Bass Guitars

magritte · Post by **magritte** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 10:29 am

I need a Bass for under $350. I will be using it to record line-in (i am doing lo-fi bedroom recordings and don't have a lot of space/money for an amp).

Anyone have any recommendations?

ottokbre · Post by **ottokbre** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 10:30 am

ya know, i was over at a freinds who has a korean made Squire P-Bass. I must have played that thing for an hour and loved everything I could coax out of it. One is on my list now.

magritte · Post by **magritte** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 10:42 am

ott?kbre wrote:ya know, i was over at a freinds who has a korean made Squire P-Bass. I must have played that thing for an hour and loved everything I could coax out of it. One is on my list now.

are the korean/mexican models any different from the american models?

llmonty · Post by **llmonty** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 11:13 am

I am a huge fan of the godin acoustibass / a4 series. In fact I am playing one right now (don't tell work!), with a line in through a little labs redeye. Sounds so excellent. I have a fretless with active lr baggs electronics. sounds similar to an upright, but can growl through a muff and a bassman. Can't say enough about this elegant peice of craftsmanship.

The older acoustibasses can be found for around $400, give or take $50 and are more strat than tele shaped.

A little different than your typical fender setup.

Kilroy · Post by **Kilroy** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 11:18 am

I would go with a squier P-Bass, i wish i would have gotten that as my first. I got a crappy peavey which kinda sucked. My friend has a five string bass from rogue which was just a couple bills ($200).

schnozzle · Post by **schnozzle** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 11:34 am

I think you can find a Mexican p-bass used for $250-300, those are great.

llmonty · Post by **llmonty** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 11:48 am

oh - here is a link to one on ebay http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... egory=4713

also, one of the cool features is that it resonates enough to play unplugged for practicing on the couch (though not loud enough to play unamplified with another instrument/person)

Phil Owl · Post by **Phil Owl** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 12:41 pm

The Yamaha BB series is very good and reasonably priced (I played a 5-string in that series for several years and LOVED it!). Records really nice too.

wing · Post by **wing** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 1:19 pm

if you can, try to look around for a used fender mexican p-bass reissue... i love those

EasyGo · Post by **EasyGo** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 1:22 pm

I'd recommend visiting a brick-and-mortar Fender dealer (other than GC, the bastards) and trying out a few of the budget models (Mexican, Korean) in person.

I think many of the imports are fine, but I'd avoid the Affinity Series (super cheap Chinese) Squiers, but that's just me.

On the used market, look for the Japanese Squiers and Japanese reissue P Basses and J Basses. Some of these are super nice.

dynomike · Post by **dynomike** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 3:14 pm

I have a Yamaha BBG5 - They are pretty good for the money. The play very well and sound decent. A little too much BASS for my liking though.. also, the pickups are noise cancelling, so if you turn one down the noise will increase.

I wouldn't get a 5 string as my first bass if I could start over... I'd probably get a Fender Jazz bass reissue... these play kinda like a pig, but sound great and are so versatile.

Best bass sound (live) I've ever heard was a Fender J-bass reissue through a David Eden Tube Head into a Eden 4x10 cab. All knobs at "5"... sweet.

mke

Red Rockets Glare · Post by **Red Rockets Glare** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 3:17 pm

i just got a pbass/jazz bass combo from squire for 175 and love it!

AGCurry · Post by **AGCurry** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 3:27 pm

Fender is THE standard for recording. Get one used. The Mexican and Japanese ones are fine. I haven't played the Squiers, but they're probably okay too.

The Precision is easier to record with because of its humbucking coil (no hum), but the Jazz is good if your space is fairly free of electromagnetic noise.

Verboten · Post by **Verboten** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 3:56 pm

Magritte asked:
"Are the korean/mexican models any different from the american models?"

Yes - almost everything is different - different woods, different electronics and hardware. Also - the quality control is less stringent... they're completely different. This from a Fender rep I spoke with once

Still, I own one and love it (except I can't intonate it properly - but for $100 used... I can't complain).

tony moore · Post by **tony moore** » Thu Dec 11, 2003 4:08 pm

i'm a bassist and have been thru more basses than i care to admit. you're in luck, there are so many decent basses to choose from in your price range now!

i would buy a fender precision special - it has a jazz neck, precision body with a precision pickup and a jazz pickup in the bridge spot. contrary to everyone else will tell you, i WOULD go to any store that has alot to choose from. don't be afraid if it's a fender from mexico or asia. just play all of them until you find one that feels good. also, most larger stores will setup the bass for you for free if you're nice enough. if you can get one for around $250, and i think you should be able too, i'd swap the pickups for dimarzio's. if you buy everything from the same store, you may be able to talk them into setting the bass up properly and installing the pickups for you for free. that would give you a really versatile bass with a classic look and classic sound. dimarzio's can go from clean to crunch depending on your attack and are very quiet for recording.

good luck!

tony

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