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What Bass Am I?

Capt.Obvious

Capt.Obvious

Guest
May 17, 2014
585
338
51
Bonney Lake, WA
#1
I'm polite, perhaps passive. I won't growl for you unless you touch me in all the right places. I'll mimic a double bass nicely with a bridge mute. I also play Jaco Pastorius licks automatically and will make you look sexy.

What bass am I?

So I'm in the market for a new electric axe and was wondering if anyone has suggestions for basses that sound as described above. I started in high school on an old and heavy P-bass, currently playing an unimpressive Ibanez Soundgear Gio that maybe cost 300 bucks new. Figured it was a student model but it did it's job helping me knock the rust off.

I've heard great things about newer Fender American Standard Jazz basses, particularly 2012 and up, but curious as to TB's thoughts on them.

Any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!
 
#2
Cap.

I bought a 2012 American Standard Jazz in 2013. Black with tort guard and rosewood board. CS 60 pickups. It's a superb bass, both sound wise and in general quality of construction -I actually prefer it to my Sadowsky Metro.

If you wish to get part-way into double bass territory, which means strings growling on wood, then it might be worth considering the fretless version. Personally, I couldn't imagine a better sounding passive fretless at that price point (but then again I'm pretty much a fender guy).
 
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#5
Oh no doubt PJ, and I just love the sound of a fretless electric but for some reason haven't tried tackling one. When ever I try fretless electric, I feel pretty good in the low end, first hand position stuff, but anytime I tried going up the neck I always had to look at the fingerboard for positioning anywhere past the 3rd fret. It seems much more intimidating than playing double bass with that big beautiful body starting at the base of the neck about half way down the finger board means you can play up to high G with your eyes closed.

The necks on those fretless electrics look a million miles long to me and the damn thing feels the same all the way! Oh but how I love the tone.
 
#10
Capt.Obvious said:
Oh no doubt PJ, and I just love the sound of a fretless electric but for some reason haven't tried tackling one. When ever I try fretless electric, I feel pretty good in the low end, first hand position stuff, but anytime I tried going up the neck I always had to look at the fingerboard for positioning anywhere past the 3rd fret. It seems much more intimidating than playing double bass with that big beautiful body starting at the base of the neck about half way down the finger board means you can play up to high G with your eyes closed.

The necks on those fretless electrics look a million miles long to me and the damn thing feels the same all the way! Oh but how I love the tone.
Click to expand...

Well Cap, I'd say there's no time like the present to jump in at the deep end ! (you could always get a lined fretless too)

This might sway you to try. The first time I heard this clip, I was convinced after listening for a few seconds that the bassist was playing an amplified upright. Nope: good 'ol fretless P. Sounds great but I prefer the growl of the jazz bass for fretless.

Ps. rewind the clip to the start to hear what I mean

 
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#12
Turock said:
Click to expand...


LOL! Love that Gloria Gaynor tune and I endeavor to insert a little disco into every project, no joke. I'm not even a child of the 70's, but I just love that octave jumping 8th note bass groove typical to disco. I've successfully worked disco bass lines into every single project I'm playing with now. Full 16 piece big bands, small combo jazz, a medieval Celtic/fusion band, and an American blues pop group. No music genre is safe!

*Uploading proof*
 
#13
Seriously though....If you are gonna try on fretless I would try out a MIM Jazz Fretless first. I am doing just that as we speak. I am still on the fence. I really enjoy playing it but keeping in tune takes lots of practice. My Jazz seems to have the sweet spot on the fret lines.....If you finger dead center you will need to adjust big time. You can get into a MIM for way less then half a MIA and if you buy one made after 2004 or so the quality will be good. Mine is a 2000 and has the two same size pickups and they suck.

I am on the verge of having this bass perfect and still might end up trading it for 5'er.
 
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#14
PJ Muzikmansky said:
Well Cap, I'd say there's no time like the present to jump in at the deep end ! (you could always get a lined fretless too)

This might sway you to try. The first time I heard this clip, I was convinced after listening for a few seconds that the bassist was playing an amplified upright. Nope: good 'ol fretless P. Sounds great but I prefer the growl of the jazz bass for fretless.

