Which bass should I get for Fusion?

[DoubleBuckUser]

Recently decided to focus on Fusion. Recently have been obsessed with Masayoshi Takanaka, Casiopea and The Square.

I want to get a bass with J pick ups and I’m split on getting a Warwick thumb bo4 or a Fender J bass.

I am extremely indecisive. I really enjoy both sounds so I want outside opinions on how these basses perform in a Jazz Fusion setting.

 

[Dincrest]

How high do you go on the fingerboard? Fender only has 20 frets but Thumb has 24.

Then there's ergonomics. If you primarily play sitting down, that's not an issue. If you play often standing up, the Fender will balance better and put the money notes within easy reach. The Thumb, with its compact body and short upper horn, will balance very horizontally and first position will feel like a long reach.

 

[GTHintz]

Recently decided to focus on Fusion. Recently have been obsessed with Masayoshi Takanaka, Casiopea and The Square.

I want to get a bass with J pick ups and I’m split on getting a Warwick thumb bo4 or a Fender J bass.

I am extremely indecisive. I really enjoy both sounds so I want outside opinions on how these basses perform in a Jazz Fusion setting.

Warwick. If you want the most Warwick tone go thumb. If you want a more versatile tone that still gives a Warwick vibe get the corvette or fortress. The streamer is lovely too. But for the stuff you want to play any modern bass will pretty much do what you need.

 

[bassb66]

I’ve looked into the stuff Naruse has played specifically his Tune bass stuff. Tune is very good but it’s hard to find some videos of the bass since every time I search it up I see tuning videos haha.

I assumed Sutoh played a sadowsky but I haven’t done much research but what you say is valid and I’m going to start looking into it now.

Have you checked out bassjapandirect.com.?

 

[PrestoZoom]

Lots of good suggestions already but I would add MTD 535 to the list.

 

[Les Fret]

Can be anything really. But also check a Yamaha. The bass player from Casiopea uses a Yamaha BB.

 

[Malak the Mad]

I’ve looked into the stuff Naruse has played specifically his Tune bass stuff. Tune is very good but it’s hard to find some videos of the bass since every time I search it up I see tuning videos haha.

There is a valuable lesson lurking in this response; if you're starting your own company, do not use a term that is broadly generic and ubiquitous, especially in the Internet Age. It will only make finding your product(s) online that much more difficult without taking a deep dive or an additional keyword(s) to zero-in on it.

Here's an easy example I just tried for funsies; I did a Google Images search for "project bass" and a first dozen or so pics were from all over the place. But, when I changed the search string to "projekt bass" (the nickname I give all my parts-basses), six out of twelve were all of basses and/or parts of mine I posted about on TalkBass.

 

[akukulich]

I’ve played in fusion bands for the last 5 or 6 years and I’ve gigged with 4- and 5-string basses, fretted and fretless, active and passive, single-coil and dual-coil pickups and used flats and round-wound strings.

None of them have been perfect for everything, but they’ve all gotten the job done in their own way. If I had to choose just one, it’d be Jazz Bass every time.

 

[Mystic Michael]

Warwick. If you want the most Warwick tone go thumb. If you want a more versatile tone that still gives a Warwick vibe get the corvette or fortress. The streamer is lovely too. But for the stuff you want to play any modern bass will pretty much do what you need.

Check re: the suggestion for a modern instrument…for a modern tone. IMO, high quality humbucker pickups and a high quality onboard preamp are the keys.

MM

 

[poochiecheeks]

I have gone looking for the best bass to play casiopea with. The tone on the first album I like a lot and get there closest with a 70s jazz bridge pickup bass, light strings and the tone rolled off. Believe it or not a gibson rd standard got the closest to this but weighed about as much as a car door.
For something like mint jams its hard to beat the bb2000 though that album is very polished/studio magicd for a live album. 70s jazz bass would be close both pickups on.
An ibanez sr 50X or 70X for your preferred number of strings would work well as the bridge pickup is a reverse p in a decent spot

 

[Malak the Mad]

Believe it or not a gibson rd standard got the closest to this but weighed about as much as a car door.

That is a hilarious analogy…one I will remember for a long, long time!

 

[Mystic Michael]

That is a hilarious analogy…one I will remember for a long, long time!

poochiecheeks ain’t lying. I once owned a Gibson RD Artist - back in 1978 when they were brand new on the market.

Weight-wise it was like trying to play a log with pickups and strings on it. I suffered with it for several months before ultimately getting rid of it. My shoulders have thanked me ever since.

MM

 

[ardgedee]

Well, remember that Clarke said when he got the Alembic "other players could finally hear (him), realized (he) could actually play" so not everything works well, especially EB3 mud buckers?

The EB3 wasn't keeping him from playing fusion, though. It just wasn't the tone he had in mind.

If there was a signature bass for 70s fusion, it was the Fender Jazz, followed by the Precision (Alphonso Johnson's axe of choice). I don't think fusion jazz and exotic coffee table basses became an expected pairing until some time in the 90s. For decades though the top-tier bassists were pretty much playing everything possible, some of them gravitated to extended-range basses (most famously, Anthony Jackson), some of them never did. It's not like how you're expected to have a Precision at a blues gig.

OP cites Casiopea -- founding member Tetsuo Sakurai played Yamaha BB basses when he was with them, and afterwards he's since played pretty much every brand ever made, exotic or otherwise. Quite a collector. His touring arsenal still includes a Fender Jazz alongside a bunch of boutique gear.

