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Bass Guitars: A debate. What are your thoughts?


Matt82

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Many people have their opinions. Opinions (And facts) are what keep things in focus. I'm curious about what people think about all of the options out there.

Pickups: Active or passive, split coil or single?

Woods: Mahogany, Basswood, Agathis, etc.

4,5, or 6 string?

Neck through or bolt on?

 

I prefer a four string (though some say you aren't any good unless you play a 5. I dig passive over active. Still not sold on any one wood though.

So what are you guys opinions?

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Whatever works for you/floats your boat. 

My thoughts are that this thread is a rehash of the tired and old 'Active vs Passive' or '4 string vs 5 string' threads. It really doesn't matter, as long as you are happy with your bass and the way it plays and sounds.

Opinions are like a-holes, everybody has one. It shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks.

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I like Rics miss the one I used to own. I like Pbasses, alder, swamp ash, even pine ones. I like a P/J even better. My #1 right now is a Guild Starfire, short scale, semi hollow, and mostly mahogany. I never tried 5ers or actives but I would got nothing against any brand or style I'm very open minded.

 

 

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This post wasn't supposed to be a debate about anything lol. I was just curious to hear the reasons why people play what they play, not whether they think one thing is better than the other. Lots of guys own multiple guitars, but they usually have one that is their favorite.

Simply put: what makes you love the guitar that you love?

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For me, it's simple. No other bass feels as right in my hands as my old Rics. I can get a decent sound with almost any bass, but the feel, the way it plays, only a Ric is right for me. Might be I'll find something else that works as well or even better someday, but, after all this time, I doubt it.

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I tend to get electric basses he i have a need for one for the band I'm in/project and when that peters out I've always wound up selling it to fund some other gas. My upright I've never sold because its always in demand. I've owned quite a few, a couple of jazzes, a P/J, the Ric, a couple of nice acoustic electrics. This last time I had settled onto a cheap Rondo P/J w flats but I was gassing for a Nice shortscale.

When I tried the Starfire I had to have it. Super fast neck even nicer than my old Ric. The Bisonic pickup is awesome and super versatile. My fingers fly over the thing. This time if my current project peters out I'm gonna resist temptation and keep it. I don't think I'll ever find another bass I like better for what this one cost me.

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Matt82 wrote:

 

 I was just curious to hear the reasons why people play what they play,

 

Simply put: what makes you love the guitar that you love?

 

 

i learned bass on a 4 string, and my feeble old mind can't wrap around that extra string.  so, always a 4 for me.

i always go back to my P (with J neck) for it's simplicity.  it's a 'bass'.  no clutter.  leaves one free to just play.  and it always sounds good.

i have an active J clone for the versatility and the neck.  one of the best necks i've ever laid hands on.

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I have either owned or played almost everything made at some point in time. My very favorite rig is a P with a V4B with all the EQs set dead in the middle which is now reissued (Yeah!). But, it is not a complete solution. I take 3 or 4 basses on stage to switch out depending on what I want to sound like.

I prefer passive pickups with tubes because it is the most natural sound and is very warm.

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I think everything can be valid in the right situation. I myself prefer a passive bass because I tend to use a lot of dirty tones, and actives sound pretty terrible with any sort of gain pedal in the signal path. The only exception to that rule that I've used was a Wal bass, but they have passive pickups with an active EQ section.

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This post wasn't supposed to be a debate about anything lol. I was just curious to hear the reasons why people play what they play' date=' not whether they think one thing is better than the other. Lots of guys own multiple guitars, but they usually have one that is their favorite.
Simply put: what makes you love the guitar that you love?[/quote']I have a Scion xBox, a Scion FR-S and a Chevy Silverado z71 4x4 pickup. And a tractor. I love all four of them for whatever I use them for. But for each driving condition, one is a favorite.Same with my basses. When I'm playing country, I pretty much HAVE to use my fiver. When playing classic rock, I like playing this one (mine has a rosewood neck): http://www.rondomusic.com/photos/bas...tmnash3ts1.jpgWith bluegrass or some pop songs, I like the four string acoustic-electric with flat wounds. And for all three the five string fretless works with some songs. I actually bounce between favorites depending on my mood. For almost a year I only used the bass in the link above (wasn't doing a lot of country), but the last few months I've been focusing on my Yamaha fiver.Regarding passive vs active, Although active gives you a lot of flexibility, so does a good amp. I've found I really like the simplicity of the passive basses, plus they don't let you down with a dead battery. Fortunately my Yamaha has a bypass switch, which I've had to use for two gigs when the batteries went dead.
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Biggest factor in choosing any instrument for me is having the neck fit my hand.

I cut the tendon between my thumb and first finger as a kid with a broken milk bottle (they were glass in those days) and it healed shorter than it should.

I can and do place my thumb on the back/center of a neck playing allot, especially bass to get the stretch on the notes. O can reach about 5 frets on a guitar

and 4 frets, one for each finger comfortably on a long scale bass. I don't especially like a wide neck though. I play bass as well as I do guitar but bass

is a different instrument requiring techniques to be developed that aren't always suitable to playing guitar.

