Hey Crew:
I'm one of those geezers who's pretty much had only one bass for most of his playing life. Mine happens to be the '66 Jazz bass my dad bought me back in 1978 or so. With the exception of a period of about 2 years during which the bass went missing (stolen, recovered, sat in insurance agent's office) it's been my main gigging bass.
I'll never sell it, but I'm getting leery of taking it out on gigs; a lot of players are getting their gear stolen right off the bandstand in this town. Thinking about retiring the Jazz and going in a different direction, and needing some guidance.
Style-wise, I mostly play and sub in cover bands that cover a wide range. I shoot for a well rounded tone with lots of warmth and a good amount of punch. I play upright as well, so I don't really have an issue adapting to different neck shapes and thicknesses.
I play only semiprofessionally, and I can't see spending a whole lot more than $1000 - a price point that would not be too painful or hard to replace if the thing went missing. Here are some the models I've been looking at:
Cort Rithimic 4 string: Heard some great things and not-so-great things about them. I like it's simplicity, and I'm also a fan of JB's playing. The YouTube demos I've heard have been promising, but some have described the tone as "anemic." Anyone have personal experience with this bass?
Cort B4 Plus RM: I play a bunch of different styles, so versatility of having the active option intrigues me. Cort seems to be a well-respected brand, usually cited as giving a lot of bang for the buck quality-wise.
Fender Vintera: Sounds like it would be very close to my '66; it's even offered in my bass's custom color, Firemist Gold Metallic. Would probably be a very smooth transition from my present bass.
Squier Classic Vibe Jazz bass: Another "clone" of my present bass and very economical, though it sounds like these are usually heavily modded with replacement hardware.
I know Ibanez is often listed as having good options in this price range as well (are they made at the Cort factory as well?).
I guess what I value most out of the instrument is good playability and a warm, punchy sound as its baseline. I have not been bass shopping literally in decades - enlighten me!
I'm one of those geezers who's pretty much had only one bass for most of his playing life. Mine happens to be the '66 Jazz bass my dad bought me back in 1978 or so. With the exception of a period of about 2 years during which the bass went missing (stolen, recovered, sat in insurance agent's office) it's been my main gigging bass.
I'll never sell it, but I'm getting leery of taking it out on gigs; a lot of players are getting their gear stolen right off the bandstand in this town. Thinking about retiring the Jazz and going in a different direction, and needing some guidance.
Style-wise, I mostly play and sub in cover bands that cover a wide range. I shoot for a well rounded tone with lots of warmth and a good amount of punch. I play upright as well, so I don't really have an issue adapting to different neck shapes and thicknesses.
I play only semiprofessionally, and I can't see spending a whole lot more than $1000 - a price point that would not be too painful or hard to replace if the thing went missing. Here are some the models I've been looking at:
Cort Rithimic 4 string: Heard some great things and not-so-great things about them. I like it's simplicity, and I'm also a fan of JB's playing. The YouTube demos I've heard have been promising, but some have described the tone as "anemic." Anyone have personal experience with this bass?
Cort B4 Plus RM: I play a bunch of different styles, so versatility of having the active option intrigues me. Cort seems to be a well-respected brand, usually cited as giving a lot of bang for the buck quality-wise.
Fender Vintera: Sounds like it would be very close to my '66; it's even offered in my bass's custom color, Firemist Gold Metallic. Would probably be a very smooth transition from my present bass.
Squier Classic Vibe Jazz bass: Another "clone" of my present bass and very economical, though it sounds like these are usually heavily modded with replacement hardware.
I know Ibanez is often listed as having good options in this price range as well (are they made at the Cort factory as well?).
I guess what I value most out of the instrument is good playability and a warm, punchy sound as its baseline. I have not been bass shopping literally in decades - enlighten me!
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