Re: Searching for my 1st Bass Guitar.... Ibanez TMB300, P-Bass, Jazz Bass, etc.
My first two basses were passive P-basses. The first one was a Squier II. Then I upgraded to a MIM P-bass that had the P+J pickup configuration. These were great basses to start out with and the one with the P+J pickups was versatile indeed.
My favorite basses I've owned so far are my current passive Warmoth Jazz bass and my active Music Man SUB Stingray. Depending on the kind of music you play a Jazz bass may be plenty for you. They are pretty versatile but not nearly as versatile as an active bass. So, that Ibanez may be a good selection for you but you may want to replace the active electronics and maybe even the pickups. If you know how to solder, no sweat. If you do not know how to solder it may be a bit more complicated but not impossible.
I may need my guitar tech for the job. Would like to learn how to solder in the future*
+1. A Jazz bass is my recommendation, one of the MIM Fender Std's or a Squire VM's. Having two PU's gives versatility. Besides singles coils, you can get MIM Fender Jazzes with two spilt coils (Black Top) and two HB's (Modern Player).
Yeah, knowing what kind of music you're likely to play may make a difference to what we suggest (though the flexibility of that Ibanez will work in your favor).
I do like Fender style bass, and Squier Vintage Modified were ones I was researching like the Vintage Modified Jazz V Bass. Someone in the MF's staff suggested me a
Eva Gardner Signature bass. It had the P-Sound, but the Jazz neck I felt in love with. My friend has an American Jazz Standard, and the neck feels like heaven. I still haven't been able to plugged in, but the neck felt great!
A person that played bass with me, gave me his Rogue bass for a few days. Those pickups did lack tone, and I didn't like much the neck feel. I still could manage to record a decent bass lines using the BIAS iOS Software; but it ain't the bass for me.
As for the genres I play, I really vary. I do like pop punk, latin rock, pop music, alternative, classic rock, rock n' roll, some hard rock, reggae, blues, etc. I may play some metal kidding around like Metallica, but that's just messing around with the instrument. I do play in standard tuning. I would like to own one to start learning some bass chops, music creating/recording, and maybe (just maybe) really play live with it. I'm actually a solo singer, but do play the guitar (lead or rhythm) in a friend's band. He's now bassist absent, so maybe I'll need to fit in the position a la Brian Ray.
