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Should I Replace My Bass...?

E

Euthanasia

Jul 8, 2006
29
0
#1
Hallo people..!:)

I am a guitar player and a home studio owner.
I play and compose mostly meta, modern metal (metalcore, meshuggah style, nevermore style...), with 7 string guitar and 5 string bass, downtuned to A.
I record my own material at home so i needed bass, and i got one 1992' Ibanez SR 885 with jazz pickups, for really cheap.

I wanted once to sell it and to buy another one because i wanted a bass guitar which have humbuckers on it because its more powerful, aggressive and silent, but people kept on telling me that seling this guitar for the guitar i wanted at the time (Schecter deluxe 5) will be a mistake because this guitar has a better quallity of wood and construction...

Now, once again, i want a new guitar, with humbuckers, and this time, an EXTENDED SCALE too, because i tune my guitars down to A...
So i got couple of ideas for the money i got:
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My questions are:
1. Should I keep my guitar and carve it + buy 2 new humbucker pickups for it?
2. if the answer is YES, should i put some EMG's on it or Bartoloni's? and what exact model? (dont forget what type of music i play the most, but i want it to be versatile too...) If it helps - i use to add some overdrive to my bass sound...
3. If the answer is NO, which guitar will give me the best value for the money? Or maby you have something else to offer?
i dont know MUCH about bass because i am a guitar player, but what do you consider as better/fits my style better - Mahagony or Basswood? Bolt-on or Neck-through?
4. If you think i should buy one of those Schecters, do you think i should replace the EMG-HZ for active EMG's?

Thats about it... i am waiting for your answers...
Thanks people!
And have a good day! ;)
 
#2
keep it, mod it with Delano, Norstrand or some other fully passive pup. In fact you could install a humbucking J style pup - which other than the wiring would keep your bass "stock" and silent.

Keep in mind that single coils can be very "aggressive" sounding, often more so than humbuckers. If I want some snarl and attack I'll go to single coil on my basses that are wired to accomodate this.
 
#3
ok couple of things:
* i never heard about the pickup brands you mentiond before
they must be expensive. plus, i didnt hear about them and i am mainly a guitar player so i think i should go in the safe way of EMG or Bartolini. am i right?
*why passive and not active? doesnt active pickups should fit my kind of music and the use of overdrive more?
the same thing with single and humbucker...
 
#5
Euthanasia said:
i thaught people will answer BASS QUESTIONS in the BASS FORUM.
Click to expand...

They do. It just seems like you know what you want already. Getting nasty won't get you any love here...

If you want EMG's or Barts, then go get them. I don't think the EMG's will get you the sound you're after. You can't really apply the "They work well on guitar so they must work well on bass" theory though...because it isn't the case. Some people like them and some don't. Les Claypool likes them, I don't...and I'm not alone.
 
#7
You're clearly not happy with the Soundgear, and the price of routing and replacing the pickups with humbuckers would most likely cost you more than selling the bass and buying the ont you want. Also, you can't mod the 885 to have a longer scale length, so I'd advise against throwing your money into modding it. I'd also wait until I tried the new bass out in the studio before getting a new set of pickups for it; you might like it just as it is.
 
#8
bassgod0dmw - I didnt meant to sound nasty. sorry about that.
and i dont really like how emg work on electric guitars...

rockwarnick - yeah, that helped me alot...
i am sorry, but english is not my mother languege.

danomite64 - my ibanez feels good and sounds good, but i think an active humbackers will work better for me, and the strings are a bit floppy on a 1 step down tuning... maby i should just buy a thicker gauge of stings? i dont really sure what is mine.. i think the 5th is 130 or 125...

and for the other questions i asked:
mahagony vs. baswood
bolt on vs. neck through

and which bass of those i showd will be the best value for the money?
 
