looking to buy a bass for recording purposes

G

guitardude

New member
Hi. Im looking to spend the most is 250$. Something good sounding for recording. I was going to check out the squires and the ibanez's grs200s

any other suggestions?
 
I can't say enough good things about the Ibanez stuff. Really good gear and more than competitive with the rest of the products on the market. Go try a couple out at your local shop if you at all can.
 
I used to own a Yamaha BB350 w/ Active EMG pickups (upgrade).

I bought this bass on eBay for under $300 shipped. It was great for recording.

Definitely go the used route, and make sure you get decent pickups + strings.
 
I went through this process myself a few weeks back. I am a long time guitarist who also was looking to buy my first bass and was looking to spend around 200-250. I tried the Yamaha's, Ibanezes and Squires (didn't like the Squires at all), but what I ended up buying was the Dean Edge One. It's a nice looking bass with two soapbar style pickups, and I thought it had the best sound in my price range. Very playable as well; in fact since I bought it I've actually spent more time playing it than any of my guitars, and have enjoyed it immensely :D So, try 'em all, and buy the one that you like best, just be sure you try one of the Dean's before making the final decision.
 
I just got a SX bass from rondomusic.com for less than half your budget. A few minor finish flaws/issues, but it was intonated to within 10 cents everywhere on the neck, the action was ok, and the pickups are decent. It shipped with tiny strings, and the nut needed to be expanded to accept normal sized ones.

Grab whatever you like the look of, pay for a setup, and install top self pups, and you'll have a monster for around $300. It would be more than fine with just the setup, though.

For instance.
 
I bought an Ibanez SRX300 for $299 at GC this summer. It's a great value. Plays well, has a nice thin neck (which suits my tiny hands) and has active EQ. I use it exclusively for recording in the home studio but I don't see why it wouldn't make a decent gigging bass as well.
 
just as an update i played a few different basses and I really did like the ibanez. More tone knobs than the squier. Squier was cheap sounding to me..it was ok.
 
That's kinda my experience too. I think for your money now you can get something more versatile tonally than a plain old P-Bass, which in its Squier form isn't a stand-out instrument. :)
 
I scored a nice little Gretsch Elctromatic Junior Jet bass on e-bay, with hard case, for under 200. Short scale [which is what I was looking for] one pick-up, two nobs. Enough for me. Now I need a Pod XT Bass modeler to finish it off.
 
guitardude said:
just as an update i played a few different basses and I really did like the ibanez. More tone knobs than the squier. Squier was cheap sounding to me..it was ok.
Click to expand...

Which Squier did you play? The Affinity series is awful. Cheap hardware and squirly necks. However, I found a Standard Series Squier bass that impressed me much more than any of the Ibanez's and Yamaha's under $300. YMMV.
 
yeah the one i played was a squire affinity. It sucked. That's why the ibanez was so much better to me. I know there are different versions of the squire so I will have to look into that today at a different music store.
 
Hilariously, I have an Affinity Strat (20th Anniv one with the silly large CBS headstock and awful fiesta red finish) that I absolutely love to pieces. It's a dog though so once a week I hit it with a hammer or wrench to make it look ... different.
 
Ibanez GSR200

Had one and it played decent. The Pups are junk, so plan to swap them out if you plan to record. I upgraded mine with EMG's and it sounded great, especially for recording. I also hear alot about the SX Basses from Rondo Music being a good first Bass.
 
i wouldnt want to play a $300 bass, but then again, im an actual bass player. haha just kiddin guys.

For something on a budget, I'd definately look around for used deals... and i would second taking a look at some of the cheap dean models--they really arent too bad for the price. i actually have a dean edge pro V which is pretty much the nicest bass dean makes (not like thats saying a whole ton but...). i like it enough and got a good deal on it, but dont get me wrong--if i had come across just a little bit more money a few months ago it was going first thing to profit my ernie ball 5 string dual hum stealth bongo fund. :(
 
Hey, Dude. It sounds like you're in the same situation that I was in last year. Here's why I chose a Yamaha, which has worked out beautifully in my little home studio. Then again, keep in mind that I'm a guitarist, not a bass player, so my opinion of basses is inherently flawed.

I've been a guitar player for 30 years, and last summer I picked up a bass for my home recording (I was tired of bringing in bassists or using a synth). I spent an afternoon at my local GC and focused on two well reviewed low-budget basses, the Yamaha 170 and Ibanez 200, although I tried some more expensive basses for comparison.

At first, I prefered the Ibanez for its thinner neck and easier action, which might be preferable for some players, but I noticed some slight fret buzzing and a touch more background noise on the several guitars I tested. For my interest in clean recordings, I felt that the Yamaha was the better choice--the action was a bit higher, the neck a bit beefier, but the sound was very clean and pure (at least for a bass at this price point). In fact, my recordings since have born this out; the bass sounds solid and clear via a Johnson J-Station. I also found the Yamaha's unique body design and light weight to be particularly well suited to playing while seated, something I appreciate when recording. I've really grown to like this cheap axe.

So, in general... I found both basses to be low-cost winners, really quite surprising for their ridiculously low prices. For a beginner, especially a youngin', I would probably choose the Ibanez for its easy playability. For a recording musician with a lot of guitar experience, I think the Yamaha's a better choice--although I'm sure the Ibanez could be fine with some adjustment. Either way, I'd suggest asking a store to bring out a few of either model so that you can check the necks for straightness and smooth/even frets. I found a lot of obvious inconsistency in craftmanship at this price point, so after I'd decided on the Yamaha, I had the GC folks bring out 3 of them (new in box), and I took one that was clearly superior in overall build and finish.

If you're interested, you can search this forum (and via Google) to find loads of reviews of both the Yammie and Ibanez. Very solid reviews, overall, in the cheapo range.

Good luck, whichever way you head~
J.
 
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