Which One of These Leo Designs

[Double Agent]

I vote for a P-bass. Its definitely a classic tone that you don't have in your arsenal yet. I like the MIM Classic 50's P, but if you are getting enough money, the American Std P-bass is a good way to go. The G&L SB1 or SB2 are nice too if you want something that still sounds and looks like a P-bass, but a little less traditional.

Nothing wrong with a Stingray or L-2500 either. But, I think I would go with a nice, basic P-bass if I were in your shoes.

 

[yellofury]

having owned a Jazz Bass, Spector , Precision and a Stingray (SUB)

If you want a good spread of tonal options across the board I would say add
a EBMM product of some kind whether it is a Stingray, Sterling or Bongo

If you want more complex tonal range you can also look into a G&L L-2000
They sound great but I am too much of a simpleton to wrap my head around all the switches and knob configurations.This is one of the reasons why I am hesitant towards
a Jaguar or Stingray HH. But hey you are probably way smarter than I am. The Bongo
4 band EQ prob is as far as I would go for tone shaping for my brain to function

Even though GAS can tease me with another Fenderlike product
I find that the Jazz covers all I need as far as anything from Fender.

It comes close to a P but not quite exactly the classic thump and still has the high end for when I slap.

If it has to be something that Leo had a hand in
I vote for a good ol Stingray

 

[superfunk47]

I know people are gonna think I'm crazy... but if you are truly happy with your current instruments (Which sound awesome, BTW), and you weren't looking for something...
Upgrade your wife's wedding ring - not only will this be a huge plus with the person you share your life with - b/c you thought of her, of course! - but it will definitely make your inlaws happy.

Or go for a nice P... or perhaps Fender Deluxe P Bass Special?

Cheers, Gus

Hate to say it, but I was thinking along the same lines the whole time.

Think of it as an opportunity to earn some major brownie points. Take her somewhere nice.

Actually, you don't even have to spend it all on that, just use a bit of it to do something nice. Then be nice to yourself.

 

[tycobb73]

You already have a Jazz and I assume the Spector has humbuckers so the the only basses left are a Stingray for that bright slap sound (if you're into slap) or a passive Precision with flats for that vintage tone. Of course anything fretless will also add a new sound to your line up.
So if it were my money to spend I'd go with a vintage fender p-bass with flats as a first choice. A vintage Stingray single H as a second choice or a fretless Pedulla Buzz bass as a third choice. Not sure how much money you got but you can snag any of the 3 basses I noted for under $2000 in good player condition.

I don't have a p bass, true, but I could never get past the looks, bad reason I know. But a fretless....hhmm...lined corvette? How easy is it to learn and how easy is it to go back and forth if you want to use both often?

How much different is the single stingray sound vs an EMG sound? I don't slap. Its a skill I should acquire and even if I do I won't do it a lot. Because of me being blind driving isn't as easy for me. I could go down to GC right now but that would mean I'd be there for hours on end while my wife is at the mall across the street spending her bundle.

 

[uaudio]

I was once not a P bass guy. Then I was ONLY a P bass guy. IMO flats gives you a tone most unlike what you have.

 

[bassfart]

G&L ASAT, very versatile and cool looking.

 

[Freez]

If you go expensive, get a Rick...they are bad ass. For about $500 you can get a new Epiphone Thunderbird Pro, they look pretty sweet I must say! I think that might be my next bass...

 

[tycobb73]

I went and played an 87 stingray. Damn gloss neck. I liked the way it sounded but between the neck and not a comfortable place to rest your thumb I passed. Now about that frettless...

 

[newbold]

What about a short scale bass?

I dig the passive Jazz, but a Stingray (or fretless sterling) would be awesome.

Can't go wrong with an NS Wave electric upright.

 

[GBassNorth]

I went and played an 87 stingray. Damn gloss neck. I liked the way it sounded but between the neck and not a comfortable place to rest your thumb I passed. Now about that frettless...

Too bad the stingray didn't work out for you but I agree gloss necks are a bit of a detractor. I like raw wood necks best. Unfortunately the fretless I suggested (pedulla) also has a gloss neck. Maybe a fretless warwick thumb with a wenge neck would fit the bill. Could be hard to find a used one. Good thing about fretless basses is that you can find them in just about any pickup configuration and body shape, so you should be able to find something that appeals to you.
As far as learning how to play a fretless. I almost wish I had initially learned how to play on a fretless vs a fretted bass. It's easy if you get one with the fret markers or lines on it and play flats. Nothing sounds like a fretless, always great to have one in the rack when you need it.

 

[JohnnyB53]

So which Leo product will add versatilitiy to my arsenal. I am not one of those that can hear differences in woods. Once you get past electronics, strings, and EQ settings, it all sounds the same to me. Of course if neither will add anything to my arsenal I'll just upgrade my wife's wedding ring.

Instead of a Leo design, consider a more radical departure that results in a significant difference in tone and application, such as a setneck mahogany bass or a Ric 4003.

If it were me I'd go for a Hamer USA Monaco bass. Set neck, chambered mahogany body, flame maple top, and handwound Phat Cat pickups designed for that instrument:

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Hamer is known for their guitars, but they are gifted bass makers.

 

[FromTheBassMent]

...the only basses left are a Stingray for that bright slap sound (if you're into slap) or a passive Precision with flats for that vintage tone. Of course anything fretless will also add a new sound to your line up.

Your description of both the Stingray and the Precision stereotypically describes only a small fraction of what these basses can do, especially with regard to the Stingray. Anyone who thinks a 'ray is only for slap has probably never played one (a lot of slap guys hate 'em because of the string spacing). I use mine for Americana/alt-country/folkadelic and it sounds brilliant.

