larwood Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Hi Thanks for looking at my Post I have just gave up work and finally going to take up the bass. I don't want to spend a fortune say around £200 - £400 for the bass and around £100 for an amp just because I may never take to it So what would be the best bass for Reggae and Yardbirds type. I have asked this questions as there are so many makes and different types short scale, full, and it as blown my mind So any advice will help, to help me choose a bass with that heavy bass sound thanks 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 The simple answer is that you can play any kind of music on any kind of bass so the best bet is go to a decent sized guitar shop or two and try out as many different basses as you can to find the one that suits you best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thebigyin Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Squier Jazz or Precision Bass you won't go far wrong....and any decent practice amp best of luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hellzero Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Also ask someone already playing bass to go with you if you decide to go the shop route, as they are not all honest people... You won't get fooled. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Precision or Jazz. Try them both to see which feels best. Try several too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleOhStephan Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 7 minutes ago, Cato said: The simple answer is that you can play any kind of music on any kind of bass so the best bet is go to a decent sized guitar shop or two and try out as many different basses as you can to find the one that suits you best. ^^This^^ plus make sure the shop sets the bass up well for you. Most folks want low action, (action = the height of string from fretboard) and the lower the string, the less pressure is required to fret notes so is easier to play. 1 minute ago, Hellzero said: Also ask someone already playing bass to go with you if you decide to go the shop route, as they are not all honest people... You won't get fooled. Plus ^^this^^. If you don't know anybody, put a shout out on here and someone will be more than happy to help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 1 minute ago, Hellzero said: Also ask someone already playing bass to go with you if you decide to go the shop route, as they are not all honest people... You won't get fooled. ...or buy second hand from Basschat where you’ll get more bang for your buck and can discuss any purchase with the BC hive mind. Oh and welcome. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Welcome 👍. There is no one particular bass for reggae, I’ve seen it played on many different types of bass over the last 35 years , and I’ve had many , but IMO a good place to start would be a fender Jazz or Precision with either flatwound or tapewound strings for a mellow tone 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 A Squier jaguar bass (which has both jazz and precision pickups) with a fender rumble V3 bass amp would be ideal for reggae. The important bit is the strings - you want either nickel roundwound or flatwound strings, and once set up you want to turn the tone knob down. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) Personally, I wouldn't bother getting a "practice" amp. I'd spend the money on a small cheap multi-fx with aux in and headphone out, like a Zoom B1 Four. This will let you play along to tracks, or to the inbuilt drum machine, and try different amp sounds and effects, without disturbing anyone else, at any time of the day or night. You can also plug the output into a sound system if you really need to hear it through speakers at living-room volumes. If you get to the point of wanting to play with others, then you can get a proper amp with enough power to be heard against drums and other amps. EDIT sorry, just realised the B1 Four doesn't have a dedicated phones out, but you can use the output as a headphone jack. Edited October 4, 2019 by Earbrass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 On the reggae front (not that I play it), I'd always thought the de rigueur bass was that of a short scale...Fender Mustangs. Conversely, Paul Samwell Smith favoured Rivoli basses, that were also 30-32" scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MetricMike Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) Just read the last two bits of advice and I have to respectfully but strongly disagree. Uising a multi-effects pedal instead of an amp sounds like a terrible idea to me, but if you do go that way be aware that many people regard Zoom as liitle better than toys. I have also to my recollection never seen a reggae bass player use a Fender Mustang or for that matter a short scale bass (and I have been listening to reggae since the 70's. As others have said the Squier jazz or precision route would be the one I would recommend.. Amps I cannot help you but from what I have seen most budget practice amps will do the job. Oh and as someone else has already suggested, if possible try and take someone with you who already plays bass to try and give you some pointers. Good luck!!! Edited October 4, 2019 by MetricMike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer.b Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Classic vibe squier are good in that price bracket Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 34 minutes ago, MetricMike said: I have also to my recollection never seen a reggae bass player use a Fender Mustang or for that matter a short scale bass (and I have been listening to reggae since the 70's. There wasn't many short scales easily available in years gone by. But a short scale is ideal for reggae as the shorter length means less string tension, giving more low end. Hence my suggestion for a Squier jaguar which is short scale and has p and j pickups. