Contemplating a bass purchase

[Hsb]

Had the urge here lately to buy a bass, Ive never owned one but did take some lessons years ago while I was taking guitar lessons. Couple things I have been contemplating about, A) the MX5 has some bass presets in it, how would they sound running through the power section of my Jubilee and B) If I buy one, thats a big if, Im leaning toward either a Squier Classic Vibe P bass or a Sterling Sub 4 or 5. Kinda leaning towards the Sterling vs the P bass, based on what reviews Ive watched.

My local store is both a Fender and EBMM dealer, so I should be able to get either from there but they are a smaller store, so I would probably go to Sam Ash or Guitar Center to just lay hands on either one. Its been years since I took bass lessons but still recall a lil bit.

Give me some thoughts, concerns, ideas on all the above.

 

[jeremy]

get a bass! play a few and see what ya like, then do it. you can run a bass through a guitar amp without issue, though it may not be tonally what ya want. you need to be careful about pumping low frequencies through guitar speakers. at low volume its not usually an issue but dont wanna blow up a greenback by running bass through a loud amp. i use a dual showman reverb (twin reverb head basically) as a bass amp but i run it through a bass cab, not guitar cab.

 

[ErikH]

Coincidentally, I have both those basses mentioned. You can't go wrong with either one, IMO. A good setup goes a long way, which I have done with both. Try a bunch of different ones before deciding. I did that before getting the Ray4 but I kept coming back to it. Careful running any bass amps through a guitar speaker. It could damage them if you push them too hard.

 

[Mincer]

Both the Sterling and the Squier are good basses, and would work for any bass gig or recording. I think every guitarist should own a bass at some point.

 

[solspirit]

I got an Ibanez this year and think I mihht liked a Sterling better. Either way I happy. When I first got it I rekky wantéd nothunf to do qirh it but Im playing it mung it nore now.

 

[jeremy]

When I first got it I rekky wantéd nothunf to do qirh it but Im playing it mung it nore now.

ummm... you ok?

 

[solspirit]

ummm... you ok?

Holy Christ, I just read that post and I don't know what the f*** I was doing.

 

[solspirit]

ummm... you ok?

Hahaha. It might sound like I'm really shitfaced but I'm about to get off work

 

[solspirit]

. . .

 

[Hsb]

You type on a phone like I do but bc of that I was able to translate it to normal English lol

 

[jeremy]

i knew what he meant too but that was too good note to quote

 

[formula73]

I have a CV60s that kicks ass. That said, I still prefer my Epi Tbird Classic Pro. They’re reasonably priced, used, and are throughnecks with Gibson TB Plus humbuckers. The neck pickup alone approximates a P and both on full sounds like a fatter Jazz.

 

[Demanic]

Are there any Pawn shops in your area? You can usually find a solid bass at a lower price than a guitar. I paid less than $200 for a neck through Ibanez 4 string with actives.

Sent from my SM-A115A using Tapatalk

 

[uOpt]

I heard repeated complaints that some Sterlings have bad fretwork compared to the competitors in the same price range (LTD, Ibanez).

What music style do you want to play?

 

[Hsb]

Everything from good ole 80s hairband to AIC, Metallica and whatever really sparks my interest.

Closest pawn shops are maybe 15 mins down the road, maybe if I get a lil downtime I hit up a couple.

I have a just an $800 LTD with some fret issues, nothing a bit of time on my repair guy's bench wouldnt cure

 

[Hsb]

As a note to a couple folks above rest assured, if I get one, it wont be played above bedroom in a townhouse level, so I doubt think I would ever play it loud enough to damage the speakers (fingers crossed).

I do like the look of a Thunderbird/Firebird, may have to look at that one also. Thanks for the help fellas, any other suggestions are welcome.

 

[Aceman]

In the "Just to play bass" department....I will suggest

1. Go to any/all Pawn shops. You will find basic Squires and Ibanez galore. Pick one you like that seems decent.
2. Set it up!!! Truss, action, intone etc.
3. Get this:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...cYwUjNGZRw_bAXP0gzxoCuqEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

4. And if you do not have a simple 1x12 powered speaker, get one. (NOT recommending this specific one) Example:

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/de...-eurolive-b112d-1000w-12-inch-powered-speaker

There is a lot of love for the Zoom B4 unit. All the processing you will ever need. Just run it into a powered monitor. Bonus, you can use the monitor for a vocal mic or whatever.

 

[NegativeEase]

Just get any bass you like the feel of and throw some SD quarter pounders in it and Wha LA! perfect Pbass!

 

[Mr. B]

I had never really tried playing bass until a couple of years ago. Played guitar for 30 years. I have a guitar club that meets at the high school where I teach and I bought a cheap bass for them to mess around with. I found it so fun to play that I bought myself one. Couple of years later, and I have several, and play them 3 times as often as my guitars.
You can find the Sterling Ray 24 almost as cheap as the Ray 4 sometimes. Musician's friend has them at 399 right now, and those basses sound fantastic and are super comfortable to play. I think they are also blowing out the cheaper Ray 4 in black for 250 right now.
One of my favorites is the Ibanez TMB30 short scale, and those are just over 200 dollars. I had a newer Squier Classic Vibe Jaguar Bass and did not find it as good as my older Squier Vintage Modified 70's Jazz Bass. Cheap (less solid) feeling in comparison, and the pickups were not as good as the Duncan Designed in the older Vintage Modified series.

 

[Mincer]

I had never really tried playing bass until a couple of years ago. Played guitar for 30 years. I have a guitar club that meets at the high school where I teach and I bought a cheap bass for them to mess around with. I found it so fun to play that I bought myself one. Couple of years later, and I have several, and play them 3 times as often as my guitars.
You can find the Sterling Ray 24 almost as cheap as the Ray 4 sometimes. Musician's friend has them at 399 right now, and those basses sound fantastic and are super comfortable to play. I think they are also blowing out the cheaper Ray 4 in black for 250 right now.
One of my favorites is the Ibanez TMB30 short scale, and those are just over 200 dollars. I had a newer Squier Classic Vibe Jaguar Bass and did not find it as good as my older Squier Vintage Modified 70's Jazz Bass. Cheap (less solid) feeling in comparison, and the pickups were not as good as the Duncan Designed in the older Vintage Modified series.

All great prices for seriously cool basses.