 

You can build up muscles overextending that are great for bass playing but can harm a guitarist which uses a more aerobic method of building muscles.

You can wind up having a monkey grip on a guitar and have issues getting up to speed playing leads. For this reason, I stick with 4 string basses, slim

necks, and something I can move around on before all other considerations.

 

Second would be tone. This trumps how an instrument looks. I don't play out as much as I used to and recording quality is my main focus.

I own three basses now and have a precision to get all those tones but the bastard weighs a ton. My short scale if great for recording but

its not the best live bass. I have build with a Washburn neck which is allot like a Jazz bass. I can play that one all night with my fingers and

not get fatigued. Its got Precision shaped body made of south American wood that is laminated to have racing stripes and is much lighter than my precision.

 

How a bass looks is the least important thing on my list. Its nice is the body is shaped for comfort and looks good because you'd play it more,

but its not a deciding factor for me in most cases.

 

None of the bases I own are what I'd call my ideal bass. I can more than make up for any of their shortcomings through playing ability

but its not like I went shopping for them out of many and settled with what I found best for me. I'll likely do that one of these days, its just not on

my high priority list.

 

What I want to get is another Hoffner for recording. I like the neck shape, You can dial up killer recording tones on them.

They are neck heavy, which is their one drawback. I don't like an instrument taking a nose dive when you let go of it.

I have used them for recording before though and owned a really beat up one back in the early 70's .

 

When you put some compression on them, you get some incredible woody tones you just cant get from a solid body.

Its got some string touch of an upright bass I suppose that gives you those nice mid tones.

They sound even better if you dump the wood bridge and put a TOM type adjustable bridge on them.

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G&L has some exceptions to that. As I recall, the 2500 has a switch to go from passive to active. IMHO; however, active pickups are a marketing tool. I don't see the need when you have effects, pedals, preamps, etc.

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I’m so acclimated to five-strings, I can’t really play anything else, nor would I want to.

 

My basses are bolt-on, and I prefer that for practical reasons, but I wouldn’t hesitate to buy another type if I liked the bass.

 

I prefer passive, but I have actives that I also like and play.

 

I tried to play with a pick a couple times—didn’t put forth a lot of effort, but I didn’t do well with it, and don’t bother to keep trying. (I play some rhythm guitar and don’t use a pic, either.) If the song calls for a pick sound, I just don’t care enough to worry about it.

 

I don’t use effect at all.

 

I don't play with mixed cabs, and don't care what anyone else does, but I will never, ever do so.

 

Wood type means nothing to me, not even multiple pieces so long as it looks okay—I don’t believe it makes any difference in tone/whatever.

 

I don’t have a preferred brand at all.

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Played a four string for twenty years. Played a five string for tge past 15. They are just different tools for making music. I would laugh in the face of anyone that would make such a stupid comment like you must not be very good if you play a four string. Playing a four string is no easier or harder than playing a five string. I would also suggest that anyone that would make such a statement has actually played very little bass, or more likely none at all.

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^^ As I may have stated before, I think playing a four string is more difficult than five. In fact I think the fewer strings the more difficult, as ya gotta know your neck better and move around more.

 

Utilizing the B, I can fret every note on every song, and transposing is simply moving that pattern wherever I need to on the neck. And playing in a box makes it easier to sing while playing, as well. I haven’t played an open string for years.

 

Now that I think about it, I think I remember the last song I learned playing some open strings like on a four-banger, “Give Me Three Steps”, easy song, but damn, I screwed it up a buncha times, like my brain couldn’t process lifting my finger to make a note or something, haha… guitard would look at me like “Damn man, I know you know that song!”

 

very-happy

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Such an adamant statement. Why so dogmatic on the subject?

 

 

I reread my post, and I don’t think it was my intention, but the whole thing kinda reeks of attitude. That’s not my usual style. sm-happy

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Now that I think about it' date=' I think I remember the last song I learned playing some open strings like on a four-banger, “Give Me Three Steps”, easy song, but damn, I screwed it up a buncha times, like my brain couldn’t process lifting my finger to make a note or something, haha…[/quote']Kinda funny, I always played that using open strings but have recently changed to DGCF tuning so now have to play it without sm-frustrated. I does take some practice to use open strings but I still use them. I take the parts my fingers don't like and go over and over them until my stoopid finger get it ;) . Good reason to have a couch bass so you can do stuff like that while vegging out watching TV :)
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. . . Good reason to have a couch bass so you can do stuff like that while vegging out watching TV :)

Hadn't heard the term "couch bass" although it shouldn't be a surprise. I have a cheap acoustic guitar that lies on the couch for similar reasons. For that matter, that's the reason I own a bass. I'm the backup bass player for the praise band at church (I'm normally a guitarist) and I have a cheap P/J bass and amp just for practicing. Been noodling around with dropped D lately.

As for preferences, I like a lightweight 4-string bass. Left to my own devices I'd probably have a short scale in the interests of reducing weight but since I have reasonably long arms (I'm 6'4") it doesn't matter much. Semi-hollow would be nice in terms of weight as well. Passive on general principles. I don't like fooling with batteries.

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