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Totally Blind Multi-Bass Shootout

Which one did you prefer in context?

  • Betsy

    Votes: 3 7.7%

  • Delilah

    Votes: 7 17.9%

  • Fran

    Votes: 8 20.5%

  • Georgina

    Votes: 1 2.6%

  • Julia

    Votes: 2 5.1%

  • Laurie

    Votes: 2 5.1%

  • Melissa

    Votes: 4 10.3%

  • Nikki

    Votes: 6 15.4%

  • Shawna

    Votes: 4 10.3%

  • Susanna

    Votes: 2 5.1%
  • Total voters
    39
#44
I could be happy with the sound of any of these...depending on what I wanted to hear.
To me, the only "bad" bass sound is the one that doesn't work for the mix or the song.

Add to that - some of the most common basses can cover a huge range of sounds.

The humble Precision can do everything from Jamerson to Sid Vicious, a Jazz can take you from "Family Man" Barrett to Marcus Miller by way of Geddy Lee.

IMO the biggest differences between cheap basses and boutique basses are attention to detail and quality of parts/materials; differences that often feed directly into ergonomics and playability.

But hopefully the files give your friend an idea what will make his ears happy, then he can try out a bunch of basses in that style to see what makes his hands happy.
 
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#45
This was clearly a ton of work, thanks for putting this out here for everybody! I'm really interested to see the eventual preferences. As somebody who has the itch for a new bass, you've given me a lot to think about. I might have to DM you to know which is which :nailbiting:

Melissa - my #1. Well balanced between the low-mid growl that's my personal preference and nice highs.
Nikki - my #2. Similar notes to Melissa, but somehow just didn't like it as much.
Georgina probably my #3.
 
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#46
First of all, thanks for doing this. Very interesting.

Second of all, I'm surprised I'm the only person who voted for Susana! There were a few others I liked but I found the fret buzz on a couple of tracks distracting. Certainly not criticizing your playing. Trying to play that consistently between every track is hard enough as it is without me complaining about fret buzz. I do wonder about the setup/fret work on a few of those though...
 
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#47
groovaholic said:
I could be happy with the sound of any of these...depending on what I wanted to hear.
To me, the only "bad" bass sound is the one that doesn't work for the mix or the song.

Add to that - some of the most common basses can cover a huge range of sounds.

The humble Precision can do everything from Jamerson to Sid Vicious, a Jazz can take you from "Family Man" Barrett to Marcus Miller by way of Geddy Lee.

IMO the biggest differences between cheap basses and boutique basses are attention to detail and quality of parts/materials; differences that often feed directly into ergonomics and playability.

But hopefully the files give your friend an idea what will make his ears happy, then he can try out a bunch of basses in that style to see what makes his hands happy.
Click to expand...

I agree. Once you get to a certain point, the differences get less and less. Consistency from specimen to specimen get better too.

iplaybass said:
This was clearly a ton of work, thanks for putting this out here for everybody! I'm really interested to see the eventual preferences. As somebody who has the itch for a new bass, you've given me a lot to think about. I might have to DM you to know which is which :nailbiting:

Melissa - my #1. Well balanced between the low-mid growl that's my personal preference and nice highs.
Nikki - my #2. Similar notes to Melissa, but somehow just didn't like it as much.
Georgina probably my #3.
Click to expand...

Honestly, it was about an hour's worth of playing over and over. Not too bad. I had fun.

SuperTheBass said:
First of all, thanks for doing this. Very interesting.

Second of all, I'm surprised I'm the only person who voted for Susana! There were a few others I liked but I found the fret buzz on a couple of tracks distracting. Certainly not criticizing your playing. Trying to play that consistently between every track is hard enough as it is without me complaining about fret buzz. I do wonder about the setup/fret work on a few of those though...
Click to expand...

You got me. There's a few that I don't play too often that have shifted a bit and need some maintenance. That and the ones I take live with me are setup higher than what I keep around the house cuz I tend to dig in too hard when I play live. Trust me, I hear all of those things you're mentioning and they irked me on playback. But, for this purpose they served their purpose.
 
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#48
I was kinda hoping to start to see a trend in the choices but the votes are pretty well spread out between the different types. I'd love to see some more guesses on here before I post the whole summary. I've already messaged a good bit of you on DMs. One so far was almost spot on. Everybody else has had a clear preference on types but hasn't been too good at knowing what that type is exactly.
 
#51
Wito said:
I should clarify that I turned each bass track 6 db down, to sit where I'd like them to be, so with the original volume the differences may have stand out more. But with the mix there, even though I could tell that there were differences, none of the tracks really stood out, either in a good or bad way. Gun to the head, I'd pick Betsy for this track, but all of them would work. I see some of the basses with a more defined attack, like Melissa, working better in a more aggressive song, though.
Click to expand...
Any guess on what Betsy and Melissa might be?
 
