Recommend me a Bass which suits Ska type music..

[Mickyk]

As the title suggests i may have  a chance of playing in a Ska type band doing covers of people like the Specials, The Beat,The Selecter ETC. I currently play a Yamaha BB 424 x which i think is not ideal for this genre as i think it sounds a bit too bright,so any recommendations for a better sounding Bass.  

[Frank Blank]

Fender Jazz, all the way.

[Skybone]

Surely the Yamaha is exactly the right sort of bass for ska? IIRC, most ska bassist used Fender P or J basses anyway.

[Mickyk]

3 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

Fender Jazz, all the way.

 

2 minutes ago, Skybone said:

Surely the Yamaha is exactly the right sort of bass for ska? IIRC, most ska bassist used Fender P or J basses anyway.

Yes i did think to go Fender Jazz,but i thought the Yamaha was a little bright with the rotosound roundwounds i have on ATM,?do you think it would be better to stick some Flatwounds on her just to see what they soundlike before buying a new guitar,or am i never going to get the right sound from my Yammy.

 

[fleabag]

Play neck pickup, roll the tone back, set of flatwounds.    Non Vos - job done

 

Edited December 26, 2017 by fleabag

[Mickyk]

Think thats the way to go bud,flatwounds ?any particular make.?What do you mean by Non Vos.

 

 

Edited December 25, 2017 by Mickyk

[fleabag]

The Greek loves Status Hotwires black nylon tapewounds.  As do many others. Status-Graphite sell them but long scale have been out of stock, but you'll find that medium scale will fit as they have a long tuner end for winding on. The Greek will confirm

D'addario Chromes are loved by many

 

[Mickyk]

Thanks Fleabag for advice will be looking into the strings business

.

[mikeycrikey]

The 424x sounds great with flats on. I've tried Thomastik TI flats which were great but a bit pricey. Currently using a cheap £15 brand called Olympia from Amazon and I really like them. Great feel to them. Both sounded great on the 424x. 

[gjones]

Well you probably don't want me to say this...but...just turn the treble down on your Yamaha.

 

Unless you want an excuse for a new bass? In which case I'd say you definitely need a precision.

[Lozz196]

Whilst my first recommendation would be Fender Precision or Jazz, I do agree with the other posts that the Yammy should be fine for this. Neck pickup, and flats or worn-in roundwounds, away you go. Bear in mind that what sounds trebly/bright on its own usually translates into a good presence-type bass in the mix. Check out some isolated bass tracks re this - they`ve usually got much more top-end on them than would seem evident from the final mix.

[drTStingray]

I play in a ska band - 3 band HH Stingray works great. 

[ambient]

Practically any bass is suitable for any music. You only need to look at photos of different bands playing in a style of music, and you'll see a variety of instruments being used. As has been said, turn the treble down and favour the neck pickup, play nearer the neck, maybe use flat wound strings.

[Woodinblack]

 

This would be my choice. Clearly Designed for Ska!

[Funkfingers]

1 hour ago, gjones said:

just turn the treble down on your Yamaha.

My brother's technique on his Fender Jazz Bass was to balance the pickup volume controls to get the "honk". Then, roll away the tone most (or all) of the way off.

The BB424X controls are Master Vol., Master Tone and a three-way pickup selector. Therefore, the Jazz Bass "honk" is unlikely to happen without reconfiguring the controls to Vol., Vol., Tone and, perhaps, a pickup upgrade.

[chris_b]

IMO, if you have the chops then any bass will do.

I was playing Reggae, Ska and Blues on Xmas eve using my Mike Lull PJ5 with flats. 

[Paul S]

7 hours ago, Funkfingers said:

My brother's technique on his Fender Jazz Bass was to balance the pickup volume controls to get the "honk". Then, roll away the tone most (or all) of the way off.

The BB424X controls are Master Vol., Master Tone and a three-way pickup selector. Therefore, the Jazz Bass "honk" is unlikely to happen without reconfiguring the controls to Vol., Vol., Tone and, perhaps, a pickup upgrade.

Your Yamaha would be ideal because of The Selecter.

[dannybuoy]

I love my BB, but if going for darker tones with a set of flats, then P Bass all the way. The BB has a 'Precision' pickup, but it doesn't have the same lower midrange presence of an actual Precision, that would be really help you poke through the mix especially when horns are involved.

[timhiggins]

10 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Whilst my first recommendation would be Fender Precision or Jazz, I do agree with the other posts that the Yammy should be fine for this. Neck pickup, and flats or worn-in roundwounds, away you go. Bear in mind that what sounds trebly/bright on its own usually translates into a good presence-type bass in the mix. Check out some isolated bass tracks re this - they`ve usually got much more top-end on them than would seem evident from the final mix.

Yep i agree with Lozz before buying anything new stick some old rounds on and see what you sound like in the mix... i use  fender's jazz and p/j for reggae and a little ska and to be honest the p/j is more versatile using the blend of both p.u.p's or the p alone

i have used a bb in the past and it was fine ... my tone is usually about 15% up  

[Beedster]

Telecaster Bass with flats

[Mickyk]

Thank you for all replies,i'm gonna order some of these ,bang em on and see what it sounds like,if i get it right i could get the gig.After having seeing the Selecter and the Beat in Chesterfield the other night a few of the lads are saying they want to replicate that sound they were coming out with as far as possible,i must admit it was knob on.

 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-9050M-Stainless-Steel-Flatwound-Electric-Bass-Strings-055-105/362195779325?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160908105057%26meid%3D42223cee8ce74473b3687e8745868ce6%26pid%3D100675%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D15%26sd%3D362195779325&_trksid=p2481888.c100675.m4236&_trkparms=pageci%3A73f25f03-ea26-11e7-814d-74dbd180651a%7Cparentrq%3A9256d8631600a88b04da5038fff01171%7Ciid%3A1

[CameronJ]

My Yamaha BB1025X was a dub machine! And I was using fairly light gauge rounds. Typically I used either the P+J together or just the P, but either way I’d always roll the tone off a bit and it was perfect. What amplification are you using? That’s more likely to be your weak spot than your already magnificent bass!

[Mickyk]

Cheers Cameron,i'm only using my home practice amp ATM which is an Orange crush Bass50 i should have access to something beefier if i get the gig.

 

[Mickyk]

 Would this do the job...do you think...i think i'm guilty of keep looking at excuses to buy a new Bass really.

http://www.rattleanddrum.com/fender-standard-jaguar-bass-in-black-pau-ferro.html

 

[CameronJ]

Ah, ok. I’m sure the Orange Crush 50 is a decent practice amp but for Ska and related genres you’ll really feel the benefit of a beefier system. Rest assured that a beefier amp will put a big grin on your face!

In the meantime, have you tried using the onboard headphone amp & Aux in on the Orange? Play along to some of the tracks you’ll be gigging and see how close you can get to the sound you’re looking for. Using decent headphones of course. The amp may still be a limiting factor here though, as apparently it applies a cab simulator to the headphone output. Others may be more qualified to judge but I’m not sure the “Orange sound” is synonymous with Ska/reggae/dub? I could well be wrong. In any case, start with the Amp’s EQ flat and experiment with the controls on the bass to begin with. You’ll get there!