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What bass to buy?

N

NCdan

Feb 6, 2010
16
0
#1
First post, so hello everyone. :) Now that that's out of the way...

I'm looking at getting a new bass. I'm not really a bassist at this point. I'm a drummer and guitarist who has been growing increasingly interested in bass. At this point I've outgrown my Jay Turser and Cort and can justify purcahsing something that can get good tone. The only problem is that I am pretty lost when it comes to figuring out what pickups will get the sounds I want. I know the pickups on my current basses are nothing to write home about, and I know a lot about guitar pickups, but I don't want to go and start applying guitar pickup rules to bass, am I right?

I can't go out and try different basses because I'm working in South Korea and the stuff here is low-end to maybe middle-of-the-road. I got my Cort here and it is the nicest bass I found of all the basses I tried (which is pretty sad). I will be ordering this bass online and having it shipped to the US, so trying it out first isn't an option.

To summarize my thoughts on my current basses: the Jay Turser is a T bass and the tone is too bright and clangy; the Cort is a P J and the tone is too bright and clangy. They are both true single coil designs with low output, probably using cheap ceramic magnets. I don't like the tones I get from either of them, although I like the Cort a bit more because the two single coils go into humbucking mode when they're both activated.

My first thought is that I want humbuckers, but stacked humbuckers seem to be all the rage on basses. I never liked those on guitars, but I don't know how they sound on basses. One thing I don't want are active pickups or active electronics: I hate batteries. Sorry, I'm just ******** like that. :D

I play mostly hardcore and reggae, so I want a very deep, solid, thumpy bass tone. I would naturally assume that a neck humbucker would be the best fit, but again, I really don't have much experience with different basses so I don't know.

I can spend as much as $1,000, but I won't complain if something cheaper will work fine (I'll be upgrading my recording interface and getting a speaker simulator for sure, which will be over half of my budget). I would like something with stainless steel frets, but can I find a good bass with stainless steel frets for $1,000 or less? My favorite bass tones are on the reggae songs on Bad Brains' "God of Love." So deep and thumpy, just perfect.

With all that in mind (sorry for rambling on for so long), any suggestions are welcome. Thanks.
 
#2
Fender jazz bass is my favorite. i used a "borrowed" jbass one night at a Reggae show and everyone loved it. so much so, i replaced my pbass and Steinberger. my last 4 purchases were jbasses. just watch videos and listen, you may prefer others. gl.
 
#4
I always recommend buying used since you can basically get a bass thats worth 1500-2000 for 1000$, TB has a great classifieds section. As for what bass, if you're looking for thumpy, id definitely say a p bass with flat wounds, but thats not what i think of when i hear hardcore or reggae. When i hear hardcore or reggae Warwick comes to mind first and vette's seem to fit the budget, maybe you could even get a used thumb if you're lucky
 
#6
I would recommend you a Fender Precision bass with thick flatwound strings....you could take a listen to Pino Palladinos bass sound on D`angelos famous cd,some years back, to hear what I mean.
I know that his music is far from reggae, but this is the sound I would choose for this kind of music.
the very best
Allan
 
#7
So some of you really don't think a J bass would be too bright and thin for reggae? Granted, a good amp is capable of a lot, but what about for recording?

It seems that Warwick does have some models priced under $1,000, even one "standard" model, whatever that means. The only thing that bugs me is that I know I'm going to need to refret in a couple of years, which is why I'd like to go with stainless steel frets (I don't think the fret material affects tone much, if at all). My only options for that seem to be Carvin and Warmoth. I would just go for Warmoth and solicit pickup suggestions from you guys, but the 10" radius being the only option on all the bass necks really bugs me. Carvin, on the other hand, gives you the option of a 14" radius. Carvin guitars always sort of struck me as being on par with the high end offerings from other companies. Does anyone have any experience with Carvin basses? I've heard that their new basses and pickups are quite excellent, but, being in Korea, I haven't been able to try them.
 
#8
NCdan said:
So some of you really don't think a J bass would be too bright and thin for reggae? Granted, a good amp is capable of a lot, but what about for recording?

It seems that Warwick does have some models priced under $1,000, even one "standard" model, whatever that means. The only thing that bugs me is that I know I'm going to need to refret in a couple of years, which is why I'd like to go with stainless steel frets (I don't think the fret material affects tone much, if at all). My only options for that seem to be Carvin and Warmoth. I would just go for Warmoth and solicit pickup suggestions from you guys, but the 10" radius being the only option on all the bass necks really bugs me. Carvin, on the other hand, gives you the option of a 14" radius. Carvin guitars always sort of struck me as being on par with the high end offerings from other companies. Does anyone have any experience with Carvin basses? I've heard that their new basses and pickups are quite excellent, but, being in Korea, I haven't been able to try them.
Click to expand...
Why are you going to need to re-fret in a couple years?
 
#10
NCdan said:
My guitars need refrets every couple of years. Granted, bending on guitars causes a lot of fret wear, but so does slapping and popping on basses.
Click to expand...

I have basses that are 20+ years old and still do not need a refret, I think you are way underestimating the wear potential of the frets on a bass. And I sure don't see how slapping and popping are going to do cause any more wear than normal finger playing does.
 
#13
P basses sound great! Get a Japanese one from the 80s, Or a Jazz bass. Get a Musicman Stringray5 they sound great. Go to the local stores and try out used basses. Make sure that the necks are not warped! Just go and try some basses out! THe Lakland Skylines are awesome! All be them unpopular, I have always liked THe Warwick Corvettes the best of the Warwick line (The Heavy Bubinga ones that are configured like Jazz Basses.)
 
#16
Hi NCDAN,

The best high quality new bass value, by far is the Carvin Kit bass bought directly from the factory.

It ends up similar to a Jazz Bass, depending on the options, but the tone is much more even across and up and down the neck.

It's very high quality and very easy to assemble, and you have some options when you order it.

I've built both the guitar and bass kits, and they have always turned out great.

Check it out at [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Take Care,
Swimmer
 
#20
Thanks for the replies, everyone. It appears the Warwick basses under $1,000 are made in China, which is something I would like to avoid. I can't even afford a Korean Warwick, let alone a German-made one.

It looks like Carvin is my best choice. I can get a B40 with all the options I want (reverse headstock, pickup selection, finish, fretboard, and frets) for under $1,000. Now I just need to figure out if I want the J9A or H50A in the neck position. It looks like the J9A is a true alnico single coil and the H50A is an alnico stacked humbucker.

Unless anyone can point me toward a better quality bass for less cash I think I'll go with a Carvin :bassist:
 

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