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Your most playable bass?

benthughes

benthughes

Inactive
Jun 26, 2005
1,519
183
Fairbanks, Alaska
#1
In my quest for the perfect bass I've come to a realization. Most instruments can be made to sound pretty good with the right guts and a good amp. That being said I like basses that are comfortable and play well first then I address the electronics.

What are your best playing basses and why?

I love my G&L L-2500 and my Lull PJ5. The G&L is lightweight, has a wonderful satin finished neck that is chunky but relatively narrow at the nut. The ultralight tuners prevent neck dive and the neck hardly moves with changes in the weather.

My Mike Lull is a bit different but again the neck is very comfortable, it balances well and the ash body is amazingly lightweight. I don't know how he does it but I can get the action as low on that thing as any custom bass I've ever touched. The 35" scale gives me a nice string tension that remains tight when I down tune.

Ready go!
 
#2
I have narrowed my basses down to the 2 most playable basses. My Carl Thompson 6 fretless 36" and my Fodera Emperor II 5 35" are THE most playable basses I have found after 30+ basses. It's like the necks, and bodies were sculpted for me personally. The added bonus is their aesthetics and their tone is exactly what I was looking for. Officially, I can say I have no more GAS for basses...except a 4 string CT or Fodera, but that can wait.
 
#3
My Bordwell SC5 fretless. Exactly the neck I've always wanted, and the bass balances perfectly whether I am sitting or standing. Tone-wise, awesome. So much so, that similar to nickbass, I'm selling off (or have sold off) everything else in order to fund a fretted CB.
 
#4
63 P with a setup from JohnK plays beautifully. Strung with flats, but I've thought about rounds to get a more modern tone out of it. Nice, easy low action. All of my P basses were sweet playing instruments. For fretless I have a Warwick that is an outstanding player.
 
#5
I have owned Roscoes, Conklin GTs, Carvins, Fenders, a Stambaugh, and played countless other basses.

The most playable bass out of all of them is my first bass: a Mexican Fender Precision. The thing is one in a million.
 
#6
For me that is a very tough call as my Carvin, Dingwall, and EBMM StingRay all play fantastically in very different ways, depends on what mood I'm in and what I feel like playing.

I love my Fender P to death, it is my baby, but I am not in denial about the fact that it is a MIM and the level of workmanship is just not the same as a professional level bass.
 
#9
Most playable? My Carvin B4. The neck is not too big, and is perfectly between P and J size. I have it strung with Labella .045 to .105, and it's just so much fun to play and sounds awesome.

Second would have to be my Stingray 4. A bigger neck but it dang near plays itself, and always sounds awesome.
 
#10
My 1980 Music Man Sabre is my easiest to play overall. My 2004 Marchlewski is my easiest to play 5-string.

Small body, nice comfortable neck, very low action with no buzzes or rattles. I also have a 1979 Sabre which plays very well, but the 1980 is just.......wow.

The reason I mention the Marchlewski as easiest to play 5-string is because the neck profile is just perfect for me. Flat and wide. When I had it built, I measured the neck on a Hanewinckel 6-string that I had at the time and asked Jake to give me the same profile, but in a 5-string. He nailed it.

In retrospect, both my 1980 Sabre and my Marchlewski were both set up by Mike Koontz. My 1979 was set up by someone else, so that might also be saying something.
 
#14
IMO, playability is mostly in the setup. If I can get the string height and truss rod right, I have no worries. To date, I have never met a neck or a bass I couldn't get used to or that resisted basic adjustments. Fortunately for me, I've never had a poor-quality bass.
 
#17
Fodera MG is my most playable bass I have ever had.
I also own a P bass and used to own a smith, mtd kingston, ibanez, warwick. Sold most of them because after playing the fodera I didn't have a need to have other basses (other than the P bass for situational stuff).
 
#20
My Applause AE-40 that my dad's friend gave me. Nice low action, and as far as acoustic basses go, I can get just the sound I need out of it. Next would be my Squier P, which still needs a proper set-up, and my Epi T-bird comes in last due to the fret buzz at low action. It's not really bad, but it's just bad enough to where it bugs me.
 

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