Need a good bass for recording music

[Bobby_P]

Hey everyone!
I am looking to buy a bass mostly for recording purposes (and a bit of gigs of a friend of mine who's a rapper).
I want to stay on a 500$/€ max budget (it's a first bass).
Most of my tracks are old school hiphop, ambiant, jazz, and a bit of ballads

I was interested in getting a Squier CV 60 P Bass because it's a Precision Bass and you can't go wrong with it. But there is also the CV Jaguar bass that might offer a bit more versatility.

I'd like to get something shorter than a 34inch if possible, because as a guitarist, and a climber, my hand sometimes hurt with large stretches (that's why I was considering the 32'' jag)

And an important point: I need the pickups to have the less noise possible, because I like to do spacey mixes (there are not a lot of instruments, so the I'd like to have a clean sound for each instrument). I'll be mostly recording directly to an audio interface (or a DI when I get one).

Would you have any suggestion from your experiences? Is the P bass THE best studio companion?

Cheers

(Sorry if this has already been posted, I am new to the forum, but I am not sure that I have found a similar topic)

 

[One Way]

IMO you're on the right track. I purchased my first bass for the same purpose and chose a Squier VM 70's Jazz bass. I really liked the tone. The slight hum never bothered me in my recordings however I later added a Fender MIM P Bass to my collection and it works well, too. I believe you will really like the CV 60's P Bass

 

[beatdatthang]

I normally would recommend you get a 5 string for hip hop/R&B because so much of it can benefit from a low B string, but your limitations on budget and scale length give me pause.

If it was me, I'd probably look at a Sterling by Music Man Ray 5 for hip hop/R&B but it's a 34" scale and has an active preamp. I don't think P basses are the end all/be all for recording anyway and you can get plenty of useful tones from a Ray. I have almost no experience with short scales so I can't be of much help there.

 

[Seth DuSith]

If not a 5 string, I recommend a P J style bass. I have a Jackson Spectra 22, and it has the PJ style pick up's. I find a get a ton of versatility out of it being able to switch from the split coil to single coil (can always use both pick up's to silence the hum a little). I've made a couple hip hop tracks with it with success as well.

You can find better basses than mine, especially in hour budjet, but I really enjoy the PJ style basses, if versatility is what you are looking for

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

Get a Sterling Stingray Ray 35 . Its a 34 scale 5 string with great low B. If you decide to just go 4 string and want short scale get a Sterling StingRay Short Scale.

 

[Bobby_P]

Thank you for your answers, really helpful!

I initially thought of the P Bass because old school hip hop samples a lot from the 60's soul/funk era, where that bass (along with the upright bass) was the most used. (I'm more in tracks like A Tribe Called Quest/Mob Deep/NWA than the really "low and subish" sounds of today)

But I get why a Ray might be useful as well. I know that the Sterling shortscale ray is around 500$ in the US, unfortunately in Europe it's almost 800€ ()

Would you say that a Ray can also handle "lighter" music, like ballads with voice, acoustic guitar and percs, or will it sound a bit "electric" and out of context?

As for the PJ config, I do really like it, just scared of the amount of noise I might get in the recording process (even a soloed P on a PJ has some noise). Can put some coper tape though.

Cheers

 

[FullumMusic]

Most of my tracks are old school hiphop, ambiant, jazz, and a bit of ballads

I think you're on the right path. A halfway-decent P-Bass will do most things.
A lot of people will say the P-bass is the best studio companion. But really, there is no "best."

The CV Jaguar is also a good choice because it has a PJ layout. So you con go for a more P sound or J sound. The J pickup might bright a little noise when used by itself because it's single coil.

I'd like to get something shorter than a 34inch if possible, because as a guitarist, and a climber, my hand sometimes hurt with large stretches (that's why I was considering the 32'' jag)

I'm not a guitarist but i do go bouldering 3 times a week. When i started climbing i couldn't play bass for like 3 or 4 days after i climbed. Now i have no problem doing both the same day, so long as i don't go crazy trying to send really hard projects above my flash grade all session long + hangboard + endurance on the auto-belay + staying at the gym to long + whatever. I have to really go all-out at the gym to not be able to do both on the same day.

Point being, if you get a full-scale (34") bass, and you practice and play it regularly, you'll get used to the longer scale. Your hands won't hurt as much. That said, if you pick up a 32" scale bass and it just feels better, go for it. Best bet is to go somewhere and physically play the basses you're looking at if possible.

