Who agrees?

[JimmyM]

Sorry, Jimmy... you didn't prove that either. Did you show it doing an Alembic impersonation? How about A Ric 4001? Wal? Musicman Stingray? Elrick? If those were what someone wanted, how did either bass compete tonally?

Fine. Send me an Alembic, a 4001, a Wal, a Stingray and an Elrick and I'll record them too.

 

[India_Sierra]

I don't agree with the intial quote. I find that attitudes like that are what stifle creativity. Sure, I might be playing a jazz bass now, but I was much happier back when I more exotic basses like Wal, Modulus and Alembic. Those are the kinds of basses that make really interesting tones that I'd want to hear. Fender will always do a job to a passable standard but when you get into the boutique range, thats when you start getting what I would call awesome results!

 

[pickles]

I think the bottom line is to just use your ears, and not what you've read in the mags or on the net, and when something isn't working don't try to make it work, and don't let your ego or the purchase price of your bass get in the way.

Sometimes you and the engineer will think a bass sounds good and the artist will hate it, sometimes you're the only one that likes it, maybe its you and the drummer ... but unless everybody is on board, you're looking for trouble. And don't assume they're wrong or petty, often we players get too focused on some particular thing we like about a bass (like "wow -- glassy highs" or "so complex and woody!"), and we're not listening for what the other guys are objecting to in some other frequency range. Be a team player -- just like you want the drummer and guitarists to act.

Or maybe you can get that fancy bass (or the FENDER P you THINK should sound good -- to wwittman's point!) to sit in the mix, you just have to convince the guitarist to use a tele instead of his les paul, and the drummer to rock a djembe instead of his vintage slingerland kit

Edit: Also, be sure to ASK if everyone thinks the bass sounds good!

 

[Brad Johnson]

Fine. Send me an Alembic, a 4001, a Wal, a Stingray and an Elrick and I'll record them too.

No.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Well there's plenty of bass makers out there who will listen to them so they need to quit boring us with their whining

Huh?

 

[spade2you]

Or maybe you can get that fancy bass (or the FENDER P you THINK should sound good -- to wwittman's point!) to sit in the mix, you just have to convince the guitarist to use a tele instead of his les paul, and the drummer to rock a djembe instead of his vintage slingerland kit

I think you might be surprised with how vintage/mellow the fancy basses can be. Bartolini pre-amps and pickups usually come to mind when I think of something that's capable of a more mellow and traditional sound, especially something like the Classic Bartolini P and J pickups.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Leave it alone. He's going to bother you with annoying messages.

???

If you mean Jimmy, Jimmy doesn't bother me in the least (for a guy who likes SVTs). I like him. If you mean me... huh?

 

[JimmyM]

Pickles, I have OFTEN asked guitar players to bring a certain guitar for a session or use mine. If a guy shows up with a Les Paul and I think the track needs a Tele, I will ask him to play a Tele. If he doesn't have one, I'll try to find a suitable replacement. But I will ABSOLUTELY ask a guitarist to play something I think fits the track better. I have also asked drummers to try another snare or tuning if I think I don't like their snare sound. I had a guy refuse once...I never called him again. When I'm producing, I am Pharoah, and if people don't like it, then they need not work for me. I can find plenty who will. Likewise, when someone else is producing and paying me, I listen to them.

India, if you allow the bass to stifle your creativity, then you shouldn't be playing music. In 33 years of playing, I have never let the instrument dictate my level of creativity. I am the bassist and the bass is merely a tool, not my reason for being.

 

[seansbrew]

I don't have a Fender anymore, but I have to agree about 90+%.

+1

 

[MikeBass]

I've owned/played/gigged with just about every type of bass out there.
For some reason, a "Fender" ( I say that because it could also be Sadowsky, Lull etc...) seemed to always work in any situation.

I have sessions pretty much every night this week.
I took a few basses, all of which sound great- Yamaha BB5000, Valenti J/MM 5, Fender Jazz 4, Sadowsky NYC 5.

I pulled out the Sadowsky first and it fit perfectly.
One tune I grabbed my Valenti, sounded great, could have kept it, but tried the Sadowsky and it just fit better.
Same with my old Jazz.

Like I said, I could have used the Valenti all night, but I even agreed, the Sadowsky (Fender) just worked better.

Quite a number of basses, MTD for example, have such a wide frequency response, they just don't work as well in a mix. Either live or in the studio. They tend to consume a lot of sonic space.
Not saying that these basses can't and don't work, they do with wonderful results at times, but something about just plugging in and having the fader pushed up and getting, "Wow, that works!", and nothing else has to be done....well, that's money right there!
(at least that what happens every time with my Sadowsky! )

 

[MikeBass]

I don't agree with the intial quote. I find that attitudes like that are what stifle creativity. Sure, I might be playing a jazz bass now, but I was much happier back when I more exotic basses like Wal, Modulus and Alembic. Those are the kinds of basses that make really interesting tones that I'd want to hear. Fender will always do a job to a passable standard but when you get into the boutique range, thats when you start getting what I would call awesome results!

I think you're talking two different arenas here.
If you're working on someones project as a session guy, well, you play what they ask for or, <and news like this travels fast> you never get a call again.
OR, they call you because of your "unique" style and tone, or creative mind set. And hopefully those awesome results are present.

 

[Ryan Mohr]

I've owned/played/gigged with just about every type of bass out there.
For some reason, a "Fender" ( I say that because it could also be Sadowsky, Lull etc...) seemed to always work in any situation.

