Re: Recommendation for a first bass
I got a Helix LT on the way and I'd like to try recording some bass along with my guitar since it has models for both. So I'm looking for a cheap bass (<$400 used).
I know literally nothing about basses. I want to play classic rock and metal. What features should I look for in terms of scale length (I don't even know what the common ones are for basses), pickups (are humbuckers also a thing on basses and do you typically want them for heavier music?), etc.
Or should I pick up a Squire P-bass or Jazz bass like everyone else and not over-think it? Is there a reason I never see Epiphone basses (or Gibson for that matter) being mentioned?
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Standard scale length for electric bass-guitar is 34 inches. Short scales are usually 30 inches.
The main pickup choices will be Precision Bass pickups or Jazz Bass pickups. P-Bass pickups are smoother and bassier; they are hum-bucking via the use of two short coils to make the single pickup. J-Bass pickups are more middy and present; they are single coils. Either type is so malleable that it can play anything you throw at them. For what you described, I would tend to favor the J-style pickup. However, many a great classic rock and heavy metal bass tone was achieved with a stock P (Steve Harris, Geezer Butler, and more)...so remember, it really doesn't matter which. They are both great, and will get the job done...so go for the one that looks the best to you.
Another distinction between P and J pickups is that the traditional P layout is one pickup, about centered between the bridge and the neck heel. The traditional J layout has one pickup about there, and another one in between there and the bridge. That bridge pickup tends to run quiet compared to the main pickup, so when playing live, it is often used blended in, rather than used alone. (Personally, I could do without the treble pickup. I literally never use it, even blended in.)
You don't need high output pickups or humbuckers to play the styles you mentioned. You just need the amp to work for those styles.
For your budget and your uses, I would grab a used Mexican-made Jazz Bass or Precision Bass for $250 to $350, and spend the money to give it a nice setup and fret dressing (the weakest point of MIM Fenders is the frets), and call it good. It doesn't need better pickups or electronics; the stock ones are fine (and way better than Squier pickups and electronics IMO). If anything, a MIM bass benefits from a bridge replacement...but it's not necessary for your purposes.
I would say go '90's Japanese-made Fender instead, but those have gone way up in value now. They are no longer reliably $400 instruments. And while the general build quality of the MIJs is clearly superior to the MIMs, the MIMs have better pickups and electronics IME, so that's one less thing you might feel the need to swap out.
