Any gear advice for a Guitarist ???

[guitarJ]

Hi BC community - am hoping you may be able to educate a guitarist who is a long way from Kansas...  Am looking to get some pointers for getting a first bass.  Just sold one of my 6 string flock and have around 1k to put into a bass - though am more than happy to pay £150 if that makes sense.  

Am looking to use it to record some jazz / funk lines (assuming have a clue what to do with it) - love the music of Marcus Miller / Stanley Clarke / Stanley Banks / Paul Jackson etc.   From my experience of guitars, I prefer to get a nice used instrument so I don’t take a big hit if I move it on - for similar reasons would prefer to avoid niche basses too.

I have a MM EVH (since 91’) and cant get rid of it as the neck has the waxed finish and is amazing (tho not so great for jazz) so I would have MM on the list assuming the necks are also waxed.

Fender Jazz will have to get a look - any guidance on which are the better series - if they are anything like strats, the variance in px and feel is massive.

Other names which don’t feature much in the 6 string world i have no familiarity with - Sadowsky, Lakland, Warwick etc 

I’d like to get a short list of ones to try out (when that’s possible) and I’d really appreciate any guidance you have. Thanks!

 

[skidder652003]

https://www.thomann.de/gb/marcus_miller_v7_vintage_swamp_ash_4_nt_2.htm

jobby done..!

[ezbass]

With restrictions being lifted, the best advice I can give is to go a shop with a good range and play a bunch until you find what feels and sounds right for you. As a start point, a Fender Jazz and Precision and an MM Stingray (or Sterling) are some to try. Then you could move onto some of the other 3 makes you mention, all of whom make a very fine bass. If you can get to The Gallery in Camden, they’ll look after you very well, have all of those you mention and then a load more.

Edited June 23, 2020 by ezbass

[therealting]

Sadowskys are phenomenal - I have two NYCs, but you won’t get one for USD1k until the new Metro Expresses come our. Did you mean £1k? The pound isn’t what it used to be.

I’m a guitarist first, and came to bass later. My first bass was a Yamaha TRB6 😂 Unconventional, but a great bass and I still own it.

In your position, I’d get a secondhand Fender Jazz and a secondhand Fender Precision, and see how you like them, then sell them on and get a nicer version of the one you want. 

Edited June 23, 2020 by therealting

[guitarJ]

36 minutes ago, ezbass said:

With restrictions being lifted, the best advice I can give is to go a shop with a good range and play a bunch until you find what feels and sounds right for you. As a start point, a Fender Jazz and Precision and an MM Stingray (or Sterling) are some to try. Then you could move onto some of the other 3 makes you mention, all of whom make a very fine bass. If you can get to The Gallery in Camden, they’ll look after you very well, have all of those you mention and then a load more.

Thanks for the info - hopefully things normalise soon and I’ll check out The Gallery.

[guitarJ]

22 minutes ago, therealting said:

Sadowskys are phenomenal - I have two NYCs, but you won’t get one for USD1k until the new Metro Expresses come our. Did you mean £1k? The pound isn’t what it used to be.

I’m a guitarist first, and came to bass later. My first bass was a Yamaha TRB6 😂 Unconventional, but a great bass and I still own it.

In your position, I’d get a secondhand Fender Jazz and a secondhand Fender Precision, and see how you like them, then sell them on and get a nicer version of the one you want. 

Appreciated - sounds a good plan.  Won’t be long before £1k is less than $1k so I will have to avoid those Sadowskys ... for now....

[hooky_lowdown]

Save yourself a load of money and get a Vintage v90 reissued bass, superb for jazz and funk.

[bloke_zero]

10 hours ago, ezbass said:

go a shop with a good range and play a bunch until you find what feels and sounds right for you.

Seconded - there is so much to think about, neck profile, pickup and then when you're in a shop some basses speak to you and some don't - basses I thought would ring my bell just didn't come alive in my hands, and as a guitarist you may want to travel further up the neck than some so fingerboard radius can make a big difference there.

I'm sure you'll be ok if you can't make it to a shop, but it can make the choices much much clearer.

[guitarJ]

1 hour ago, hooky_lowdown said:

Save yourself a load of money and get a Vintage v90 reissued bass, superb for jazz and funk.

Theres a lot to like about this ... will def add to list to try out - thanks

[guitarJ]

3 minutes ago, bloke_zero said:

Seconded - there is so much to think about, neck profile, pickup and then when you're in a shop some basses speak to you and some don't - basses I thought would ring my bell just didn't come alive in my hands, and as a guitarist you may want to travel further up the neck than some so fingerboard radius can make a big difference there.

I'm sure you'll be ok if you can't make it to a shop, but it can make the choices much much clearer.

I took me > 20yrs and many guitars to find the neck profile that suits me - I suspect basses would be no different.  I have already seen a lot of discussion on BC about nut width thickness which isn't such a big deal on 6 stringers.  Plus I have tried tons of pickups but never seen an active one, so there is a load to understand.  Obvs the fight against GAS is not going to make this an easy process during the learning phase!

[bloke_zero]

5 minutes ago, guitarJ said:

to find the neck profile that suits me

Tell me about it - it wasn't until I picked up a 70's Stingray that I suddenly went 'Ahhh!' and then had to quickly put it down as it was about 2.5K!  Looking at your list of players it seems like Jazz bass style would be a reasonable place to start - narrower neck etc - it's all very personal!

[Mastodon2]

As someone who was in a similar position, but making a total switch to bass guitar, the best advice I can offer is this; buy the bass you want, not the bass you think you need or the bass others tell you will be best for you. Bass players can be a conservative bunch. Think about how you want to sound as a player and let that guide your selection process.

 

Edit to add, guitarists can be very conservative too, just for balance.

Edited June 24, 2020 by Mastodon2