Psych rock bass guitar?

[MCF]

Need to upgrade guitars. Looking at fenders but open to other's. What's a solid psych rock bass?(highly vague question bare with me) Im a fan of PJ pickups versatility. Looking at a new mustang not sure about short scale tho. Can't decide if I dig a P bass and steering away from a Jazz bass. Just looking for some opinions

Thunderbird. Used Gibson or new Epi Vintage Pro.

 

[west al]

1968, Dickie Peterson of BLUE CHEER, a Fender Jazz.

 

[G19Tony]

Psychopathic rock?

The Poulan v. Stihl debate rages hotter than P v. J
View attachment 3058579

...........although the old-school purists say there's only ONE OPTION. Actually THEY SCREAM IT.
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[MattZilla]

Psychopathic rock?

The Poulan v. Stihl debate rages hotter than P v. J
View attachment 3058579

...........although the old-school purists say there's only ONE OPTION. Actually THEY SCREAM IT.
View attachment 3058580

the stihls pay the bills

I agree with: something kinda retro... active coffee table basses... DEFINITELY only 4 strings... quirky/rough around the edges/off-brand... something many might otherwise consider kind of a dog.

Like this spaced-jamming goof?

 

[dmt]

Two more short scale options:

Pawn Shop Mustang bass (Mustang with a humbucker) from a few years ago

Allen Woody Rumblekat

 

[Stranger Danger]

Corrected.
Never heard it referred to as just"Psych Rock"
Psychedelic.

Psych rock and psychedelic rock are completely different things. Confusing but true nonetheless

 

[dmt]

Psych rock and psychedelic rock are completely different things. Confusing but true nonetheless

Educate me —what's the difference?

 

[creaturegods]

Educate me —what's the difference?

When I think "psych rock," i think fuzzed-out, loud, sometimes spacey rock, like Thee Oh Sees, Of Montreal, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, etc.

Psychedelic rock, imo, is more in the vein of Strawberry Alarm Clock, The Doors, Kurt Vile, etc. More "vibey."

Also, I might be totally wrong and an idiot.

 

[2F/2F]

Can't go wrong with a P or a J. Gotta try to know. You might not like the necks of most P-Basses (they are traditionally wider and less tapered than J-Basses), but maybe you will.

 

[dmt]

I think no one has mentioned a Jack Casady bass.

Of course, a good ol' Precision or Jazz would be fine

 

[Korladis]

Need to upgrade guitars. Looking at fenders but open to other's. What's a solid psych rock bass?(highly vague question bare with me) Im a fan of PJ pickups versatility. Looking at a new mustang not sure about short scale tho. Can't decide if I dig a P bass and steering away from a Jazz bass. Just looking for some opinions

Fender Jaguar Bass (any version). Lakland Decade, G&L Kiloton, L1000, L1500, or L2000. Rickenbacker 4003. Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro or Jack Casady.

 

[dmt]

Actuallly, an MIJ Mustang bass is cool (or JMJ, or vintage, etc.).

The classic Mustang is a trippy little bass

 

[Korladis]

Once again I find myself baffled at how out of touch TB is.

I use a Rick in my psych rock band(s), seems it's not an uncommon choice. I mostly see Ps or Js at our gigs, with the occasional goofy vintage looking hollow/semi hollow.

Remember that in this genre looking cool is arguably more important than sounding cool, so if you want to buy a bass solely for this application I would suggest just going to reverb and getting the cheapest, weirdest looking bass made before 1980.

I would love to see more EB0s and EB3s cause I think they're awesome (and I love Jack Bruce) but they don't seem to be a very common choice for some reason.

Whatever you get, put flatwounds on it.

TB never ceases to astound me in how out of touch much of it is.

Definitely in the genre, old school but also quirky seems to be preferred.

An old slot-head EB-3 would be a good fit.

Hagstroms are old school but also weird.

Beat me to it.

Guild Starfire.

These are great.

I'd also say go for the old solid body Guilds as well. The B-301, 302, 401, 402.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Educate me —what's the difference?

Psychedelic rock-Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Phish and Widespread Panic are a few examples

Psych Rock-King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Of Montreal, Pontiak, Endless Boogie, etc


Very different sounds.

 

[40Hz]

Hagstroms are old school but also weird.

I'd also say go for the old solid body Guilds as well. The B-301, 302, 401, 402.

Agree. A Hagstrom III would do it nicely as would those Guilds - or a Ric 4005 if you had the requisite ratio of more money than brains to score one.

Of course a used Wal works with anything. And it gets that fwoomy psychedelic vibe better than just about anything.

For Gibson I'd opt for an SB-300 rather than an EB-3. But that's me. Possibly even a TBird - with the right strings and amp.

The possibilities are endless. But in the end it really comes down to knowing and respecting the genre and employing the right technique. Plus having a really good amp. Most of the old psychedelic bands just used whatever instruments they could get their hands on and made it work. So can anybody.

 

[Ric5]

Once again I find myself baffled at how out of touch TB is.

Now there is a quoteable statement!!

 

[40Hz]

Psychedelic rock-Pink Floyd, Jefferson Airplane, Grateful Dead, Phish and Widespread Panic are a few examples

Psych Rock-King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Of Montreal, Pontiak, Endless Boogie, etc


Vey different sounds.

Phish and GD aren't psychedelic rock IMO.

Iron Butterfly, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Vanilla Fudge, The Doors, Procol Harum, Frijid Pink, Floyd in the Syd Barret era, some of the Moody Blues, and one phase of the Beatles were however. By 1968 psychedelic was pretty much over, although the vestiges lingered on into the very early 70s and it's influences continued to be felt (most notably in Prog Rock) right up to the disco era.

 

[Stranger Danger]

Phish and GD aren't psychedelic rock IMO.

Iron Butterfly, Steppenwolf, Jefferson Airplane, Vanilla Fudge, The Doors, Procol Harum, Frijid Pink, Floyd in the Syd Barret era, some of the Moody Blues, and one phase of the Beatles were however. By 1968 psychedelic was pretty much over, although the vestiges lingered on into the very early 70s and it's influences continued to be felt (most notably in Prog Rock) right up to the disco era.

I went to quite a few Phish and Dead shows in the 90s. Trust me. They were plenty psychedelic.

 

[bearfoot]

I can't decide if this is pretty or hideous

Link Removed

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Need to upgrade guitars. Looking at fenders but open to other's. What's a solid psych rock bass?(highly vague question bare with me) Im a fan of PJ pickups versatility. Looking at a new mustang not sure about short scale tho. Can't decide if I dig a P bass and steering away from a Jazz bass. Just looking for some opinions

Fender precision deluxe. It's a PJ. Sounds amazing

Almost bought this one