Good Basseseseses

funky penguin

I've been thinkin its aboot time to get me a new bass.
I have my eye on MusicMan's Stingray, and I wudnt mind some opinions on this bass, or maybe throw some other names at me.
Any advice is greatly appritiated.

Doctor J

Stringrays are a classic, and justifiably so. The Stingray has just the one pickup near the bridge so you have a fundamentally treblier(sp?) tone, and low end is added by either the Stingray's onboard EQ or your amp's. It's a great design for slapping beacuse there's plenty of room between the pickup and the neck to get yer hand in there if that technique is one you use. Not my cup of tea though, I prefer something with a meatier, bassier tone.

Other classic basses would be the Fender Precision and Jazz and, maybe, the Rickenbacker 4003.

The Precision is one of the earliest electric bass designs and is a no frills machine. Just plug it in, you get the precision tone and away you go. They're sturdier than tanks. Some Precision players of note are James Jamerson (he played on all the good Motown records you've ever heard) all the way to Steve Harris of Iron Maiden. The Precision has no active onboard EQ (unless you go for the very pricey American Deluxe model) but it's natural tone just kicks ass, enough that it is still one of the most popular basses after almost 50 years and remains relatively unchanged.

The Jazz was brought out as the superior model to the Precision, it has two pickups and is suitable for practically every style of music you'll ever want to play. Again, it's passive apart from the very high end models, but doesn't really need it, again it has fantastic tone and is very confortable to play, a very versatile machine. Above any other bass, I would urge you to check out a Jazz before you buy. You can also get a Stingray-esque tone from a Jazz, just lower the neck pickup slightly so it's output is less than the bridge pickup, et voila! I love them, I think they're the best basses around.

The Rickenbacker 4003 is also a classic, but it's not for everybody. Apart from it's distinctive styling, it also has a very unique tone. You can get enormous low end out of a Ric. Generally, I have to roll off the low end in the amp's EQ on mine. they're passive but are wired for stereo, you can run each pickup to a different amp. They're probably more suitable for plec players though, the strings are closer together than the Stingray, Precision or Jazz and totally unsuitable for slapping.

Other brands of note would be Warwick, G&L, Ibanez, Lakland and a load of others, but it really comes down to how you play, what you play and how much you want to spend.

ShriekingSheet

Originally posted by Doctor J
Fender Precision

guy in my mates band has this

sweeeeet!

the creamy colour is mouldy tho!

ferdi

yeah, jazz is the way to go.

or for an active bass i'd go with one of the ibanez soundgear models:

SR800 - really nice and light with great tone and a lightening fast neck




soon you'll be playing like this guy (needs sound)

Doctor J

This is my Ric 4003, Ibanez Soundgear 6 string and my Jazz bass

KlodaX

how bout a Tanglewood Rebel?

Mongo

Do not buy a tanglewood rebel.they suck.to the threadstarter what kind of stuff do you play?Its very important I know this to answer your question

funky penguin

Ah, Im a big fan of slap/funk etc, but i will generally play anything.
The slap is the reason I had my eye on the stingray, as Doc J has already pointed oot.

Doctor J

I still say try a Jazz before you buy, but you just can't argue with a Stingray for slapping. And check here before you buy, might save yerself some €€€

M@lice

Check out what yamaha have to offer. They make quality basses and can be bought for much less than the brands mentioned so far. Guess your payin for the label a bit.

Well with ppl like Billy Sheehan and John Myung playin em they can't be all bad!

I have a jm6 and its a lovely bass if a bit heavy. Very Happy with that one.

Check em out anyway. I've found with stingrays ppl either love em or hate em. I personnaly don't love em because I have found other basses to be more playable. Its just that sound!! Its amazin!

Actually the nicest bass i ever played was a G&L. Check them out too while your at it but they're quite expensive.

Go into town some day and play a stingray and see wat you think. Unless your blown away consider somthin else.

Slosh

Bought a Fender Aerodyne lately, Its got both Precision and Jazz Electronics... Looks the business too...

funky penguin

Cheers for all the replys people!:)

Earthhorse

Was over in a mate's gaff last night and his dad showed me this Hofner (I think he said it was a '62, not sure) that he bought off e-bay.

Man it was sweet to play (even without an amp). Easy as pie and light as a feather. Not that I know anything about basses, just felt obliged to share that story!