I want to graduate to a better bass in a few months....Help!

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soundchaser59

Reluctant Commander
I am a guitar player, but I have a Fender Precision Lyte I've used for a few years for home recording. I recently had the thing worked over, heavier strings, setup, action, etc..... but I'm still not impressed with the sound. It is just too loose and flabby and hard to play and not as "precise" as I think a Precision should be, maybe because it is a "Lyte"?? I dont think it fits my hand or my fingers well, and I do have smaller hands.......good for guitar, not so good for bass. The frets are huge and wide, the neck is too wide, and frankly I was not "sober" when I played it and bought it.

But I think with the right instrument I would be able to play well and get better home recordings.

I am now in a position to start saving $$$$$$ for a better bass. But I know very little about what to look for in a good bass. Maybe it would be easier to ask what should I avoid in a bass? Prefer to stick with USA-made, can do JP made, but would rather avoid the Mx made.

I can go up to about $1,000 bucks, give or take a hundred or two, but like to stay under that a bit if possible. I dont want the cheapest, I'd rather spend a bit more to get something I can live with for 20 years! I'd rather not have to buy a better one again in a few years! Can I do that for a thousand bucks?? Will I get better gear (pickups, heads, electronics) from the start if I spend more up front?

Is Fender P the best I can do for a grand? Or can I get a better brand in that range? My best friends in high school both played Ricks, and sounded great, but I have no idea what a good Rick would cost today. If you asked me to give an example, the first thing that comes to mind is the bass sound in the SRV videos. Good clean but punchy classic rock/blues/jazzrock sounds.

I guess you get the idea. Wasn't sure what to search to find posts that just talk about shopping. Thanks for the help! - SC
 
Personally, every P-bass I've ever owned did nothing for me, granted I've only owned two.

This is the best playing and sounding bass I've ever owned-
 

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I have trouble thinking of a bass that's better than the Precision for recording. "Loose and flabby?" Not mine.

I'm suggesting that you evaluate your playing critically. Do you really know how to play bass? Do you know how to mute properly, how to choose the string and position for a certain sound, and how to vary your right hand position and attack to get different sounds? There's more to playing bass well than a lot of people think about.

I've never played the Lyte. But Carol Kaye likes it, and that's a pretty good endorsement. You don't need to spend a lot of money for a great bass sound.
 
I've got a Godin 5 string that is very versatile....cost me about $600 new.
 
AGCurry said:
I have trouble thinking of a bass that's better than the Precision for recording. "Loose and flabby?" Not mine.
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You're right. I wasn't considering the recording factor. I got rid of both of mine after studio sessions and before touring.
 
I have a Carvin LB20 Jazz-style bass that I recently put DiMarzio Model J pickups on, and it's pretty damn good. On the other hand, I just bought a Squier II P bass for $130 that, after a pickup adjustment and setting the intonation, is a terrific sounding bass.

If you have a P, make sure the pickups are adjusted (Bill Lawrence says, leave just enough clearance on the D-G pickup to slide a nickel between the pickup and the strings, and the same for the E-A pickup, but use two nickels). Set up each half so the inside end is higher than the outside end to conform to the fingerboard curvature.
 
I've got two words for you... Lakland.

Oh, wait thats one word. I have a Skyline 55-01. Of all my basses, Tobias, G&L, and Fender, this is the one bass I would take with me to a gig if I could only take one.
 
I found a used Alembic Epic 5 string for about $1200, and I am in love.
 
Ok.....

My local dealer has in stock USA Fender P and Fender J.....

USA Music Man Stingray.....doesn't stock Bongo because they dont sell? hmmmm.......

Ibanez.....none are USA.

Peavey......rather not.

Will have a couple of Rick's in 3 or 4 months. He said Rick expanded during the "reissue craze" of the 80's, then QC went all to heck, so they scaled back and sacrificed volume in order to keep QC standards high??

I have to go to Omaha to try the G&L and Alembic and Lakland stuff....

Anyway, it might take me anywehre from 3-6 months to save up the grand $$$$, so I can wait. But I'll definitely be trying the MM and Fenders first. In fact he says the MM Stingray is his best seller of all basses combined.

Interesting......

I'm kinda shy about buying something as personal as an instrument used off of ebay......any caveats there? Or has your experience been ok with that??
SC
 
AGCurry said:
I have trouble thinking of a bass that's better than the Precision for recording. "Loose and flabby?" Not mine.

I'm suggesting that you evaluate your playing critically. Do you really know how to play bass? Do you know how to mute properly, how to choose the string and position for a certain sound, and how to vary your right hand position and attack to get different sounds? There's more to playing bass well than a lot of people think about.

I've never played the Lyte. But Carol Kaye likes it, and that's a pretty good endorsement. You don't need to spend a lot of money for a great bass sound.
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Ditto to every bit of the above.
 
soundchaser59 said:
Ok.....

My local dealer has in stock USA Fender P and Fender J.....

USA Music Man Stingray.....doesn't stock Bongo because they dont sell? hmmmm.......

Ibanez.....none are USA.

Peavey......rather not.

Will have a couple of Rick's in 3 or 4 months. He said Rick expanded during the "reissue craze" of the 80's, then QC went all to heck, so they scaled back and sacrificed volume in order to keep QC standards high??

I have to go to Omaha to try the G&L and Alembic and Lakland stuff....

Anyway, it might take me anywehre from 3-6 months to save up the grand $$$$, so I can wait. But I'll definitely be trying the MM and Fenders first. In fact he says the MM Stingray is his best seller of all basses combined.

Interesting......

I'm kinda shy about buying something as personal as an instrument used off of ebay......any caveats there? Or has your experience been ok with that??
SC
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I STRONGLY suggest you buy new. And if you are willing to shell out enough $$ for a Music Man Sting Ray, GET IT!!! DO YOUR HEAR ME???? GET IT!!!!

