Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: _tom_ on September 29, 2010, 09:23:41 AM
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I can now actually afford a cheaper bass guitar for recording and general tw@tting around on, maybe if I get any good I can get into a gigging band with it as nobody wants guitarists! Are the Squier Vintage Modified series good for this and are they built well enough to gig with? It's this one I have in mind as it looks very nice :D
http://www.squierguitars.com/products/search.php?partno=0326800505
thoughts/comments/other suggestions? I'm tied to the fender styles as I really don't like the look of any other bass guitars other than thunderbirds! The type of music I'll be playing is just standard rock and punk rock (after listening to Rancid I need to learn Maxwell Murder)!
Playing wise are all bass guitars gonna feel pretty much the same to start with in terms of strings feeling massive and really far apart with a huge neck?
Could also do with some suggestions for an amp that won't sound like a tin can, probably stick to combo for now if possible. How about the Ampeg BA115 100w?
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My friend has gigged a Squier VM Jazz Bass a few times, they are well put together and sound great for the price.
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Having read some reviews I think I'm leaning towards the Epiphone Thunderbird IV now! Have read a few reviews of the Squier and some say it has cheap hardware etc. Gigged my Epiphone LP many times and never been let down. I've always been more of a Gibson man than Fender as well, just worried it won't have enough twang/punch in the sound whilst still sounding thick. Are they comfortable for sitting down with?
Also I'm not sure if I'm cool enough to pull off the looks of a thunderbird :lol: :oops:
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My brother has both the Thunderbird and a Squier VM (the fretless Jazz bass though, not the P-Bass)
He HATES the Thunderbird and loves the Squier. Says he can't get on with the neck heaviness and just prefers the sound and feel off the Jazz Bass.
They're very different basses though, as usual, try before you buy.
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Thunder bird is definitely a try-before-you-buy. The neck dive on that thing is ridiculous.
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haha fair enough. I'll probaly leave the t-bird then as I wouldn't want neck dive as basses already feel quite cumbersome! Gonna have a go on both a P and a J bass if possible as apparently the J has a slightly narrower neck which would be nice, but I don't particularly want a thinner/funkier tone!
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I reckon you're gonna need to try before you buy as well.
I've not tried the Squiers, but I've heard of folk who love them.
One thing I could possibly add: I think I'd head for a Jazz rather than a Precision. I use a Variax bass, which feels a bit like a Precision to handle, but obviously it's got a whole bunch of "basses" inside. Out of all the models on board, it seems that the most flexible sounding bass for me is the Jazz, closely followed by Rickenbacker (mebbe). A Precision does a nice ploddy thump, very well, but not much else as far as I can tell. The Jazz does that plod, and it growls and bounces and does a whole load of other stuff as well.
Other models do other stuff better, but for a blues/rock bass, that can do pop/country etc as well (I'm sure it can funk too, just not in my hands!) - I think I'd choose a Jazz if I was only getting one bass.
I've never actually played a Jazz, but I also understand the neck is less of a culture-shock for us 6-stringers when we first try to play the, er, "easier" instrument :lol:
EDIT: Ah... you posted while I was musing... :D
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I'll stick my Oar in.
A mate of mine as a TB and it sounds great. Massive and great for rock but thats about it.
A friend of mine also has the Green Day Mike Dirnt Squier Bass. I'm prety sure this is close to what you are looking at. It's a better looking bass, better playing and better sounding than the TB. Plus there is nothing cooler than a P-Bass
I've been looking at cheap basses too and the VM caught my eye too!
Paddy
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Yeah, I've just checked out my Variax manual - we have a Thunderbird on board, and I have used it. It's one of the "Thump" models, and yes I've found it behaves very much like Bucketshred says.
Interestingly, the other Thump model (they come in "similar" pairs on the Variax bass) is an EB-2. Stick a shortscale bass neck on a 335 guitar body... that's an EB-2. Sounds quite similar to the Thunderbird but with a certain something extra (look at pictures of and listen to early Jethro Tull - Glenn Cornick played one with them).
Funnily enough, I've been looking at cheap basses as well, and Squier VMs showed up on the radar :lol:
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hmm so you reckon the Jazz can get a good rock tone as well then? All the clips I can find of it on youtube seem to be doing a load of twangy slap bass which I have no interest in at all :lol:
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Tom, yes. But get a P-Bass, they're cooler!
Paddy
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:o Listen to Led Zeppelin :lol:
I'm with Paddy though - the P-bass does look cooler and more "rock"...
Still, get a pipe and a tweed jacket, you'd look very hip with a Jazz round your neck.
OR... look at basses that have a Jazz pickup by the bridge and a split precision pickup as well. I played an Aria Cat II for years with this config - best of both worlds, that particular bass looked a bit Duran Duran though :lol:
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I don't claim to be able to play it, but my bass has a P-J pickup configuration like the one below. Best of both worlds.
I don't know if there's a Squier equivalent, but there certainly was a Mexican version a few years ago.
(http://www.gbase.com/files/store_images/gear/2328839/p1_uuazqy442_so.jpg)
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I don't claim to be able to play it, but my bass has a P-J pickup configuration like the one below. Best of both worlds.
I don't know if there's a Squier equivalent, but there certainly was a Mexican version a few years ago.
