Bass Guitars

JipJopJones

JipJopJones

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As of late, I've been thinking of taking up Bass. Electric.

I used to play guitar, but always found myself wanting to tune down the guitar and play heavier more bassish tunes. So the thought finally occured, why not try bass.

I have about $500 to spend, give or take a couple hundred depending on if I find the PERFECT bass.

Here are some things I'm looking for:

- good sound
- comfortable
- looks cool (I'm a fan of the spikey look a-la ESP EX series guitars)

Any tips on what I should look for or what sort of stuff I can get for what price?
 
I have an amp.
 
Ooh, I can satisfy all criteria in this thread!

- Very deep, heavy tones
- Sounds amazing
- Is comfortable, but a bit heavy
- Looks cool, but isn't spiky
- Is a J-Bass
- Can find a used one for under $500

img383.jpg
 
jensked said:
Fender Jazz Bass would get my vote over and over and over and over and over again. But I guess you're not into that styling. Then I would say: still go for the Jazz bass.
Click to expand...

I would have to agree. I started with a Fender P-bass, which has a bit wider of a fretboard, but I would still go with the Jazz if I had to do it again. Also I would wait until you have mastered the four string before moving up to a five or six.
 
ibanez 5 string bass

my mate has one, looks epic and sounds awesome.

I'm thinking of getting an Ibanez 7 string for myself though....
 
JipJopJones said:
I used to play guitar, but always found myself wanting to tune down the guitar and play heavier more bassish tunes. So the thought finally occured, why not try bass.
Click to expand...

Err...going for a full on bass guitar might be too extreme if all you really want to do is play heavier tunes. I'd get a Gibson Baritone if I were you. You can tune the bottom E string to like a B on this guitar. I think this might be exactly what you are looking for.
 
a friend of mine got a used schecter and it sounds really nice.

nice flamed maple top with a charcoal burst. it looks fantastic.
 
watisdis said:
Err...going for a full on bass guitar might be too extreme if all you really want to do is play heavier tunes. I'd get a Gibson Baritone if I were you. You can tune the bottom E string to like a B on this guitar. I think this might be exactly what you are looking for.
Click to expand...

To be more specific, it's not that you can tune it to B, the scale is just longer so the frequency is lower, so B is the normal tuning. I had my regular scale guitar tuned to B standard for a long time (using massive gauge strings, of course). Good for teh deff metulz. It's probably not what he's looking for, but then again I'm not entirely sure what JJJ means by "heavier more bassish tunes."

And you might want to rethink using a bass on a guitar amp. Bass amplifiers are made with basses in mind (captain obvious to the rescue!) so they have much better low range response. But, your amp may sound fine, just something to think about.
 
And why did no one tell me about this thread? :mad:

Personally I'm not a fan of the Fender/Squier P/J bass simply because so many people think that's the only way to go and everything else is crap.

If you're looking for more of a starter bass, then I HIGHLY recommend something from Peavey. Brand new they are cheap, used they are even cheaper. They are also extremely well built and have very thin fast necks. I've had a Milestone IV for 10 years now and it's never let me down, but right now it's undergoing major reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. That being new pickups, new bridge, new pots, new tuners, everything along with a total strip and repainting.

Here's mine before it's current round of improvements.

https://pic.armedcats.net/p/pu/punisherbass/2009/02/03/PunBass.jpg

If you're looking for something more high end, I recommend something from Schecter. I recently picked up a Stiletto Studio 4 and I absolutely love it. It's high quality wood, neck thru body, 24 frets, 3 band active EQ and passive EMG-HZ's. It would go well past your budget by about $200 but I think it'd be worth it. It's a top quality bass.

https://pic.armedcats.net/p/pu/punisherbass/2008/12/25/SchecterBass1.jpg
 
Thanks for all the advise guys... I went out brousing today and saw a few that caught my eye. Schecter is the brand that I was looking at today, they seem to be very good bass' for a reasonable price ($600) I think I might end up going with the one I saw, it felt very nice in my hand... It's late, so I've forgotten the exact model, but feel is important and this one FEELS nice.
 
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