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So go on tell me... which bass should I buy


BobVbass
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So..

I crashed and burned on my last GAS purchase - Yamaha RBX765a; beautiful bass but just too twangy and not smooth enough a sound for my "I play a Precision" ears.

So I'm now in the market for something else up to about £500 ish - and I've seen the following that take my fancy...

Epiphone Les Paul

Epiphone Jack Casady

Ibanez SoundGear

Lakland 44-01

or Another Precision

I like deep creamy bass (think Duck Dunn on the blues brothers) so the obvious choice would be another precision but I just know it won;t be better than my Lakland so I'd just use it as a back up and probably never play it. If I got something with a nice bass sound though that was different it would give me an excuse to take it out and give it a go - and it might be nice to try something different...

Anyway - which do you think would be good? I will of course hold anyone that suggests anything absolutely responsible if it all goes wrong :D

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[quote name='tredders' timestamp='1392037709' post='2363817']
I had a Jack Casady with TI flats on it, and it was as smooth and fat as you could ever want. Quite a heavy bass, though, surprisingly so for a semi-acoustic...
[/quote]

Heavy? You're kidding, right? It's practically hollow. It's far and away the lightest bass I own.

But yes, if it's old school you want, the Jack Casady is hard to beat. The varitone gives a few extra tonal options, can't speak for all of them but mine is well finished and screwed together and it looks the absolute nuts, especially in gold - although I think they've just released a white one, if that's your thing.

Edited by neepheid
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[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]But yes, if it's old school you want, the Jack Casady is hard to beat. The varitone gives a few extra tonal options, can't speak for all of them but mine is well finished and screwed together and it looks the absolute nuts, especially in gold - although I think they've just released a white one, if that's your thing. [/font][/color][/quote]

They do look brilliant - what about neck dive though? Is it awful or not so bad?

[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][size=3]I would say that you have answered your own question in your original post.[/size][/font][/color]

[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]This... If your happiest with a P bass, get another one [/font][/color] :)[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif] [/font][/color][/quote]

Well yeah I know.... it's just y'know another precision and for £500 it'll be no where near as good as my Lakland so I won't use it - I'm kind of thinking I'll leave the next precision until next year and get a nice 70's one....

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[quote name='BobVbass' timestamp='1392040618' post='2363866']
Well yeah I know.... it's just y'know another precision and for £500 it'll be no where near as good as my Lakland so I won't use it - I'm kind of thinking I'll leave the next precision until next year and get a nice 70's one....
[/quote]

Fair enough... Maybe try something completely different to what you have then? you can always move it on if it doesn't work out... German corvettes don't go for much more than £500 these days...

*edit* seem to have written the same thing twice...

Edited by CamdenRob
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[quote name='BobVbass' timestamp='1392040618' post='2363866']
They do look brilliant - what about neck dive though? Is it awful or not so bad?
[/quote]

Of course it's a factor with a hollow body and a long scale neck. I use a NeoTech Mega strap (big wide neoprene thing) and that seems to mitigate dive to a manageable degree in my experience but I can't remember off-hand how much of a factor it is. Let me check when I get home from work and I'll update you on that one.

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Well, I like the idea of the Jack Casady, even if I have never actually played one, but I hate neck dive, so that would be a deal -breaker for me I'm afraid.

If you like your Lakland so much then why not get a 44-02 and exploit the numerous and very varied tonal options of that bass ? If, as I strongly suspect, you are using flats then the MM- style humbucker will give you plenty of thump, especially in conjunction with the preamp, and then if you switch the pickup configuration into Jazz Bass mode then there are a myriad of vintage -style tonal references available to you there, too. That bass offers so much that would compliment and contrast to your P Bass that , while it might seem a bit hi tech on the face of it, would be a good choice if you want a bit( a lot) more variety.

Edited by Dingus
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G & L should probably be on your radar. Many consider the P's that Leo designed at that point of his career to be the best.

[url="http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/USA/basses/LB-100/index.asp"]http://www.glguitars...B-100/index.asp[/url]

[url="http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/USA/basses/SB1/index.asp"]http://www.glguitars...s/SB1/index.asp[/url]

The pups in the SB1's are seriously hot.

