First bass purchase

[Nebulous]

Hey guys

Having been a guitarist (lose term) for about 10 years now I'm begining to consider picking up a bass to go along side the guitars, partly to have at home for recording ideas, and possibly for the sake of joining one of two bands in my area looknig for a bassist. It seems they are in high demand and the options are far greater, which I think would result in greater satisfaction instead of being "another guitarist looking for a band".

So if it ever happens I have my eye on either a Schecter Stiletto Elite 5 or Studio 5. Does anyone have experience with these two, or any other recommendations? At this point in time I haven't really played many basses, but I do know that I'm looking for that thunder down under. I'm not a fan of tech-prog/ jazz/ mid heavy bass sounds. The bands I have in mind are thrash and prog/ power, so clarity would be required.

 

[greyskull]

fender jazz

 

[Sloan]

I've found that bass sound doesn't really rely on the actual instrument as much as a guitar would. Whatever your playing through has a bigger impact on it's sound. The only time I've ever NOT found a usable bass sound is with like a $100 squier that just had shitty pickups.

The Schecter stuff would probably be fine.
I've played a lot of Ibanez basses and they've all been good.

Don't worry about active electronics, my bass has switchable active/passive and I don't even bother with the active stuff.

 

[Soundlurker]

I've found that bass sound doesn't really rely on the actual instrument as much as a guitar would. Whatever your playing through has a bigger impact on it's sound. The only time I've ever NOT found a usable bass sound is with like a $100 squier that just had shitty pickups.

Hm, I've arrived at the opposite conclusion, but I do agree that through a nice preamp/amp most guitars can have a decent sound.

 

[greyskull]

I've found that bass sound doesn't really rely on the actual instrument as much as a guitar would. Whatever your playing through has a bigger impact on it's sound. The only time I've ever NOT found a usable bass sound is with like a $100 squier that just had shitty pickups.

The Schecter stuff would probably be fine.
I've played a lot of Ibanez basses and they've all been good.

Don't worry about active electronics, my bass has switchable active/passive and I don't even bother with the active stuff.

yeah id say TOTALLY to the contary, the sound of the bass/guitar itself is the most important thing, more so with bass, active doesnt float my boat, musicman or status are rare exceptions, but thats hardly first bass sort of money now is it,

get a mexican fender jazz, turn all the knobs up on it and hear it growl

 

[Metaltastic]

Yep, IMO the sound of a guitar itself matters the least compared with amp, cab, and pickups (in that order), but with a bass, because there's (often) less processing done to the signal, I find the instrument makes far more of a difference.

 

[Radd]

get a mexican fender jazz, turn all the knobs up on it and hear it growl

Not an American? I know the build quality is better, but do you know if the sound differs much?

 

[greyskull]

just coz its cheaper! and he wanted a first bass! ut yeah the yankee one is better still

 

[The-Zeronaut]

Cort curbow
it seems pretty nice

 

[Metal Overload]

It doesn´t differ in sound as much as their differences in prices, an american sounds better, maybe cause are made with better materials, but a Mexican made can sound as good as an american, mainly as we all know the differences in price is because manufacturing is expensive in Us.

 

[paladin shredder]

i was in the same position as you a while back. my first bass was an ibanez gsr200. i highly recommend anything but an ibanez! i now have a 4-string american fender jazz with active pickups and it sounds much better, i can get it pretty similar sounding to iron maiden's style. but my friend who also plays bass has a 5 string schecter and a 5 string ibanez, and wants to get rid of the ibanez! his schecter has emg-hz's which definitely have a more scooped sound to it compared to my jazz, but i've used my jazz for tuned down stuff (drop c) and it fits pretty well in a mix, haven't tried the schecter in a mix.

my recommendation is just go to a music shop and try some different ones out, and don't get an ibanez!

 

[Razorjack]

As a bass player and ex-guitar salesman the best basses out there for great tone without breaking the bank are as follows (in no particular order).

Cort Curbow, Squire Vintage Modified Jazz, Schecter Elite, Specter Classic, Warwick Corvette Std, LTD F-104

95% of my tone comes from me and my bass, a Warwick $$ 5, get the right bass and you'll be in-demand before you know it.

 

[Sloan]

Dude, the Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass is the fucking tit's dick.
When I was playing bass full time, I wanted a 70's fender that looked like that with the natural finish and block inlays. FUCKYEAHPANTERAFUCKYEAH.

 

[colonel kurtz]

i think they're pretty ugly myself, but they probably sound pretty good...i used to have a fender mexican jazz, and it was a great bass. now i have some POS lyon thing that i only have because a buddy of mine left it at my house and never picked it up.

 

[Metaltastic]

Dude, the Squier Vintage Modified Jazz Bass is the fucking tit's dick.

 

[scorpio01169]

I've found that bass sound doesn't really rely on the actual instrument as much as a guitar would. Whatever your playing through has a bigger impact on it's sound. The only time I've ever NOT found a usable bass sound is with like a $100 squier that just had shitty pickups.

The Schecter stuff would probably be fine.
I've played a lot of Ibanez basses and they've all been good.

Don't worry about active electronics, my bass has switchable active/passive and I don't even bother with the active stuff.

huh?????? i'm a bassist for 23+ years and that is far from accurate. basses have to be set up just like guitars. and strings have to be kept changed to keep it sounding crisp.....maybe not as often as guitars but it is a must.

 

[ConspiracyBass]

Do yourself a favor and just get a G&L Tribute 2500. It'll give you all the metal tones you'd ever want.

 

[ProjectHamsterdam]

What about Yamaha basses? I think the RBX 375 model is not bad for a first bass. That's what I'm aiming at anyway - for recording and a bit of jamming. It goes for abt. 300 EUR in these parts.

 

[doc_backmask]

As a bass player and ex-guitar salesman the best basses out there for great tone without breaking the bank are as follows (in no particular order).

Cort Curbow, Squire Vintage Modified Jazz, Schecter Elite, Specter Classic, Warwick Corvette Std, LTD F-104

To add to that list would be the SX/Brice/Agile bass line (see Rondo Music). But the most important line in that quote is:

95% of my tone comes from me and my bass

 

[Sloan]

Basically what I'm getting at is that you can make a shitty bass sound better way easier than you can make a shitty guitar sound better.