Bass Guitar: I need something versatile

[sammerbass]

My personal favorite. ;D


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ass?sku=519119

[brandondrury]

I like your "decent" bass review. It shows that you don't get too excited about fancy gear. I'm in the same boat. My Soundelux U99 microphone is a decent microphone.

I'm curious about these mega high end basses. You seam to be a fan of them. What do they bring to the table that a Fender P bass won't? Is the tone simply different than that of the standard P bass or Fender Jazz bass?

How versatile are these basses? Can I do Gun N Roses one day and Raggae the next?

Are they excessively deep? This is my biggest problem with most bass guitars. Most of them have this monster deap thing happening that is pretty much unsusable on 90% of the recordings I make. I'm looking for a bass that I don't have to thin out to sound great in a mix.

Brandon

[sammerbass]

What do they bring to the table that a Fender P bass won't?? Is the tone simply different than that of the standard P bass or Fender Jazz bass?

You would just have to A B? the two to really know.? If you want to hear the natual tonalities of a bass, put your ear on the upper horn and play.? The difference in fender and warwick is huge.? I would think anybody in you situation should have a few fenders to fall back on.? for everything else, there's warwick. ;D

Although the electronics in warwicks are extremely versitile the biggest difference is in the wood.? For great natural mids, neck mass and great wood is a must (Ovangkol/Wenge, Ebony FB).

Are they excessively deep?

Only if you want it to be!!!!

Can I do Gun N Roses one day and Raggae the next??

You can do them in the same day if you want!

[Smidgelton]

Warwicks can get WAY deep. But they've also got great growling mids. Very lively sound. A Jazzman and a David Eden bass rig is a winning combo, in my opinion. If you get a chance listen to Incubus "SCIENCE" album. I don't think you'll be doing much GnR with a Warwick however. Duff's tone is too bright. A Fender or Musicman would better suit that kind of tone. I believe he plays with a pick as well. Which also affects sound greatly.

[brandondrury]

David Eden bass rig

I remember a lot of people getting excited about those amps and the Incubus bass tone in general on that album. I'll have to check it out. I never did the whole Incubus thing. Maybe I'll experiment soon.

Warwicks can get WAY deep.

You may be right, but I think this is typical of any bass with active EQ. I don't think I'll ever find a need to boost 100Hz (or less) by 12dB. Why they put these controls on a bass at all baffles me. I could see having multiple EQ options for the midrange, but not the low end.

Brandon

[sammerbass]

The Incubus (SCIENCE) tone is from a Warwick Streamer Stage II through an Avalon U5 and compression. With the Avalon U5 you get your instrument's EXACT tone with a little tube coloration.

You can also get that same tone with a Warwick thumbbass through ampeg. My live rig is a thumbbass through an Ampeg pro classic tube preamp, ampeg pro 1600 power amp, Ampeg 8x10e and a 15e. With that set up I can get anything from old incubus to mudvayne to 311 and even some of the old jazzy tones. If I switch my bass to passive and use the neck p u it sounds very similar to an upright.

As for the barky mid/bright Duff sound, you can get that too. flatten the lows, boost the mids and treble, and lean more towards the bridge p u and you have an almost acoustic guitar sound.

[dach]

as with any instrument... it's only as good as the person playing it... I get by just fine with my P and T40. I borrow a fretless and an upright when needed. Maybe I'd like to have better basses and I do need to shape the sound a bit but that's the tradeoff. It a bass, not a vocalist. If I were making a disc where the bass was the featured instrument, I'd be barking up the wrong tree but for a supporting role... "good enough" in the right hands can do fine. A $5k bass may be a good idea for a great bass player earning good money, but it just doesn't make much sense to me otherwise.... for that kind of cash, treat your room, buy a Neumann with what's left so now you can actually HEAR the bass properly and you've got a great mic with resale value.

[sammerbass]

$5K for a bass is pretty crazy, but if you shop around you can always find good deals. I traded a peavy grind with barts and 1k for mine. And my warwick fortress R&B was purchased on ebay for 700.

I guess I'm just a tone freak.

;D

[marcusmiles]

I play a Spector bass guitars. All the models sound incredible in the recording studio. The best model is the neck Thru USA Custom model. Great bass but very expensive; over $4000. Tobias also make a great bass. All the models in the $2000 range sound great.

[magno]

I know you don't want a $200 Ibanez sound, but how about a 4 or $500 Ibanez.
You said your budget is low, not sure if it's as low as mine?
I'm pretty happy with my new bass it's an Ibanez ergodyne edb400.
It has passive pickups with an active eq.
I don't have a bass amp so, having some extra tone control when going direct is a bonus in my books.
Extra bonus, it looks good next to my 540s.
I've played at least half a dozen different Ibanez basses and I've always liked the sound of them.
For the record if I had at least a grand to spend I would have got an American jazz.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2047/...734dc6.jpg?v=0
btw the site is awesome, I hope to post more in the future and keep on learning here.
Steve