Blacktop Jazz bass

[bnosam]

I have a chance to snag a Blacktop Jazz bass. I'm not a bassist in general, I'm an electric guitar player and have been playing for many years but I want to expand my range with music a bit and take up bass also.

I play a lot of pop punk music and rock or funk kind of music. Most importantly music wise the bands I like are: Blink 182, +44, The Ramones, Iron Maiden, Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers. I was looking into a standard precision bass but they lack the defined edge that I'd like for some styles. But a standard Jazz bass lacks the super nice low end of the P-bass. I have a chance to grab a Blacktop bass (MIM) for $350 Canadian here in good condition. I was wondering if this would be versatile enough to give me good low end for music I like but good enough for the rare time I need a bit more aggression.


I've read that blacktops don't sound super good or don't have life but I'm not sure if there is any credence to that.
So would a blacktop jazz bass be cool for this or do you suggest something else like a regular standard p-bass? It's hard to find used basses (can't find a P-bass) here so I'm surprised I even found a blacktop jazz bass. They usually only have cheap $100-200 basses here. P-basses (MIM) new here are about $800 + tax (so it'd be about $920).


More or less it will be running into an interface into my computer to record quick songs, so the amp and stuff is "covered" more or less by that.

I guess the sound I'm going for it more or less a mark hoppus style bass tone or so (maybe a bit less bright). Similar to in this video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgSot0csXUI

So should the blacktop jazz bass be alright for this or do you have a better suggestion for Fender basses?


Thanks

[theyellowcar]

Sounds like a pretty good deal based on the new prices you mention!

The Blacktop Jazz will give you a similar tone to the Hoppus bass, but a lot more flexibility by virtue of the second pickup in the bridge. This will help when you come to play funk as you mention in your first post.

It's worth noting that the Hoppus bass has a pretty distinct tone as a result of the flipped P-bass pickup - it adds a lot more warmth to the D and G, and tightens up the E and A making them more punchy than a regular P. The Blacktop will sound more like a regular P.


Edit: here's a demo of the Blacktop:

http://youtu.be/wGWYWCoGQR8

Edited May 3, 2015 by theyellowcar