I would agree with you, however, on exploring fretless. A Stingray 4 or 5 fretless with the piezo bridge option will get you a bucketload of cool tones, and learning to play fretless will not only let you impress the missus with your mwah, but will also make you a more precise player overall.

But forget all that... spend it on your wife. You've got nice basses. Nice wives are much harder to come by IME.

 

[tycobb73]

Your description of both the Stingray and the Precision stereotypically describes only a small fraction of what these basses can do, especially with regard to the Stingray. Anyone who thinks a 'ray is only for slap has probably never played one (a lot of slap guys hate 'em because of the string spacing). I use mine for Americana/alt-country/folkadelic and it sounds brilliant.

I would agree with you, however, on exploring fretless. A Stingray 4 or 5 fretless with the piezo bridge option will get you a bucketload of cool tones, and learning to play fretless will not only let you impress the missus with your mwah, but will also make you a more precise player overall.

But forget all that... spend it on your wife. You've got nice basses. Nice wives are much harder to come by IME.

Yeah, I'm a rock and country cover band player. Fretless is another tool that is nice to pull out, but is there really a point when most of the time you are playing this kind of music? I truly don't know and want to be enlightened. Right now that ring is looking more and more like what I'll be spending it on. But I still could be convinced into a bass.

 

[bassist4dalord]

+1 to a good ol' P-Bass with flats. The basses you have sound great and are really modern, so a nice old school P-Bass with flats will round out your arsenal.

 

[woody357]

Take the wife on a vacation, you can always buy a new bass, heck you already have two nice basses, and you can only play one at a time.

 

[Getaway Driver]

Take the wife on a vacation, you can always buy a new bass, heck you already have two nice basses, and you can only play one at a time.

LIAR!

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[FromTheBassMent]

Yeah, I'm a rock and country cover band player. Fretless is another tool that is nice to pull out, but is there really a point when most of the time you are playing this kind of music? I truly don't know and want to be enlightened. Right now that ring is looking more and more like what I'll be spending it on. But I still could be convinced into a bass.

Well I'm no marriage counselor! But since you're on the fence about another bass, it might be a great idea to spoil your honey this time around, and spend some time thinking about what you want to do with your bass career. Money will come your way again.

The gut reaction to your original question is, "Get a P bass with flats, be old-school, it's traditional, etc etc etc." Yup, you could do that and sound like every other bassist that plays in our genre.

I moved from fretted to fretless a while back, and there's been no looking back. I had played fretless years ago when I was doing more "arty" music, but never figured it would work for what I'm doing now. But since I've committed to it this time around, my bandmates are just going nuts... they LOVE it. With the fretless Stingray I've got all of the low end and thump and growl that I need, but it's just so much more lyrical and singing than my fretted basses that it makes even the most rudimentary I-V-I bass playing sound inspired. I'm under official edict from my band not to play fretted anymore! They actually ask me to turn UP.

So, don't assume that a fretless bass is just for adding occasional "color." It's become my main axe, it works great, and it makes me feel like I'm really expressing my musicality more deeply even within my role as part of the rhythm section. And really, the intonation is not the hard part (although it does take practice). The hard part is learning how to not overdo the signature fretless "effects" (dramatic glissandos, lots of "mwah"), cuz that stuff is so much fun! I've spent the last couple of months trying to get a very modern, active-sounding bass guitar to sound like an upright double bass... and with very careful technique and some judicious tweaking of the eq, I'm pretty close. It's unbelievably rewarding.

 

[FromTheBassMent]

I went and played an 87 stingray. Damn gloss neck. I liked the way it sounded but between the neck and not a comfortable place to rest your thumb I passed. Now about that frettless...

Just FYI, except for the "Classic" series that's just now hitting the stores, EBMM basses nowadays don't have a glossy neck. Folks call them "unfinished," but in fact they are hand rubbed with an oil finish that leaves them very smooth, very natural feeling and VERY fast.

 

[guitar ed]

I would suggest looking at a G&L. They make great basses.

edg

 

[GBassNorth]

Your description of both the Stingray and the Precision stereotypically describes only a small fraction of what these basses can do, especially with regard to the Stingray. Anyone who thinks a 'ray is only for slap has probably never played one ...

I'm with you on the fretless, as I said earlier in the thread, I wish I had originally learned to play on a fretless vs a fretted. I think it just naturally makes you more accurate and forces you to sharpen your left hand technique. Plus all the different tones and subtle coloring and mwah sounds fantastic when done well. Also, as you noted, with the right strings, EQ and technique you can get darn near an upright sound.
As for the stingray, I love em. I have have a pre ernie ball 1979 in mint condition and a 2005ish 5 string HH in the very rare and cool egyptian smoke color with a 3 band preamp and a SUB5 active with a 2 band not to mention 2 custom basses I designed and built - one with a bartolini Pbass/Stingray pickup combo and custom designed East preamp and one with a combo delano Pbass/Stingray pickup combo and a custom designed Aduere preamp. So yes, I know my stingrays and they are my go to basses. My next purchase will probably be a stingray 5 string fretless HH if I can find a nice used one. By the way I don't slap my basses, I just don't like the sound and find it very annoying after a few minutes, but I know a number of players who do so on a stingray single H. And yes you're correct you can do so much more with a ray than slap, just like you can do so much more with a thumb bass than growl and so much more with a pbass than thump. I was just highlighting one aspect of the single H ray, it does so much more.
Back to the original poster - fretless would go great in a number of country songs, the smooth slides and blooming notes are to die for. Another option might be a hollowbody electric bass like the lakland, I suspect it would fit will in a country mix (I don't own one so someone else would have to chime in on this option). And as originally noted, a pbass with flats would be perfectly at home in a country mix.
Then again, there's always the ring. If it were me, I'd get her a ring if she didn't complain about me getting a bass.