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How many do you own, been playing the Jazz bass for a few weeks now and an hankering after a P bass (a Stingray would be my ideal but is out of my price range)

So how many and what do you own?

I've just got the one: a Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass Special SS. It's black. And ace. I wouldn't really describe myself as a bassist though. I bought it for home recording purposes.

Want to get a Squier Bass VI soon but I'll be baritoning that one so not really relevant.

I have a Squier CV P bass. I've never owned more than one bass at a time and don't have the usual GAS when it comes to bass-there just aren't enough differences in the tone of a vintage style bass guitar to my ears as there are with electric guitars.

MY first was an Epi EB-0, then a 70's Elecktra MIJ Violin bass, then a fretless MIM Fender Jazz, then the Squier I have now.

There are two things right now I'd like to have around--a fretless bass with nylon tapewounds and one of those low end hofner violin basses with flatwounds.

I actually went from a jazz bass to a sting ray. The p-bass neck probably won't feel very different TBH; I believe Fender uses the same profile for both jazz and p-basses. The sound will be different with a p-bass, but you won't have the variety that you get with a jazz bass. I went for the sting ray because I preferred the wider neck. The active electronics also make a huge difference. I've used it for jazz and rock so it's definitely a capable instrument. If you really want a sting ray, I would save up the money because it is very different than a fender p-bass.

P basses and J basses feel completely different in the neck. Typically J necks are narrower at the nut and easier to get your fingers around, and p necks are wider and thicker.

I had a Vantage bass for a couple of years. I picked up a 1996 Rickenbacker 4003 for stupidly low price about 14 years ago and just haven't wanted anything else since. I guess I just found my instrument. Wish the same thing would have happened with guitars.....would have saved me a fortune over the years.

I used to have one of these:


Squier P Bass Special. P-bass body with added J bass bridge pickup. The neck is more like a J bass, just a bit thinner than a standard P-bass neck. If you only had one bass it'd be the one because it covers a lot of ground sound-wise.

I think I paid £80 for that one and they pop up for sale fairly regularly. I think you can still buy them new too.. I only sold it because I got my old Jazz bass back.

Just a bit fed up with teh guitar, and have the option of playing bass in my brother in-law's band as their bass player is getting a hernia sorted so I get a chance to jam and learn something new... And bass players just look cooler than guitarist.problem is I get into something then get carried away with the gear acquisition, as I just love the stringed instruments.

dezb1 wrote:Just a bit fed up with teh guitar, and have the option of playing bass in my brother in-law's band as their bass player is getting a hernia sorted so I get a chance to jam and learn something new... And bass players just look cooler than guitarist.problem is I get into something then get carried away with the gear acquisition, as I just love the stringed instruments.

There's definitely more opportunities for a good bassist than there are "second guitarist" out there! And yes there are many attractive basses out there to encourage GAS.

But I found that once I invested in a decent amp I haven't wanted another bass oddly enough. I was looking at a Fender Mustang bass but I don't see the need to spend more money when my P bass sounds and looks so good despite being a $350 Squier. So that would be my advice if you want to be a gigging bass player. Buy a good rig, that's both powerful enough (I'd say 300w solid state is enough) and easy to transport (many "bargains" in used bass gear that require a van and several people to lug around-the newer stuff out there makes more sense most of the time). If you're still not satisfied with your bass or need a change in sound then shop around.

Nick wrote:

dezb1 wrote:Just a bit fed up with teh guitar, and have the option of playing bass in my brother in-law's band as their bass player is getting a hernia sorted so I get a chance to jam and learn something new... And bass players just look cooler than guitarist.problem is I get into something then get carried away with the gear acquisition, as I just love the stringed instruments.

There's definitely more opportunities for a good bassist than there are "second guitarist" out there! And yes there are many attractive basses out there to encourage GAS.

But I found that once I invested in a decent amp I haven't wanted another bass oddly enough. I was looking at a Fender Mustang bass but I don't see the need to spend more money when my P bass sounds and looks so good despite being a $350 Squier. So that would be my advice if you want to be a gigging bass player. Buy a good rig, that's both powerful enough (I'd say 300w solid state is enough) and easy to transport (many "bargains" in used bass gear that require a van and several people to lug around-the newer stuff out there makes more sense most of the time). If you're still not satisfied with your bass or need a change in sound then shop around.

It's not that I'm not satisfied with my bass I love it but everyone could use more love (or basses in this instance). What would you recommend looking out for model wise as a good amp?

Bass: Owned a bunch, and IMO a Jazz bass will always be the most versatile and easiest to play. But, P/J (like that red Squier) is my favorite. Right now I have an old Charvel P/J, and a Schecter with an EMG DC, for when I want more of that modern, Music Man type tone. Pretty much any bass can be made to sound good with the right rig, though.

