I'd suggest hunting down a Sterling Stingray, ($300) and see how you like that and if you do pickup a MM Stingray sometime later. ... I have 3-P-basses, 3-J-basses, 1-MM Stingray and 1 5-string Sterling Stingray and all great basses that do their own thing. ... Remember not all basses are the same.
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Well, let's see...
I've been playing bass on and off since 1968. I mainly play stuff you didn't list, but... I do play some Blues, Jazz, and a little RnB. I've got 24 basses in my herd, and... none of them is a Jazz Bass. Why? To be honest, I've never played one that made me want to buy it. And, I've never played one that gave me anything I couldn't get from another bass; usually a bass I already owned. Some of them were Fenders; some of them weren't. Almost all of them were good instruments, but none of them made me want to take them home. However...
Although I'm not a fan of active basses, I've somehow managed to wind up with 3 of them. And, one of them is a Stingray Special HH. And, gotta tell ya; if you think a Stingray H is versatile, you gotta try an HH. IME, that thing will do anything a Jazz Bass will do - and then some. Yeah, I had to work at it to get what makes me happy, but there's an awful lot of possibilities to find in the thing. I don't begrudge the effort a bit...
So, my recommendation? Well, I do have a Stingray HH, and I don't have a Jazz Bass - and don't really want one...
I've been playing bass on and off since 1968. I mainly play stuff you didn't list, but... I do play some Blues, Jazz, and a little RnB. I've got 24 basses in my herd, and... none of them is a Jazz Bass. Why? To be honest, I've never played one that made me want to buy it. And, I've never played one that gave me anything I couldn't get from another bass; usually a bass I already owned. Some of them were Fenders; some of them weren't. Almost all of them were good instruments, but none of them made me want to take them home. However...
Although I'm not a fan of active basses, I've somehow managed to wind up with 3 of them. And, one of them is a Stingray Special HH. And, gotta tell ya; if you think a Stingray H is versatile, you gotta try an HH. IME, that thing will do anything a Jazz Bass will do - and then some. Yeah, I had to work at it to get what makes me happy, but there's an awful lot of possibilities to find in the thing. I don't begrudge the effort a bit...
So, my recommendation? Well, I do have a Stingray HH, and I don't have a Jazz Bass - and don't really want one...
I played a Stingray for 18 years but sold it for financial reasons almost 10 years ago. I really wish I still had it.
But since then, I have discovered the Jazz bass (albeit in a Squier version) and quickly fell in love.
Although I still really like the Stingray, I think I kind of like a Jazz better. I like how the 2nd pickup adds so much more to what the bass can do.
The stingray is phenomenal, but you kind of have to learn how to coax it to do certain things. However, the last couple years I had the SR, I remember being sick and tired of its tone. The Jazz felt like a breath of fresh air.
So after all that BS I just spouted, I guess I lean more towards a Jazz than an SR at this point in my life.
But since then, I have discovered the Jazz bass (albeit in a Squier version) and quickly fell in love.
Although I still really like the Stingray, I think I kind of like a Jazz better. I like how the 2nd pickup adds so much more to what the bass can do.
The stingray is phenomenal, but you kind of have to learn how to coax it to do certain things. However, the last couple years I had the SR, I remember being sick and tired of its tone. The Jazz felt like a breath of fresh air.
So after all that BS I just spouted, I guess I lean more towards a Jazz than an SR at this point in my life.
Also check out the Dan Armstrong Ampeg bass, and the Westone Rail (which I think was the only one where that sliding pickup actually made any appreciable difference).
Well now I want to know what's in the rest of the herd.Well, let's see...
I've been playing bass on and off since 1968. I mainly play stuff you didn't list, but... I do play some Blues, Jazz, and a little RnB. I've got 24 basses in my herd, and... none of them is a Jazz Bass. Why? To be honest, I've never played one that made me want to buy it. And, I've never played one that gave me anything I couldn't get from another bass; usually a bass I already owned. Some of them were Fenders; some of them weren't. Almost all of them were good instruments, but none of them made me want to take them home. However...
Although I'm not a fan of active basses, I've somehow managed to wind up with 3 of them. And, one of them is a Stingray Special HH. And, gotta tell ya; if you think a Stingray H is versatile, you gotta try an HH. IME, that thing will do anything a Jazz Bass will do - and then some. Yeah, I had to work at it to get what makes me happy, but there's an awful lot of possibilities to find in the thing. I don't begrudge the effort a bit...
So, my recommendation? Well, I do have a Stingray HH, and I don't have a Jazz Bass - and don't really want one...
There are always the 2 humbucker versions. In the lower end of the market, Cort make a bass with one mm style humbucker in the bridge position and another pickup which looks similar to a jazz style in the neck position.
I’ve owned Cort basses and they’re pretty good value for money.
Ok, just checked and they now use a P style pickup with the MM style but I have seen the jazz one so you may get one second hand.
Cort GB74 Gig | GB Series Electric Bass
This one has two humbuckers.
Cort Action HH4 | Action Series Electric Bass
Personally I’m not a fan of the bridge pickup sound, Stingray or Jazz. I owned a Stingray for a while but it couldn’t hold my interest so it’s gone.
I’ve owned Cort basses and they’re pretty good value for money.
Ok, just checked and they now use a P style pickup with the MM style but I have seen the jazz one so you may get one second hand.
Cort GB74 Gig | GB Series Electric Bass
This one has two humbuckers.
Cort Action HH4 | Action Series Electric Bass
Personally I’m not a fan of the bridge pickup sound, Stingray or Jazz. I owned a Stingray for a while but it couldn’t hold my interest so it’s gone.
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Get the one you like.
You sound as though you really want a Stingray.
Then, get one.
And get it in black!
You sound as though you really want a Stingray.
Then, get one.
And get it in black!
I voted Stingray for you. In my opinion, the Jazz looks the best, the Ray34 sounds the best and the P-Bass plays the best. They are all great instruments. Keep in mind the Jazz is 1.5" across the nut, Ray34 is 1.7" and Pbass is 1.625". They for sure feel little different. The Ray34 has powerful EQ and sounds amazing with Cobalt rounds. It would be a hard choice to decide which one to let go or keep one.
This^^^^.I, myself, prefer the feel of a good Jazz bass, but…
…for you, 'nuff said!
Jazz basses work best for me . But you have to go with what works for you.
I also love the sound of a j bass, when other people play them. When I play them I am always a little bit disappointed. I can never get one to sound or feel good when I play it, and I keep going back to try. (Been doing this for over 30 years). Follow your gut, and don’t listen to us.
don’t worry too much about versatility of an instrument. As you state, most of a bass’s versatility comes from the player. Stingrays have a very flexible preamp, you can use the bass for any genre you want and nobody in the audience will notice. (Unless it’s a talkbass member in the audience, but even then they’ll be judging more with their eyes and preconceived talk bass notions, so you better have tort!)
