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What makes a really great electric bass?

J

JBarz

Supporting Member
Mar 6, 2015
1,970
3,272
#1
Hey gang,

Upright bassist experimenting again with electric bass after a 10 year hiatus here.

Wondering: what makes a truly exceptional electric bass? What makes one mass produced fender, for example, stand out from others? — assuming the setup is right.

In the upright world, it seems you generally commit to a scale length and then from there you’re going for the loudest, beefiest acoustic tone you can find with the most comfortable neck for what you like (+ again, pro setup is implied prerequisite).

With electric basses, it seems like everything, at least on Fenders, is pretty much interchangeable. If you don’t like the pickups, but love the neck, for example - easy fix. Almost too easy?

This is not a visual aesthetics question - I know some just look cooler than others with gnarlier or more stripped exotic wood, etc, but I am thinking strictly about tone/feel.

To say it another way: if you blindly played 100 P or J basses (whichever your preference) all setup the same and well, how would/could you go about identifying your favorites? Conversely, what would identify the underdogs and duds?
 
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#3
JBarz said:
...how would/could you go about identifying your favorites?
Click to expand...
me: ergonomically comfortable in general (e.g., balance), 'feel' (the neck) specifically. also, since they hang on my neck and shoulders: weight!

of those attributes i mentioned, above, the neck has to be a good one for my hands. i'm flexible with that, but if the neck is 'awkward' for me = it won't work. (e.g., too flat, too wide, too narrow, too thick, etc.)

you're right about the other things, though. you can easily change the sound of an EB with a string change, pickup change, a preamp change....so those qualities aren't important to me while i'm hunting for a good fit with the other aspects.

hey, nice to hear you're looking for the right ax (try a fretless!) --- good luck with your EB quest! :thumbsup:
 
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#4
I was also going to say, “electricity,” then read your post.

It sounds like you’re thinking mostly about passive fender basses. So the difference is much like uprights; each one feels, sounds, plays, resonates slightly different than the other. I went through 4 Fender P basses before settling on a dream instrument. So just trying them out is the best way to find what works for you. I base my opinion of what makes a n electric (and upright) bass great on how an instrument feels in your hands, how it resonates, how it sounds, how it plays.

I played electric bass for the first 15 years of my bass life, and I loved the sound and feel of active basses. Then I played upright bass (almost exclusively) for 15 years. When I went back to electric bass I found that passive basses tended to play/resonate/feel/respond more like an acoustic upright bass than active basses. Basically I use the same measuring stick as I do for finding a good upright bass; either buy to try, or go to stores to try. So, you know… there’s one opinion!

Edit to add; notice I mentioned nothing if the interchangeable parts?
 
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#5
Tort.

The player. Sorry, that’s a lame answer. I’m not a DB player but am a violinist and over years of electric instruments I’ve realized a lot of the fundamentals characteristics that make a bowed string instrument great are not necessarily impactful to a solid body electric instrument.
The reason is common electromagnetic pickups are less influenced by the subtle differences in wood and air movement.

So, the thing that makes an electric bass great is how it feels to you. And the right strings. There’s no best.
 
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#7
+1 on feel. For me, scale length, fretboard radius, nut width, spacing at bridge, neck carve and weight are the ergonomic keys. Plus’s a rolled fretboard.

Then there is fit and finish. Fretwork, neck joint, hardware quality, etc.

And of course tone. strings and pickups can be swapped, but dead sounding basses exist. I like it to sound lively unplugged.

For my specs I go custom (Cliff Bordwell) because no one makes a factory bass to my specs.
 
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#11
A lot of it is the neck, like several others here have said.

How the body of the instrument feels against yours can be a big thing, depending on the person and the instrument. Spector and Warwick have some bodies that are concave on the back which some people prefer. I've also played some instruments that are too light and feel too much like a toy when I'm playing them.

Only you will know what works for you, but just giving you some things to think about.
 
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#12
With a solid body, I agree it’s mostly about the neck. And mostly it’s about the feel, which to me is 80% profile, radius, and taper (I like them wider and flatter, with decent spacing at the bridge). There’s also frets and fretwork. Also, I think neck stability plays an important role. Stiffness is important, but I find that more subjective/preference.

on the body side, two things are key: the first is feel/ergonomics (shape, contours, etc), and the second is pickup placement. It’s hard to change pickups if they’re in the wrong spot. The spot determines the tone, and while “right and wrong” are preferences, the differences in tone are real and objective.

Then there are hollow bodies and other manipulations to the body that change how they sound. A weaker structure brings out some complexities in the sound that are hard to replicate on a solid body.

And overall, I think weight and balance are important, and just how well it’s put together.
 
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#15
Another user had mentioned on another thread that they'd used tools to check the actual width at the first fret/nut area of a P Bass and had found clear variation. To me, the variations that line up to a great feeling instrument is where the differences really are. For example, not all necks need a shim but my main bass felt like a whole new instrument with that slight change in angle.

Essentially it's dialing in which one feels the most like a natural extension of your body. Maybe I'm nuts but I feel like there are noticeable differences. I have 2 J basses. An AmStand and an AVRI 62. I set them both up with the same neck relief and action. Very same strings. The 62 reissue tires my hands out twice as fast. It feels like the strings have more tension but I'm not sure why. I've had some players say they feel totally different and others say they're interchangeable. It's really down to you
 
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#16
the world isn't limited to a P or a J. someone uses a Thumb for his signature tone, someone prefers a Wal. somebody plays an inexpensive mahogany active bass, which also doesn't sound or feel like Fenders. on electric bass side we have much more choice, including the price-savvy options, and we have lots of differences.

now to your original question. how do I differentiate a bass guitar that speaks to me. I play it and either I feel and hear, this is a superior instrument, either don't. then after some time with it I start to notice other drawbacks that can turn me off.

the one on my avatar was picked in a shop out of three basses of this exact model. and only one had something in its' sound that told me 'yeah, I want this instrument'. mass-production as it is.

I currently mainly play a Thumb. I didn't know, I would like it, until I touched it.

so, yeah, my 'exceptional' basses are the ones I played and loved them. there're too many variables that I can theoretically dig in to find 'my' bass. and still I can hate the exact bass that perfectly would match the theoretical my perfect bass.
 
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#17
A stick with some strings and a pickup or two. Ideally, it will be a shape that is comfortable to use and play notes that are in tune. If you want to go crazy, you can add modifications that enhance the adjustment and stability of various features. There are also a tremendous number of modifications that can be done that have no effect whatsoever, but are extremely popular, such as having certain words written on the instrument that make it more valuable than those that display other words (regardless of utility). If the amount of mojo present causes intermittent stank face in the user, little further modification is necessary.

This post has been composed entirely by AI (Actual Idiocy).
 
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#18
Discount Bassy said:
A stick with some strings and a pickup or two. Ideally, it will be a shape that is comfortable to use and play notes that are in tune. If you want to go crazy, you can add modifications that enhance the adjustment and stability of various features. There are also a tremendous number of modifications that can be done that have no effect whatsoever, but are extremely popular, such as having certain words written on the instrument that make it more valuable than those that display other words (regardless of utility). If the amount of mojo present causes intermittent stank face in the user, little further modification is necessary.

This post has been composed entirely by AI (Actual Idiocy).
Click to expand...
But only old mojo, which gives it pedigree and class for where it's been. Starkly contrasted with new mojo which just means your instrument is thrashed and has people cheese and human residue all over it. ;)
 
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