like) everything.

About the only real thing that’s changed with me is I switch around on different basses a lot more now than I ever used to. Of course I now own a lot more basses than I ever used to…so that may also have a lot to do with it.

 

[Sursonique]

The first bass I ever played was a warwick style bass a friend lent me for a few days. I fell in love so I sold a gold necklace my godmother gave me for my birthday and bought my first bass: A Hyunday P-bass copy (modelled after the 57, baseball bat neck).
A couple of weeks later, my friend (same one who had lent me the warwick one) decided to get a new bass, and he got a Squier Jazz bass, and I really REALLY loved it and he left me wanting a Jazz bass. To me, a Jazz bass was the perfect bass.
Some years after that, I finally bought a Jazz Bass, also a Squier. I finally had "the bass of my dreams". However, and even though I absolutely LOVED having a much leaner neck, I found myself always turning off the bridge pickup, killing the tone and feeling the sound "off" to my taste. After many years of playing a Precision, I guess it had become MY sound.

What did I do? Well, the best of both worlds. Got a Precision bass and put a Jazz neck on it.
I still do love how Jazz basses look, however, the sound is not my taste.

P.D.: my friend same one I mentioned before, gave me that old Jazz bass as a gift this year. 21 years later.

And I put the leftover Precision neck on it!


(I now have a leftover Jazz neck, unfinished... I might get a Luthier to make me a Jazz body, and put Precision mics on it).. and make it fretless