Recommend Bass Guitar for home studio

  • Thread starter Thread starter JCPZero
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JCPZero

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Hello:

I have a small home studio and want to add a bass guitar to my on hand instruments.

I do not currently play bass (but will tinker once I get one).

I have recorder others bases - via a tube pre-amp to the audio card. No micing of amp cabinets / effects boxes etc. All amp simulations and effects are done in the box.

Should I concentrate on a bass with passive pickups based on my recording method? Humbuker pickups or other?

Price range $500.

I would like the tone to be versatile, so far recording soft rock, ballads - but who knows what the future will hold.

Thanks!


Jon
 
JCPZero said:
Should I concentrate on a bass with passive pickups based on my recording method? Humbuker pickups or other?
Click to expand...

Depends hugely on the style of music you're playing, really. Heavier music, definitely go humbuckers, and maybe consider actives (disclaimer - I'm more of a guitarist than a bassist, but I definitely prefer passives. That said, my bass has an active EQ, but I got such a sick deal on it that I'm fine with that). Folk rock or classic rock or the like, maybe single-coils would make more sense.

That said, I really like the Schecter Stilleto series basses I've played. If I didn't own my bass (a Mike Sherman custom he used for a shop loaner for a number of years after a customer couldn't pay), I'd probably have grabbed one of these:

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Schecter-Stiletto-Custom5-Bass?sku=513050

A little above your price range, and a 5-string, but you get the picture... Schecter's stuff really blows me away for the price, particularly their fretwork...
 
I definite like the looks of the Schecter. I am not really familiar with the brand, but bass players in the know would be happy with the brand?

Also I suspect I should start with a 4 string.

Thanks,

Jon
 
Check out the G&L Tribute basses. Right at that price point, well made and have coil switches for lots of different tones.
 
c7sus said:
Check out the G&L Tribute basses. Right at that price point, well made and have coil switches for lots of different tones.
Click to expand...

Good suggestion on the G&L-all of those guitars and basses are great, also some of Leo Fenders best work too.
I have an old Jazz Bass copy-an Ibanez from the 70's-and it's an excellent bass for any kind of recording. Yeah, I would stick with a 4 string for starting out-lots of 5 strings have a very flat neck radius that takes awhile to get used to...
 
On bass guitar strictly for recording, I would tend to use an active pickup system. Mainly for the clarity aspect. I would also consider a deluxe style pickup arrangement for versitilty in tone (so you could go from the beatles to the red hot chillipeppers).
 
G&L Tribute is a good suggestion.

The Schecter basses are really mediocre in this bassist's opinion. They look really nice but have very flat radius fretboards (very modern) and have very modern active electronics, none of which I like very much.

A used MIM Jazz for around $350 or if you're really lucky, a MIA Jazz for around $500 would be good choices. I do not suggest buying a new Fender bass at the current prices.

If you're starting with soft rock and ballads, you can't go wrong with a Fender Jazz. By the time you run out of versatility, you'll be happy to buy another bass.

Personally I recommend passive electronics. I rambled about this at length in another thread. See here: Boring rant about active electronics

Ultimately, though, active or passive is a personal preference thing. I just see it as a lot of added cost for something that's not as good as the real preamps I own.
 
I'm also mainly a guitar player, but for recording purposes bought a bass. An Ibanez GSR 200, 4 string, active, 2 PUs (J- and P-style). It's cheap, light, decently built, nice to play and pretty versatile (but I always use the neck-PU nevertheless).

I plug it directly into my cheap-ass mixer, which goes into my soundcard. I really like the results.
 
Fender highway one Jazz. Works on almost all recordings in my project studio.
 
JCPZero said:
I would like the tone to be versatile, so far recording soft rock, ballads - but who knows what the future will hold.
Click to expand...

Somehow I missed this, lol.

Yeah, the Schecter is a great hard rock/metal bass, but probably not what you're looking for. A MIM Jazz bass or a G&L Tribute are both good suggestions - basically anything with single coils will probably give you the right vibe.
 
I'm not a bass player either. I kept my eyes open and ended up buying a used MIM fender p-bass for pretty cheap. I think it was under $250, but it was really clean and well set up. Plus it was blue! I found it easier to get a nice round, blended tone with a simple instrument.

When I've worked with active basses in bands or in recording, I feel like it was easy for the bass pilot to abuse the boost and end up with a very unnatural tone that didn't know it's place in the mix. If decent bass players were making that mistake, I was sure I would, too. So, I opted for a very simple innocent setup that I could outboard pervert.

The advantage to getting a plain old fender is that it'll pretty much always be worth about what you paid for it. You get some off brand thing that might be kick ass and feature packed. But if you lose interest and want to unload it, it may be difficult to get anything out of it.
 
Outboard perversion does seem to be a perennial favorite.
 
I was going to say "molestation" but Dateline NBC "to catch a predator" was on.

How can people be so stupid?

BigJohnny666: r u a virgin?
LittleTeenie69: Ya
BigJohnny666: would u do me?
LittleTeenie69: Sure, come on over. Here's my address
 
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