Bass Shopping Diary - The Hunt Begins!

[vibrantgermancities]

Hi all,

I've been meaning to get back into bass recently, having played in my teens but been a guitarist exclusively for far too long. Unfortunately I'd sold both my Squier Jazz and Jackson PS5 a while back, and thus I've been busy scouring the internet and browsing shops for the past few months. Last week I ventured out into Birmingham to finally try some basses hands-on, and I thought I'd give a quick run-down of my impressions and feelings - I'm hoping for some pointers and advice as the search goes on!

I had a good trek round the three big city-centre shops, which are not ideally located for a journey on-foot, but at least it wasn't raining! I had two main 'rules' for the day:[list]
[*]I wasn't going to try anything over £300. I've set a vague budget for getting my new 'first' bass, and - unlike my later guitar shopping experiences - I'm (semi) determined to stick to it. I'm a terrible shopper, and the minute I start trying anything in the next bracket up I start trying to justify spending that little bit more... and this time round I'm going to be keeping it cheap!
[*]I wasn't going to plug anything in. I know some of you will be appalled at this, but until this trip I hadn't so much as picked up a bass for years... I have simply no idea what I'm after and no real desire to seek out a particular sound. All I'm interested in is finding something that feels 'right' to me. I didn't want to be swayed by something that sounded great at this point - I just want to get an idea of which basses I felt comfortable with. Judge me.
[/list]
With that in mind, I started out with Squier, which are the instruments I really set out to try - I love the look of Fender basses, and if I was buying without trying anything, I'm fairly sure I would end up with a Fender-style something. I started out with a [b]Squier Vintage Modified Precision[/b], which to my relief felt pretty comfortable straight off the bat. As the previous owner of a Jazz, I had expected the larger neck to be a negative, but it felt good. As expected, my right hand technique was utter rubbish after all this time, but it was a good start. I followed this up with an [b]Affinity Jazz [/b]and an [b]Affinity PJ. [/b]I hadn't really considered the Affinity series before - purely through snobbery, I suppose - but they were the only other Squiers on display with satin necks. I'm not a fan of glossy necks, so I'm a little disappointed that so many of the Fender-alikes go with that option. The Affinities were definitely a mixed bag. On the plus side, they were relatively comfortable and switching between the necks on the three styles was not an issue. However, the fit and finish left a lot to be desired, with sharp fret ends all over the place. Not ideal.

This was followed by the bottom-end Yamaha on show, the [b]TRBX174. [/b]Much to my Fender-loving dismay, this immediately felt more comfortable on my lap than any of the previous models; it seemed to sit 'just right' and everything was exactly in the right place. Frets were finished very well, though the neck felt like a very deep C - possibly exaggerated in my mind because the fretboard is narrower than the Fender models? No idea. I felt quite at home with it, however. The shop assistant then suggested the [b]ESP LTD B-334[/b] which they currently had on sale. Bit more money, and not something I would have considered aesthetically had he not pointed it out, but much like the Yamaha it right away felt at home against the body; great setup with a wonderful action and just overall very playable.

I finished the day with an [b]Overwater/Tanglewood Aspiration Standard[/b], which had the worst fret job I've ever come across, and a beat-up old[b] BC Rich Innovator[/b], which was setup beautifully but tripped me up on a bashed up, gloss finished neck.

I'm not sure how I felt at that moment. On one hand, I was relieved that all the basses I had tried were comfortable to me - it's almost as though I've been away from bass so long that it doesn't actually matter what I end up with, my hands will get on with it (as long as the frets are finished nicely ). On the other, I was almost disappointed that my desire for a Fender-style had been overridden by a (resentful) acknowledgment that the others had felt slightly more at home to me.

Sorry for the long post, but if you've got any advice on what else I should be trying or whether I should just pack it in and try and find something second-hand, I'm all ears!

[skej21]

Try an Ibanez SR300. It's a must-try if you're looking for something under £300. Really impressive build quality, active circuitry with 3-band EQ, 24 Fret slim (very slim!) profile neck, lightweight and comes in Iron Pewter (black subtle sparkle!), Candy Apple Red, Orange (subtle sparkle), White (subtle sparkle), Purple and new this year, Forest Green (although they aren't available for a little while yet!).

[BassTractor]

Hey Rob,

From your post it sounds as if you could well live with the VM Precision, so why concentrate on the slight betterness of the others you tried if a Fender type thing is what you're after?
After all we're human.

[vibrantgermancities]

Cheers guys; I'll definitely try and have a spin on an Ibanez in the coming days; I'm slightly concerned that the neck is going to be a bit too thin for my liking. If guitars are anything to go by I tend to end up with something a bit chunky, so we shall see!

I think I'm going to have to try a few more Squiers to see if one really shines though; I just wish they did a few more with the satin necks...

[EMG456]

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1391710122' post='2360522']
Hey Rob,

From your post it sounds as if you could well live with the VM Precision, so why concentrate on the slight betterness of the others you tried if a Fender type thing is what you're after?
After all we're human.
[/quote]

I would turn that around and ask why you would buy an instrument that didn't feel as nice to you just because it looked Fender- ish?

Having said that, we all tend to gravitate to the things that we like the look of and at this point in time we see more Fender type basses than anything else. This is purely to do with fashion and will change in time so I would say don't limit your choices unnecessarily. The more comfy you are, the better you will play and the more you will enjoy.

Good luck.

Ed

[hamfist]

To the OP ... you are mentioning nothing about the sounds available from each of these basses. Are you playing these plugged in at all ? And what sounds and styles of music are you hoping to play ? Favourite bands etc ? THis will give us an idea of the types of sound you are going for.

[vibrantgermancities]

Thanks for the comments guys... as per the initial post I haven't tried anything plugged in yet as I'm not really looking for a particular sound at the moment; I'm just looking to get my technique back up with something fairly cheap. I'm looking for something that feels right - which is actually a valuable point. Why am I trying to convince myself I need a Fender style if the LTD/Yamaha felt better to me? If all I'm interested in is something that feels good, who cares what it looks like!

Thanks for helping me see it in a better light; time to get out and test some more styles!

[Thunderpaws]

If it's all about getting technique back...I would find what I like the feel of...generally...then browse the 2nd hand ads on here. There are some astounding bargains to be had.

[tauzero]

Did you get to PMT or Guitar Guitar? PMT are (or were, last time I went in) well worth checking out. IIRC they do all the boring stuff if you really want a Squier, also Sandberg (outside the price range), Ibanez, Yamaha, and Peavey (another maker well worth a look at).