I've needed a new Bass for recording for ages, I got rid of my Harley Benton 6 string because it was an impulse buy from when I was younger and obsessed with Dream Theater. It wasn't a practical instrument at all, heavy, the neck was the width of an ancient Oak! Plus the sound wasn't great either, despite the active pickups.
Today I had a wander down to my mate in the local axery and tried out a few budget Basses, you know, just something with four strings that wasn't too shoddy sounding. He came out with a Squier Jaguar Bass, and when he told me it was £190 I wasn't expecting much, even though I know how good the Squier stuff can be.
Plugged it in, bashed a few strings whilst fiddling with the pup volumes etc until I found my sweet spot and I was thoroughly impressed! Having already tried a Squier Jazz Bass earlier that day that was reduced from over £300 down to £280-something, I found that I was getting almost the same, if not a better sound out of this cheaper one. It has enough "edge" to it that I am able to get some nice Metal-tones out of it, but fiddling with the controls I found I can get all sorts of vibes out of this thing! Better still, I wasn't expecting to come away from today with a pretty guitar, I doubt I'll gig it and I had intended to buy literally just a nice, versatile recording guitar that wouldn't leave the house, but this thing looks rather pretty too! So double bonus! Went along with a top budget of £300 and came away with exactly what I needed for £190. The only tiiiiny downside is that I was trying to steer clear of active circuitry, as I think Guitars with batteries are a pain in the bum, but I ended up with this active Bass anyway. But for this price, I'm really not complaining much, heh.
Proper job! :)
