karlbbb Posted April 29, 2010 Share Posted April 29, 2010 (edited) Hello all Hopefully on Saturday I'll have shifted my current cheapy 6 string to a friend and have a little of a deposit towards a new bass. I'm looking at spending around £350, with £400 as an absolute maximum. I'll probably be looking at brand new basses as I'm going to make use of the "Take It Away" scheme. I listen to mostly "heavier" music (not extreme metal or anything but punk/rock/indie/metal etc), so I guess I'll be favouring a more modern tone (a lot of my favourite bass players use Stingrays), however, I also like to have a mess about in lighter genres like pop songs and even older ones (Phil Collins, just random songs from the past etc). I keep reading Machines [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=9244"]review on the Vintage V1004DX[/url] and keep looking at buying this (going from the sound clips, the sound is very close to what I want). Can be had for £339 [url="http://www.dv247.com/guitars/vintage-v1004dx-bass-guitar-natural--64677"]from DV247 (they offer the Take It Away scheme ordering over the phone)[/url]. Does anyone else have any suggestions to any other basses that could be had that would give me a modern tone as well as a lot of versatility? Regards, Karl Edited May 1, 2010 by karlbbb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Bajo Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 (edited) I play a yamaha and love it. it may be worth checking them out as you can get decent basses for under 400. Have a look on the yamaha we site for the RBX series. The BB series is good also but I dont know if they do a 5 string config. Also one of the best 5 strings I played was a MM SUB. Don't know if they still produce them anymore though Also i was thinking of getting a Vintage 4 string. I've heard good things about them. The guitarist in my band worked as a teacher at the local music shop and the Vintage guitar range literally fly of the shelves, they can't get them in quick enough. Edited April 30, 2010 by El Bajo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 (edited) Epiphone Thunderbird Pro with either the vintage sunburst or trans.black finish. I\'m picking up one for a pupil this weekend, so I\'ll do a full review over the next couple of days. Either that or an Ibanez SR500/505. Great sounding bass Edited April 30, 2010 by OutToPlayJazz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 [quote name='El Bajo' post='823770' date='Apr 30 2010, 10:17 AM']The BB series is good also but I dont know if they do a 5 string config.[/quote] They do, and I'm gassing after the passive atm. Have to go to the big city to try one though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 If you fancy a 2nd hand bass then have a look at this Yamaha 5er: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=86117"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=86117[/url] Nordstrands and Audere eq, comes with hard case for £350 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 It is all about the B string IMV..and at that end of the budget will be even more critical. Make sure it is defined and not a bass blur.. as this can be a problem on 5 strings at all sorts of prices.. Don't think a new set of strings will cure it...it may do, but it probably wont. For this reason I would buy second hand here after a demo... If you can't hear a good defined note on the B string below the 5th fret..then it doesn't have it .. and don't buy it. IMO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 I have to say that that Yam looks a lot of bass for the money.... and if it has passed the muster on sessions then might be worth investigating.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigwan Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Ibanez BTB405 or ATK305 might be worth a look depending which one fits the bill for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlbbb Posted April 30, 2010 Author Share Posted April 30, 2010 I agree about the comments of the B string. I'm really bothered that the Vintage may have a sub-par B string. How do the Ibanez's B strings stack up? I realise the BTBs have a 35" scale (I don't wanna start that 34" v 35" argument but the 35"s I've played have all had nicer B strings, both in feel and sound) so this may help but the majority of the others (Yamaha/other Ibbys) seem to have 34" scales. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Bajo Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 That Ibanez SR500/505 looks sooo nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlbbb Posted April 30, 2010 Author Share Posted April 30, 2010 I agree. A touch over budget though (I'll be using the Take It Away scheme so I'll be paying monthly over 10 months for this. Can't really afford more than £40/month at this stage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Have a look at the Peavey Grind too. £349 for the 5-string from GAK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prime_BASS Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 I'll plus one to the epiphone t-bird pro V, strung with rotosounds drop zones, modern and low. Easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 [quote name='tauzero' post='824086' date='Apr 30 2010, 02:15 PM']Have a look at the Peavey Grind too. £349 for the 5-string from GAK.[/quote] [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/peavey_c5nt.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/peavey_c5nt.htm[/url] or £315 from thomann. I can't really complain about peavey basses. They do the job. Can never seem to get them set up right though or maybe that's just my problem for being a bit useless at it lolz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theFALLEN Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Hey dude, I'm selling a mint condition Ibanez BTB405, take a look here if you're interested: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=84160"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=84160[/url] Thanks for your time. Thom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 (edited) Unless you throw a LOT of money at a bass...then the jury is always out on the B string, for me. Forget all about neck-thru v bolt-on v scale lenght etc etc... find the bass and try it...if it ( the B string ) sounds good to you, then that is it. I'm sorry and don't want to scare you, but....... I would not want to bet on ANY bass being recommended here as ALL having very good B strings for that model. I'd be willing to accept that some might well have, but YOU must hear it for yourself before handing over the money. This is why I mentioned the session test on the bass above... you can't use a 5 string bass in that enviroment and have it not work.. Just my 2p...and IME. And when you find your bass that you think works... maybe come back here and post on your findings and thoughts and experiences in your quest...????? as this seems to me to be a holy grail type question. Edited April 30, 2010 by JTUK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Mind you, for £300 you could have a Hohner B Bass V with Joe Barden pickups & a John East pre-amp.......PM me if you're interested. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker_muse Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 I'll put a good word in for Vintage. Across the entire range you get exceptional value for money. However i'd reccomend the BTB 6 string for sale on here for what you're looking at. Why go 5 when you can 6? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlbbb Posted April 30, 2010 Author Share Posted April 30, 2010 I've got a six now that I'm selling a little too much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlbbb Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 I'm going to drop the preference for a 5 string and stick with 4 for now, I need to learn my way around a bass and there's less worry about finding a bass with a suitable B string. So the V1004DX is definitely still a contender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bh2 Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 have a look for a used MIM P or J bass... there's some bargains out there me old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geo_bass Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 ive got a musicman sub 4 string for sale if your interested? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlbbb Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 As I mentioned in the first post, I'm going to be using the Take It Away scheme so will be looking at a new bass (as obviously I can't get a used bass unless it's in a shop). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bh2 Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Soz Karl... I wasn't paying attention. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parker_muse Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 [url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/yamaha-bb-614/68389"]http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/en/yamaha-bb-614/68389[/url] Really quite special basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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