Amps: Can't go wrong with SWR, Ampeg SVT, or GK. Not a fan of Hartke or Acoustic, personally, but they tend to be cheaper and can still sound good. I gig with an SWR 350 head into an old, huge, 1x15 cab and it is awesome. I have been thinking about adding a 2x10 for some extra clarity, though.

dezb1 wrote:It's not that I'm not satisfied with my bass I love it but everyone could use more love (or basses in this instance). What would you recommend looking out for model wise as a good amp?

I loooove my Ampeg PF500 Portaflex rig, but TBH the "cool" factor influenced my decision just a little bit. A lot of Bass amps look like PA equipment and as a guitarist that doesn't sit well with me Like Dillon said, SWR, Ampeg, GK are all good. I've also heard good things about those new TC Electronic combos and new Fender Rumble Bass amps too. All depends on your budget and what kind of form factor works best for you.

I would shoot for at least 300 watts or so. My previous amp was a 100 watt GK 112 combo. It actually had decent tone at lower volumes and was loud enough to keep up with a fairly loud 3 piece rock band in a practice setting, but at those volumes it broke into natural distortion, which sounds cool sometimes but not as an always-on thing. Since upgrading to a louder amp I'm no longer fighting the instrument in order to be heard and am able to focus on the subtleties of my playing and actually have them be heard in the mix.

I've got a couple:
.: Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass
.: Schecter Hellcat VI (my main bass)
.: Schecter Ultra VI (though strung/tuned as a baritone)
.: Squier Jaguar Bass SS
.: Yamaha BBN5
.: Fretless conversion (Profile P-bass body, Yamaha fretless neck)

Honestly, that's pretty much all I need I do have ongoing GAS for a Rickenbacker 4003, and wouldn't mind replacing my cobbled together fretless with a Godin A4 fretless, but, I find myself desiring fewer new basses than guitars.
A Mustang bass would be tits, as that was what one of my early bass influences played... but I don't really see that happening.

I also really dig the Fender Rascal Bass.

I guess I want more than I realized

Nick wrote:Buy a good rig, that's both powerful enough (I'd say 300w solid state is enough) and easy to transport (many "bargains" in used bass gear that require a van and several people to lug around-the newer stuff out there makes more sense most of the time). If you're still not satisfied with your bass or need a change in sound then shop around.

300W solid state should be enough for almost any situation. I would recommend using 200W as your minimum. 200W is more than loud enough for most reasonable venues, but doesn't leave a tonne of headroom; 300W will have you at good volume without pushing the amp too hard.
Tubes are a bit different, but I don;t have enough experience with bass power amps driven by tubes to really comment.

Do you ever go directly to the PA, what would be the best option for this? As I'm not sure how long this stint in the band will be and wouldn't really need 2 >300 watts if not playing live.

I own a squier vm mustang bass, a squier cv jazzbass, a fender modern player jazzbass and a vintage italian sg-bass. play the modern player most, because its sound fits our bandsound.

dezb1 wrote:Do you ever go directly to the PA, what would be the best option for this? As I'm not sure how long this stint in the band will be and wouldn't really need 2 >300 watts if not playing live.

I have and a lot of people do. A SansAmp is probably the best option for direct to PA; it's a great pre-amp with a lot of tone sculpting options... will help you get an amp-like tone from the PA. Even if you play through an amp, it's a great product as a preamp pedal. In short, get a SansAmp (I'll get one one day ).

My experience with direct to PA is that I can't hear me on stage. I live in a small city, and the venues I play are small, with generally shit monitors and PAs. I'm sure the bass came through to the front just fine, but on stage I couldn't hear it. If nothing else, an amp will act as your stage monitor. But, if you're playing venues with quality gear and good monitors, you'll be fine without an amp.

dezb1 wrote:Do you ever go directly to the PA, what would be the best option for this? As I'm not sure how long this stint in the band will be and wouldn't really need 2 >300 watts if not playing live.

a lot of venues will DI your bass to the PA and ur just using your bass amp as a monitor basically-- but in those situations they will have their own DI box hooked up already

if u ever want to play without a PA (DIY style) u should have a 300 watt bass amp because guitarists and drummers tend to take up a lot of bandwidth with their crashy clattery cock noises

depending on your local "scene" many venues have decent backline gear and you can just show up with a bass-- i've played a shitload of bar shows through backline gear and all were adequate for what we were doing-- I havent owned a bass amp since 1997 when I was briefly in a band inspired by nu metal rap rock and korn

also for most situations a jazz bass with only the neck pup turned up is just about as good as a p-bass but a p-bass can only do p-bass sound. get a p-bass if u love a thick neck or wait and save up for a musicman they are awesome but i will never own one because im never gonna spend over 700 dollars on anything

Ankhanu wrote: My experience with direct to PA is that I can't hear me on stage.

This would be my biggest concern.