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What's a reasonable price reduction to expect when you're looking at used basses? I found a couple of options on craigslist, and I'm not sure whether they're good options. One is an Epiphone Thunderbird IV for $195 (regular $299), the other is an Ibanez 5-string that is most likely a GSR105 with a gig bag for $150 (regular $250). Is one a better deal than the other/a better choice for an experienced guitarist but a beginning bassist?
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Feb 5, 2012 08:29
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MockingQuantum posted:What's a reasonable price reduction to expect when you're looking at used basses? I found a couple of options on craigslist, and I'm not sure whether they're good options. I think those are reasonable deals money-wise but would not buy neither. Thunderbird is a bit of a one trick pony when it comes to its tone and playability, and it almost always has a severe case of neck dive (unless the strap button has been moved). I have no personal experience with the Ibanez but I think the Squier by Fender line gives you way better value for almost the same price. If I were you, I would be searching for used Classic Vibe or Vintage Modified jazz or precision basses based on your preference of tone and neck-widht. Precisions usually have a chunkier neck and the tonal possibilities are a bit limited: a precision sounds like a precision but it cuts almost always well through the mix and thousands of people love the tone. Jazz basses have a bit more wiggle room because of the two single coil pick-ups and their necks are usually thinner. I own a Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass myself and it's in no way inferior to my other higher priced basses. And oh, whatever bass you end up buying, I really recommend testing it out before paying. It's your hands and your ears that have to make the final decision.
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Feb 5, 2012 11:08
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I got a GoPro on Woot.com for half price just before Christmas. The trails around here can't be ridden due to snow, and I wanted to test out the camera, so I mounted it on my bass. I had a gig today sightreading some music with my uni's percussion instructor and two other students, so I brought the camera along and gave it a whirl. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50IntBiatT0&hd=1
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Feb 5, 2012 12:03
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MockingQuantum posted:What's a reasonable price reduction to expect when you're looking at used basses? I found a couple of options on craigslist, and I'm not sure whether they're good options. I liked my Epi Thunderbird well enough, but they do have a distinct sund that may or may not work for you and the neck dive didn't really bother me too much, but I'd recommend trying one out in a shop first to make sure both of those things wouldn't be a problem. I had mine for about five years and was able to sell it in less than a week on craigslist with a hard case for $200 last year so I guess the price is decent enough. What the above poster said about grabbing one of the nicer Squiers used is pretty good advice, especially if you're looking for something a little more traditional in sound.
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Feb 5, 2012 23:32
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FancyMike posted:What the above poster said about grabbing one of the nicer Squiers used is pretty good advice, especially if you're looking for something a little more traditional in sound. Well, we're not actually looking for a more traditional sound, but I don't have enough experience with basses to really know what the range is. We're going to be using the bass almost exclusively for various types of metal. I also used to have a Squier guitar, and was not particularly fond of it, but I don't know if that's indicative of the brand. I've also run into an LTD F-205 5 string that's in great shape. Anybody have an opinion on that one? In the meantime I'll see if I can track down some Squiers to give 'em a whirl.
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Feb 6, 2012 05:35
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MockingQuantum posted:Well, we're not actually looking for a more traditional sound, but I don't have enough experience with basses to really know what the range is. We're going to be using the bass almost exclusively for various types of metal. I also used to have a Squier guitar, and was not particularly fond of it, but I don't know if that's indicative of the brand. Squier is definitely not churning out the same poo poo it was ten years ago. The 'Affinity' line is probably mostly trash, but the Classic Vibes and Vintage Modifieds are decent instruments that I wish had been available when I bought my Epiphone years ago. Not sure about the LTD, I've never played one, but I will say that there's absolutely nothing wrong with using a precision or jazz bass for metal and I've seen plenty of both used well.
