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Need major help w choosing new bass + questions!

M

my.self

May 6, 2008
27
0
#1
hi there, i am new to this forum but i have visited it before in the past. anyways, my current bass, ibanez srx400 is pretty much going down hill. i wont get into much details, but i brought it into the shop and the guy told me that if i wanted to repair it, id be spending more money on the repairs than the cost of the actual bass. so we both thought it was best if i just get a new one. i have only owned two basses in my life. gsr200 and then i returned that one for the srx400.

budget: around 350, 400 MAX no more than that.

What i like about the srx400:
-thin/small neck
-not too heavy
-good sound? (idk, i dont have much experience with basses)
-small body? (idk if their considered small or not)

ive only tried ibanez basses and so far, i seem to like them. i am willing to try other brands tho. the only two brands that i know are trustworthy/good are fenders and ibanez, idk anything about any other brand.

fretless basses seem to be good. the most annoying thing that bothers me now is fret buzz. so i figured...fretless bass = no more fret buzz. im talking about fretless but with lines drawn in tho. i have read that fretless vs fretted thread so yea. ive read how with fretless u can have nice tones and sounds and stuff so ill prolly look into that if i get one.

i play...rock/punk rock and some christian at the moment, but i am planning on learning some metal and other kinds of rock too.

my skill level is about inbetween beginner to intermediate, but of course, planning on getting better.

whether or not i get a fretless or fretted, is up to u guys. i trust ur guy's knowledge. please consider the type of music i play too cuz i know that makes a difference.

does anyone know if guitar center can take in used basses? like can i sell it to them for money/store credit or anything? or sam ash?

i have tried the sr300 and the sr300F, but i dont like the sound that much, and the sr300F is in pearl white which is really ugly to me.

please also consider the stuff i like about the srx400 when giving me a recommendation. thank you guys!!!

oh yea, btw, im looking for a 4 string bass.
 
#4
hmmm... vote on the latter, so the squier u say? im currently looking on the site right now, im not sure which one ur talking about, theirs quite a bit of jazz basses on there. also, why fretted and not fretless? thank you for ur help, i appreciate it.

any other comments/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!
 
#5
Both GC and Sam Ash will take your old bass if you want to trade it in. They won't give you hardly anything for it though. Typically they give you about half of what the "used" price is on that particular bass. IF it's in good shape. But if you've got a bass that really needs repairs they might not take it at all, depending on what the problem is. If you like Ibanez basses, you might find that other basses, such as Fender will feel a lot different. Especially the necks. My suggestion would be to try several different stores and try out the basses. Get a feel for what other basses feel and sound like. You may want to stick with Ibanez, but then maybe you'll find something else you like better. Squier Vintage Modified series and the Classic Vibe series are both a step up from the basic Squier basses and seem to get a lot of love here. So that's a possible option for you.
 
#6
my.self said:
hmmm... vote on the latter, so the squier u say? im currently looking on the site right now, im not sure which one ur talking about, theirs quite a bit of jazz basses on there. also, why fretted and not fretless? thank you for ur help, i appreciate it.

any other comments/suggestions are welcomed and appreciated!
Click to expand...

Speaking from experience, playing fretless bass is a REAL commitment. You have to retrain yourself to learn to play in inotation while moving around the fingerboard, which comes easier for some as opposed to others. If you don't like the fret buzz, go have a professional luthier setup your bass for you. I don't mean to sway you away from fretless, just be aware that it's anything but a walk in the park, even with a lined fingerboard.

And FWIW, here's the one I was referencing.
Invalid Link Removed
 
#7
sundancechile - ah i see, so thats the one ur talking about. hmm ok ill rethink about that fretless thing.

eaglemoon - the problem is with my neck. the neck is curved, but it curves than levels out. thats what the repair guy said at sam ash. i probably will not bring it into sam ash then since. he already knows my problem and he told me if i wanted to fix it, it'd cost more than the actual bass. so...samash wont be a good place to trade it in. ill look into those squiers too while im at the store.

thanks to both of u!
 
#8
hmmm get a second opinion
maybe from a place that doesn't sell basses.. sounds like the old car salesman trick
you would save money by buying a NEW bass from ME

I know you tried the SR300 but they are pretty good for what you want
light and small body
http://www.theperfectbass.com/explo...103404101&W=STORE&P=N&S=1001081&U=1&SS=1&CR=Y

I would go for a used MIM Fender Jazz/Precision here
as a good next level bass
and in turn sell your SRX (if its in working/workable condition) on Craigslist or become a supporting member and sell it here . If it is indeed in non fixable condition sell it at GC

Take the funds and buy an SX fretless to learn on. That way you can get your feet wet with fretless for cheap. If you end up not liking fretless you can let it go here fairly easily
and you wont be out too much
 
#9
hmm....those fender jazz's are pretty nice i admit, but my srx400 was also used and i didnt have a superb run with that, it was ok, but, not as good as i expected. so im kinda skeptical on used basses now. the sr300...ill give it another try, but as i recall, the sound it produced wasnt my taste. my srx is still in workable and fixable confition. the reason why i want to get rid of it is because if i want to fix it, it would cost about 300 dollars which is about how much the bass is worth or maybe even more since its used.
 