Yep, that's the kinda thing you want Tom - no need to get the pipe and slippers or a crazy 80s hairdo either :lol:
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I'll chip in too Tom and agree with the suggestions that you have a go. If it were me I'd look at either a P or J or indeed the P with additional J pickup. I don't think you'd have any trouble getting a rich tone out of the J if you went for one of them - the neck is easier on the hands but I have a preference for P basses as I have had mine for donkeys years and it suits me fine.
As for amps, I would look for a good used Trace combo. They tend to be consistently good in my experience though I don't know if they are still up to the standard of the old ones but I have never known them to be unreliable. The bass player in my band has one and it is light (ish) and has plenty of oomph. I can't recall the model off hand but may be able to find out. I have a combo bass amp which is a Peavey and I have had it for years though these days I only do a few bass gigs per year. My combo is a 1 x 15 and has enough punch to keep up with a band though it weighs a fair bit.
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I always played bass,as well as guitar.In fact,my 1° electric was a Hofner bass .If you want a bass with more of a guitar-like neck,try one of those.As a guitarist,they're very easy to play with.Now,i have a Squier Fender P-bass.A friend of mine gave it to me when i had to let go a 60's Fender Precision i loved.I've been pleasantly surprised by the Squier.The neck is very good:good intonation,nice feeling etc.The low E is perfectly usable (not always the case with cheap/bad basses..) and that P-Bass,as a whole, sounds like.....a real P-Bass :)!My only problem is to buy new strings when it needs some...It's expensive enough to buy strings for all my different guitars... :?
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Had a go on a few today. The local shops are getting worse so it probably wasn't the best test, but I had a go on a Jazz bass copy in one shop and then a Fender MIM P-Bass and a Thunderbird copy in another. Didn't really like the feel of the thunderbird much so that's out. The P and J felt really similar to me, not much in the necks I thought and played about the same. So I think I'll go with what looks coolest and get a P-Bass :lol: (unless I can find one of those P-J styles like philly posted).
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There's a MIM(?) model called the Deluxe Active P Bass® Special.
$899.99 list price, so over here it probably costs..... £900. :| :lol:
http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0135760306 (http://www.fender.com/products/search.php?partno=0135760306)
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i think P-Basses sound the coolest too :)
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£900 is way too much for a secondary instrument! I love the colour scheme on that though. The Fender I played looked quite nice, a deep satin purple. Anyway I can't seem to find any VM P's locally so I think I'm just gonna order one of the white ones from GAK and hope for the best :lol:
Came up with a few cool riffs in the shops so hopefully this will bring some new much needed inspiration :)
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i think P-Basses sound the coolest too :)
+1!I love the P-Bass sound !I always dreamed about a Rickenbacker,though...but it's another story :)! tom,i think you can't go wrong with a P-Bass,but it's always better to try it first...but you know that already,don't you ? :)
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AndyR quote : "I use a Variax bass,"
How is it ?It was a bit expensive for me but the "samples/clips" sounded real good !Just to have a P-Bass and a Ricky in the same Bass looks like a dream...Is it "digital"sounding/feeling in any way?
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AndyR quote : "I use a Variax bass,"
How is it ?It was a bit expensive for me but the "samples/clips" sounded real good !Just to have a P-Bass and a Ricky in the same Bass looks like a dream...Is it "digital"sounding/feeling in any way?
I really like it, it stopped me using my Aria bass.
I've stopped using Variax 6 strings since getting into BKPs and the search for "my tone" :lol:
But I still use the bass exclusively for all noodling and recording duties.
I use the Variax bass through the bass amp models in a fully loaded XTLive. Or straight into the desk/recorder sometimes, definitely straight in for acoustic and double-bass models.
I can tell/feel the "digital" on the Vax guitars, but personally I can't really tell on a bass. I actually get better bass parts out of the Vax than I ever did with my Aria bass.
If I was a fulltime bassist, especially if I was gigging through an amp, I think I probably would start noticing the difference. But for home recording it is an absolute dream.
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Ok,you just revived my gas for it ... :lol: :? 8) I really love playing Bass !The one thing that stopped me from playing bass seriously is my need to keep strong nails for Classical guitar... :? Anyway,thanks for your input,AndyR !
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My cousin used to have an Epi Thunderbird, and it was really neck heavy.
This mexi I picked up a couple of months ago, plays and sounds great.
(http://www.maccentral.demon.co.uk/misc/pb.jpg)
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if you can find an Ibanez Roadstar bass (essentially a P-bass), they are WELL worth the cash. one on ebay now for £100, fretless mind you. I stupidly sold mine a couple of years back for £150, but you'll pick one up even today for under £300.00, they are really well put together - the guy from Supergrass used them exclusively.
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Just ordered the VM P-Bass, should be here tomorrow :D Only got Amplitube 3 to play it through for now though, I want a proper amp!
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I was going to suggest a look into the Yamaha RBX (I think) series of basses as they're well made for the money, and most come with P and J style pickups, but as you've already ordered 1, it's immaterial really! :lol:
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Well I've cancelled as the earliest they can get one in stock and send it is 20th Oct! Can't seem to find them in stock anywhere though...
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Well I've cancelled as the earliest they can get one in stock and send it is 20th Oct! Can't seem to find them in stock anywhere though...
Oh right, bugger! :x
Ok, I'll re-recommend the Yamaha RBX Series of basses then!
I had 1 of the RBX 270s which was a nice middle of the road model, think it cost me about £130 years ago.
May be worth keeping a lookout for if you don't mind going 2nd hand?