#10
You can always look at the ESP F-405FM

f-405FM_STBLK.jpg


http://www.espguitars.com/

Construction / Scale : Neck-Thru-Body / 35”
Body : Mahogany w/ Flamed Maple Top
Neck / Fingerboard : 5-Pc. Maple-Walnut / Rosewood
Nut Type / Width : Standard / 47mm
Neck Shape : Extra Thin U
Inlays : Custom Tribal
Frets : 24 XJ
Bridge / Tailpiece
Pickups : EMG 40DC Active Set
Electronics :Vol / Bal w/ EMG B64 3-Band Active EQ

Sounds like your ticket. Shame about the looks. Too metal for me, bordering cheesy.

EMG pickups are popular in metal (Spectors, ESP, Schecter). Generalising, but Bartolinis are considered warmer, EMG have more of a clean, modern tone. Clean deep bass, crunchy highs. Neckthrough improves sustain, so does the long scale, just like the guitars. As for tone woods, I don't know exactly how much of an impact it has in a neckthrough. But mahogany is heavier than basswood (very light, like swamp ash). Mahogany is suppose to give nice punchy lows.

my $0.02.
 
#11
SurrenderMonkey said:
You can always look at the ESP F-405FM

f-405FM_STBLK.jpg


http://www.espguitars.com/

Construction / Scale : Neck-Thru-Body / 35”
Body : Mahogany w/ Flamed Maple Top
Neck / Fingerboard : 5-Pc. Maple-Walnut / Rosewood
Nut Type / Width : Standard / 47mm
Neck Shape : Extra Thin U
Inlays : Custom Tribal
Frets : 24 XJ
Bridge / Tailpiece
Pickups : EMG 40DC Active Set
Electronics :Vol / Bal w/ EMG B64 3-Band Active EQ

Sounds like your ticket. Shame about the looks. Too metal for me, bordering cheesy.

EMG pickups are popular in metal (Spectors, ESP, Schecter). Generalising, but Bartolinis are considered warmer, EMG have more of a clean, modern tone. Clean deep bass, crunchy highs. Neckthrough improves sustain, so does the long scale, just like the guitars. As for tone woods, I don't know exactly how much of an impact it has in a neckthrough. But mahogany is heavier than basswood (very light, like swamp ash). Mahogany is suppose to give nice punchy lows.

my $0.02.
Click to expand...

It looks like this ESP will be great too.
how much should it cost? where is it made in?
and does it have the quallity those other basses i showed have? (looks like alot of the money i will pay for it will go for how it looks and not for it's wood and construction quality...)
 
#13
SurrenderMonkey said:
ESP is a well respected manufacturer. It's not just about the looks, they are quality. This model is brand new 2007.

ESP LTD F255 : 540 euros / $470
ESP LTD F405 : 870 euros / $760 (estimated)

prices : http://www.thomann.de , http://www.musiciansfriend.com
Click to expand...

damn!! i felt like its gonna be expensive...
i think those cheaper ibanez or schecter will fit me aswell and will be cheaper - an importent thing...
 
#14
Yeah, schecter or ibby should do fine for metal. Which one, I guess it's a matter of personnal preference. They both have their fans, and quality-wise, sound as a pound. I would go with schecters, personnaly. I like the look of the custom, there don;t seem to be much difference between te custom and the elite. Same pickups apparently, same everything except the finish.

EDIT : Oh right. One is bolt on, one is neckthrough. hmm.... I'd go with the NT, personnal preference.
 
#15
someone told me bolt on will be better for a rock-metal sound. is that true?
i know it sounds brighter with bolt-on... maby it will be better for bass, with such a low tune, and a mahagony body (alot of low end...)...
and most basses, even the really expensive ones, like warwick, musicman, and some tobias are bolt ons... so what you think i should take?
 
#17
this thread is going to cause so much pain and agony i can just feel it :hiding:

anyway, to the matter at hand, since you play metal and other heavier stuff, i'd suggest going with active pickups, nordstrand pickups are usually nice, but im not sure how they respond tonally, but buying high end active pickups with an active preamp will run you as much as it will to buy a new bass, but it basically comes down to whether you like the sound you get from the basses you like to see, and the pickups you want to get, very tough decision, im also debating on what to do with my own bass.
 

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