awht kinda bass should i get?

[FenderStratGuy]

I know that Fender is the only chice in bass, seeing that they invented the first real electric bass.....ans they sound great. but what kind? P-Bass? J? I'm thinking of getting a standard p-bass...any suggestions?

[groover]

Originally posted by FenderStratGuy
I know that Fender is the only chice in bass, seeing that they invented the first real electric bass.....ans they sound great. but what kind? P-Bass? J? I'm thinking of getting a standard p-bass...any suggestions?

- IBM invented the first PC. Does IBM make the best PC's?
- Macintosh came out with the first real GUI. Is it still the best?
- Sony invented the personal stereo (Walkman). Are they still the best?
- Henry Ford was the first to mass produce automobiles on an assembly line. Is Ford the best mass produces auto maker?

There are many other examples. It's all a matter of personal taste. Leo himself improved on his own design in the Music Man Stingray and the G&L basses. Even the original Precision bass has been improved upon by Leo.

Don't get me wrong, I like Fender basses and frequently recommend them but there are a lot of other very good manufacturers out there. Whether they're better or not depends on your own personal taste. As far as whether you should get P or J, that all depends on your personal taste and the style of music you play. Go play em' both for yourself and while your at it, take an objective look at some others. You may still find that you prefer Fender, but then again you never know...

Peace!

[Brent]

< sarcasm >

Yeah, but isn't the Fender Strat the only kind of guitar there is? I figured it was the same way with the bass?

< /sarcasm >

Brent

[frankthebass]

OK, I have to say there are a lot of ppl out there who think fender basses are the best, and fair play to them.... BUT
I personally dont like them too much. they're not particularly new technology, e.g. a lot of them are bolt on necks, and as standard to my knowledge, they are all passive (though I hear you can get a preamp retro-fitted if you want). This was fine 40 years or so ago, but now things have moved on a bit.
At the very least you should get an active bass, (this makes SUCH a difference)
take a look at warwick basses, they are good, yamaha make good middle of the road basses that sound great for the price you pay for them, but arent really anything amazingly, pant-wettingly special :o)
Personally, I recommend taking a look at status basses
www.status-graphite.co.uk I think?!?!? I play a status empathy and I never want to change it.
their basses are all active, made of several veneers of wood, and all have through-necks, which is gonna do far more for you than the passive, single wood bodied, bolt on neck fender thing.
they either make their necks totally out of graphite, or put graphite rods in them so they'll never go out of shape, even if you leave them in a hot place. (ok, this sounds like I'm trying to sell them to you.)
just take a look at the site, and see all the ppl that play them.
be warned though... you're gonna need about £1000 for one, but they sometimes have deals on.
God bless

[frankthebass]

OK, so the addy in the last reply was wrong...
www.status-graphite.com

Peace

[Unregistered]

i would look at an ibanez, i just bought a sr405 w/ active electronics and i like it alot
it was $500 but they make cheaper and much more expensive ones depending on what you are wanting

and i DONT like fenders

[Brent]

Originally posted by frankthebass
OK, I have to say there are a lot of ppl out there who think fender basses are the best, and fair play to them.... BUT
I personally dont like them too much. they're not particularly new technology, e.g. a lot of them are bolt on necks, and as standard to my knowledge, they are all passive (though I hear you can get a preamp retro-fitted if you want). This was fine 40 years or so ago, but now things have moved on a bit.Eh? All of Fender's basses are available as active or passive now... Just like any other kind of bass. As for Status basses...I don't know a thing about them, but I do know it's definitely not what I would start out on. Shelling out all that extra cash for a graphite reinforced (or graphite neck) bass isn't very wise if you don't even know if you're going to stick with it or not. I'd say Fender is a good starter bass if you want to go that route. Ibanez, Yamaha, Peavey, or even Dean all make some excellent basses that would be great for a beginner. Don't go shelling out tons of money on something you're not sure about yet.

Brent

[Unregistered]

if you want to spend a large amount of money on a bass buy a Valley Arts bass. A friend of mine has a Last-Of-Its-Kind Hand Made Valley Arts P&J bass and its awesome

[esspresso_head]

I have a cheapo hamer slammer, where the strings are set too high, and the neck buzzes and junk if I don't press hard enough on the strings. If I lower the strings any, the buzzing just gets worse. The neck is starting to warp a tiny bit, and my 1/4" jack thingy pops and buzzes sometimes. But I still love it. It was my first bass. At least one that I bought first. I played on a Yamaha 5-string jazz, special edition bass when i played in the jazz band and my high school, but I didn't buy that one. Although I wish I could go back and buy it from the band director, it's awesome.

My dream bass to have is an Ernie Ball (?) stingray. Man those things are awesome. The bass I really want that I CAN afford is a 5-string Ibanez Ergodyne model. I played the 4 string, and it just doesn't get any better for a mid range priced bass. Tis a sweet, sweet bass.

[Pick it up!]

i say get a bass with BOTH kind of pick-ups. you can do so much more.