Yeah, sadly, I couldn't bond with Yammies, but their QC is as good as it gets in my experience.
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Most consistently well-crafted and problem-free basses?
- Thread starter el_Bajo_Verde
- Start date
Yeah, sadly, I couldn't bond with Yammies, but their QC is as good as it gets in my experience.
If you want something reliable, consistent, that sounds great, and of high quality, you have many options:
-Spector - lots of used ones out there. You'll never have a problem with one, and they sound fierce
-Ibanez - anything over $700 will be really good. Stay out of those cheap wall models in GC and Sam Ass.
-Boutique - If you want something that looks like a Fender, you have Mike Lull, Sadowsky, Sandberg, Nash, and about 75 other companies that make Fenders better than Fender does.
-Other boutique - hard to go wrong here. Roscoe, Skjold, Fodera, F Bass, M Bass, Marusczyk, Mayones, Marleaux, Ritter...the list is endless. They'll cost you thousands, and play like a dream.
Stay away from Fenders and Rics. All you have to do is search TB to see it's about 50/50 good-to-bad feedback ratio on both brands. Fanboys just cloud the waters; just because they love them doesn't mean you will.
-Spector - lots of used ones out there. You'll never have a problem with one, and they sound fierce
-Ibanez - anything over $700 will be really good. Stay out of those cheap wall models in GC and Sam Ass.
-Boutique - If you want something that looks like a Fender, you have Mike Lull, Sadowsky, Sandberg, Nash, and about 75 other companies that make Fenders better than Fender does.
-Other boutique - hard to go wrong here. Roscoe, Skjold, Fodera, F Bass, M Bass, Marusczyk, Mayones, Marleaux, Ritter...the list is endless. They'll cost you thousands, and play like a dream.
Stay away from Fenders and Rics. All you have to do is search TB to see it's about 50/50 good-to-bad feedback ratio on both brands. Fanboys just cloud the waters; just because they love them doesn't mean you will.
Don't put the cart before the horse. You can't pick anything until you've developed enough to know what feels right and have a budget in mind. You can, at every chance, go play different basses and figure out which neck, body and pickup configuration you like. Lot's of newbies get caught up in bells and whistles don't be that guy. When you set a budget your choices will narrow, pick the best and roll with it!
IMO there are a gazillion great choices out there in every budget. You can get great giggable Squires, Ibbys, Yamahas, etc for 300 bucks and it just gets better from there. Any bass at any price can have a problem so just be careful when you buy.
If cash is a problem and you live in an area with access look used. If you are not confident find a friend to help. Most bang for the buck there.
Remember, your taste and needs will likely evolve, basses are like streetcars, and you can have more than one.
IMO there are a gazillion great choices out there in every budget. You can get great giggable Squires, Ibbys, Yamahas, etc for 300 bucks and it just gets better from there. Any bass at any price can have a problem so just be careful when you buy.
If cash is a problem and you live in an area with access look used. If you are not confident find a friend to help. Most bang for the buck there.
Remember, your taste and needs will likely evolve, basses are like streetcars, and you can have more than one.
Not really interested in 'which bass,' but in convincing you that, as a newb to a stringed instrument, you need to embrace the idea of working on your instrument. If a replacing an input jack fazes you, you're probably not wanting to do proper set ups on your bass. And that's a very common mistake most new players make: they avoid learning about being a steward of their instrument.
Buy a bass that sounds and feels good, and learn the necessary work that goes into owning an instrument. These are not smart phones - you're supposed to nurture them here and there.
Buy a bass that sounds and feels good, and learn the necessary work that goes into owning an instrument. These are not smart phones - you're supposed to nurture them here and there.
I've been buying Rickenbackers since 1977 and have bought at least 25 used and new and have had very few if any problems with any of them them. I am tired of the myth that is being perpetuated about them, it is a bunch of BS. I am not a fan boy either, I own Fenders and Gibson's also and have bought a good number of new Fenders also and have actually had more problems with new Fenders than new Rickenbackers but I don't bash them either, I like both.
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You've really got 3 seperate issues here.