I wouldn't say that, broadly speaking, having an onboard preamp is a requirement at all. If OP's tone goal involves that particular kind of borderline-smooth-jazz detailed hi-fi sound, an onboard EQ doesn't guarantee it as much as a well-constructed bass with the right pickups will. The preamp will provide a boost/cut EQ and buffer the pickups from devices downstream, but doesn't add any secret sauce unless you get into filter stacks, a'la Alembic or Wal. The EQ can be on-board or in a pedal or on the amp, which matters as far as your ergonomics and control but not as much for what comes out of the speakers.

 

[frankie5string]

If I look back at the "fusion" albums I know...most of the syncretic stuff was done on bog-standard Fenders. I'm talking about Barry Miles, Pat Martino, and Terry Silverlight. But that music wasn't as masturbatory as a lot of "modern" fusion now is. A Jazz bass or a Precision should work quite well, as long as you are comfortable on them - fusion tends to mean "a lot of notes" in many circles, so an instrument that's comfortable to play and feels "fast" in your hands will help.

 

[BassicJazzy]

The EB3 wasn't keeping him from playing fusion, though. It just wasn't the tone he had in mind.

If there was a signature bass for 70s fusion, it was the Fender Jazz, followed by the Precision (Alphonso Johnson's axe of choice). I don't think fusion jazz and exotic coffee table basses became an expected pairing until some time in the 90s. For decades though the top-tier bassists were pretty much playing everything possible, some of them gravitated to extended-range basses (most famously, Anthony Jackson), some of them never did. It's not like how you're expected to have a Precision at a blues gig.

OP cites Casiopea -- founding member Tetsuo Sakurai played Yamaha BB basses when he was with them, and afterwards he's since played pretty much every brand ever made, exotic or otherwise. Quite a collector. His touring arsenal still includes a Fender Jazz alongside a bunch of boutique gear.

I wouldn't say that, broadly speaking, having an onboard preamp is a requirement at all. If OP's tone goal involves that particular kind of borderline-smooth-jazz detailed hi-fi sound, an onboard EQ doesn't guarantee it as much as a well-constructed bass with the right pickups will. The preamp will provide a boost/cut EQ and buffer the pickups from devices downstream, but doesn't add any secret sauce unless you get into filter stacks, a'la Alembic or Wal. The EQ can be on-board or in a pedal or on the amp, which matters as far as your ergonomics and control but not as much for what comes out of the speakers.

I think the issue with the EB3 was he didn't cut through with it, more than just not getting the tone. I picked one up back in '72 and even in the store found it was all bottom, no sauce. Too bad because I liked the neck and the way it played.

Reason I recommended active EQ is to allow quick, significant tone adjustments in middle of a number, rather than having to go and adjust dials on a pedal or on the EQ at the amp. Most of the fusion I listened to in mid-late 70's seemed to require a bit of that. I haven't listened to fusion since the early 80's so perhaps it is different now?

 

[AngelCrusher]

People are going to drop in brands they like. I could do the same but the main point id make is you want something responsive. Its hard to describe what that is because everyone feels that differently.

For me its a dual soapbar bass that has a very fast attack feel to it. its a very different note/tone reaction than a pbass with flats or rounds would be, for example.

You want something where you can favor the bridge and not lose low end. And then in dual mode you want a slap sound that has a lot of clarity to it. To be honest, the new ibanez Mode series could be fantastic for this. Worth trying one out.

I would not buy a boutique bass blindly online unless you are prepared to be buying and selling for a while. Its just impossible to say what will resonate with you the most. So try and play a lot of basses in person.

 

[lowendrachel]

I was using a Stingray.

 

[GTHintz]

People are going to drop in brands they like. I could do the same but the main point id make is you want something responsive. Its hard to describe what that is because everyone feels that differently.

For me its a dual soapbar bass that has a very fast attack feel to it. its a very different note/tone reaction than a pbass with flats or rounds would be, for example.

You want something where you can favor the bridge and not lose low end. And then in dual mode you want a slap sound that has a lot of clarity to it. To be honest, the new ibanez Mode series could be fantastic for this. Worth trying one out.

I would not buy a boutique bass blindly online unless you are prepared to be buying and selling for a while. Its just impossible to say what will resonate with you the most. So try and play a lot of basses in person.

It sounds like you’re describing Warwick and or MTD/ Tobias. I love the tone of both and own both because they both sound so nice on the bridge pickup. They can be percussive but articulate in their own way. Warwick is growlier with a dense sounding mid range that just makes each note sound special while MTD I’d generally describe as naturally more scooped but when you adjust the preamp you get a round but punchy all over tone but can be very growly on the back pickup.

 

[BassicJazzy]

If I look back at the "fusion" albums I know...most of the syncretic stuff was done on bog-standard Fenders. I'm talking about Barry Miles, Pat Martino, and Terry Silverlight. But that music wasn't as masturbatory as a lot of "modern" fusion now is. A Jazz bass or a Precision should work quite well, as long as you are comfortable on them - fusion tends to mean "a lot of notes" in many circles, so an instrument that's comfortable to play and feels "fast" in your hands will help.

Yeah, you just reminded me why I quit listening to fusion. Frantic overplaying, at the expense of tasty note selection and decent phrasing, can get pretty boring after awhile.