Picking a bass for my first time

[paw1]

I'm currently looking for a bass guitar for DI home recording. I'm not really a bass player, but I really like the sound of basses with a present tone, close to the actual sound of the strings (although not lacking in bass).

Tried out a few basses today at my local shop: Two Warwicks, a Squire Jazz Bass, an American Jazz Bass, and a Jazz Bass V with an ash body. The Warwicks and the Squire didn't do it for me acoustically, so I only tried the Jazz Basses with amplification. I liked both very well, but the presence and definition of the V (maple board and ash body) slightly topped the more rounded tone of the "ordinary" Jazz. Both felt very comfortable and well built. The V also has a ton of extra options (bunch of knobs, and active circuity which can be engaged or disengaged).

Now, for recording purposes, which one would you recommend? The V has much more options, but would I be crazy to have a 5-string for my first bass? Would active circuitry be a plus for DI? It's about 50% costlier than the "ordinary" Jazz. I've heard good things about MM Stingrays as well, but I'd probably have to order and hope for the best if I want that one.

I'd like to hear your opinions. Also, I'm open for other suggestions.


Best regards

-paw

 

[Chili]

What are you using to DI with? Most common interfaces have a DI for passive pick ups. I believe the same is true if you are going through a mic pre with a DI. I don't have any experience with active pickups and not sure what the difference rally is, but I think your studio gear will dictate which bass to get.

For other suggestions, i use a yamaha rbx-170 and love it. Cheap and it sounds great.


Hth

 

[Phrasemaker]

Hi, I thought as a bass novice I'd share my own experience of buying and starting playing bass. Firstly, pickup wise, I bought a bass with actives and have had no issues connecting to mixers, DI, Tube pre-amp, plus I bought a foot pedal on Ray's recommendation which was inexpensive, and works fine. I went for a six string and found it a handful to the point I found myself longing for a skinny necked Jazz bass. However, perseverance and a need to actually use it, has over time made me glad I got what I did, as it's pretty flexible sound wise and gives me great options across the huge range it covers. I now enjoy playing it and recording with it. I got an ESP B-206 with spalted maple top, I wanted to use it for several genres of music and playing styles, so checked out some accomplished players using them on youtube, and liked what I heard. I personally prefer to play either through an Orange combo or into a tube pre, I love the tube tones, so that's now my weapon of choice.

all the best with it

Tim

 

[paw1]

The ESP sounds good from the demo I checked out, but really, six strings is too intimidating for a bass-noob like me

Chili, the DI will be my RME Fireface UFX. Would you recommend getting a dedicated DI for bass?

 

[rayc]

Dedicated Bass DI? BDI21 from Behringer - seriously!

 

[Chili]

Chili, the DI will be my RME Fireface UFX. Would you recommend getting a dedicated DI for bass?

I doubt it. That thing looks pretty sweet. Ray knows a thing or two about bass, so his suggestion is going to be spot on. I also heard the dbx 163x works really nice for a bass DI. I have one, but I never use it.

 

[rayc]

I just read some reviews of the RME Fireface UFX.
You won't need the Behri unless you want to tweak the signal going in a little (the blend knob is particularly effective in giving some tube like "warmth").
The RME Fireface UFX looks pretty spectacular compared to what I'm using at present.

 

[paw1]

Yeah, the UFX is pretty sweet! I think it will do "just fine"

If I feel like I need more tweakability after getting a bass, maybe I'll go with a dedicated DI.

Any opinions on the V vs the "ordinary" Jazz? Guess I've kind of made up my mind that the V is a little bit more to my liking, but would the extra options be worth an extra 50% of the cost? Guess not too many here have auditioned both.