Active Bass Recommendations - Possibly a Spector?

[Jonesy]

Well, GAS being GAS and all.......

 

I think it may be time for a change in the stable and I've got a hankering for something active and modern sounding/looking. All of my basses have been traditional looking and passive and I've got a bit of a GAS driven inclination to try something new. I've just got a hold of a fretless Aria SB1000 and (although it's not really modern in the whole grand scheme of things) I'm starting to change my mind on active basses, so am on the look out for something active. Problem is I've never really looked into brands like Ibanez, Warwick, Spector, even Music Man etc because I've always thought they weren't for me, so I know nout about them. And this is where you guys come in 😃

 

So, I'm asking the collective brain of BC to help me find a new bass.

 

Budget wise I'd say somewhere in-between £300-800

Happy to go 2nd hand

Zero preference on pups/preamp

4 strings

Fretted 

Ideally it won't look like a P bass

 

In my head I'm thinking of a Spector, but don't really know enough about their product range to know what to look out for and what's the best bet when looking for budget vs features etc. Is the performer line worth looking at - I know it doesn't have the reverse P's and will have a cheaper preamp etc. The Legend line has some older models that are classic and customs, newer ones have reverse P's - any recommendations there?

 

Happy to look outside of Spector's too, so feel free to chuck some recommendations my way!

 

[tauzero]

Preferences for neck profile, through neck or bolt-on? Push the boat out and go headless? There's Cort and Hohner as well as your list, and you might even find a Shuker at a bargain price.

[Jonesy]

1 hour ago, tauzero said:

Preferences for neck profile, through neck or bolt-on? Push the boat out and go headless? There's Cort and Hohner as well as your list, and you might even find a Shuker at a bargain price.

 

I don't really have any preference when it comes how the neck is attached.

 

I'm fairly flexible on profile too, not to fussed on radius. I'm happy on my Jazz with its 38mm neck and Rick with its 44mm neck. If it is on the chunkier side at the nut then ideally it'd be slimmer back to front, rather than a baseball bat, just to keep things manageable. 

 

In an ideal world the neck will be glossed or painted, but it's not a deal breaker.

 

I've seen a Fender Player Plus PJ, which very much looks like a P bass, but is acceptable as it's a metallic snot green. No idea what they're like though and I've read mixed things.

I've also seen a Sterling 34 in seafoam sparkle that is pretty tempting.

 

 

 

Headless might be a bit too far, one step at a time, eh? 

Edited 9 hours ago by Jonesy

[Lozz196]

Do Yamaha BBs look too Precisiony, if not def worth checking out.

[merello]

I had a Spector Legend....for the price it played well and sounded great live!

[ezbass]

Secondhand, Ibanez SR Premiums come in at the top end of your budget, but are a lot of bass for your money. 

Edited 4 hours ago by ezbass

[Misdee]

A  used Yamaha 1024/X isn't active but it's within your budget if you can find one and it sounds modern, not much like a Fender at all. It really does have the thickness of tone that the best active basses have, too. It will certainly challenge something like an SB1000 for that in-your-face upfront bass sound that was so popular at one time.

 

I suppose nowadays when  bass players refer to "modern" basses it's a bit complicated because what that mainly means is what used to be modern back in the old days, that being the late 1970's to the late 1990's. I've been getting into that sound again recently. It's long overdue a revival. In modern times ie post millennium traditional "retro"style basses and tones have dominated. Modern basses have been considered old-fashioned, if that makes sense.

Edited 4 hours ago by Misdee

[Machines]

What exactly is it in the active sound you want ? An active Fender Jazz and something like a Spector with EMG humbuckers will sound very different.