Seeking a Bass /w a Strong Low-End

[MisterMagician]

To back what the Capt. said, Spectors are the way to go. Their low B (with the 35" scale) makes the low B tight and responsive while pushing a lot of air. Also, Ive noticed that the Spectors put out DOUBLE the output of the Musicman's (which I love, the musicman's that is...so dont take that as a knock of any kind). Good Luck!

There are two Spector Dealers near where I live.

I am going to check them out today.

 

[ihateusernames]

excellent - you're sure to love the sound.

 

[MisterMagician]

I Found this Spector that really handled smoothly and sounded powerful.

I am having trouble identifying it though...

The tag said it was a slate-grey Spector Legend 5 Custom, but it had an interesting PU combo (a single-coil EMGHZ in the middle position, and an EMGHZ humbucker in the bridge position) and bolt-on neck which are not currently listed as being offered for that line.


Anyone have any more info in this type of model?

 

[Flintlock]

Maybe it's not the bass, but the amplifier? I mean to me surely a quick tweak in action could make your bass have a hotter output. If you don't like the tone of your low end then that could be something different, but for lack of that deep boom I'd look at your amp or cab first.

 

[amper]

The longer your B string, the better it's going to sound. I'd have to say the gold star goes to those fanned-fret Dingwalls with the 37" or so scale length B string.

 

[flipper_gv]

Warwick $$ has some massive low end

 

[Bassist4Life]

quadrogong beat me to it - what's your amp setup like? That will be much more of a factor when it comes to car-alarm activating low end. With the right amp set up you make almost any bass sound like thunder.

+1

You can rock the low end with just about any bass.

 

[MisterMagician]

Warwick $$ has some massive low end

And is twice my budget

+1

You can rock the low end with just about any bass.

Is it so wrong to just want a new Bass?

 

[Bassist4Life]

And is twice my budget


Is it so wrong to just want a new Bass?

Maybe you want a new amp too.

 

[Visirale]

The longer your B string, the better it's going to sound. I'd have to say the gold star goes to those fanned-fret Dingwalls with the 37" or so scale length B string.

This statement is false.

 

[MisterMagician]

Maybe you want a new amp too.

I would love a new one, I just have no more space in my house for another huge piece of hardware.

 

[amper]

This statement is false.

This statement is trollish, and nothing more than your personal opinion. If you would like to have an adult conversation about why, in your opinion, my statement is false, be mature enough to offer arguments to support your opinion.

 

[Visirale]

This statement is trollish, and nothing more than your personal opinion. If you would like to have an adult conversation about why, in your opinion, my statement is false, be mature enough to offer arguments to support your opinion.

Because, there are basses with 34" b strings that are amazing (I own two of them) and there are 35" b's that suck. Setup, string choice, the bridge, and just about everything else seems to affect B string quality more than scale length. I do like the dingwall B. But for the most part, I don't buy that 35" makes a better B string. Add that to what it does for the tone of the other strings, and I just don't really like it all that much. It's been discussed here many times, in very adult manners, by me and others.

 

[mynan]

This statement is trollish, and nothing more than your personal opinion. If you would like to have an adult conversation about why, in your opinion, my statement is false, be mature enough to offer arguments to support your opinion.

How can you make such a blanket statement like the one you made about something that is subject to so many variables and not expect to get called on it?...unless you are the one trolling.

 

[amper]

Because, there are basses with 34" b strings that are amazing (I own two of them) and there are 35" b's that suck. Setup, string choice, the bridge, and just about everything else seems to affect B string quality more than scale length. I do like the dingwall B. But for the most part, I don't buy that 35" makes a better B string. Add that to what it does for the tone of the other strings, and I just don't really like it all that much. It's been discussed here many times, in very adult manners, by me and others.

Much better.

I agree with you, there are many aspects of bass construction and setup that can and will affect the response of a given design. It is well-known that the StingRay 5 has what is considered to be one of the best B strings extant, despite its 34" scale length. In fact, in Bass Player Magazine's long-ago (mid 1990's?) test of 5-string basses, I believe the StingRay 5 placed at or near the top, even in comparison to a Dingwall. I can't find the issue right now, because all my mags are packed up, and BP doesn't seem to have it online anymore.

However, all other things being equal, a longer scale length will result in a better fundamental response, mainly because of the physics of the string dictate that as the scale length is reduced, mass per unit length must be increased to maintain the same frequency, which has deleterious effects (in my opinion) on harmonic response, if your goal is "solid bottom end", because as the mass increases, the balance of the overtones generated begins to shift toward the upper partials. Since the topic of this discussion is "basses with a strong bottom end", I think my statement stands on its own.