Upgrade Advise

[AlDmz54]

Returned to practicing bass after a 20 yr lay-off. Got hands on an Ibanez GSR 200 this past summer and been practicing religiously everyday. I am itching to upgrade back into a new Fender, i.e. Deluxe Active Jbass or a Fender Blacktop Jbass. At this point in my resurgence to bass playing, should I save a few bucks as go with a passive bass or go with the active Deluxe bass. Also, I have small hands and the Ibanez GSR200 I am playing right now has medium frets. I realize that upgrading will involve getting used to medium-jumbo or jumbo frets. Is this something I should take into consideration on my purchase? I'll take all advice as I am a beginner (chop-wise) all over again. Al D

 

[Kaarenonstad]

Hi. Welcome back to the bass. I wouldnt worry about the fret size. That is more of a strength issue than reach. Technique in the wrist and finger placement are important, length of fingers is not.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

As one of the people that have small hands, finger size does matter. On most of the "patterns" I have to slide the pattern to catch all the notes, I find that that is not a big deal, just a fact of life.

If you have a music store close by, go try out everything they have and then make up your mind. We have no idea how small your hands are -- and we all seem to adapt to what we have to work with.

Good luck.

 

[Harlan]

A medium scale bass may be a good choice. 32" scale basses are not hard to come by. As far as active or passive, that's something for you to decide. I agree that going to a store and trying things out us your best bet. After you get a bass and want to shop for an amp bring your own bass to the store to try them out. You need to know how your bass is going to sound through any given amp.

 

[AlDmz54]

Thank you all for your sound advice. It makes a lot of sense. Trying out basses at a store makes the most sense. Thanks