Ps. rewind the clip to the start to hear what I mean

Click to expand...


*faints*

Wow! If you close your eyes, it sounds like a double bass with a crappy pickup and no mic, but a double bass it does sound! Good ear! Those pull-offs with the left hand really sell it. Tom Warington is a monster! His secret power was his sweet mustache. I'm growing mine. It's called the Warington bass face.
 
#15
Capt.Obvious said:
*faints*

Wow! If you close your eyes, it sounds like a double bass with a crappy pickup and no mic, but a double bass it does sound! Good ear! Those pull-offs with the left hand really sell it. Tom Warington is a monster! His secret power was his sweet mustache. I'm growing mine. It's called the Warington bass face.
Click to expand...

yes he's great isn't he !
 
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#16
ChefKen said:
Seriously though....If you are gonna try on fretless I would try out a MIM Jazz Fretless first. I am doing just that as we speak. I am still on the fence. I really enjoy playing it but keeping in tune takes lots of practice. My Jazz seems to have the sweet spot on the fret lines.....If you finger dead center you will need to adjust big time. You can get into a MIM for way less then half a MIA and if you buy one made after 2004 or so the quality will be good. Mine is a 2000 and has the two same size pickups and they suck.

I am on the verge of having this bass perfect and still might end up trading it for 5'er.
Click to expand...

I just transfer the Simandhl left hand technique from my double bass and I'm all good in the first position, anything above about high D I have to take my eyes off the music and stare at the fingerboard and it makes me feel like a goober. I assume that can be overcome once my muscle memory finally figures it out. Not sure why it's so intimidating.
 
#17
Capt.Obvious said:
I just transfer the Simandhl left hand technique from my double bass and I'm all good in the first position, anything above about high D I have to take my eyes off the music and stare at the fingerboard and it makes me feel like a goober. I assume that can be overcome once my muscle memory finally figures it out. Not sure why it's so intimidating.
Click to expand...

As a double bass guy it should be easy for you.....I miss my frets.
 
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#18
Here's that Ibanez Soundgear on a rehearsal with this pop project I got on. The lead singer is super hot model, classically trained by her mom who's Suzanna Fuller from Cascade Jazz Trio. I think she's got a shot at the big time, if she can ever find a competent bass player of course, but in the mean time, she's stuck with me.

Not sure how to describe the sound, maybe it's thin? Surely part of it is the crappy rehearsal recording on my Iphone and I also have a tendency to play too delicately sometimes. I grew up in the jazz where the bass is more felt than heard.

But it sounds thin, like it's not filling up the room properly. Even when I really dig in, you can hear it, but it's still not a fat tone to me.

I experiment with the disco at about timestamp 3:40.


Here's how that Soundgear bass sounds in the studio just going direct in at Elliot Bay Recording, Seattle. Was getting some behind the scenes footage for her Kickstarter supporters and started the studio sound at timestamp 1:10. Kind of a trip getting into that place, it's hidden underground beneath an auto repair shop like the Bat Cave! Incidentally that's Titus Munteanu on violin from Abney Park. Ya, that's right, I name dropped. :thumbsup:

 
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#19
ChefKen said:
As a double bass guy it should be easy for you.....I miss my frets.
Click to expand...

You'd think! Suprisingly it's not so. Consider that the body on a double bass starts about half way up the finger board. It's a huge landmark for your thumb to nestle into giving you comfortable and accurate play up to high G like it's a cake walk. The electric fretless scares me because there's no physical landmarks on that long skinny neck.
 
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#20
Capt.Obvious said:
You'd think! Suprisingly it's not so. Consider that the body on a double bass starts about half way up the finger board. It's a huge landmark for your thumb to nestle into giving you comfortable and accurate play up to high G like it's a cake walk. The electric fretless scares me because there's no physical landmarks on that long skinny neck.
Click to expand...

Dots on the side.....lines on my fretless!!
 
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