Rock Bass for Guitarist

[cratz2]

I'd say for someone just wanting a general bass for rock and they aren't quite sure exactly what they are looking for, a Precision or a PJ bass will be pretty tough to beat.

Ibanez makes pretty nice entry level basses.

If you weren't against rosewood, my recommendation would be for a Squier Vintage Modified PJ bass.

Good luck.

 

[tyohars]

If you're looking for Ebony board under US$400, why not looking for Sire V3? If I remember correctly, all their 2nd gen basses use either maple or ebony

 

[BM7716]

P Bass, It’s all you need

 

[LowRick]

Probably one of the few saying it, but the SBMM Ray would be my choice.

Oh and be sure to wash your hands before you touch a bass. Is what i always say to my guitarist... Something to do with him getting all the women i guess...

 

[Wisebass]

Hi Moble

Welcome to TB and...

I can't find a bass player to record my tune so I'm looking at basses now. It's a rock song so I want to have a punchy sound.

Welcome to the "deep" side of the force!

What you need is a bass that you don' t have to fight!

A neck profile that is comfortable to you is a must!

Maple or ebony board (not rosewood)

Maple is great and not expensive!

bodywood: alder or basswood OK?

Both are okay soundwise, but alder is harder. When you hate dings and scratches look for alder.

What about electronics?

Cheap active electronics tend to be noisy. (on recordings that can be a pain in your lower back!)

I would get a passive bass or a bass that can do active and passive (switch or push/pull pot).

Do I need a neck pickup?

Having two pups can be great, but it is not a must. (hard to tell what you need )

I have both types (single pickup basses and two pickup basses)

On a single pup bass I change my right hand technic, to get a variety of different sounds.

I prefer recording that way (but I am a bassplayer! )

My brother in law (guitarist and keyboarder) always borrows my Jazz bass…

He enjoys the slim neck profile and the different sounds he can get combining the two pups!

HEre are some.

Out of your list….

This one! (But always try before you buy!!!!)

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may the bass be with you

Wise(b)ass

 

[beaglesandbass]

Rather than invest in something you might only use once, I would say just ask around here or try fiver and pay someone to write a line for you.

 

[gln1955]

Forget about woods. Rosewood, maple, pau ferro, its all fine. Alder, ash, basswood, any will work. What's way more important is pickup config and strings and especially the player knowing how to get the sound they want from whatever they are playing.

I'd go with an inexpensive passive P/J. Squier would be good as any in that price range.

 

[two fingers]

Fender Mexican P-Bass, 90's w/extras lowest price on Reverb 90's as shown

(No affiliation)

 

[edro]

I've a Sq VM 70's with Dunlop SB strings... Massive tone...
Versatile bass, records great, and plays like a dream...

I prefer J or PJ.

You can attenuate the too much but you cannot create the ain't there...
tao of edro

 

[knumbskull]

so was this just a sly way of doing a "bass player wanted" ad?

 

[40Hz]

Punch and tone are extremely dependent on how you play. If you’re worried about things like the body and fingerboard woods, you’re way overthinking things.

A used Squire Precision strung with rounds or a set of Chromes - and you playing fingerstyle in the area between the neck and directly over the pickup - will get you all the punchy rock vibe you’ll ever need. And for under $400 easy.

You can make things a lot more complicated and expensive for yourself than that if you want to. But around 80% of every rock song you ever heard got recorded using a PB.

 

[Loring]

Rosewood is soft and dull. I dislike it.

Yeah - that’s why my strings vibrate from the fret to the bridge...

You looking for a fretless?

 

[SteveHeissner]

Squier VM or CV Precision bass stock. No mods other than putting your favorite brand of flats or chromes on it. Rock-n-roll machine.

 

[TeamScorpioRI]

I would suggest a P-Bass. Fairly easy to find and they are easy to mix in, especially when there are multiple layers of guitars taking up the sonic space. The P-Bass just sits nicely in the mix without alot of effort.

 

[4001]

Here's one:
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/JBassCV70Blk--squier-classic-vibe-70s-jazz-bass-black

 

[Lava]

Punchy Rock:
1. Fender/Squier P Bass
2. Music Man/Sterling, SUB, etc...

 

[MDBass]

Steve Harris, Billy Sheehan, Michael Anthony.

The tune is more like a modern progressive metal, like Dream Theater. I'm not ready to show it yet. I did one take for the main solo. I need to clean everything up, add bass, work on levels and panning.

There are A LOT of guitar lines on it now so I want to add keys to have those replace the guitar parts for a more sophisticated arrangement.

All three bass players you mentioned liking the sound of used a P bass or some variation of it: if that’s the sound you want, that’s the bass you need.

 

[Loring]

Steve Harris, Billy Sheehan, Michael Anthony.

None of whom sound even remotely alike. Not in tone. Not in style - nothing.

Truth is - any bass is capable of getting a good rock tone. It comes down to specific subtleties that you are looking for. Since the above go from perfect to super mid forward to blah - maybe you don’t really know what you’re looking for.

The above are mostly finger style players also. With you coming from guitar - you may be tempted to play with a pick - this will yield a much greater difference in tone than choice of bass...

 

[Loring]

All three bass players you mentioned liking the sound of used a P bass or some variation of it: if that’s the sound you want, that’s the bass you need.

Not even remotely true... they all sound very different from one another. One uses flats, one uses a Yamaha that is hugely mid forward.

 

[cchorney]

It might be cheaper to use a hired gun. Pro Session Bassists For Hire - AirGigs.com