For a graduation present my parents are willing to buy me the bass of my choice(within reason) but i'm not completely sure what i'm looking for, but in general i want a good all around bass i can get a lot of different tones from, any suggestions?
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New bass
- Thread starter Fogmachine101
- Start date
What kind of music, and how much $$$ are they willing to spend? You can grab a Fender/Squier or ESP/LTD or Peavey for less than $300, or higher line versions of the same basses for around $1500, and the sky's the limit from there. It all boils down to "within reason" and the type of music you play. Don't forget that you're going to need some sort of amp to hear yourself also.
Right now i mostly play blues and classic rock covers with a couple different "bands" I live in a small town right now, and their aren't many venues, but i'm graduating early, and when i get to college in thw spring i want to start gigging more than once every 6 months. The price range is between 1k and 1.5k
Hi, what cool parents you have! If I was looking for "a good all around bass i can get a lot of different tones from", and playing the stuff you do, I'd look at a Jazz bass of some make. In that price range there's a bunch of options, and besides the obvious Fenders, I think the Lakland Skyline 44-60 or 55-60 (depending on whether you want 4 or 5 strings) is worth a look. Better built than the fenders IMO, and with all the versatility of the Jazz baked in.
I love my Fender American '62 Re-issue. Beautiful, great feel to it, a little on the heavy side, wonderful neck that needs some seasonal adjustments. With flatwounds it gets a great tone, perfect for vintage rock and blues, or motown, or even jazz. I have played it in all settings.
Here is a video clip with good audio to hear it in a mix.
The Laklands are nice too, also a little on the heavier side from what I understand. Have not played one so I'll let the experts talk about actual experience with those basses.
Here is a video clip with good audio to hear it in a mix.
The Laklands are nice too, also a little on the heavier side from what I understand. Have not played one so I'll let the experts talk about actual experience with those basses.
Thank you, and i'll definantly look into it, i'm also a fan of the low end thump on P's, but i've had very little experiance with different types of basses, we only have two music stores in our town, one sells exclusively beginner ibanez, and the other just sells beginner corts, both only have a handful of basses, any advice i can get is much appreciated 
Agree with the Jazz recommendations. More versatile than a Precision, and models are available at pretty much every price point. A good Jazz can be a lifelong friend, and you can mod it to your heart's delight if you want. Is there a Fender dealer within a reasonable driving distance from you? Youtube vids and internet reviews are great, but nothing beats getting your hands on an instrument prior to paying for it.
Geddy Lee Jazz Bass -- the non-GC local music store has a few pre-owned on the underside of your price range
My mom bought me an inexpensive double bass for graduation, and I bought myself a Squier VM with grad money. Was it top of the list of instruments I wanted? No, but it's as nice as almost any MIM Fender I've played, and it's an all around good solid instrument.
If you like the P bass sound but want more versatility, how about a PJ combo? There's something like this:
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Or like this, which is significantly more expensive.
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And of course, I'm only using Fender as an example. There are other companies to look at with this option.
If you like the P bass sound but want more versatility, how about a PJ combo? There's something like this:
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Or like this, which is significantly more expensive.
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And of course, I'm only using Fender as an example. There are other companies to look at with this option.
- Nov 8, 2010
- 1,391
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- Unofficial Endorser: Ibanez, D'Addario, Zoom
I'd look for a really nice PJ in that range, American Precision Deluxe, I know there are a lot more though.
Check out the Carvin SB series. For what your parents are willing to spend you can have a bass built to order with exactly what you want on it. They have gotten excellent reviews by many TB'ers too.
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