Members guitardude24 Posted July 3, 2005 Members Share Posted July 3, 2005 So, i'm starting to record myself and i want to be my own band basically...so i can record and have full songs with drums, bass and guitar...i will use Drum samples... so, i'm looking to get a bass...i don't care about looks, for the most part... all i want is the highest quality and best sounding bass for $200 or under...new or USED...used prolly, cause it's obviously cheaper...i know there arn't many good sounding basses at the price... any suggestions would be great, to point me in the right idrection, cause i don't really know anything about basses! Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members illidian Posted July 3, 2005 Members Share Posted July 3, 2005 Here we go: Essex P, with a Maple or Rosewood fretboard, your choice. Price - $90Link for Maple board HERELink for Rosewood board HERE and Essex Jazz, photo'd (fake) QMT with gold hardware, or a "Tiger Maple," top with chrome hardware. Price - $100Link for QMT/gold hardware URL=http://www.rondomusic.net/sjb62qmdredsb.html]HERE[/url] Link for TM top, chrome hardware HERE But for $200, you can't do better than both a Jazz and a Precision from Essex. If your budget is only $200 after all other expenses, pick one; Then put a nice set of strings on and get it professionally set up. Bass strings are about $20 per pack and will last as long as you want them to, or until you break them. The tone changes after a bit, but some like that tone. For your first set, get to your local shop and tell them you want some Nickle bass strings(the "middle ground," for bass strings), standard gauge. This will let you think - "I want more thump and less treble," or, "I want more of a treble-like edge," or, "This is how bass is supposed to sound!" It will be a starting point. As far as a brand, as long as it's not a huge national corporation, ask what they would recommend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bottomfeeder Posted July 4, 2005 Members Share Posted July 4, 2005 or stretch the budget to 250 and get a peavey t40! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Spark Posted July 4, 2005 Members Share Posted July 4, 2005 Actually, for your budget I'd suggest a used Peavey Dyna Bass. This was Peavey's pro-level bass in the mid to late 80's, and my understanding is that a lot of studios kept a Dyna Bass on hand. Very versatile, sounds excellent, skinny neck (you're a guit player, so that's probably a plus! ). Although I did barely any recording in the 80s, I did record once with a Dyna Bass and it sounded fantastic in the mix. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darkstorm Posted July 4, 2005 Members Share Posted July 4, 2005 Peavey Dyna bass would work well for that. Alternately, try to track down some ESP LTD B200 to B300 series basses. Where selling new thru online stores for $350-$400 range. So getting one used for $200 to $300 should be doable. Very good grade neck thru body with emg hz soapbar pups & 3 band active eq, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members beav2k2 Posted July 4, 2005 Members Share Posted July 4, 2005 Another vote for an SX. Easy to find and Kurt is known for his excellent service. I say pick up an SX P-bass and drop in another pickup and you've got and awesome bass. Plus, what records better than a Jazz or P? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Spark Posted July 4, 2005 Members Share Posted July 4, 2005 Originally posted by beav2k2 Another vote for an SX. Easy to find and Kurt is known for his excellent service. I say pick up an SX P-bass and drop in another pickup and you've got and awesome bass. Plus, what records better than a Jazz or P? A cheap, well-made P copy with a replacement pickup would be my other choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitardude24 Posted July 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted July 4, 2005 great! thanks for the advise and links! So, i'm thinking i'm gonna go with the SX Jazz bass...reasons... 1) My buddy has a P-bass, so this will mix it up2) i like the gold hardware3) I read that it is very versitle so i could get many different styles and tones from it Do you think the stock PU's will be okay? I'd rather spend cash to replace my guitar PU's thn the basses... Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Darkstorm Posted July 4, 2005 Members Share Posted July 4, 2005 "Do you think the stock pups will be ok?" No. Its pretty generally ageed that those SX basses have lousy pups, poor qaulity hardware and marginal fretwork. If you get one of the better ones out of a batch, fretwork will be serviceable. Which just leaves replaceing pups, bridge & hardware. You cannot expect to get more then a marginal bass new at that price point. Its unrealistic expectation. I can safely bet that the Sx single coil jazz pups hum to beat all too which makes em lousy choice for recording. Frequent probs on the cheaper Sx's for necks alone include popped up frets, badly installed nut, twisted necks. As just typical examples. Is to be expected at th low a rice for new instrument. Sure you an send it back as decfecive & try agian. Defective, noncontested percentage on those instruments as stated by owners and agreed between em is good 30% or more. So you keep sending defective ones back till you get a serviceable cheapo grade axe. If thats satisfactory, go for it. Otherwise do yourself a favor and wait till you find a nice used bass you can inspect in person before buyng. When your talking about that cheap a price Getting lower end used bass by Ibanez, peavey, esp ltd, samick, ect is allways going to be far smarter choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitardude24 Posted July 4, 2005 Author Members Share Posted July 4, 2005 yeah, read some really bad reviews on the SX...and the only good reviews seemed to be from first year bass players... So, i don't want something that's gonna be more hastle than good... What do you guys know about the OLP MM2 bass... I have an OLP Petrucci model and i really like the feel and look, i swapted out the pickups for some DiMarzio's... I can get one used in "very good" condition for $150 from my local guitar store... Reviews from Music123.com are very good...reviews here at HC are good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ToeJamFootball Posted July 4, 2005 Members Share Posted July 4, 2005 SX basses are much better than OLPs, and i am pretty sure you cannot upgrade, the bridges on OLPs, which dont look real sturdy to me!!! i own the Tiger Maple Jazz, it is great!! as for the pups, they are not lousy, sure they may not be EMGs ore anything but they are much better than anything labled 'squire' or 'OLP' for that matter. just my $0.02 ToeJam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitardude24 Posted July 5, 2005 Author Members Share Posted July 5, 2005 you know what...im bagging the whole idea, and spending $120 on upgrades for one of my guitars... i have 2 friends with basses, in my two "bands"...so, there's no need for me to spend $100 on something that will most likely have some major flaws and need upgrading... thanks for the support and help, but i think i'm better off this way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chris dax Posted July 5, 2005 Members Share Posted July 5, 2005 I got a MIM Jazz used at Music Go Round here in Denver for $225....it was in a 9.5 condition with the plastic still on the pickguard.... it's a great bass that I gig with every week. I've put DiMarzio ultrajazz set in it and a badassII bridge...but it was a very nice sounding bass before I did that.... I ordered a cheap fretless SX bass from Rondo...had to send it back - it was just a cheap piece of crap... not saying anything about anybody else's experience or guitar...but the one SX I had my hands on was not anywhere close to gigable....c-d Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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