Help with my bass gear purchases

Radd said:
B :lol: Yeah, I guess if I don't want the strings to be flopping all over the fretboard and hitting the pickups and sounding like ass than I should get a 5 string like I want anyway. :loco:

I have a fender J american 4 string and it goes down to B ok but not great. It does really well in C any lower and it starts to get a little mushy. The Ibanez sucks and I advise agaist any instroment that isn't made of wood.
 
ConspiracyBass said:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Spector-Legend-Classic-5String-Bass?sku=517436

Spector Legend. Easily the best bang for the buck. I played the older version (it had HZ EMGs not USA EMGs like the updated model) and it was fantastic for the money. Nice neck, good action (could've been better with a proper set-up), construction quality was good also. Definetly still retained the 'spector tone'.
Thanks ConspiracyBass. This is looking like the best one so far.
 
Radd said:
Thanks ConspiracyBass. This is looking like the best one so far.

Word.

I've been thinking about getting a gig bass so I can retire my G&L and my Fender Jazz from shows (they're my babies and I would hate for anything to happen to em, ya know?). I've been debating over the Spector Legend and a Yamaha TRB1005. I'm leaning towards the TRB, even though its $250 more, I just like the yamaha necks.
 
I recently modded my MiM Fender Jazz with a badass III bridge and Bartolini pickups...wow...is all I can say. Sounds better (namely due to the Barts) than any other of the 8 basses I've owned previously (Warwicks, Status, Fenders) which all cost at least double what this puppy did. The most versatile instrument I've had as well.

+1 on the Sansamp Bass Driver over the Bass POD. My POD is now in a box, my Sansamp is next to my tracking desk. 'nuff said.
 
Spector's are perfect more metal, they cut through really well, even the cheaper models sound awesome, i own a Performer 4 Series and i love it.

Im thinking about getting the Sansamp RBI instead of the Bass driver just because of the convenience of having it rackmounted, but i cant seem to find many places in the UK that sell them :(
 
Schecther makes a 4 string in 35" scale that comes standard tuned to B, I think it's in your price range, but I'm not sure.

For the low B the 35" scale does make a difference. For fast playing it will help with the articulation, if you're doing sludgy-sabbath type stuff the 34" will sound meaner.
 
i say go esp ltd. i own an f255fm in black cherry and a b500. i have not had any problems with either bass. the f255fm has the agathis wings, but since its a maple neck-thru construction, most of the tone comes from the maple anyway. the bass cuts really easy through in all of our B-standard and dropped-A tuning situations. i recommend against down tuning a 4-string all the way to B or A, even with a 35-inch scale, you can really mess up the neck. the f255 isn't too expensive, and it sounds great. miller from devildriver plays the f254 live over his surveyor II, just for perspective.

in addition, get the sansamp programmable bddi. the pod and boss pedal aren't really worth the extra money, unless you want a bunch of mediocre simulations. when i did my initial searches for pedals i eventually just got the digitech bp-200 because none of the multi-effect setups made me happy, so i just went for the cheapest that i could plug my headphones into. i used it live once until i got my rack-mount tuner and no longer needed it. the sansamp driver adds a really nice amount of balls to the bass and you can have three settings, really nice for multiple basses and/or solo situations.
 
I just realized Egan that you gave me the same exact Spector link as ConspiricyBass did. Sorry I missed that. This one may be the best deal.
What is it about the Warwicks that you don't care for?
The ESP seems good too. Would like to hear from more people about that one.

KillDivision-that sounds really good to me but judging from all the bad Ibanez experiences mentioned I don't want to take a chance now especially since I'll be using the bass for direct in recording and not live.

Much love is being shown for Spectors for my situation so as of now, majority rules...for now.

Thank you everyone for your help and sharing your experiences.
I'm always open to all possibilities.
 
Almost forgot....

You should also check out the Dean Edge Q5. I remember playing their 8 string bass and being really impressed. The only thing I didn't like about that bass was the bridge wasn't mounted on dead center. So there was more fret space at the top of the E then at the bottom of the G. The other Dean basses they had weren't like that though.

I always seem to forget about Dean guitars because no one around me really sells em. But they're definetly nice.
 
Regarding the Sansamp Bass Driver, has anyone tried the 3 channel one? Any difference in quality?
 
Radd said:
That Dean seems nice too. I wonder how it sounds direct in.

You guys have me sold on the 35" scales.

I don't know, but if I was gonna buy either the Spector or the Dean I would replace the pickups and pre-amp with better EMG equipment. Thats just me though. I'm sure both sound pretty good direct, I have a feeling the Spector would sound better (could be totally wrong though :) ).
 
Also...

Everyone wanting a sub $1000 bass should be cursing Peavey's name for discontinuing the Cirrus EXP line. They were seriously the nicest basses I'd played under a grand (they were $725 at my local store). DAMN YOU PEAVEY! DAMN YOU!
 
ConspiracyBass said:
Also...

Everyone wanting a sub $1000 bass should be cursing Peavey's name for discontinuing the Cirrus EXP line. They were seriously the nicest basses I'd played under a grand (they were $725 at my local store). DAMN YOU PEAVEY! DAMN YOU!

I second the Peavey, although I'd live to give a mention to the lower end Millenium series. Great solid basses.