Bass recommendations.............

[Robert]

Originally Posted by trpullen

I don't think you will be allowed to buy a Lakland. I think there is some kind of ownership test required. I have never seen anyone other than KILLER players with them. Some crazy kind of quality control there.

Seriously, short scale basses don't have the string tension to provide good snap.

So, am I better off just "tuffing" it out? Staying with what I have, and just using my "pinkie" alot?

[Herb Hunter]

You should try a good, short-scale bass guitar in a store and see if the compromise between greater playability at the slight sacrifice of tone is acceptable to you. You may find the tone a disappointment or you may like the tone. If you don't mind the tone and find the playability significantly better than it may be that the switch to a short-scale bass would be quite worthwhile. Only you can decide but only after comparing a standard scale and short scale bass guitar of comparable quality through the same amp.

Paul McCartney still sometimes plays his short-scale Hofner.

[Just a Fan]

I've owned and played many basses: G&L, Fender, Ibanez, Hamer...but that was years ago. I've played guitar exclusively for the last couple of years and needed to buy the church a bass for several folks to use. I was blown away by this Squire: http://www.squierguitars.com/product...tno=0326702521
It's just as nice as basses costing tons more and has a really easy to play neck. I'm thinking about picking one up for myself.

Jeff

[levifly]

I thought I made a reply to this last weekend but it does not appear here so I will repost. I went through the same experience a few years ago. I was playing guitar and singing with our praise band at church and the bass player moved away. Well it seems that the worst guitar player ends up playing bass. That would be me. I went methodically on my way learning bass and looking for one. I spent a lot of time on Talkbass.com and ended buying a used Lakland hollowbody from the for-sale section there. It turned out to be from a guy in Los Angeles who does studio work professionally. The bass was pristine, easy to play and had a great sound. I played it for a while and felt the need (bas) to get a 5 string. I bought a Lakland Daryl Jones jazz style bass and play both. Lakland in my opinion is the Taylor of basses. Both of mine are Skyline series, made in Korea I think and set up in Chicago with electronics and neck adjustments Under 900 bananas for the used one just over 12 for the new one which I bought from Theperfectbass.com. They had the best price I could find on line and Lakland QC made me have good feelings about doing the online thing. By the way a new (better) bass player joined the band and I am back to singing and spare bass and guitar player. Still play at home and when needed and love it. Good luck, Mike

[levifly]

Originally Posted by Robert

So, am I better off just "tuffing" it out? Staying with what I have, and just using my "pinkie" alot?

All good bass players use their pinkies, it is very gentile. Mike

[Tony]

I have a Gibson SG (silverburst!) bass, and I'll never go back to normal scale. It still sounds like a bass, but my hands can move all around faster and easier. Some bass riffs kicked my butt with my old normal scale bass, but the Gibson is so easy to play. The only thing I don't like is the "horns" on the SG shape, but it wasn't a deal breaker.

Looks like this:

[skyver]

Arrr, I'm getting GAS. My EB3 was fun to play.

[mike o]

Couldn't resist. Shameless plug

HERE Bass is for sale. NOW $ 950.00 plus shipping. It's a great bass that I no longer play.

[mikelhenry]

Originally Posted by skyver

...but the long scale basses sound better to me...

Best of luck on your quest. I agree with Skyver on this. When I wanted to upgrade, I started playing lots of bases, but always came back to the longer scale because I feel they had better sustain and more oompf.

If you don't mind spending less on a bass, check out the active pickup Mexican Fender Jazz basses. I bought an Active-V for less than half of your upper limit because I felt it had more versatility with the three band EQ. Find one and play it, you may agree. It is full scale, but mmmm-mmmm what it does when you go below the E onto that B string! Also, with the fifth string, you can convert your playing position up the neck above the 5th fret where the frets are closer together and not lose the lower notes like you would on a four string. Then you still have the rumble available when you want to rattle the windows!

[Tony]

Do you guys recommend changing out a EADG bass with BEAD strings?
Or is it just better to get a five string bass?

[JJFIELDS]

Robert - I recommend that you start out a little lower end, and really see what you like/dislike about basses before you spend the big bucks.....