#10
what's the issue with it. 300$ for fixing must me a REALLY big issue even for a boutique bass.

ass for ur style, and u're fret buzzing...etc, a good bass set up properly doesn't have to buzz but if u refer to the roundwounds zing ( the strings ) i'd really much go with a Squier fretted jazz and put some flats on it.

don't get scared to try things, but i really encourage u to stop looking for a fretless. if u manage to play without the buzz on a fretted, than ur skill is good enough to either move on fretless or stay with fretted.

hope this helps!
 
#11
hmm alrighty, no more fretless it is. and for my issue, he told me that i would have to take off all of the frets then sand down the neck or something to that its perfectly lined then put them back on and stuff like that. he said something like that would cost about 300 dollars.
 
#12
my.self said:
hmm alrighty, no more fretless it is. and for my issue, he told me that i would have to take off all of the frets then sand down the neck or something to that its perfectly lined then put them back on and stuff like that. he said something like that would cost about 300 dollars.
Click to expand...

Did they come to this conclusion by just taking a quick glance at your bass? If so, it sounds a little fishy to me, and there is a good chance this is just a sales tactic. I'd take it somewhere else first. Actually, I'd go to a luthier and ask him to do a setup without even mentioning anything about the supposed neck problem (no need to plant that seed in his mind).
 
#13
no, he actually spent quite a bit of time on it. i think im possibly just going to go for a new bass....

heres a little update...

i went to guitar center, and tried out their MIM fender jazz bass. overall, not bad, pretty good.

BUT...i noticed that, their were two different colors of the same bass, so i tried both of them out. they sounded different to me. the guy told me that its possible that they're made from different wood. all the settings were the same so i knew it wasnt that issue.

i then looked online when i got home on the fender website because i realized that the color of the woods were a little bit different.

tell me if this sounds right....

the rosewood bass sounded much darker than the maple wood bass. does that seem correct? the maple had a lighter sound to it. kinda nice actually. the guy also told me that its likely that basses wont sound exactly the same. im not sure if hes referring to all basses or just those two because they were different woods.

they sell them for $550 in store at GC. i want it in a different color tho. i just called and asked them, they say it SHOULD be the same price if i wanted to special order one in a different color.

im planning on selling off my srx400, is there anything better than a MIM jazz in the 400-500 dollar range? 550 is actually pushing it a little.
 
#14
my.self said:
im planning on selling off my srx400, is there anything better than a MIM jazz in the 400-500 dollar range? 550 is actually pushing it a little.
Click to expand...

A new MIM jazz is a nice step up from what you have. And some people say maple necks sound brighter and snappier. Then others say it doesn't matter. My guess would be that the strings were newer or cleaner on the one you thought sounded brighter.
 
#15
EagleMoon said:
Both GC and Sam Ash will take your old bass if you want to trade it in. They won't give you hardly anything for it though. Typically they give you about half of what the "used" price is on that particular bass. IF it's in good shape. But if you've got a bass that really needs repairs they might not take it at all, depending on what the problem is. If you like Ibanez basses, you might find that other basses, such as Fender will feel a lot different. Especially the necks. My suggestion would be to try several different stores and try out the basses. Get a feel for what other basses feel and sound like. You may want to stick with Ibanez, but then maybe you'll find something else you like better. Squier Vintage Modified series and the Classic Vibe series are both a step up from the basic Squier basses and seem to get a lot of love here. So that's a possible option for you.
Click to expand...


I'm with him. Go try out a bunch of basses. Then if you find some models you like, come back and ask us again. If you are near a GC AND a Sam Ash, you should have a TON of basses to try. Try to test drive them with an amp that's similar to the one you already play through. That way you will have an idea what it will sound like through YOUR rig. Good luck!
 
#16
hm...yea i actually do live near them, samash and GC for me are actually pretty close together, takes me about 15 min to samash and maybe 20 to GC. i played some basses at GC tonight. i didnt play much because...i only played the ones that had the price range i was looking for. i mainly payed attention to the MIM fender jazz. i will head over to samash...maybe tomorrow? ill go and play the basses their that fit my price range too. i tried some ibanez's and i realized that the ones i played were pretty aggressive and dark sounding. they sounded like they were more for heavy metal or something.

to eagle moon, that could possibly be true too, i guess i would just have to assume that.

does anyone have any comments on the wood part and in terms of whether or not each bass of the same model is going to sound the same or not? the guy at GC said that not all basses of the same exact model will sound the same.

oh yea and if anyone has any experience with this...some comments would be nice. since the stores ive visited do not have the blue color i want it in, but i know for sure they make blue MIM jazz fenders because ive seen it on the fender website and through pictures on here, can they make an order for it? my main question tho...is will the price remain the same as the other colors in the store? i called GC after i came back to ask them, the guy said they SHOULD be the same cuz he doesnt see why they would be different prices, but hes not for sure.

i will be back with more info! thanks u guys! i really appreciate it!
 
#17
All the MIM Fender Standard Jazzes are the same kind of wood, and no they shouldn't sound really sound different. And the prices should be the same regardless of color..UNLESS it's old stock, last years model, and they have some around that they're selling for cheaper. If you see one with the maple neck, you know it's this years model because this is the first year they've offered the maple on the Standard.
 

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