Lol. Logged in just to make a troll post... hasn’t been on since.
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Unimpressed by Fender basses
- Thread starter IbanezSDGR2
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In a sincere response:
OP, I noticed you said you had 2 years of bass playing. Let me just tell you that you learn very little in that amount of time as to what brands/models fit the genres of music you prefer. My brief history with bass started 20 years ago in middle-school. I bought a 5-string washburn because, literally, it had more controls and I thought that made it better. Fender P's looked to be "cheap" because they had one pickup, and two controls. What could I do with that!? I also thought they sounded flat and boring (aka classic motown thump that I didn't appreciate). I had no idea what I was doing.
Flash forward, I got into prog-rock and wanted a fast-playing bass so I bought a......way for it.....Ibanez Soundgear SR500. I loved that thing. Played it for a decade straight. Super light, beautiful color, amazingly thin neck. It was perfect for my preferred style.
Flash forward again, I am now jamming with some dudes playing blues/rock and low and behold, my Ibby has no "umph" and is barely cutting through. Also, I didn't have the vocabulary at the time, but what I didn't notice was that it was too "modern" sounding. Too crisp, too sterile. So I went on craigslist and found a 2011 American Special P-Bass that is without a doubt my best axe, (after a proper setup and some d'addario chrome flats).
Someone said it before that you will have one in your arsenal if you keep playing seriously! Note, I said seriously. The reason is because fender P's are ubiquitous with rock/blues which is to say most modern pop as well. It's tone and place in the mix has been passively voted upon by the masses as arguably the most pleasant accompaniment to most genres of music. Its like, trying to cook and having no salt! Most people will notice. And the people who don't are lying!
In short, I too loved the SDGRs for what they are. But it is far more limited in scope than fender Ps. YMMV. Enjoy the journey bud!
-Flacco
OP, I noticed you said you had 2 years of bass playing. Let me just tell you that you learn very little in that amount of time as to what brands/models fit the genres of music you prefer. My brief history with bass started 20 years ago in middle-school. I bought a 5-string washburn because, literally, it had more controls and I thought that made it better. Fender P's looked to be "cheap" because they had one pickup, and two controls. What could I do with that!? I also thought they sounded flat and boring (aka classic motown thump that I didn't appreciate). I had no idea what I was doing.
Flash forward, I got into prog-rock and wanted a fast-playing bass so I bought a......way for it.....Ibanez Soundgear SR500. I loved that thing. Played it for a decade straight. Super light, beautiful color, amazingly thin neck. It was perfect for my preferred style.
Flash forward again, I am now jamming with some dudes playing blues/rock and low and behold, my Ibby has no "umph" and is barely cutting through. Also, I didn't have the vocabulary at the time, but what I didn't notice was that it was too "modern" sounding. Too crisp, too sterile. So I went on craigslist and found a 2011 American Special P-Bass that is without a doubt my best axe, (after a proper setup and some d'addario chrome flats).
Someone said it before that you will have one in your arsenal if you keep playing seriously! Note, I said seriously. The reason is because fender P's are ubiquitous with rock/blues which is to say most modern pop as well. It's tone and place in the mix has been passively voted upon by the masses as arguably the most pleasant accompaniment to most genres of music. Its like, trying to cook and having no salt! Most people will notice. And the people who don't are lying!
In short, I too loved the SDGRs for what they are. But it is far more limited in scope than fender Ps. YMMV. Enjoy the journey bud!
-Flacco
You're blamimg a bass that's not set up well. You're ibanez wouldn't feel any better if not set up properly. Good luck.
So you're unimpressed that you tried a guitar hanging on the wall at guitar center that needed a setup. That's like saying you test drove a car and didn't like it because the steering wheel was set too high and the seat was back too far.
I wasn’t impressed with the Ibanez Talman because the strings on that thing were super annoying. Just awful.
My set ups are low action flat board, I practice all the time and my tone isn’t sacrificed???
ordered a sadowsky and not impressed at all. it came in a cardboard box full of padding and the actual bass was in some freaking case. tried playing the box and it was terrible. why should i have to unbox the bass?!
Someone offered me a pizza with anchovies, so I took a bite. Yuck! I hate anchovies. I don't understand why anyone would ever eat pizza, clearly ice cream is better (no anchovies).
For twelve bucks, I'd expect to get something without anchovies. Pizza sucks.
For twelve bucks, I'd expect to get something without anchovies. Pizza sucks.
Yeah, neck profies between an Ibby and a Fender couldn't be more different. I've been hot and cold toward Fenders ever since I started playing, and that's due to most of them having setups that don't appeal to me. So it's difficult to find the gems. I have played some mighty good Fenders though, so they're out there. I played a 4 string fretted Jazz at Flores in Peoria a few months back that had me considering selling my Skjold for LOL
The anchovies weren’t properly cooked. Obviously. Duh.
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I only got serious about pets about 2 years ago so I had never actually owned a dog before. But today I looked at a rescue puppy at the pound. Unimpressed! He did not have a collar or a leash. Hair too long, but then I'm used to my parakeet. I would expect much better. I tried out a cat. That was a little better but still no collar.
My strings were so far away from the neck, they were hanging on the wall.
The thing about a bass is that if you don't like it you don't have to play it. Some people feel at home with Fender, some people feel at home with Ibanez. Both people can make basslines happen. You don't have to like a bass because lots of other people like it. But also, "don't yuck someone else's yum" is about as basic as "politeness and respect" can be.
Action and your technique are 2 things that need to be married for maximum results - high action isn't the answer for everyone, and neither is low action. I use relatively low (but not super low) action and a straighter than normal neck, which works with my technique - higher on the neck, I get clean action easily; lower on the neck , I can get some grind going on fairly easily. That helps facilitate a range of tones, so my playing isn't always the same vibe.
Oh,....string tension is also a big part of the equation.
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"Strings too far from fretboard" is not a characteristic of a bass, unless it's broken.It's a setting. That's what the truss rod and adjustable bridge saddles are for -- adjusting how far the string are from the fretboard.
There are plenty of valid reasons to like or not like a Fender, but this isn't one of them.
There are plenty of valid reasons to like or not like a Fender, but this isn't one of them.
Does your parakeet have a collar and leash???
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