Sjael Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 Now as everyone in the universe knows, I'm a phenomenal guitarist*, and have built and repaired my own guitars and thus know my way around the fairly well. *May or may not be total bullshit. Now, I'm in the final stages of writing for my upcoming, phenomenal* solo album (12 songs finalized, 5 more vying for slots.) *Also may or may not be total bullshit. This means sooner or later I'm gonna need a bass to record with. The most time I've spent with any bass was probably 5 minutes of dicking around on my band-mate's Dean V bass during practices. I'm also not in the best of financial situations so I'm likely gonna go second-hand for it. Is there anything special I need to look for in a bass? besides the guitar carry-overs (fret buzz, etc.) Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hungrycat Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 As always, Imma gonna recomend a Fender-Jazz Bass stlye instrument. They're VERY versitile, and about 80% of music since 1951 has a Fender bass on it (Precision or Jazz.) Jazz has a thinner neck on it, easier for a guitarist to use (or so I'm told...) A Jazz can also sound like a Precision with the neck pup soloed. And then it has a Bridge pup too. They're available at EVERY price point. An MIM Fender can be had used for about $350 US. An Affinty Squire is about $100 US used. MY FAVORITE is the Squire Vintage Modified '70's Style Jazz Bass. Maple body, maple neck, maple fingerboard, Duncan designed pups. They need zero upgrades to sound fantastic. Used I've seen them between $150-200 US. And they look badass too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 I cant really think of anything different to look out for as opposed to a guitar. There isnt much difference in that regard. Once again, I will have to agree with HC on the choice of bass though. But, if you decide to get something else, keep in mind that tonewoods and PUPs are going to play a MAJOR factor in your sound with a bass. With bass pickups, the pole pieces arent adjustable and you have very little room for pickup height adjustment because the pickup screws are mounted directly into the body. With tonewoods, you want something thats going to give you a good balance between your higs, mids and lows. Woods like basswood will pretty much eliminate your midrange and give you a flat, undefined sound. Thats about all I can think of right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proffett Posted March 19, 2010 Share Posted March 19, 2010 I would have to agree... any one of the many Fenders or clones out there would be a good choice for you... The Squiers are definitely a good value for a guitar player just wanting a bass to kick around. And while they certainly don't necessarily NEED upgrading, it is very simple and convenient to do so if you ever want to. I would suggest a set of Seymour Duncan Basslines right off the bat. Quarter Pounders if you're playing heavier stuff. IMHO Basslines are without a doubt the best value out there for passive bass upgrades. I've got a QP P-J set in my Fender Aerodyne, and I will never use anything else. And the slim Jazz neck is great for guitarists to transition on. Another good option is Ibanez... again, great value, excellent quality, they sound good, and they also have nice, slim necks. In fact, they have their MiKro, which is just about the same size as a guitar, and still sounds like a full size bass. Good luck... Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjael Posted March 21, 2010 Author Share Posted March 21, 2010 Thanks for the advice guys! Unfortunately for me my entire personal/financial life has just come undone, and it seems I'll be both out of a house and a job in an alarmingly short timeframe, in a market where nobody in my field is hiring. Probably not the best time to be pursuing rockstar dreams I guess! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinTheHood Posted March 22, 2010 Share Posted March 22, 2010 Sorry to hear that, Sjael. I hope you have a speedy financial recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjael Posted March 22, 2010 Author Share Posted March 22, 2010 Thanks. I'm not too worried, I've been thro- well, I actually haven't been through worse, but I'm coming up on my 8th year in this industry (more-or-less glazing) so it shouldn't be too hard to find a new job... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sjael Posted March 27, 2010 Author Share Posted March 27, 2010 Mini-update: Seems my sister is trying to sell her Affinity P-Bass which needs the pickguard and jack replaced (*someone* stepped on the lead while it was plugged in...) so I may be able to snag that for about NZ$150 ($500 retail.) I've got some high quality piezo film pickups lying around from my strat somewhere so I can likely get a pretty good tone out of it with a little elbow grease. Sound like a good plan? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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