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Feb 6, 2012 17:19
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FancyMike posted:Squier is definitely not churning out the same poo poo it was ten years ago. The 'Affinity' line is probably mostly trash, but the Classic Vibes and Vintage Modifieds are decent instruments that I wish had been available when I bought my Epiphone years ago. This. The whole "what's the best bass for metal" is a running joke on the TalkBass forums (even though people often actually ask this with a straight face). Maybe a double bass with piezo pick-ups wouldn't be the best choice for a metal gig but almost anything else would probably do just fine (well, maybe some semi-hollows or a Danelectro Longhorn would not be ideal). Then it's just a matter of what kind of tonal possibilities and overall tone you want. A Thunderbird may be just the right thing for you but the humbucking sound is not of the most versatile kind. Don't know about the LTD but too often the money in those basses at that price range go to the aesthetics rather than the overall playability, reliability and electronics or that's just the vibe I've got with these "heavy metal basses". Also, if you want to go really cheap, I've heard lot of praise for the SX basses although I've never tried one. Remember that the difference between a four and a five string bass can be quite dramatic. I've played for a couple of years actively and I still don't feel comfortable with the thick necks of five-stringers. On the other hand, I've never really needed a low B or other "extra" string. Sure I can play one, but they serve no purpose for me. These Loving Eyes fucked around with this message at 18:13 on Feb 6, 2012 |
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Feb 6, 2012 18:04
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I've been playing for about a third of my life, but I've never paid attention to gear, so I'm not sure how to deal with this… How can I maintain my fretless's neck? I use flatwounds, but I can already see the beginnings of scratches on the fretboard. Is there some kind of material I can put on the neck that won't gently caress the bass up but will fix any damage that's starting? The bass is BEAD-tuned, but there's about equal scratching under all four strings, so I don't think that affects anything. Also, it buzzes like a bitch anytime I play a half-step above an open string. All four strings do it about equally. Is that a mistake in my form, an action problem, or what?
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Feb 8, 2012 04:37
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That sounds like your neck is too flat. Check out Gary Willis' setup guide, or take it to a setup guy if you're not comfortable doing it yourself.
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Feb 8, 2012 05:50
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Anything you coat the fretboard with will change how it sounds, so you should take that into consideration. I recall a while back someone on Talkbass was selling thin sheets of mylar precut for a fretboard. Or, you could go the Jaco route and cover the thing in marine epoxy. Or, just don't worry about, play it for years and get the fretboard replaned after the grooves become too deep.
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Feb 9, 2012 02:30
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DrChu posted:Or, just don't worry about, play it for years and get the fretboard replaned after the grooves become too deep. This would be my advice. Pushing metal into wood thousands of times is going to result in some damage, but it's completely normal and expected. I suppose there are many things you could do to prevent it but you may not like the tonal results. Summit fucked around with this message at 04:44 on Feb 13, 2012 |
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Feb 13, 2012 04:41
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If you play fretless, I would think that there are worse tonal consequences than sounding like Jaco Pastorius. I don't know much about fretless playing, but I thought the epoxied fretboard would be pretty standard by now.
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Feb 13, 2012 18:29
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I have a coated neck (albeit a cheap SX), and I play with nylon tapewounds, and the strings STILL mar the board. There's really no way to get around it, and it really isn't that big of a deal.
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Feb 13, 2012 19:22
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I have an ebony board fretless and play with stainless roundwounds - I can see wear marks from the strings on the fretboard but I can't feel them. Eventually I'll have to send it to Chris to re-plane the board but that won't be for a long time. Speaking of Chris, he still hasn't gotten the pickups for my new bass. 
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Feb 13, 2012 22:18
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DEUCE SLUICE posted:I have an ebony board fretless and play with stainless roundwounds - I can see wear marks from the strings on the fretboard but I can't feel them. Eventually I'll have to send it to Chris to re-plane the board but that won't be for a long time. My hollowbody is sitting at Lakland waiting for them to finish a new batch of pickups 
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Feb 13, 2012 22:21
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Has anybody used a Sansamp? A friend of mine speaks really highly of them, but I'm curious if anybody here has experience with them. They're here for those who are interested: http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/index.html
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Feb 14, 2012 01:56
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My Tech21 Sansamp bass driver is my favorite pedal I've ever used. It's pretty versatile and is great if you don't have a awesome tube amp. Really fattens up my tone, in a clean way.
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Feb 14, 2012 02:04
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I use a Tech21 Sansamp Bass Driver Programmable. My signal chain is bass -> tuner -> Mark Bass Compressore -> Sansamp -> XLR: DI out to house / 1/4": fx-return on my Genz Benz 6.0 Shuttle that I use as a powered monitor. I have nothing but good things to say about it. Its mostly only on one preset during a show, but its nice to have other sounds that you can switch to easily. Also check out the Character VT Bass pedal, I heard good things about that one too.
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Feb 14, 2012 03:31
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The VT Bass is absolutely amazing and is ALWAYS on for my rig. It's at the very end of my signal chain, right before my amp and basically serves as a preamp. Most of the time I bypass the pre on my amp itself and just use the VT as a standalone pre.
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Feb 14, 2012 03:50
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These Loving Eyes posted:Also, if you want to go really cheap, I've heard lot of praise for the SX basses although I've never tried one. I have a 5-string SX Jazz that I've been using as a test bed for various pickups, bridges and whatnot. Every single part on it has been replaced, except the body and neck, and you know what? It's still a piece of crap. I don't understand the Talkbass hype about SX and the other Rondo brands at all. Their instruments are garbage at a fundamental level. If you're looking to go cheap, I would recommend Squier. I've played poorly set up Squiers in music stores that were miles better than my SX.