The ONLY reason I don't have one is because my finger style playing is too aggressive - I smack the strings off the pole pieces and that sounds BAD. Otherwise, and in eveyone else's hands, Sting Ray's sound GREAT!!

BTW - I've been a bassist for 17 years. Played many basses. I have a good background to draw conclusions from. But, just to throw another choice into the mix, Warwick's are nice. Check them out if you can. :cool: :D
 
Howza bout this:

USA Fender Jazz 1962 Reissue.

Bought new 3 months ago by a stand up bass teacher for maybe $1,100 or $1,200. He traded it back in so he could stick with acoustic bass.

Mint, spotless, single coil J pickups, sky blue metal flake finish, maple and rosewood neck, vintage-style heads, knobs are "stacked" type dual function, notched for the tone and full variable for the volume, one dual knob for each pickup (passive).

Plays the best of all the basses hanging on the wall (for my hands) Great Great tone! It's exactly like this photo....

I can have it for $550. (trade in value on my Lyte, plus the dealer owes me a favor!)

Is it worth it?
 

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A stupidly awesome deal, I like J basses. They are narrower at the nut, which you might like.
 
soundchaser59 said:
Howza bout this:

USA Fender Jazz 1962 Reissue.

Bought new 3 months ago by a stand up bass teacher for maybe $1,100 or $1,200. He traded it back in so he could stick with acoustic bass.

Mint, spotless, single coil J pickups, sky blue metal flake finish, maple and rosewood neck, vintage-style heads, knobs are "stacked" type dual function, notched for the tone and full variable for the volume, one dual knob for each pickup (passive).

Plays the best of all the basses hanging on the wall (for my hands) Great Great tone! It's exactly like this photo....

I can have it for $550. (trade in value on my Lyte, plus the dealer owes me a favor!)

Is it worth it?
Click to expand...


It really depends on what you like. I would rather spend $550.00 on something like a mid range Yamaha.....or Schecter Both are well built, easy to play, and sound good. But the guy who said $550 was a stupidly good deal for the Fender will probably hate a new Yamaha. If you like it, get it. If you have doubts, try everything that is available to you untill you no longer have doubts.
 
thread hijack

Appearently I have somehow offended someone with one of my replies in this thread. I have NO IDEA how anyone could have gotten offended at ANYTHING I posted in this thread.....really.... :confused: I don't care so much about the neg rep as much as WTF did I do to upset you, and why can't you send a PM or something if you as upset as your comment indicates? You just ping me with a neg rep, an insult, and then run and hide? WTF? If I say "I like green shoes" is someone gonna get all upset? Whatever...sorry to get off topic chaser. Won't happen again. :cool:
 
Zed10R said:
I don't care so much about the neg rep......Whatever...sorry to get off topic
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It's ok Zed, I would not worry about it one bit. I have learned a long time ago that the way this "rep" thing is set up around here anybody can sling crap and boogers in your face if you like the wrong kind of ice cream, and the mud slingers are never known and never accountable for anything. So in my book, where I come from, that means the "rep" thing in this place is absolute worthless crap. I know it wasn't me, so best you can do is shrug it off. That kind of stuff says more about the anonymous fart slinging the crap than it says about you. Fuggetaboutit! I dont care how many red spots a guy has, as long as he gives good info and knows what he's talking about and has some measure of respect for others.

I can understand what you said, though. Oddly, I have actually played a Yamaha bass in the past, and didn't really care for it. I dont like Yamaha grand pianos, dont like their acoustic guitars, and a lot of their early el cheapo synth modules were pure crap, but I love my KX88 midi controller and the old DX7 I have stashed is a real gem!

But would I always prefer the Fender bass over a similar Yamaha bass? Prolley.......
 
Zed10R said:
Appearently I have somehow offended someone with one of my replies in this thread. I have NO IDEA how anyone could have gotten offended at ANYTHING I posted in this thread.....really.... :confused: I don't care so much about the neg rep as much as WTF did I do to upset you, and why can't you send a PM or something if you as upset as your comment indicates? You just ping me with a neg rep, an insult, and then run and hide? WTF? If I say "I like green shoes" is someone gonna get all upset? Whatever...sorry to get off topic chaser. Won't happen again. :cool:
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Green shoes? :mad: :mad: You like green shoes?? :mad:

Take that back, you!! :mad:
 
ez_willis said:
Green shoes? :mad: :mad: You like green shoes?? :mad:

Take that back, you!! :mad:
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I'm color blind, but I like green shoes...I think..... :eek:
 
If you're after the sound you hear on the SRV songs, Tommy Shannon used mostly and old Jazz and an old Precision when he played back then. If I remember correctly he isn't taking them on the road anymore, but that's what he used back then. You may be able to find more about which years his are and see if any of the Fender reissues or Ishibashi reissues are similar.

If you just want a nice, versatile bass for around $1000, there are loads of options. US Fenders, a new Lakland xx-01 or a used xx-02 (I *LOVE* my 55-02), a used G&L L2000 or L2500, a new G&L Tribute L2x00, a used MM Stingray, a used MM Bongo (I remember seeing a dual humbucker Bongo on sale on another forum for $800, that's a great deal!), a used Peavey Cirrus, an new MTD Kingston Heir, and the list goes on and on ...

Until I bought my last bass (the 55-02) I insisted on new ones. However, after buying my amp I changed my mind and now think buying properly cared for used equipment is the way to go. You'll either get either a lot more for your money or you'll get a much better deal on a particular model. And best of all, if you really hate what you just bought you can always sell it for very close to what you paid for it, and maybe even a little more if you got a killer deal when you bought it. ;)
 
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