I need the pickups to have the less noise possible,

And they'll be quiet. The P-Bass has split-coils. It's the single coil pickups that are usually the noisy ones (like you often see on J basses or the really old single-coil P). And for relatively cheap, you can get copper shielding tape and make sure the bass is properly shielded for extra noise protection.

I normally would recommend you get a 5 string for hip hop/R&B because so much of it can benefit from a low B string, but your limitations on budget and scale length give me pause.

Get a Sterling Stingray Ray 35 . Its a 34 scale 5 string with great low B. If you decide to just go 4 string and want short scale get a Sterling StingRay Short Scale.

These are great suggestions for the Sterling Stingray Ray 35 if you want to go affordable 5-string. But you won't getting the short-scale option with the 5. It'll be a bit of give & take having the extended range vs short scale.

I'm of 2 minds when it comes to needing a Low B string for hip hop. I was in a live Hip Hop/Neosoul band for a while. One of the reasons i got the gig was because i had the low B on my 6 string. It was incredibly useful in a lot of situations. Between my low notes, the keyboard, and the digital kick the drummer used, we always had low note/sub options.

But i also produce electronic music and have produced hip hop tunes too, and in the studio i actually use my 4 string more. If i need the really low notes, i'll probably use a synth or an 808 or something. Playing those notes on the low B of a bass while the digital stuff is hitting those low notes too is a recipe for mud and crowded mix. I'm not trying to convince you not to get a 5 string. I'm just saying, it's incredibly handy to have but not needed.

 

[Bunk McNulty]

Fender Squier Affinity Jaguar bass is cheap (around $250 US), well made, and has a 32" scale. I bought one a year ago to use in some of the tight places I play, and was surprised at the sound and quality of build.

 

[pbass2]

But i also produce electronic music and have produced hip hop tunes too, and in the studio i actually use my 4 string more. If i need the really low notes, i'll probably use a synth or an 808 or something. Playing those notes on the low B of a bass while the digital stuff is hitting those low notes too is a recipe for mud and crowded mix. I'm not trying to convince you not to get a 5 string. I'm just saying, it's incredibly handy to have but not needed.

Same here. I've had all manner of fivers over the years including a Dingwall which has the best B string out there, but I'm strictly 4 stringers now, and I do a ton of electronic music of various types, dance, dub, hip hop, etc etc. I usually use synth for really low stuff, it just works better. Though a lot of players will use a fiver live in situations where a synth was used on a recording so they can cop those notes (but you really are only getting those extra 5 notes if you think about it, and it isn't the same - that's why you see so many bassists in modern music doubling on synth). Granted fivers are good for playing in different positions on the neck--playing up high on the B string sounds really cool for some things, but purely sonically speaking, the low notes on a fiver are not like the lows you can do on a synth.

 

[pbass2]

I initially thought of the P Bass because old school hip hop samples a lot from the 60's soul/funk era, where that bass (along with the upright bass) was the most used. (I'm more in tracks like A Tribe Called Quest/Mob Deep/NWA than the really "low and subish" sounds of today)

Then I would get a good P or J and go to town. Then experiment with flatwound vs roundwound strings. That will be the biggest difference you can make in how a bass sounds. Lots of that music was played on flats (they're not just for round, Motown tones--you crank the highs with flats and you get that classic funk/soul grunt). Also good - nickel roundwounds, and let 'em get old!

 

[FullumMusic]

Same here. I've had all manner of fivers over the years including a Dingwall which has the best B string out there, but I'm strictly 4 stringers now, and I do a ton of electronic music of various types, dance, dub, hip hop, etc etc. I usually use synth for really low stuff, it just works better. Though a lot of players will use a fiver live in situations where a synth was used on a recording so they can cop those notes (but you really are only getting those extra 5 notes if you think about it, and it isn't the same - that's why you see so many bassists in modern music doubling on synth). Granted fivers are good for playing in different positions on the neck--playing up high on the B string sounds really cool for some things, but purely sonically speaking, the low notes on a fiver are not like the lows you can do on a synth.

Absolutely, yeah. Agree 100%. Having that low B in the band was incredibly helpful for a lot of very specific things, but in the end it wasn't needed. When i had to switch to doing sound engineer work for that band, the bassist they got played 4.

