Recommend a good all-round recording bass - DI.

I never liked the necks on the fenders. Big and clunky to me.

I haven't tried the 270, but if it's better than the 170, you can't miss. I like that I can turn down the bridge pickup and get the precision sound.

I also have an Ibanez SR505. Another great bass. Love the neck on that one. Large tonal gamut with the active electronics. It takes longer to dial in a specific tone.

So many choices. lol
 
Even the cheapest ibanez bass I tried was more of a feel in the instrument of 2 or 3 times the cost. the sound was punching and cutting,nice eq, the knobs were silky smooth, paintjob was glasslike and bridge had sustain for days. I just hate that their top end basses don't come in black as it looks great with the chrome knobs. bloody warwick started this tradition of making basses look like tree parts, and it needs to stop! btw what do people think of 'Accoustic' bass amps, they were blowing out the older 300 and 200 watt models for about a dollar per watt. are the EQs on them decent?
 
Chili said:
Hey Steeno, after you get your cheap bass, consider getting the IK MultiMedia Ampeg VST. I think it's well worth the money.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, Chili. Taking a look now.
It's available as AAX 64 bit...yay! :)

Chili said:
I never liked the necks on the fenders. Big and clunky to me.

I haven't tried the 270, but if it's better than the 170, you can't miss. I like that I can turn down the bridge pickup and get the precision sound.
So many choices. lol
Click to expand...

A lot of the reviewers are saying the 170/270 lend themselves to guitarists migrating to bass.
I'm not really either but I'm more familiar/comfortable with a guitar.

Might sound stupid but the 170 seems too cheap despite reviews. I looked up the 270 out of pure curiosity and it's pretty cheap too!
There's one on ebay for £147 posted. That's nothing!
 
Liked "Acoustic"amp

shoom said:
Even the cheapest ibanez bass I tried was more of a feel in the instrument of 2 or 3 times the cost. the sound was punching and cutting,nice eq, the knobs were silky smooth, paintjob was glasslike and bridge had sustain for days. I just hate that their top end basses don't come in black as it looks great with the chrome knobs. bloody warwick started this tradition of making basses look like tree parts, and it needs to stop! btw what do people think of 'Accoustic' bass amps, they were blowing out the older 300 and 200 watt models for about a dollar per watt. are the EQs on them decent?
Click to expand...

I used an Acoustic bass amp (150 head & 2x15 cab) for 15 years in a cover band doing DISCO! and top ten covers with a brass section. It delivered everything I asked of it and that was a lot. Solid state, it still could get a good tone. I still preferred a borrowed Sun amp and an a peg with tubes. My favorite for tone was my trusty Fender Bassman w 2x12cab. Let it go for $200 bucks when kids started coming. Darned kids...might have put them through school with the proceeds from it today.
 
Since we've got a few amp guys in, can I get an opinion?

If there's just no chance of having a loud bass amp on the go, would you mic a small practice amp or just go DI?

I have some nice appropriate mics. 421s, re20, d112, d12, 57, few condensers...
I quickly learned that miking up small guitar amps wasn't really worth while.
Is it fair to assume that bass is the same?
 
Try this

Chili said:
That might explain why I like it. Well, that and the price. :)
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I forgot to mention I have stubby short fingers and I have always played short scale (30"). Supposedly guitar players like the fret spacing better. My best is a '72 Gibson Les Paul Recording bass but I started on a $30 Woolworths Precision copy. Copy is being polite but I was young and broke. They all played bass! You'll find your favorite someday.
 
RBX is a decent sounding guitar (good diversity from the P-style pickups). You can change the original pickups out as they are stock sized. The one I played many years ago had DiMarzio neck set and the stock Yama at the bridge. Love the 24 fret scale. Should be able to pick up one of those for 100-150 quid (unless it's heavily modded).

@ Chili--thanks for the tip, been looking for a decent bass VST. Want to sell off my old vintage Yamaha B100 and that huge 1810 cab. Not so great for a small room...but the tone is what I like. Any advice on a 18/10 cab sim?
 
BTW, Steen, a lot of good bass sound comes from the strings. Pick you up several sets: D'Addario makes a line called Half Round that have good bright tone but don't tear up your fingers, same for GHS Pressure Wounds, and SIT Silencers. What I recommend for smooth, bright tone (less string noise, but retaining the bright roundwound sound). :D
 
I'm glad you started this thread, cuz I'm in the same boat you are.

Personally, I'm leaning towards a Fender/Squier P-bass. They're pretty versatile, cheap, and easy to maintain. Or if you could find a used Musicman...
 
theDICKENS said:
I'm glad you started this thread, cuz I'm in the same boat you are.

Personally, I'm leaning towards a Fender/Squier P-bass. They're pretty versatile, cheap, and easy to maintain. Or if you could find a used Musicman...
Click to expand...

:) Welcome aboard. I was feeling sold on a Fender P-bass before I came here but the more people talk (and the more I read) I'm thinking these Yamahas might be the ticket.
I like the sound of the necks being thinner and the instrument in general being quite light.

Honestly, I'd have written them off as cheap crap based on the price, if I hadn't been told otherwise.

Thanks for the info on strings, Broken_H. That's something I'd know nothing about. Google will be getting a good workout in the coming weeks.
 
Yes sir! You've got to be careful about the calluses that roundwound strings put on your fingers (thicker and harder) because it reduces the tactile of your fingers when playing intimate guitar. Never even realized that until I started playing guitar about 8 years ago. Maybe it was just because I was a newb to guitar, but the thick calluses made it really hard to play the guitar, whereas once I started using half-round strings (on a guitar/bass player's advice), the calluses became almost non-existent over time and playing guitar became much easier...now I'm learning a lot faster.

I'm sure there are some out there that play roundwounds and guitar, but for fat fingered me, it didn't work.
 
DI is fine - not as good as a DI/mic'd amp blend but to me a good bass amp is about pushing large amounts of air with a big speaker & POWER.
If I can't get the chance to crank & blend I stay with DI, Behri BDI21, compression in the box and some automation to fix the levels if I haven't rehearsed enough.
Oh, MY OTHER BASS is an Emperador thinline semi acoustic from the mid 70s. Flat wound strings and a BIG sound. They don't appear on ebay etc much these days.
 
Disclaimer: I'm not a bass player

I have recorded a few different basses over the years and have always thought that G&L (Musicman) make great sounding and versiitile basses.
 
You said "STUDIO"? The most versatile 4 string I ever owned was a Peavey T70 with two Humbucker style pickups and the most versatile electronics I have run across. Phase switching and Depth bass boost. It had it all! You could simulate any bass sound in any type environment. Why did I switch to Fender percision? I inherited an old one in incredible shape and the Peavey made from Swamp Ash weighed near 1000 pounds after a few hours playing. All of that said---- I come back to you stating STUDIO. With today's demands, STUDIO work would be more versatile with a great 5 string bass. Have you played one? The necks are wider but once you learn to navigate on, the sky is the limit to what you can bring to the table......
 
I suggest you put on a set of tape wound bass strings, there is no finger or fret noise and gives a really nice deep bass tone, I prefer my bass to sound like a cross between an upright and an electric bass, kinda like 60's era hits when they double tracked an upright and electric bass, tape wounds are kinda like that.try em before buying a new bass
 
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