Try the Ibanez line, SR400, Ergodyne....I like them for the money, very playable, and great tone!

I am local Chicago area(Bartlett) and you are welcome to try any of my basses.....I'll be back in Chicago tonight. I'll PM you my cell.


Jeff

[trpullen]

Originally Posted by Tony

Do you guys recommend changing out a EADG bass with BEAD strings?
Or is it just better to get a five string bass?

Regular strings or a 5 string. Other strings will just mess up your head.

[LeonD]

I'd stick with the 34" scale for tone / playability reasons.

If you really want to spend $1,500, I'd check out a used Sadowsky Metro. Excellent bass that sits in the mix better than anything else.

If you want to spend less, for around $900 used / $1,200 new (give or take a hundred), you can join the MusicMan family. The Stingray for old school tone with a Precision feel or a Sterling for old school tone with a Jazz feel or a Bongo for an extremely versatile bass with a modern feel.

LeonD

[jefframm]

Lots of good opinions here...probably enough to drive you crazy. I'll probably make it worse but can't resist giving an opinion.

I'm mostly a bassist (37 years worth) and sometimes guitarist (30 years) and would recommend a process of elimination for starters.

If there are certain bands that you love, you should pay some attention to the bassists choice of bass. In my experience lots of people that get interested in bass have a "sound" in their head, so it might help you narrow down what you're looking for based on the sound you "hear".

Lots of bass players play Fender style basses (Precision, Jazz, Leo's later work at MusicMan, etc.) but there's a pretty big difference in tone from a Precision to Jazz to MusicMan. The other thing you'll note is that Precisions and regular MusicMan's tend to have a beefier neck, Jazzes and the MusicMan Sterling model have a slimmer profile. Given your comments about short-scale, you might find that a regular scale jazz neck profile fits your hand better than a standard Precision or MusicMan neck.

Once you narrow down sound/style, then you have to look at budget. If you want to stay less than $500, I would check out the Fender Squier Vintage series, as they are great bang for the buck, as are the Mexi Fenders (both Jazz and P). In those cases I would try really hard to play several and pick the "one". If you want a Fender brand and want to go higher end, the new American Standard Jazz and Precisions are really nice.

If you really want what I think is the best "Fender" style bass for around $1100-1200 I can't say enough good things about Lakland's Skyline series. The 44-02 has a hybrid of the Jazz style pickup config with a MusicMan style back pick-up, and the back can be coil-tapped. If you roll the pick-up blend knob to just the front pick-up it does a really servicable P-bass sound. Roll it all the way back and you've got j-bass growl and punch and/or musicman snap. The 3 band pre-amp gives you about 1000 more sound options. It's the most versatile set-up I've ever played and I play that config almost every Sunday at Church. Most larger Lakland dealers discount a decent amount and you could get a new one several hundred below your top end price point. The neck profile is thin from a depth standpoint, somewhat like a jazz, but a little wider at the nut than a typical jazz.

The 55-02 is the 5 string version of the 44-02 style. I play exclusively 5's anymore and think Dan builds the perfect 5'er. Be aware that Lakland 5 strings are 35" scale length though. Probably not what you'd want if the standard length 34" is a stretch. FYI, Sadowsky 5 strings are 34" scale length and Roger has the best B-string for a 34" scale that I've played. Last point is that the Lakland Hollowbody is a really cool 4 string and if you're inclined to like the "Beatle bass" vibe sound wise, you can do a pretty convincing Paul McCartney on that bass with some palm muting and a pick. I had one for several years and sold it to a friend who's son was lusting after it. Miss it for sure.

FYI, Dan Lakin at Lakland has taken customer service in the bass world to a new level. He and Roger Sadowsky are tops in that regard. Dan also just got a PLEK machine and as good as their set-ups were before (I've had about 6 Laklands and currently own 3 - their setups are killer) PLEK'ing is pretty cool.

Clearly I'm biased a little toward the Laklands. The Sadowsky Metro's are another great option, but with a top end of $1500, you'd have to buy used.

Good luck with the search!

jeff