The Bass thread

[90'sMusicKid]

Originally Posted by mr dave

always loved the look of the Stingray, supremely disappointed when i finally got to try one. just didn't click with me. also invest in lots of 9 volts and make sure to keep a spare in the case when you do get one (active pickups hehe).

Thanks for the advice.

[mr dave]

yeah ALWAYS try before you buy, even if you're planning to purchase online. at least try similar models, or others by the same manufacturer if you can. it's not that Stingrays are bad instruments or that they're undeserving of their price (they're totally worth it) they just didn't make me tingle.

[ElephantSack]

From what I hear, MusicMan's are heavy as hell. Like, weight-wise.

But back to the passive/active discussion. I was strictly passive probably for the first 8 or 9 years that I played bass. I remember borrowing a weird-looking Ibanez from a friend after my first bass got stolen, and the battery died halfway through the set. I didn't know that if you left the bass plugged in, it drained the battery, so that also turned me off actives for a while. My Schecter turned me around though. The thing about actives is that it gives me more range over what my tone can be. It can be all bass, bottom end humming, or it can be cracking, all-treble buzz. The key for me is finding the healthy balance. And the battery I have in it has been in it for months, and it's still fine. It's just become habit for me to unplug my bass after I'm done playing.

I'm not sure how Schecter stacks up to a Fender P, because I've never owned one, but I remember playing one at a friend's house, and it had a nice, punchy sound, kind of like my Epiphone Les Paul bass (which is also passive), but I can also tune that kind of sound in with a built in EQ. And I have been playing my Peavey Grind (passive) and my Epiphone a lot lately, which have rekindled my appreciation for passive basses. Now I just kind of love them equally, and I have a better idea of which basses are better for what.

When I was younger, I was thinking about picking up an Ibanez, mainly an SR300 model, and I used to really like the look of the BTB models. But if I were going to pick up an Ibanez, I would steer clear of SoundGear basses. Every one I've heard sounds like clacking, tinny garbage. Maybe the people playing them didn't know how to set up their sounds. I don't know.

[My Mind Sedate]

Originally Posted by mr dave

always loved the look of the Stingray, supremely disappointed when i finally got to try one. just didn't click with me. also invest in lots of 9 volts and make sure to keep a spare in the case when you do get one (active pickups hehe).

I had the same feeling when I tried the one of them new EBMM Stingrays, it sounded tinny and unpleasant. I own a pre-EB Stingray and I swear I would sell my both of my kidneys before I'm to part with it (depressingly, this scenario is not wholly unimaginable, for I am a student - somewhat educated but have no place in society). It is a lot warmer, yet still retaining that punch. But apparently I just got lucky as some people tend to think that these older Stingrays were a little inconsistent in quality...

Originally Posted by ElephantSack

From what I hear, MusicMan's are heavy as hell. Like, weight-wise.

Yes mine is a brick, thus I have a HUGE leather strap!

[Astronomer]

Wow, so much information, THANK YOU!

I think I'm not going to have my mind set on any particular bass, but while I'm saving up the rest of the money for it, I'm just going to have a browse at a variety of different basses and see how I like playing them. And am definitely going to take ALL of your advice on board because you have all been very helpful

Also, today I was speaking to one of my musician (male) friends who said to me that I should consider getting a more "lightweight" or smaller (I guess?) bass since I'm a girl and a relatively small one at that! Is this even true? I'm not really sure how basses compare in terms of size, weight, 'easiness' to play I guess... can anyone shed any knowledge on this? Thanks again for all of the advice, I am so so so so grateful. Apologies for all of my annoying questions.

[mr dave]

Originally Posted by Lateralus

Also, today I was speaking to one of my musician (male) friends who said to me that I should consider getting a more "lightweight" or smaller (I guess?) bass since I'm a girl and a relatively small one at that! Is this even true? I'm not really sure how basses compare in terms of size, weight, 'easiness' to play I guess... can anyone shed any knowledge on this? Thanks again for all of the advice, I am so so so so grateful. Apologies for all of my annoying questions.

relax, the softball questions are awesome haha

same as electric guitars you can get 3/4 scale basses (sometimes called short scale as well). normally a bass has a 34" scale length (from the nut to the bridge). the Artcore i posted earlier has a 30" scale, so a little shorter, and being a hollow body, a lot lighter.

[Astronomer]

How many frets does a 34" scale normally have? 24? Or does it depend on the fret size, and are there many differences in fret sizes? I'm trying to work out what scale my current bass is, I think it's a standard 34" which I find fine to play...

[mr dave]

24 is actually odd, well not really 'odd' but less common hehe. i've only ever owned one 24 fret instrument, everything else has 21. the standard is 21-22. the artcore actually has 22.

[Astronomer]

^ Okay right, gotcha! =) My current bass has 24 frets, not sure what that means! Could the frets be smaller on mine or something? Or a longer neck? Either way I can play it pretty fine. Anyway thank you so much everybody for all of the input. I shall take it all on board and see what happens.

[mr dave]

no worries heheh, all it means is that you have two full octaves of range per string. it's not that the frets are smaller on a 24 fret neck, just that the playing area normally extends a little further onto the body.

there is such a thing as fret size (jumbo being quite popular now) it determines the size of the actual chunk of metal sticking out of the board and has virtually no bearing on the space between frets. the premise is that bigger frets make it easier to play due to needing less pressure from the finger to sound the note and allowing just a little more space between the string and the board so that bends ring out louder for longer.

fret size is really not something to worry about until you're to the point of recognizing annoyances based on technical limitations and wanting to build a custom instrument (at which point you'd likely be investing in stainless steel frets).