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New Player -American Precision Bass vs Schecter Evil Twin?

El_Charro

El_Charro

Aug 11, 2020
887
1,184
#1
Hi Everybody,

I’m new to the bass and appreciate feedback I’ve gotten here in the last week...

I’m looking to buy a bass in the next few months but I’m on the fence about what I want even though I’ve narrowed my search down a lot in the past few weeks...

At the moment I’m playing a Schecter Custom 4 a friend loaned me and I like it a lot more than I was expecting so I’m looking at the Evil Twin 4 or the Hellraiser however I keep seeing a lot of people say how much they love their Fender Precision Bass...

It looks like by the time I buy a case for the Schecter Evil Twin 4 it will be about the same price as an American Precision by Fender (which comes with its own case)...

I want to learn to play a lot of Metal, so the Schecter w active pickups might be more apt for what I’m after, but it seems like there’s almost a cult like following for the Fender Precision...

I know Steve Harris from Iron Maiden has a signature P bass model and I remember seeing Newstead play a Fender in the mid 90s during the Load/Reload era so I would think the Precision would do the job with the right effects even though it doesn’t look as cool as the Schecter (I realize looks don’t influence the sound)...

For those of you that play a Precison-What is it that you like so much about it?

No wrong answers here just trying to understand the almost cult like following that goes with the Fender...I’ve tried Fender guitars and they always felt kinda “Meh”, but maybe I’m just not an experienced enough musician to understand the appeal...

Thanks! :-)
 
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#2
It’s not a cult following, its more of an industry standard like a Ford F-150. You can play any bass for metal since a lot of the tone comes from effects. The guy from Of Mice and Men plays a PRS jazz style bass that I have found works pretty good for Metal, Cliff Burton and Geddy Lee played Rickenbacker and John Myung uses a MM Bongo. The real important thing is how the bass feels to you and in Metal you will be playing power chords which, if you have small hands, might rule the P Bass out due to its wider neck.
I would also point out that, at least when I was into metal, looks was a big deal and the Schecter has that in spades. I played a Schecter once and was very impressed and would have bought it if someone hadn’t of broken one of the pickups by the next time I saw it. Also, you have been playing a Schecter so you would be familiar with feel and controls.

I could suggest a bunch of good basses but my gut tells me the Schecter is your best choice (and I’m a Yamaha guy)

And after typing all this I remembered you asked about why a P bass. I just moved fro a Jazz to a Yamaha BB which has a p style pickup because it was the tone I was going for with a lot of depth (which fender P’s have) but also Jazz Bass like articulation (which a Fender doesn’t have in my experience). It took me a couple of years and a lot of basses to figure that out and it is not going to be the same for everyone. If you are starting out then you have many years of GAS ahead to figure out tone.
 
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#3
Sean150 said:
It’s not a cult following, its more of an industry standard like a Ford F-150. You can play any bass for metal since a lot of the tone comes from effects. The guy from Of Mice and Men plays a PRS jazz style bass that I have found works pretty good for Metal, Cliff Burton and Geddy Lee played Rickenbacker and John Myung uses a MM Bongo. The real important thing is how the bass feels to you and in Metal you will be playing power chords which, if you have small hands, might rule the P Bass out due to its wider neck.
I would also point out that, at least when I was into metal, looks was a big deal and the Schecter has that in spades. I played a Schecter once and was very impressed and would have bought it if someone hadn’t of broken one of the pickups by the next time I saw it. Also, you have been playing a Schecter so you would be familiar with feel and controls.

I could suggest a bunch of good basses but my gut tells me the Schecter is your best choice (and I’m a Yamaha guy)

And after typing all this I remembered you asked about why a P bass. I just moved fro a Jazz to a Yamaha BB which has a p style pickup because it was the tone I was going for with a lot of depth (which fender P’s have) but also Jazz Bass like articulation (which a Fender doesn’t have in my experience). It took me a couple of years and a lot of basses to figure that out and it is not going to be the same for everyone. If you are starting out then you have many years of GAS ahead to figure out tone.
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This is really good advice/clarification (thank you)...

Good call out on the neck- Hand size isn't really an issue for me- I'm 6'3" and about 210 (I've wondered if this is part of why I love bass so much more than guitar- Every time I went to pick up a guitar to practice it felt like a cheesy little plastic toy. I love the size/weight of the bass (plus apparently I like the sound of the low end a lot better). I'm a bit disappointed with myself I waited so long to try to start on bass- I didn't realize how much music you could make on bass by yourself just practicing and I'm a LOOOONG way from being able to play with other people.

I guess I'm worried there's something about the Fender I'm not "getting" or seeing which was the reason for my question...(From what I've read- The basically invented the Electric Bass so maybe that's part of the appeal in addition to sound quality?)

I have really enjoyed the Schecter I'm playing and agree I have some trepidation about straying too far from the instrument I'm currently borrowing as I've felt more motivated to practice by it than any other instrument I've ever tried to learn.

I can only imagine how much more I will most likely feel like that if I get the Evil Twin bc it's a step or two over what I've been playing. Have also looked/considered an ESP just bc they have a pretty good reputation for electric guitars.

Will probably give the Fender one more try next time I'm at Guitar Center just to make sure but this post was helpful. Idk what it is about the body style on the Fender- It just doesn't look like I wanna play it quite as bad even if I can get the same sound out of it...

Any other suggestions I'm leaving out or not considering?

I was pretty set on trying to find an Ibanez based on their reputation but I'm not really seeing anything out there online that really "does it" for me. I picked up an Ibanez that was about the same price as the Custom-4 and didn't really hate it but didn't really love it either.

I was originally planning on having a max budget of around $1,000, but from shopping it looks like I could get something really good if the ceiling is more like $1,500.

I am thinking I would rather try for something really nice now than buy something mid range and end up pining for a nicer instrument further down the road when I'm more experienced.

The only thing (possibly) giving me an additional pause is maybe going for a Schecter that's around $800-900 and getting an amp that's around $600, but I might just get the nicer bass now and hold out longer on the amp.

Thanks again! :-)
 
#4
You're overthinking it, if the Schecter feels good in your hands I'd say go for that.

If I'm not mistaken, Schecter was making replacement parts for Fender before they started making complete instruments, a bit of a cool history to start from.

I have a Fender Precision, Rickenbacker, EBMM Bongo5 and a Schecter that originally cost around $500 and still find myself reaching for it as it's comfortable to play. You're not missing anything by skipping Fender (although I like them as well).
 
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#6
I think many players are not Fender fans, although I don't know if they're a majority or even a sizeable minority. I'm not a Fender fan by default, because I play only 35" five string. But before I converted to the longer scale, I played a MIM 4-string P. To me it was a one-trick pony, greatly in need of modernizing touches.
 
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#9
You really can’t go wrong with the Schecter for playing metal.
But, you can play any type music on most basses.
As stated above, the Fender Precision is a standard that lets other people know you are a serious player.
Buying Used will let you get a higher quality bass for the same price, or same money toward your amp. Search stores like Guitar Center and Reverb for used basses online. You can sometimes find Open Box store display gear cheaper at places like MusiciansFriend or Zzounds.
 
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