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Feb 14, 2012 04:05
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Juaguocio posted:I have a 5-string SX Jazz that I've been using as a test bed for various pickups, bridges and whatnot. Every single part on it has been replaced, except the body and neck, and you know what? It's still a piece of crap. I don't understand the Talkbass hype about SX and the other Rondo brands at all. Their instruments are garbage at a fundamental level. I think it's because you expect them to be pretty bad at that price level, so if they're at least average, then you feel like it's an amazing bargain.
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Feb 14, 2012 07:42
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I am totally incompetent when it comes to gear but I also have the Sansamp programmable and I've used it on multiple tours. I use a similar setup as Rifter17, though I don't have that Mark Bass compressor. (I cut back heavily on performing/recording last year and haven't felt the need for anything else.) Anyway it's perfectly affordable and a very good thing to have. I never used it in the studio (just went direct into the board and mixed/EQ'd stuff in post) but I've heard it's good in that capacity as well.
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Feb 14, 2012 07:54
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Juaguocio posted:I have a 5-string SX Jazz that I've been using as a test bed for various pickups, bridges and whatnot. Every single part on it has been replaced, except the body and neck, and you know what? It's still a piece of crap. I couldn't agree more. All mine has left is the body; all other parts are top-of-the-line aftermarket stuff. I had a lot of fun refinishing it and doing all the work to it, and re-designing it, but if I had to do it over again I'd have bought a body from Guitar Fetish or maybe something primo from Warmoth or USACG. Live and learn, I guess
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Feb 14, 2012 08:34
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Fender has a new "Modern Player" series of basses. A Jaguar bass that has the P/J combo like the latest Squier iteration:  A Jazz bass that pretty much looks like the older Big Block basses they used to put out, but with a pickup in the neck position as well:  And a Telecaster bass:   I've always wanted a 70s Telecaster bass with the big bucker(s) in it. I may have to swing by a guitar center and see if I can try out a few of these.
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Feb 15, 2012 05:21
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Can anyone explain the difference between the Fender American Standard Jazz Bass and the Fender American Deluxe Jazz Bass? I'm buying one or the other to learn to play the bass, if it matters.
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Feb 15, 2012 06:52
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Besides the pretty bound and blocked fretboard on the deluxe it also has an active pre-amp. I'm not fond of active basses myself but a lot of people are. It is switch-able between active and passive however.
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Feb 15, 2012 07:24
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Standard p is just a standard p. Deluxe has active and a single coil or humbucker. I don't have the active one, but do have an active J. Like it, but really like a standard passive (non active / no battery req) p bass. I have two standards (one strung with flats), always a great sound that mixes well with the band more than by yourself IMO.
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Feb 15, 2012 07:33
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The hell is that a tele bass in a dual cutaway
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Feb 15, 2012 08:29
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Manky posted:The hell is that a tele bass in a dual cutaway That's what a Telebass is. It started out as a straight reissue of the original P-Bass but was eventually updated with the humbucker at the neck. Ever since I saw the Fender CS Lotto Bass I've wanted a Telebass with a bridge humbucker. As such I'm very interested in the Modern Player. If only they'd start appearing in shops around here...
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Feb 15, 2012 08:37
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Tell it I hate it. I actually like that Fender is doing some slightly inventive things - even if it's rummaging through archives and history book footnotes. The pawn shop stuff is such a cool idea.
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Feb 15, 2012 08:52
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Bill Posters posted:Besides the pretty bound and blocked fretboard on the deluxe it also has an active pre-amp. I'm not fond of active basses myself but a lot of people are. It is switch-able between active and passive however. There are a ton of active basses that I really like, but I don't think there's ever been an active Fender I've really cared for. Even the Marcus Miller was just kinda "eh." But then, I'm not a big fan of the scooped sound. I just don't think Fender puts a lot of R&D into their preamps, but that may have changed. Besides, they sound so drat good passive...  Bill Posters posted:That's what a Telebass is. It started out as a straight reissue of the original P-Bass but was eventually updated with the humbucker at the neck. Yeah, the Lotto looked cool, but I think they got a lot of feedback from people saying they'd love to have one, but no way in hell were they going to shell out several thousands of dollars for one. That, and ever since Squier put out a VM tele bass, people have been modding them pretty regularly with a bridge pickup as well. Manky posted:Tell it I hate it. I've never seen a single-cutaway bass I liked 
Scarf fucked around with this message at 15:15 on Feb 15, 2012 |
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Feb 15, 2012 15:10
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I played that telebass at Guitar Center recently. The build quality was decent for a Chinese-made instrument, but something was lacking sonically. I guess you could always replace those two humbuckers with Dimarzios, but I was still disappointed.
