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What bass should i buy?

M

Mugamba

Feb 15, 2009
4
0
Sweden, Borås
#1
Hello everyone!

the time has come for me to change my equipment.
Currently i've got a cheap p-bass that got the worst sound i've heard from a bass i bought for 1500 kr some years ago (around 200 US dollars roughly translated) with an 15 watts amp.
Lately i've come to the conclussion that a jazz bass would be of better use. My problem is however that i really dont know which bass i should buy.

my budget is around 600-700 US dollars, could go higher, but i plan to buy a new amp aswell.
I've thought about buying a fender, but i just can't stand the look of them.

That's all for me.
Thanks //Peter
 
#2
Mugamba said:
Hello everyone!

the time has come for me to change my equipment.
Currently i've got a cheap p-bass that got the worst sound i've heard from a bass i bought for 1500 kr some years ago (around 200 US dollars roughly translated) with an 15 watts amp.
Lately i've come to the conclussion that a jazz bass would be of better use. My problem is however that i really dont know which bass i should buy.

my budget is around 600-700 US dollars, could go higher, but i plan to buy a new amp aswell.
I've thought about buying a fender, but i just can't stand the look of them.

That's all for me.
Thanks //Peter
Click to expand...


If you don't like the look of a Fender than that rules out about half the basses that exist. :D
Ergo: it definately rules out a jazz bass. :)


You mean: you don't prefer a traditional styled bass like precision and jass. ??

What have you tried out so far? and what tone do you want to achieve?
 
#4
IMHO, upgrading your amp first might give you a clearer idea of what kind of bass you want. Worry less about looks (Yeah, I know), and more about playability and tone.

After moving up to ~300 watts and 2x10, 1x15, or 2x12, your notion of tone may change a lot. 15 watts is a bedroom practice amp, which is fine for that, but in a band, you are either not hearing it, or hearing a pale representation of your instrument.

Have you optimized the strings, pickup adjustment, and action on your current bass? What kind is it exactly? Got pics?

Go play a lot of basses!!!
 
#8
C'thulhu said:
If you don't like the look of a Fender than that rules out about half the basses that exist. :D
Ergo: it definately rules out a jazz bass. :)


You mean: you don't prefer a traditional styled bass like precision and jass. ??

What have you tried out so far? and what tone do you want to achieve?
Click to expand...

The look of the bass is just a second hand thing :).

What tone am i looking for? Hmm, something jazzy like Victor wooten or Marcus miller. Something like this


So far i've tried a Fender Jaguar, a Squier jazz bass and a yamaha rbx-something (and some other cheap school basses). The one i liked most was probaly the Fender or Squier.

I'm also planning to buy a 50 watts aswell (or higher if i can afford one)

Thanks for the quick replys

P.S Can't upload pictures, since my sister took the digital camera with her to iceland :hmm:
 
#9
Mugamba said:
The look of the bass is just a second hand thing :).

What tone am i looking for? Hmm, something jazzy like Victor wooten or Marcus miller. Something like this

Yamaha, Cort and Ibanez are great instruments at decent prices.

Why do you need more power from your amp?
Are you going to play with other guys? Gigging?
Look for sound quality in an amp, not power if you are just learning bass.

EDIT: sorry, just saw your profile, I assume you're not a beginner.
Amp, (probably ask or search about this in the amps forum), Hartke and Ashdown MAG is good value for money, and gigworthy (small gigs)
Click to expand...
 
#11
I just formed a band with some of my mates, so the amplifier will be used from everything from jamming to smaller concerts.

Just looked at some of the Cort basses and the Cort GB 94 looks awesome, i'll check it up later and go to some local guitar shops to see if i can try it out somewhere. And it's also in my price class.

Thanks for all the advices, much appreciated.
 
#12
Hejsan och välkommen! I don't know why you don't like the look of a Jazz, but of course, it's all personal preference. If you want this type of tone, you can't go wrong with the Fender Jazz, but if looks are really that important, try a Warmoth with all 'jazz parts', yet a different body for the looks. Or if anyone else here has a mass-produced-bad-ass-looking-jazzy-bass in mind...
 

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