In that hip hop/neosoul band i was in, we're were often essentially live-musician-versions of a sampler, playing sections of songs. And when the keyboard player couldn't do both the keyboard chord voicing and the low synth notes at the same time, i had those extra 5 notes to pickup up the low-end work. But then when we played something with a very specific bassline, the keys player had his left hand. And also digital kick and toms/midi pads. Oh, and songs where i had to play Bb, Ab, and F. There are a lot in those styles. Omg. Having the low B to play that at the 4th fret as opposed to stretching from the 1st fret made my life so much easier.

But in the end, for myself, when i want those really low subby sounds, i go digital. And that frees me up to play a little higher in the 4 string's range and "speak more" with the bass, or get more mid-focused articulation, and actually use the bass guitar more as a focal point of the music as opposed to a support instrument or just filling in the low-lows.

 

[tvbop]

Is the P bass THE best studio companion

Be careful here. Yes the P bass is the easiest bass to record with old flats as born out by a million old school studio recordings but only if you know how to play it. Play it loose and it will sound muddy and indestinct...needs a light touch and a good feel with a good setup to sound tight.

 

[pbass2]

But in the end, for myself, when i want those really low subby sounds, i go digital. And that frees me up to play a little higher in the 4 string's range and "speak more" with the bass, or get more mid-focused articulation, and actually use the bass guitar more as a focal point of the music as opposed to a support instrument or just filling in the low-lows.

That's the thing - in much of this music, the bass guitar is used as an obvious "bass guitar" voice. A synth is simply better at those big cushiony, consistent and solid lows. And if the kick has a ton going on down there, then you can't just be smashing all those lows together without things really being well-arranged and thought out. So the bass guitar playing in a register up above the kick works great. One guy who was a genius at this was Hub from The Roots (RIP).

 

[swink]

Would you say that a Ray can also handle "lighter" music, like ballads with voice, acoustic guitar and percs, or will it sound a bit "electric" and out of context?

Does this answer your question?

The question is, can you handle a Ray

 

[kumimajava]

Not sure the aesthetics are very 'hiphop' but the Ibanez TMB35 would be my suggestion: short-scale (30 inches), 5-string with a PJ config, so you can always get the hum-cancelling sound out of that P-pickup. Price (at least over here in Japan) is way under 500USD.

I think the Ibanez Mezzo-5 might also be an option (5-string as well!), but I'm not sure what the prices & availability on those would be.

If you're not looking for a 5-string, then there should be a bunch of 90s ibanez's that are 32-inches & a PJ config. I can't remember the exact model number, but they were some of the early SoundGear series, and I think one of the models was a 530. Some of the early ones were made by Fuji Gen in Japan, and are great players even today. Would pick one of those over the modern equivalents by a large margin...

 

[Stylee Mousse]

I think you might be overthinking the noise part. For recording you can always envelope out or gate a bit of hum. When you are playing it's a non factor.
Most of the recordings you like have extraneous sounds either muted in mix or left in. So many great bass tracks are full of fret noise, finger noise, all the things people playing at home get too worried about

 

[Michael Stanley 2112]

Because of what you can do during the mixing process; because of how you can "sweeten" a track, I would say to find the most inexpensive five-string you can play and which you can afford.

Haunt the used instrument stores.

I think Squier has a few (fairly) affordable five stringers in your price range (maybe even a Mustang? I don't know).

 

[FullumMusic]

One guy who was a genius at this was Hub from The Roots (RIP).

<3

 

[REV]

If you can find a used shortscale Danelectro bass, they record very well.

 

[FullumMusic]

Would you say that a Ray can also handle "lighter" music, like ballads with voice, acoustic guitar and percs, or will it sound a bit "electric" and out of context?

Any bass can handle any music. Some are more suited to certain styles than others, but any can do anything if you use good technique and sculpt your tone with some combination of tone pot/active pre, the eq and pre section your amp head, or using the right plugins. You'll hear it a million times: Tone is in your hands.

As for the PJ config, I do really like it, just scared of the amount of noise I might get in the recording process (even a soloed P on a PJ has some noise). Can put some coper tape though.

And really, don't be too scared of single coil noise. Basses with single coil pickups have been used to record since the original P Bass was released in 1951 straight through to today without ruining recordings. There can be noise, but it's not like it's just gonna be a blanket of noise through your entire bass track. Proper bass setup & proper recording techniques really make it a non-issue. And if there is a bit of single coil noise, it'll pretty much only be noticeable when you're not actually playing any notes, which can be easily edited out or made insignificant with an expander.

If you love the feel of the bass with a PJ configuration and it sounds good, don't let the fear of the possibility of maybe there could be some noise in a recording stop you. I think your fear of noise be greater than the reality of the noise.