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Feb 15, 2012 21:35
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Schlieren posted:I couldn't agree more. I'm definitely going the Warmoth route for my next bass. I've been interested in their small Jazz bodies and 32" necks for a while now, and right now I'm thinking about putting together a classic looking sunburst with some kind of exotic wood neck.
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Feb 16, 2012 00:32
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I have been playing bass for a few months and own a Dean Edge 09 that was part of a $200 starter package. I have since bought a used Kustom 100 watt amp and enjoy playing this bass, but keep thinking I should buy a nice Fender P Bass because that would be a nicer instrument to play. Am I being delusional in thinking that I will sound better on a nice American made  Fender versus this beater Dean?
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Feb 16, 2012 03:29
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Alex Otextin posted:I have been playing bass for a few months and own a Dean Edge 09 that was part of a $200 starter package. I have since bought a used Kustom 100 watt amp and enjoy playing this bass, but keep thinking I should buy a nice Fender P Bass because that would be a nicer instrument to play. Am I being delusional in thinking that I will sound better on a nice American made Whilst it's not unreasonable to think a better bass will make you a better player it has more to do with the individual instrument than anything else. A bass you enjoy playing is a bass you will play more often. If you think you might be ready to move to a better instrument your best bet is to get out to the stores and start trying some. If you're lucky you'll find an instrument that you really click with. If you're very lucky it will be inside your price range. If you're very, very lucky you'll decide that your current bass cannot be improved on and is the one for you... but I wouldn't count on it. GAS can be a terrible thing.
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Feb 16, 2012 03:58
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Scarf posted:I've never seen a single-cutaway bass I liked I'll agree with that, with the exception of Danelectro '56 basses.
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Feb 16, 2012 04:40
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Scarf posted:I've never seen a single-cutaway bass I liked I guess since I have a single-cut as my main bass I'll have to say how awesome they can be. Most of the time, I would agree that single-cut basses just don't seem right. They often look unbalanced and when you're playing one, to see the neck attach to the body so high up is kind of disorienting. That said, there are cool ones. Here's my Allen Woody Rumblekat that I've modified. Look at its glory.  And if you want a more boutique look, check out the sweet Rob Allen Mouse-30. They play really nice and are amazingly light.  And if you want a more classic type tone, there's always the Hofner Club bass. There's a used on at my local Guitar Center and I know that I don't need it, but I want it anyways.  And finally, for the more eclectic German found art lovers, there's the Totem bass designed by Michael Spalt.  I guess you can include the reversed thunderbird and explorer bodies in here if you want. I also like the Ibanez artcore basses.
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Feb 16, 2012 05:45
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Manky posted:I'll agree with that, with the exception of Danelectro '56 basses. G&L have the only single cut bass bodies I actually like.
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Feb 16, 2012 05:53
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I've been recently doing some 16th-note pattern exercises to improve my fretting hand, and for some reason I hit a barrier at 100 bpm. No matter what I do it seems my coordination fails at that tempo  . I've been practicing by starting at a very low tempo (usually something like 60bpm), and working my way up in increments of 10 bpm. I noticed that for some reason, I tend to tense up both my fretting hand and playing hand when I'm playing (or rather trying to) 16th note patterns around 90-100bpm. I've tried to make an effort of keeping my hands relaxed, but so far I haven't managed to get rid of this rather annoying habit. Any tips on how to overcome this, or is it just a matter of "practice practice practice"?
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Feb 19, 2012 12:16
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My plan would probably be to dial it back to where it felt more comfortable and slowly work up from there in small increments, like maybe 2bpm a time if you're hitting a solid barrier. What tempo can you play 16ths at where it's all super chill and relaxed? And is your playstyle changing, like hitting the strings harder? Another thing you could try that works for me, is to play 8ths with regular bursts of 16ths - play a four-finger fretting pattern, like 1 2 3 4 on the first four frets, and go 1 2 3 412341 2 3 4 1234 and so on. Those short bursts give your hands a chance to work at double speed without fatiguing them, so you can work on your timing and accuracy before the speed gets too much for you. At first you need bigger breaks so you'll want to throw the 16th blocks in less often, but as you get used to it you can extend those sections into longer and longer runs, that feel easier and less tense, until you're playing the whole thing accurately in 16ths. The other nice thing is it initially lets you work your fingers faster than they can reliably play otherwise, so if you do this at a higher tempo (like 110bpm) and start to get the hang of those fast bursts, moving back down to 100bpm should feel a lot easier and more relaxed since you're not working at your limit
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Feb 19, 2012 14:24
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