Whats A Good Bass?

B

Bass Freak

New member
Hey

This is my first post thingy, so please bear with me. I have been playing bass for about 4 months now. I pretty much know nothing about what makes a good bass. I have a Squire P-Bass. I was wondering whats a good bass to go from there.

Thanks

Fox
 
Music Man, Warwick, Fender, and Yamaha make good basses around $1000 give or take a couple of hundred dollars.

It depends on what kind of wood you like, the neck, pickups, etc. Go into as many stores as you can and play some basses. Get a feel for what is out there.
 
Welcome to the board! We can use more bass players around here. Some of these guitarists can get a little high strung, if you know what I mean.

That Squier P is a good start, and unless you've got money burnin' a hole in your pocket, or you're practicing five hours a day, it could last you quite a while.

Fender basses are nice because they're a widely known commodity. Recording engineers and sound guys will have a pretty good idea of what they have to work with. I personally like Jazz basses a little more than Precisions, but that's a taste thing.

A lot depends on what you have to spend too. It's probably not worth it at all to upgrade if you can't spend about $400, and I would recommend getting something in the $7-800 neighborhood. It seems to me that's the sweet spot in the bang for the buck dept. for cheap bastards like me.

Bottom line is, you gotta go out and play a lot of different ones, until you find the one that just "feels right." It could take a while, but it'll be worth it. Get something you want to keep forever.
 
Fender P bass is one most people like in just about any style. I've always been fond of the Gibson Grabber bass, but they don't make them anymore.
 
So I should pretty much go to my local, friendly guitar store and damage thier goods?

High strung, I get it lol. So there arent to many bass fiends on here? I tried playing an electric, I couldnt do it. My friends get kicks by making me play thier leads, Im just like yeah laugh it up. *plays open E* *whole rooms shakes*


Fox
 
Ive played a Warwick before, I have a friend that just bought one. I kinda like it, but its not like my Ushi (thats my P-Bass's name). There is just something about the way it feels. I think next time I'm up in the Guitar Center area, I'm going to stop in and get my freak on with some basses.

Fox
 
There's a few bassists here. Mr. Q is awesome, and I know there are others I can't think of at the moment.

Warwicks definitely aren't for everyone. If I was going to spend that much, I'd be looking at a Stingray, or an American made Fender, maybe even a Lakland.
 
Thats cool that there are some bass players here, atleast I'm not alone.

What really makes me mad is all the people that started playing lead guitar becuase everyone else plays them, and they are more "mainstream" and upfront in the bands. I know for a fact if you asked any random person the street if they knew who Stu Hamm is they would be like "who?". But if you ask them who Jimi Hendrix is *not a diss on the god known has hendrix* they will be like yeah, he plays guitar. That miffs me.

AND ANOTHER THING, wallmart, in all thier glory, has started selling bottom line leads and acustics, but no bass can be seen, this just goes to prove my point that people play leads becuase they are "mainstream".

Enough rambling for one night lol.

Fox
 
Congratulations with your choice. I've been playing bass for 10 years now and it's a great instrument. I see myself as a true bassplayer although lately I've been working on my guitarplaying as well (for me a better instrument to compose).

Frankly, if you have been playing for just four months, I don't think you should consider upgrading yet.
This may not be true for you but when I was in your phase I too was already looking around for a better and more expensive instrument, assuming it would play easier than my Yamaha Attitude Standard (comparable pricerange as you P- bass) which was my first bass.
But it's all in the fingers, my friend!

A Squier P-bass is a fine instrument and when you develope your bass playing skills you will be able to let it kick butt. You don't need a $1000 bass for that.

Yeah, eventually I replaced my Yamaha. But that was mainly because I made it fretless and I wanted a 5-string. Now I sometimes miss it as it was because it was a really fine bass.

But there is nothing wrong with a bit of dreaming of course. And in case you might be wondering: I now have a Ibanez ATK-305. Great instrument, just not for people with small hands and a weak back.
 
So you can rip the frets out? lol. I havent played a fretless yet, whats the big difference *other than the frets being gone*...and I have another question, what are good strings for a bass? I have changed the ones that came with my bass to D'Addaros and they sound and feel different. Do the strings have that much play in what the sound is?

Fox
 
Another bass player here I"ve been playing bass for about 15 years or so (got about 5 years on guitar before that)
And yeah I've got a bass I ripped the frets out gibson hollow body like that fretless sound but my main bass is a steinberger (the one with the guitar body not the little square thing)
As far as what you should get, a fender jazz is a nice bass to stretch your hands and get your chops on, also depends on what kind of music you play too I started out on a 4001 ric but I had a period where I practiced on a fender jazz because the action and the width between the strings and fret size all made for good stretching then when I jumped on my main bass it was like driving a mercedes.
Also the fender jazz has a good all around sound cool for rock blues or jazz etc.
By the way Stu Hamm's the URGE is a must own for bass players who want to see how far you can take the bass...
 
Strings how important are they to your sound? the second most important thing to your sound is the strings, the first is your hands, example you and I could play the same bass and it would not sound the same due to style and chops.
I've found that their are choice strings for different basses also what kind of music do you play makes a difference on what sound you want.
Such as are you playing fingerstyle, with a pick, thumb popping and snap style etc. are you going for a treble type sound or something deep and of course different amp can make a difference too to me that is the third most important part of your sound.
Another factor would be how many instruments are you playing with example would be if your playing with two guitar players using heavy distortion you may want a treble sound to not get lost in the mix or you could want a deep sound to just hold the bottom down.
Playing with one clean guitar I deep sound is nice and stands out well
It's all a matter of taste and what your going for their is not one universal best bass sound it's more can you make it sound good to you in the context of what your and who your playing with
 
Whatever happened to the 4001?

I saw one pretty cheap in the GC the other day, and I never see anyone playing them anymore. Is that sound history?

barefoot
 
64Firebird said:
Fender P bass is one most people like in just about any style. I've always been fond of the Gibson Grabber bass, but they don't make them anymore.
Click to expand...

I've had my Grabber for about 20 years now. It's the only bass i've ever owned. Not cause it's the best, but because I'm a cheap bastard and I think guitars these days are way overpriced (like everything else). It still sounds great and plays great. Strings are a little high off the fret board, but I'm so used to playing it, it doesn't bother me. I need to get it worked on by a pro one of these days.
 
The Rickenbackers will never lose their appeal.

How much was the 4001 you saw, barefoot?
 
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