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Top 5 Basses around $1500

#44
capnsandwich said:
Here's a pic of my 2 week old Cirrus:

CIMG1332.jpg
Click to expand...
How quickly she get's pushed to the side. ;)
 
#45
Wow, I have a USA G&L and a USA Cirrus, and I have a Peavey Patriot bass that I got for $50 off craigslist.

The $50 Peavey Patriot is superior to the other two in some aspects. It has a solid P-bass style neck with tiny frets - playability is phenomenal.

Considering that $1500 can get you A) a Warwick with a huge fat neck and Bartolinis, or B) a USA Fender Jazz with a skinny neck and single coils, or C) a USA Cirrus with a thin neck and dual humbuckers, or D) a MM Stingray with a medium neck and a single humbucker, and that's not even getting into the 6 strings....

Yeah, go ahead. Just pick the "best" bass you can get for $1500. :rolleyes:

BTW, I completely disagree with "50% ability, 50% tools," but that's just my 22 years of playing experience talking. It's more like "90% ability, 10% tools" and as long as the tools aren't a mess, they get the full 10% score.
 
#47
Jason P Bass said:
...It's more like "90% ability, 10% tools" and as long as the tools aren't a mess, they get the full 10% score.
Click to expand...

+1

I'll tell you how I feel about that once I get my BFD speaker built, but I mostly agree. Skill is definitely a bigger piece of the pie than gear. However skill (more so tone), can be limited by lack of decent gear. This can be very discouraging to a beginner bassist. I had friends that ran into this problem. Put them on a nice bass and they really shined.
 
#49
capnsandwich said:
You can scratch out Fodera, even the NYC's. They'll run you $2000+ used, and the Imperials, Emperors, Monarchs, etc. will run you $5000+ used on a good day. I was actually in your shoes, kind of, after I played a Fodera Emperor BO 6'er. I loved the feel and the tone of that bass, just couldn't afford the $5000 it took to buy it used. I shopped around for a decent 6 string and a Peavey Cirrus 6'er fell in my lap at $800 BRAND NEW!!! I lie not. It has a redwood top and a maple FB. there's a maple top one in the classifieds for around $950 I think. They can be had for around the price you're looking to spend.

There's also Gibson Tobiases, Elricks, Warriors (as mentioned), MTD's (not USA), etc. Look around during your time of working and saving. Also, shop around and play stuff too. AND DON'T, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SETTLE FOR SOMETHING LESS!!! YOU'LL HATE YOURSELF LATER.

Here's a pic of my 2 week old Cirrus:

CIMG1332.jpg
Click to expand...

I was playing around with the peavey bass factory thing and came up with one very close to that. It's a very beautiful bass!

stflbn said:
That's a pretty drastic jump going from a Squire P-bass to a 'best $1500 bass'.

Honestly... and personally... I'd test some different models and designs of basses prior to committing to a $1500 6-string bass. The jump from a basic P-bass to a 6-string is pretty large, and unless you're ready 'technically' you may find that you end up primarily playing hte old Squier and the 6-string sitting idle.

IMHO.

.
Click to expand...

I see your point, but for me I have to disagree. I think that the squire would be sitting around more. and not because it's a squire but because I'd be to busy messing around with the 6er. I've played a couple 6ers before and it won't be that hard for me to make the switch.

As for the 5 stringer comments, I'm not geeting the 6 just for the low B. I need both the low B and the high C. I've got at least 3 reasons currently for getting a 6 string: 1) For certain Primus songs (yes, I'm a Primus fan), 2) My bass line for my guitarist's new song will be much easier and cooler, 3) I like to experiment. And I feel a 6 string will suit my needs for that well.
Those are just a few points but I hope that explains it a little better.


So far a Peavey Cirrus is the most likely. But I'm still looking just in case.
Thanks for all the input guys!
 
#55
If your budget is 1500, your best bet for a bass that will totally satisfy what you would want in a new instrument would be a Carvin bass. I have had an XB75p for about 7 years now and it has been my one and only pro level bass. Tone wise, it has been able to handle every genre from rock to blues, jazz, fusion, country, and anything else i've been asked to play. My bass has A LOT of hours on it from gigging in all kinds of North East US weather in various bands, to playing 40 hours per week for several years on cruise ships, it has been a true work horse. The only work I've had done to it is the occasional set up and check up. Nothing else. For your budget, you'll be able to pick out everything about the bass you would care to have, and get a mean bass in the process. I highly recommend the p series upgrade. you can check out sound clips from my carvin from a live gig at myspace.com/jaredcraigmusic . That gig was through an ashdown evo II head and a mesa 1x15 powerhouse cab. Go carvin. I mean, if nothing else, just check out the website for all the options. It wouldn't hurt to check out bunny brunel and sekou bunch's playing on carvin instruments to see what they can do. Why settle for a peavy, foreign mtd series, or music store shelf warwick when you really could have an fantastic sounding bass from carvin that will last you for as long as you will play?
 
#57
Sherwood said:
You settled for something less, though, right? Or do you consider the Peavey to be the equal of the Fodera?
Click to expand...

Don't let the price tag or Peavey logo fool ya. Sure, the bass won't be built to the perfection of something like a Fodera, but the Cirrus is one of the best "production" basses I've ever played in terms of action, ergonomics, and overall reliability. If you're patient, you can probably find one used on TB for about $1k or so. Most of the custom options are neat but largely cosmetic.

Depending on your goals as a bassist, I would agree that it's very beneficial to play a bass that's not holding you back.
 
#58
capnsandwich said:
You can scratch out Fodera, even the NYC's. They'll run you $2000+ used, and the Imperials, Emperors, Monarchs, etc. will run you $5000+ used on a good day. I was actually in your shoes, kind of, after I played a Fodera Emperor BO 6'er. I loved the feel and the tone of that bass, just couldn't afford the $5000 it took to buy it used. I shopped around for a decent 6 string and a Peavey Cirrus 6'er fell in my lap at $800 BRAND NEW!!! I lie not. It has a redwood top and a maple FB. there's a maple top one in the classifieds for around $950 I think. They can be had for around the price you're looking to spend.

There's also Gibson Tobiases, Elricks, Warriors (as mentioned), MTD's (not USA), etc. Look around during your time of working and saving. Also, shop around and play stuff too. AND DON'T, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, SETTLE FOR SOMETHING LESS!!! YOU'LL HATE YOURSELF LATER.

Here's a pic of my 2 week old Cirrus:

CIMG1332.jpg
Click to expand...

Cirrus is gr8 bass and they can hang w the $5000 basses. Peavey did this bass right. Peavey bar none! The neck will not overwhelm you it's not to wide or clunky cause it's too fat. The Cirrus has a thinner neck profile than almost all other 6ers out there and the string spacing is excellent.
 
#60
I'd put a +1 for Carvin. I've used an XB75PF for several years now,and it has been a PLEASURE to play. For the bucks spent,you can build your own and have it in 6 weeks or so.Carvin's quality is EXTRAORDINARY and their service is SUPER should you need any work done on it.I give them a 2-thumbs up.
Kent:bassist:
 

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