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Which Basses Have You Checked Out Lately?

Michael Jewels

Michael Jewels

Supporting Member
Nov 29, 2000
11,466
9,938
Queens, N.Y.(Near JFK Airport)
#1
This past Saturday afternoon, I went to my local Sam Ash to see if they had a Boss ME-20 guitar pedal. (sorry :p )

They didn't have it in stock, but while I was there, I figured I'd try out whatever looked interesting. I only played each bass for about 5 minutes, but here's my report:

G&L L-2500 - I finally played a G&L!!! Now, I see what everyone's been talking about!
It was used, but in excellent shape - blue with a maple fingerboard. Man, what tones you can get from one of these!
Very convincing P-Bass and J-Bass tones, plus a ton of other, more modern, more aggressive-sounding tones too. Very good B string.
I am very impressed with G&L. :cool:

They were asking $1,099.00 for the G&L.

Fender Jazz 24 Quilt Top - I was also very impressed with this bass. Just a very comfortable Jass bass with very nice-sounding pickups. Typical Jazz Bass tones. Liked the sound of the electronics. Killer looks, and only $699.99! I was very tempted to take this one home, and am still thinking about it. I liked this one as soon as I picked it up. :bassist: [This invalid link has been removed]

Fender Mike Dirnt P-Bass - I wasn't really that impressed with this one. The set up wasn't the best, so that had a little to do with it, but the one I played just didn't have any mojo. Vintage white. www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Fender-Mike-Dirnt-Precision-Bass?sku=511533

Ibanez ATK - I liked this one a lot. P-bass kind of feel while you hold it. Tones ranged from almost P-Bass to almost Stingray, but with its own twist. Overall a very nice instrument for $499.99. Black. They also had one with the Blue Moon finish, but it was $200 more. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Squier Vintage Telecaster Bass - This one took me by surprise. When did they start making these?
When I first saw it hanging on the wall, I couldn't see the price tag, and thought it was an old Fender Tele Bass, but suspected that something was wrong because it was in excellent shape and hanging right next to the regular basses. P-bass kind of feel, with a very deep, but clean neck humbucker tone. Think Gibson EB-O, but less muddy. Only $279.99 This would probably be good for Heavy Metal, Latin and Reggae. www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Squier-Vintage-Modified-TB-Precision-Bass?sku=519758

And my favorite: A brand new Ibanez BTB1205E.
I bought one of these at the beginning of 2006 and absolutely love it. I won't ramble on here about what a nice instrument it is; you can go to the Ibanez Club thread for that, but I will say it felt and sounded as good as mine does. The quality control on these seems to be very high, and very consistent.
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So, what basses have you checked out lately?

Reports, please. :)

Mike ;)
 
#8
Lately:

Warwick SSII 5er:

Very dry, almost thin tone-not necessarily my thing, but a very cutting, clear bass, bordering on harsh. Great feel and nice B-string, though, with beautiful construction. If I owned it, I'd be swapping the electronics, though.

Warwick Corvette $$:

Again, great feel and playability, but with a much thicker, more aggressive tone than the SSII. Tonally, the Streamer's more of a scalpel-this thing's a battleaxe. Still capable of some more articulate sounds with the coils split.

Ken Smith BSR bolt-on of some variety:

Very smooth, immediate, "singing" tone-would be great for solo bass work, but would probably sound awesome in a mix, too. Awesome playability, and built very nicely as well. I liked the pickups and pre on this bass-they really complement the nature of the instrument.

MM Bongo 5-great playability and construction. Same tonal issues that made me sell mine-that is, a somewhat artificial and "processed" tone that sounded quite unremarkable next to the Smith.

Alembic Epic 4:

A nice-sounding bass, but it was hard to evaluate accurately due to abuse by a previous owner-the jack was bad, and there was a short in the pickup pan knob, but the typical Alembic tone still shone through-clear and smooth, with plenty of attack/articulation. It didn't sound as good as the Alembics I've played with filters, but it was still quite nice.

'64 Gibson Thunderbird:

I'd sell my firstborn for it. Incredible in every way.

Fender P-Elite I:

Awful. Noisy, thin, and just nasty overall in the tone department.
 
#11
i just bought a yamaha trb 1005 the other day....beautiful bass....quilted maple top, natural finish, rosewood board, abolone oval inlays, black hardware. Gc had it on clearance for 499 from 799...a list price of 1299, and it has been my favorite bass they have had in stock over the course of the last year, so i had to take it home...i mgiht toss some nordstrand fatstacks in it and get an ebony ramp to put between the pickups.
 
#12
Rickenbacker 4003:

It's a Rick. I liked it. Enough said.