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 You can play any style of music on any bass. If you are totally new to bass anything we say will probably be wide of the mark. You have to play some basses and find out, first hand, what it's all about. Half an hour in a shop trying basses might convince you that you should really be taking up the saxophone instead!! Anyway, don't make any decisions until you've tried some basses. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinehead Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 All the Squier basses are good instruments and well priced. An even cheaper and (subjectively) as good as the Squiers is the Ibanez Talman range at around £150 new, even cheaper used. I bought one recently and have been gigging it quite a bit. They are a little known bargain. The little Fender Rumble amps are perfect for home practice too. I bought a used for for £20 a few years ago so maybe £50 would get you a used V2 one now? Taking advice from an experienced player is good advice too. Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) 54 minutes ago, MetricMike said: Uising a multi-effects pedal instead of an amp sounds like a terrible idea to me, but if you do go that way be aware that many people regard Zoom as liitle better than toys. I wish I'd had my Zoom B1on 30 odd years ago when I started playing. The onboard drum patterns alone make it the perfect bit of kit for silent practice. As for being little better than a toy, that's more subjective and people are obviously going to have differing opinions on the quality of the various effects, but personally I genuinely believe that there are a couple of things such as envelope filters and synths that it does better than my Helix Stomp. Edited October 4, 2019 by Cato 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reggaebass Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 larwood , there’s some info here that may be of use to you 🙂 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJpullchord Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 Get the one that makes you look the coolest. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larwood Posted October 5, 2019 Author Share Posted October 5, 2019 Many thanks for all your comments and I will take a friend to a afew shops who does play guitar for over 30 years (not bass) and see what happens cheers all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geek99 Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 17 hours ago, MetricMike said: Just read the last two bits of advice and I have to respectfully but strongly disagree. Uising a multi-effects pedal instead of an amp sounds like a terrible idea to me, but if you do go that way be aware that many people regard Zoom as liitle better than toys. I have also to my recollection never seen a reggae bass player use a Fender Mustang or for that matter a short scale bass (and I have been listening to reggae since the 70's. As others have said the Squier jazz or precision route would be the one I would recommend.. Amps I cannot help you but from what I have seen most budget practice amps will do the job. Oh and as someone else has already suggested, if possible try and take someone with you who already plays bass to try and give you some pointers. Good luck!!! I use a zoom for practice and it’s fabulous if I go to a gig or OM night I just plug it into the PA 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 23 minutes ago, Geek99 said: I use a zoom for practice and it’s fabulous if I go to a gig or OM night I just plug it into the PA Yes, but for a complete beginner it's not ideal. A beginner should start with the basics, bass and amp, and later find out about effects and how they change your tone/sound. 👍 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 Another vote for Squiers, not only are they great for the money, but they also have really good residual value. Harley Bentons from Thomann, receive good reviews, but won't have the resale value should you choose to move it on. If you don't have a bass playing buddy, get yourself down to your local bass emporium and try a few. If you let us know where you're based, I'm sure the BC collective can recommend a helpful outlet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earbrass Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 (edited) 56 minutes ago, hooky_lowdown said: Yes, but for a complete beginner it's not ideal. A beginner should start with the basics, bass and amp, and later find out about effects and how they change your tone/sound. 👍 That's exactly what I did when I returned to bass after a few decades. I bought a very decent 16W Kustom practice amp. I quickly realised that it fell between two stools - far more power than was useful in the house, and not nearly enough to take to a band practice. It was small by bass amp standards, but still a chunky lump that took up space, and wasn't easy to move on when I realised it wasn't required - (posting it would have cost more than it was worth). Now I no longer play bass in a band, and have sold my gigging amp, I find I have no need for a small amp, either for home noodling or recording - there are so many good preamp pedals / multi-fx etc out there that do the job and take up no space. May not suit everyone, but that's my experience, for what it's worth. Edit to add: my recommendation of the Zoom (or similar) wasn't really based on the fx - I agree they could be a distraction for a beginner - but on the ability to get a decent basic sound, with the additional ability to play along to the inbuilt drum machine, which I think is very useful for a newbie. Edited October 5, 2019 by Earbrass 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted October 5, 2019 Share Posted October 5, 2019 25 minutes ago, Earbrass said: with the additional ability to play along to the inbuilt drum machine, which I think is very useful for a newbie. Playing along with a drum machine is too advanced for a complete beginner, I think you're jumping ahead too many steps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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