#52
dune said:
I've often wondered if many recordings considered "classic and unmistakable P-bass tracks" were in fact recorded with something other than a Precision.
At the risk of sounding sacrilegious: On many classic recordings the bass sound was muddy, non-descript (beyond "muddy" that is :roflmao:) and practically buried in the mix.
Click to expand...
Can you pick the classic and unmistakable P bass?
 
#53
J-Fev said:
Solo, I like Delilah and Betsy quite a bit. In the mix, Melissa takes the lead with Nikki a contender also.

ETA: Of course, judicious application of EQ could change rankings quite a bit.
Click to expand...

socknroll1 said:
Nikki sounds best to me, so I voted for it, but I wonder if it just seems louder/clearer because it's a bit brighter.

Fran sounds most close to a P-bass, to me.

Delilah track would not play for me.

Thanks for sharing!
Click to expand...

Bar Band Bassman said:
Shawna, Delilah, Nikki
Click to expand...

Bar Band Bassman said:
Oh, now you're just teasing me! ;):thumbsup:

BBB
Click to expand...

stretch80 said:
Shawna, , Julia, Fran.
Many of them sounded more sustainy-bridge-pickupy than fits my taste.
But now I'd be interested to record one of my basses, and see if it actually sounds more that way.
Nice work, look forward to the reveal!
Click to expand...

LonesomeKris said:
Melissa
Click to expand...

kazuhank said:
This was fun! Thanks OP!

My ears liked Fran the most. I need to ask Georgina and Julia a few more questions before a second date.
Click to expand...

iplaybass said:
This was clearly a ton of work, thanks for putting this out here for everybody! I'm really interested to see the eventual preferences. As somebody who has the itch for a new bass, you've given me a lot to think about. I might have to DM you to know which is which :nailbiting:

Melissa - my #1. Well balanced between the low-mid growl that's my personal preference and nice highs.
Nikki - my #2. Similar notes to Melissa, but somehow just didn't like it as much.
Georgina probably my #3.
Click to expand...

SuperTheBass said:
First of all, thanks for doing this. Very interesting.

Second of all, I'm surprised I'm the only person who voted for Susana! There were a few others I liked but I found the fret buzz on a couple of tracks distracting. Certainly not criticizing your playing. Trying to play that consistently between every track is hard enough as it is without me complaining about fret buzz. I do wonder about the setup/fret work on a few of those though...
Click to expand...


Great comments all around. Any guesses as to what instrument your favorite female name/s was/were?
 
#57
Time for the big reveal. Below are the basses used and the names they all went by for this fun time.

Betsy - Warrior 5 String w/ Bartolini soapbars

Delilah - MusicMan DarkRay 5 string

Fran - Fender Parts P (MIM Alder Body, Musikraft Roasted Maple Neck, Handwound Josefina Campos P pickup)

Julia - Jackson minion ($180 28" bass) w/ EMG GZR P only

Georgina - same Jackson bass with GZR PJ on

Laurie - Serek Lincoln w/ neck pickup only (Double Serek Singles option)

Melissa - Mike Lull Thunderbird 5 string with both pickups.

Nikki - MIM Jazz w/ EMG pickups and John East pre

Shawna - Fender American Ultra P in Passive mode with PJ pickups

Suzanne - Fender American Ultra P in active mode with PJ pickups
 
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#59
This was fun!

In the context of the mix with the bass sitting a little lower than the original mix provided:
It's really hard to differentiate one from another.

I picked Georgina because it's what i would dial in term of tone for this kind of song.
I liked Nikki and Susanna as well.

Thanks for th work!

{Fluffin hell, i read the reveal and i picked the cheapest one, and i'm happy with it! it means in the context of the mix, the price of the bass does not matter.
Playing them maybe would have lead to another vote.}
 
Last edited:
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#60
BoogieZK said:
This was fun!

In the context of the mix with the bass sitting a little lower than the original mix provided:
It's really hard to differentiate one from another.

I picked Georgina because it's what i would dial in term of tone for this kind of song.
I liked Nikki and Susanna as well.

Thanks for th work!

{Fluffin hell, i read the reveal and i picked the cheapest one, and i'm happy with it! it means in the context of the mix, the price of the bass does not matter.
Playing them maybe would have lead to another vote.}
Click to expand...

That little Jackson with the GZRs sounds so good. It plays alright, but definitely not the same quality as the Warrior/Serek/Lull. It definitely punches above it's pricepoint by a long shot but I don't think I could make it my regular gigging bass. Just the size aspect of it alone makes it a little awkward on my 6'1" frame.
 

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