Lakland Skyline Hollowbody with Dark Stars:

Amazingly thick and woody, with a very even tone-every frequency is pretty well represented, and the bite of the Dark Stars goes very well with the warmth of the hollow body. I loved the way it played, and it actually had a pretty killer slap tone, too.:eek: Overall, a very fun bass.
 
#16
I was at Willie's the other day.
I'll do my best to remember everything (it was all through an iAmp800 into some EA cab, by the way):
1966 Fender Mustang: It had a ridiculously fast neck and that diesel-engine P-bass tone that kciks you in the gut through an SVT. I liked it.
1978 Alembic Series II: I hated it. Honestly. It was really heavy and I found the tone to be boring and all of the knobs to be confuzzling.
Hofner 500/1 50th Anniversary: I dug what it was for what it was, but it wasn't to my taste. The tone is (as you may expect) the Paul tone and that's what it does well. Maybe all it does, period.
1986 Ric 4003: I liked it (I do love Rics), but the frets were a bit high and that hindered the playing a bit for me.
Fretless (converted) old Ric 4001: My favorite thing I played the whole day. It was gruff and clanky and wonderful sounding.
 
#17
I finally made it down to the Atlanta Bass Gallery's new location on Saturday. First of all, the space is awesome. Way bigger than the old location, and Jim has done a great job setting it up. Second of all, it took me about 10 seconds in the store to realize why I don't visit more often! I'm not interested in most of the basses there because they have more than four strings, but like the old saying goes, all it takes is one. I played three:
Dingwall Super PJ. Absolutely phenomenal in every way. A great neck plus a perfect set-up is always a winning combination. The instrument was light.. I'm guessing around 8 pounds. The fit and finish were as good as any I've seen. The sunburst looked great. The fanned frets make a lot of sense. The bass was perfectly in tune from top to bottom. Double stops up high rang out with amazing clarity, and the lows were earthshaking, especially that low D with the Hipshot. Every pickup setting sounded great, especially the P pickup soloed. I played it through some Epifani gear, which didn't help my G.A.S. for this bass! This was the first time in a long time I've asked a salesperson, "How much for this one?" The answer was well out of my price range, as I expected for a bass of this caliber. I'd give it a 10 1/2 out of 10. Is it worth selling two of my Reverends and a kidney to get this bass? Not quite, but close.
Here she is in all her glory: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Dingwall Super J. It had a tough act to follow, and it didn't quite measure up. Sounded considerably smaller than than the PJ. The neck felt a little bit chunkier.. very subtle, but enough to notice. I didn't like the maple fretboard as much as the morado fretboard on the PJ. The Super J looked cool in white/tort, but I played it plugged in for about 30 seconds, as opposed to 10 minutes or so on the PJ.
Here's a pic of the Super J: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Roscoe LG3000. Very nice bass. Another great looker in tobacco sunburst. The small body took a couple of minutes to get used to, but the neck played beautifully and the tone was beefy. I don't think there are a whole lot of 4-string Roscoes out there, so it was cool to play this one.
Pic: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
All in all, it was an excellent experience. If you're ever in Atlanta and have a little time to spare, the Bass Gallery is a must!
 
#19
Dave Siff said:
Second of all, it took me about 10 seconds in the store to realize why I don't visit more often! I'm not interested in most of the basses there because they have more than four strings, but like the old saying goes, all it takes is one.
Dingwall Super PJ. Absolutely phenomenal in every way. A great neck plus a perfect set-up is always a winning combination. The instrument was light.. I'm guessing around 8 pounds. The fit and finish were as good as any I've seen. The sunburst looked great. The fanned frets make a lot of sense. The bass was perfectly in tune from top to bottom. Double stops up high rang out with amazing clarity, and the lows were earthshaking, especially that low D with the Hipshot. Every pickup setting sounded great, especially the P pickup soloed. I played it through some Epifani gear, which didn't help my G.A.S. for this bass! This was the first time in a long time I've asked a salesperson, "How much for this one?" The answer was well out of my price range, as I expected for a bass of this caliber. I'd give it a 10 1/2 out of 10. Is it worth selling two of my Reverends and a kidney to get this bass? Not quite, but close.
Here she is in all her glory: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

Dave, Dave, why do you torture me? :bawl:

Seriously, your description, plus that photo are almost irresistible to me! :bassist:

That looks so good, and it's in my favorite finish: sunburst, tort guard and dark fingerboard! :cool:

Mike ;)
 
#20
I have been looking long and hard at some Modulus VJ's. Particularly one with a bubinga top.
VJBubinga.gif
 

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