I have sessions pretty much every night this week.
I took a few basses, all of which sound great- Yamaha BB5000, Valenti J/MM 5, Fender Jazz 4, Sadowsky NYC 5.

I pulled out the Sadowsky first and it fit perfectly.
One tune I grabbed my Valenti, sounded great, could have kept it, but tried the Sadowsky and it just fit better.
Same with my old Jazz.

Like I said, I could have used the Valenti all night, but I even agreed, the Sadowsky (Fender) just worked better.

Quite a number of basses, MTD for example, have such a wide frequency response, they just don't work as well in a mix. Either live or in the studio. They tend to consume a lot of sonic space.
Not saying that these basses can't and don't work, they do with wonderful results at times, but something about just plugging in and having the fader pushed up and getting, "Wow, that works!", and nothing else has to be done....well, that's money right there!
(at least that what happens every time with my Sadowsky! )

I think that's the key here, to me "Fenders" just sit the best in the mix.

Also, when I play a Jazz or a Precision, I know I can get great tone that will work, so there's less to worry about/

 

[Steamboat Willy]

This is a REALLY interesting thread. I've been playing guitar (by that I mean six string) on and off for nearly thirty years but right at the beginning in the seventies I played bass in a band and had a Yamaha or Ibanez (I suspect the later but I can't really remember) and I've just decided to take bass up again and bought a cheap Stingray copy by Vintage. I've always been a Fender man and can recognise the sound of a Tele or a Strat a mile away. I've never owned a Precision or Jazz bass and i'm under no illusions that my Vintage Stingray sounds like a real Stingray so, here's the question for you all........

Name three songs that have good bass riffs featuring the three different basses so we can all listen and judge. So, best song featuring a Precision, best song featuring a Jazz and best song featuring a Stingray.

Let's have a bit of fun guys...Over to you

 

[Bass Viking]

IMO I'd just get a USA Lakland. Smokes a lot of what Fender is putting out new, nowadays.

It's the only "Fender-style" bass I'd own (again).

Yup, the Laklands are nice alright, although the 08 American Fenders are pretty good.

But I've got the Fender thing covered anyway with my Sadowsky and some Warmoth parts basses that IMO beat the pants off any Fender I've played.

 

[markjazzbassist]

i agree with paul. the jazz, precison, and stingray are the 3 main tones in my arsenal as well.

and the jazz is my favorite as well

 

[JimmyM]

Name three songs that have good bass riffs featuring the three different basses so we can all listen and judge. So, best song featuring a Precision, best song featuring a Jazz and best song featuring a Stingray.

Geez, that's so hard because there are so many great songs using all of them. And the sounds people get are so different. Like Jamerson playing "I Know I'm Losing You" by the Temps or Mike Dirnt playing "Longview" by Green Day...both done on a Precision...both sound 100% different from each other. But they're both very much classic Precision tones. Or like Mel Schacher and Jaco both using Jazz basses...couldn't sound any more different.

 

[gbarchus]

Gosh, how do you define the "sound" of a:

...Fender Jazz bass? ...Geddy Lee? ...Jaco? ...Larry Graham?

...PBass? ...Jamerson? ...Duck? ...Rocco?

It MUST be in the hands!

Gale

 

[flipper_gv]

There is also some things about the fender that makes it easier to record. Apart the fit the mix part, I'd say that Fenders are very very forgiving instrument. Some days, I'm playing my wick and try to shred a bit and sound like crap (because the wick isn't forgiving at all bad technique) because I haven't played in the last 2 days and then grab my fender and go shred and it sounds almost good. That's a huge improvement to my hears.

 

[Basseroni]

My only issue with Fender is that I play 5-strings exclusively and the 5-string necks are a little too chunky for my tastes. In addition, the consistence in quality is hit and miss sooooo...I'm getting an Alleva Coppolo LM-5 for my jazz bass needs. The neck is much more comfortable and the build quality is consistent. It's worth the extra money for me and I'll still have that Fender look and sound.

 

[theunknowndude]

I agree and disagree,...

I'm coming from a hard rock/metal background here so forgive me

but I mean opeth's bassist rocks out on a fender (or at least a look alike?), then we have Tool playing Wal (though not in a traditional tone), Korn using Ibanez (non traditional tone as such), Carol kaye now plays Ibanez, Offsprings bassist using ibanez,... oh and then we have steve digorgio playing fretless ESP's... sean malone and gary willis playing fretless ibanez... and then we have flea, who has used the stingray,the P and the J...

different tones/playability/mixes... and they all fit and well... that said I respect alot of your points from the session playing side etc,...

my personal side of it I played alot on a fender jazz when I borrowed it for my school band, nice tone but wouldn't like it in the hard rock/metal band I play in now for both tone and playability reasons,... yet the bass player for opeth doesn't seem to have any issue with them! I tried a yamaha bass, a music man OLP, the Ibanez K5 and also a squier fretless jazz,... sold the yamaha, selling the OLP and jazz and keeping the K5,... and saving for a fretless 5 to replace the jazz... why? none of the others had the playability in my hands and felt 'right' and none of the others has the adaptability in tones I can get out of my K5,... I think all pre amps should come standard with bass, treble, mid and mid q knobs on them... my complaint with the jazz is if it has similar preamp I could maybe 'live with it' but I hate with a passion the whole volume/volume/tone setup

maybe one day I will get a fender/lookalike but for the moment and considering I'm trying to get to minimal basses it looks like the K5 and the soon to be fretless 5 will be it for a long time...