Any bass guitar suggestions

Hi I am looking for suggestions for a new bass.  I am not traditionally a bass player but I do play on my recordings and I need it to sound good.  I am therefore looking for suggestions of guitars that are mid-priced and sound good.   My music tends to be diverse so I need to be able to use for a multitude of styles.  Any suggestions?

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Cool.  I will check out the Squier.  What is the difference between P and Jazz basses.  I googled this but did not read anything about how they might sound different.

I'm won't engage mike in a P v. J debate (I'll surely lose), but I found the Jazz to be easier to play (thinner neck) and more versatile.  I also love Geddy Lee.  In recording, I now don't really have to do a single thing to it.  I run it into a pre, and it just sounds good. 

Anyway, the Classic Vibe has a P Bass and a Jazz bass. Check them out for yourself. 

As a bass player, I will chime in:

Fender-style basses (whether made by Fender/Squier or someone else) can generally be easily upgraded in the future if desired.

The P-Bass and the J-Bass are both considered absolute standards of bass design - in exactly the same way that Strat's, Tele's and LP's all are. Some may prefer one to the other, but they're both standards.

There are also P/J variations (generally a P-Bass with an added J pickup in the bridge position), and other absolute classic basses like the MusicMan Stingray and Ric 4001. But the P-Bass and J-Bass are the 2 most popular and most imitated.

J-Basses necks are narrower at the nut and often slimmer as well. But note that there are P-Bass variations out there with J-style necks.

The single-PU P-Bass is less versatile in a way, but the classic P-Bass tone works very well in a variety of contexts and also works in the mix. That's one of the main reasons why they're so famous. But they can't get anything like a sweet J tone.

You can get a variety of great tones out of a J-Bass, from bassy (think John Paul Jones in "The Song Remains the Same" movie) to brighter and sweeter. But it still won't get the classic P-Bass tone.

If you can't make at least a workable bass part from either a P-Bass or a J-Bass, the problem probably ain't the bass.

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didn't care for either p bass or jazz bass

went with a carvin LB70

superb bass

active electronics, tho i AM going to put passives in instead.

find em used on ebay all the time

major bang for buck.

I use an American Jazz these days. But, I've used a Squier and Ibanez before. The latter two I really didn't appreciate at the time beause I was still in that 'my stuff sucks so it must be the equipment' phase that we all go through early on. In retrospect, listening back to some stuff, both of those less expensive basses actually sounded quite nice as recorded.

I find bass brutally difficult to really get right in a mix, and I imagine I'd feel the same with any of them. I would like to get some varietals just for fun though if I could afford it.

I find bass brutally difficult to really get right in a mix,

 
Hi Dean,
 
That J should sit pretty well...
Are you going direct... or mic'ing an amp?
 
If you're mic'ing an amp, try using a pair of mics.
A "full range" type mic to capture a full overall tone (condenser works well)...
And use the ol SM57 to capture a nice tightly focused mid-range "bite" that you can add for more articulation.
Balancing the two mics, you should be able to get a tone that works in darn near anything.
If you're into a Chris Squire type tone, you can add some dirt/distortion to the 57 track.  This allows you to keep the bottom articulate and buzz/fuzz free... while still having that slightly distorted character.
I'm sure you know all this...  

I bought a Warwick 5 string last year - really pleased with it, though I'm no bass player.

Worth checking out at their prices.

I'm DI'ing generally. It's just that typically the raw bass sound DI'd just is way too frequency sucking to be optimal, and I try to not to have to do any processing in the mix at all if possible on any tracks, so I'm always futzing around trying to figure out how to get just what I need and no more as recorded, and not less than what I need. It's just a hard call as to what's going to ultimately work best. It's always a fight between enough low end but no too much and enough presence to be there, but not to be too there. Leaving space for other things, but not too much space, etc... It's a subtle thing to get right. Some days are better than others, and some days I'm just being obsessive probably. But partly it's because (at this stage) I'm more into really trying to learn what works than to really put out any songs per se. If I get one out now and then that's fine. But I spend most of the time just trying things to see what works, so sometimes it can seem like an awful lot of work for what's supposed to be my hobby. There's always somewhere in there that optimal EQ and compression and drive that will give it just the right sound for the track, but it's hard to tease out sometimes.

 
Hi Dean,
 
That makes sense to me...
FWIW, I liked my Am Standard J... but I wasn't crazy about the straight DI tone.
I've used REDDI, U5, and some other nice preamps/DIs... but never quite captured the starting tone I was looking for.
Early last year, I heard about the 2010 Am Dlx J basses (use the new N3 pups, active/passive).  I had always wanted an Ash/Maple J... and these units were active/passive... so I decided to take the plunge. 
Long story short, it's the best J... scratch that... it's the best bass I've ever played.  Finish, feel, and tone (both DI and Amp) are just fantastic!  Recently got a RME Babyface and I wanted to test the instrument input.  Plugged in the Am Dlx J... and did a little test recording.  Didn't expect much as I typically use the U5... but the tone was very nice.  Lots of detail/fidelity (as you'd expect from DI), but the tone had some 'guts'... whereas my Am Std's straight DI tone was a bit weak/flabby.  Had to run it thru an Amp (real or simulated) to get a tone I liked.
Another thing I like about the Am Dlx J; when you switch to active (3-band EQ), it doesn't radically change the tone or dynamics of the bass.  I don't use the active side all that much... but it's nice to have the option (without sacrificing the tone/dynamics).
 
At some point, I want to get the matching Am Dlx P (Ash/Maple).
 
 

love my Ibanez Mikkro bass

Bristol_Jonesey


I bought a Warwick 5 string last year - really pleased with it, though I'm no bass player.

Worth checking out at their prices.

+1 on the Warick I was tied between one of them and a Spector (through body with Emg's ) I got the Spector its an awesome bass for anything from funk to metal ! THe emgs can make it a bit tricky for slap bass but nothing thats a show stopper Just took a bit of geting used to :)

Most people I know all play P bass,Stingrays or Waricks but they all love the Spector :)

6 String bass solos for the win !

It dont have to be an Ibanez though

Just get a gibson LP and stick six bass strings on it :P haha if only it was as easy as that

mike_mccue


Bapu is the standard... it IS the sound of bass guitar.

best regards,
mike

Fixed.


best regards,
bapu