Shit Bass guitar & buy Emgs, or a new bass sub 500 with emgs?

kev

kev

Im guybrush threepwood
Jun 16, 2004
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Bristol, United Kingdom
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Hey folks,

It's that time of year again when I need to spend the Xmas money... however im in a bit of a dilemma related to crappy bass tone.

I have a jazz bass knock off, that cost about 60 quid second hand, it sounds really thin and weak so i was thinking of popping a jazz set of emgs in there (completely gut the electronics) and hopefully it will sort it out. However... looking at the price of them £120~160 I was wondering about going the whole hog and just grabing a new bass from the sub £500 market.

Any thoughts would be great, and any possible recommendations of basses under the 500 mark could be handy, considering im a guitar player!

cheers fellas

kev
 
I'm honestly not convinced that EMG's are as desirable in a bass as they are in a guitar - my housemate has an ancient Kramer bass from the 80s (pointy headstock and everything :lol: ) with one passive split pickup (P bass style), and GOD does it sound good, great growl - I'd go for a good used Jazz bass and keep it stock if I were you, Kev!
 
Is your bass even made of wood or is it particle board? For under $100 there is a good chance that all you have is glue and sawdust with a neck-- at which point no amount of electronics will make it sound good.
 
egan. said:
Is your bass even made of wood or is it particle board? For under $100 there is a good chance that all you have is glue and sawdust with a neck-- at which point no amount of electronics will make it sound good.
Click to expand...

I second this!
 
I think Ibanez is the way to go at that range. I agree with Metaltastic that having EMG's in a bass isn't as important as it is in a guitar. I got an SRX700 for about $350 used which is the bass the Killswitch Engage bassist used before he got a signature model (which is actually an SRX700 with some slight modifications).

Also the Cort A series is pretty well regarded in bass communities and they can be found for very low prices since they don't carry a big brand name. They make mid-range (sometimes high-end) basses for Ibanez, Schecter, and Lakland and are often times just rebranded. http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=306646
 
For £500 you could get a great bass on the used market. Judging on new UK prices you could probably pick up a used lakland skyline, spector or warwick. I would definitely do that before dropping a ton of $ into a cheap bass that doesn't play well.
 
One of these, rip out the stock pickups and replace them with this and this and you've got yourself a great instrument for less than £200. You could even add in an active preamp and hardware upgrade and still stay under £500 easily. I've had one of those Wesley basses as a back up for my Spector for a while now. It's ridiculously good for the money, and now they're charging less than I paid for it!
 
I bought one of the new Ibanez SR500's used off my local craigslist for $365.

I needed a bass for some progressive stuff I'm recording. It plays like butter and recorded way, way better than I thought it would. Real nice sounding, I was pleased.
 
Seizure. said:
Hey Egan!
I saw you used the Aguilar 4x12 cab, was it clearly your choice over an 8x10 ampeg or aquilar? and why?

And sorry for the offtopic question!
Click to expand...
I do enjoy the aguilar stuff over the ampeg b/c I feel like it is more full range and a bit more transparent. When I started endorsing aguilar they didn't have an 8x10. I've found the 4x12" to be a more manageable weight (I can get it in and out of my car and up a flight of stairs alone). It has great low end extension and I haven't had any complaints about the responsiveness.

That said, aguilar loaned me two of their 8x10's for the Moonspell/katatonia tour in '06 and I thought they were fantastic. I would probably go that route if we were touring all of the time honestly but the 12" are a lot easier on the back while still providing the volume and the size I like.
 
Thanks for the answer! i was looking at either the 8x10 or the 4x12 (the chocolate thunder looks great!), and i did play an aguilar 8x10 from cephalic carnage which was great, but i also hear alot of positive stuff about the 4x12's (more mids and push they said.), so i wondered!
 
Cheers for this guys. The bass is fairly light, i find it very playable, but yes it is extremely likely made from sawdust- i have no way of tracking its history though which is a bit of a bum. One thing is for sure, it sounds shit, so is no good in current state. Theres a nice cort A4 on the bay atm.. hmm.
 
I have a Peavey Grind bass and I absolutely love it. Even with it's stock pickups. All passive, but it still sounds great. I can't comment much on the playability as its my first bass, but It plays and sounds better than my friend's old Ibanez Ergodyne. (What!!?? An overpriced Ibanez!? No Way!) Plus neck through construction! And it can be had for $399 USD. Not bad at all!

269932.jpg

Musicians Friend
 
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