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[quote name='BobVbass' timestamp='1392040618' post='2363866']
Well yeah I know.... it's just y'know another precision and for £500 it'll be no where near as good as my Lakland so I won't use it - I'm kind of thinking I'll leave the next precision until next year and get a nice 70's one....
[/quote]
You want something different..........but don't know what you want - this makes finding what you want a big problem.

If you don't know..... then how can anyone here know?

I always feel that the name of the person [i]playing the bass[/i] is more important than the name on the headstock......

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[quote name='gary mac' timestamp='1392047399' post='2363994']
G & L should probably be on your radar. Many consider the P's that Leo designed at that point of his career to be the best.

[url="http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/USA/basses/LB-100/index.asp"]http://www.glguitars...B-100/index.asp[/url]

[url="http://www.glguitars.com/instruments/USA/basses/SB1/index.asp"]http://www.glguitars...s/SB1/index.asp[/url]

The pups in the SB1's are seriously hot.
[/quote]

Yes G&L!

Fantastic basses built to last , and as well as the P's and J's, the L2000 has got a whole host of unique tones on offer if you wanted a radical departure from what you have already .

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[quote][color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]Try falling in love again with your Lakland P. It's got to be pretty much as good as it gets. [/font][/color] :)[/quote]

Yeah it's awesome I haven't fallen out of love with it - I just want a new toy for my birthday :)

Edited by BobVbass
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[quote]You want something different..........but don't know what you want - this makes finding what you want a big problem.

If you don't know..... then how can anyone here know?[/quote]

Well I'm looking for suggestions and opinions - working well at the minute ;)

[quote]I always feel that the name of the person playing the bass is more important than the name on the headstock...... [/quote]

hmmm maybe I should change my name to Blodwyn Thunderthumper then .... :)

[quote]G & L should probably be on your radar. [/quote]

Ok - I'll have a look - I kind of assumed they'd be twang machines along the lines of stingrays but I'll have a look - thanks!

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[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1392060574' post='2364252']
You wont have any shortage of opinions on this gear obsessed forum!

Good luck with the search.
[/quote]

Yes, quite, but if we stopped obsessing about buying basses then we might have to actually confront the task of learning to play the perfectly good ones we already have, and that would a much more tricky proposition. :)

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1392046223' post='2363975']
Well, I like the idea of the Jack Casady, even if I have never actually played one, but I hate neck dive, so that would be a deal -breaker for me I'm afraid.
[/quote]

OK. Before I start, I must point out that I replaced the standard tuners with Hipshot Ultralites. I didn't do this with the initial thought of saving weight - one of the press fit bushings was lifting out of the headstock and it bugged me so I wanted to fit some screw fit tuners. The Ultralites came up at an agreeable price so I went for it. Of course it will tip the balance (ha) in favour of the body slightly but I suspect that the difference would be soaked up by the wide strap.

Anyway, I've said my piece, and feel free to call me a big cheat. I did a test with a wide neoprene strap (Neotech Mega strap) and a normal slippy strap. I look ridiculous, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i2sGLrv0jWg[/media]

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That looks to have worked, to a great extent.

I have one of those Neotech Mega Bass straps myself , and they are great, but , ironically enough, I find it works best on lighter basses. The friction is less than suede , but more than woven nylon , so about average in that respect.

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[quote]OK. Before I start, I must point out that I replaced the standard tuners with Hipshot Ultralites. I didn't do this with the initial thought of saving weight - one of the press fit bushings was lifting out of the headstock and it bugged me so I wanted to fit some screw fit tuners. The Ultralites came up at an agreeable price so I went for it. Of course it will tip the balance (ha) in favour of the body slightly but I suspect that the difference would be soaked up by the wide strap.

Anyway, I've said my piece, and feel free to call me a big cheat. I did a test with a wide neoprene strap (Neotech Mega strap) and a normal slippy strap. I look ridiculous, but hey, nothing ventured, nothing gained.[/quote]

That is one of the most masterful videos I've seen in a long time - that's had me sniggering over my early morning diet coke; fantastic! Thanks for doing that and answering the neck dive question.

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