Consistency- this is all over the place, but in terms of buying one bass, not all that important. Generally speaking, as the price goes up, so does the consistency instrument to instrument. That said, you only need one, so as long as you can play a bunch and pick a good one, it doesn't matter if a bunch of the rest of that model are dogs. A while back I was fender shopping (ended up going in a different direction) and the MIMs were all over the map. The best of them were really good, the worst pretty bad, and it was easy to tell which was which, so buy the good one and be done with it. If you are buying blind, on the other hand, consistency does matter since you aren't playing first. I've found Music Man to be the most consistent not super expensive bass I've ever played
Low maintenance- I haven't gigged In a while now, but I've never had any meaningful repair issues on a bass. I broke a pot on my p copy when I was young and dumb, broke its pick guard a few years later when I guess I was still young and dumb. That's it. Really, any decently made bass shouldnt need much more than set ups and string changes, both of which are pretty easy
Easy to work on- you are right about semi hollows. Those are a bear unless they also have a rear access to the electronics. Electronics failures are pretty rare though unless you are really beating on your stuff. If you had to work on something, I suppose a P bass would be about the easiest. They are really uncomplicated
Consistency- this is all over the place, but in terms of buying one bass, not all that important. Generally speaking, as the price goes up, so does the consistency instrument to instrument. That said, you only need one, so as long as you can play a bunch and pick a good one, it doesn't matter if a bunch of the rest of that model are dogs. A while back I was fender shopping (ended up going in a different direction) and the MIMs were all over the map. The best of them were really good, the worst pretty bad, and it was easy to tell which was which, so buy the good one and be done with it. If you are buying blind, on the other hand, consistency does matter since you aren't playing first. I've found Music Man to be the most consistent not super expensive bass I've ever played
Low maintenance- I haven't gigged In a while now, but I've never had any meaningful repair issues on a bass. I broke a pot on my p copy when I was young and dumb, broke its pick guard a few years later when I guess I was still young and dumb. That's it. Really, any decently made bass shouldnt need much more than set ups and string changes, both of which are pretty easy
Easy to work on- you are right about semi hollows. Those are a bear unless they also have a rear access to the electronics. Electronics failures are pretty rare though unless you are really beating on your stuff. If you had to work on something, I suppose a P bass would be about the easiest. They are really uncomplicated
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Ernie Ball Music Man have great build quality and consistency IMHO...
+1 about the Sires. I bought one lightly used, and the build and parts quality is way above what I'd expect for a budget-priced bass.
- Jun 6, 2012
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I think you guessed right.
You might find a significant jump in feel, tone, and playability from a MIM Fender Standard Precision. I know I've typed this about a hundred times already here on TB, but the contemporary MIM Standard line from about 2009 on is the most consistently quality bass at that price point I've seen. I've played a dozen and own three. Every one took to a 20-minute set-up right out of the box and was ready for anything. Even the factory strings were sufficient so I left them on.
Over the past 3 decades, I have played/owned ESP and LTD basses and have found their build quality and playabiity on par with basses 2-3 times their price. Never carried a backup because I never needed one. Other than routine maintenance I never needed any repairs. If you can afford it, the MIJ ones rule.
That's one aspect I love about them; they really feel rock solid, and tone for days!!
Honestly, I'd never spend over $1000 on a bass! It seems like the best-quality stuff without being overpriced is more in the $600-900 range new.
Learning to make a few minor adjustments or simple repairs can save you a lot of $$$ later on... you might even get a lot more bass out of a deal if you can apply some D-I-Y knowledge.
Good luck with your search.
That's what I'm using my Squier Affinity P-Bass for! I just go all-in with the repair, study hard and do it myself.
I'm comfortable with repairing the electronics, I just really enjoy when that repair is a simple job. With the P-bass it really doesn't get any more simple. It's a few minutes to fix it. I mentioned the Jack Casady because it's the complete opposite. I remember how frustrating it was to reach into the soundhole to repair the bridge on an acoustic (there's a nut/bolt in there that's super hard to reach). And I can't even imagine how much more frustrating it would be to delicately fish around in an f-hole to repair the pots on a Casady.
Most consistently well-crafted and problem-free basses?
G&L, period!
G&L, period!
