Jack-of-all-trades 4

[tobiewharton]

Looking at picking-up an active 4 that can reasonably cover everything from modern hi-fi to p-bass territory. Must be under a grand new, but happy with gc s/h and not too keen on jazz-width necks, though not necessarily a deal breaker.  Current options include Lakland Skyline 44-01, Yamaha TRB 1004J and MTD Kingston KZ4. Anyone have any experience with these?

Cheers,

Tobie 

Edited December 29, 2017 by tobiewharton

[Tubster]

G&L L-2000 covers most things IMO. USA used or Tribute brand new meet the budget.

 

good luck!

[ead]

How about something like a Sandberg VM?  I can cover a lot of ground with this one.  A pre-loved one would be within your budget.

Edited December 29, 2017 by ead

[AndyTravis]

ESP/ltd Surveyor 400 bass.

I always wish I would’ve bought one when I worked at an ESP dealership.

[LukeFRC]

Secondhand Warwick corvette $$ fit the bill or does it need to look more traditional? 

[ead]

15 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

Secondhand Warwick corvette $$ fit the bill or does it need to look more traditional? 

Good call sir!

[mcnach]

G&L L2000. Probably the only bass that can do its own thing as well as a very passable P and Jazz bass sound. 

[kodiakblair]

What about the Spear Flextool ?

[alyctes]

I considered the Flextool when I was GAS-ridden a couple of years ago.  People seemed to think they were more trouble than they were worth, IIRC.

[drTStingray]

Used Stingray 4HH would fit the bill. It's my Swiss Army knife bass - switchable single coils, single HB or multi HB. 

Alternatively the 4HS is also good (there's one in the classifieds currently). 

Edited December 29, 2017 by drTStingray

[LukeFRC]

3 hours ago, kodiakblair said:

What about the Spear Flextool ?

only one of those pickups could be in the correct position! 

[drTStingray]

8 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

only one of those pickups could be in the correct position! 

It's a bit like those Stu Hamm Urge basses no longer made by the firm at the centre of a recent mammoth closed thread about illegal copies thereof. Or is it the Roscoe Beck version which has several pick ups - whatever they're both highly versatile. 

Edited December 29, 2017 by drTStingray
Nonsensical auto correct

[drTStingray]

Sorry duplicate

Edited December 29, 2017 by drTStingray

[kodiakblair]

7 minutes ago, LukeFRC said:

only one of those pickups could be in the correct position! 

For some reason I thought the MM would switch to SC,not so the switch on lower horn is a killswitch. Bit silly having that.

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 25, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[tobiewharton]

Cheers for the various suggestions.  I've owned a Warwick $$ in the past and whilst it was very versatile, it wasn't the greatest player.  I may seek out an HH Stingray to try though. 

I suppose I'm after a modern looking and sounding instrument really, that I can rely on for all sorts of stuff that changes at short notice.  It would be great if it could do very transparent, clear and punchy (I play a lot of gospel), right through to p bass thump (I also play in a very mixed function band).  Anyone got any experience with Lakland's 44-01?  Have had the Bart MK1 package before and underwhelmed by it, but the MK4 upgrade's clearly a popular choice.  What about the MTD Kingstons?  Only ever played an Artist 4 but the neck was excellent.  The KZs and Supers look interesting.  How's the electronics package?  The Yammy TRB1004J is, presumably, a solid contender - all Yamahas that I've owned and played have been tough and useful. 

As always, much obliged for the thoughts.

Cheers,

Tobie    

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited March 1, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[King Tut]

+1 on the Sandberg VM or VT. Very versatile. I was really lucky and picked up a Yamaha BB1100s from crack converters for silly money but you can often pick em up for about £250. A massive amount of bass for peanuts!

[Delberthot]

I've been in wedding & function bands for about the past 23 years. Anyone who's been in that type of band knows that you can be playing one style one minute and something completely different the next.

In that time I've owned about 130 basses and the right bass for the band was the one I had at the time and to alter the sound I've moved my hand towards the neck or the bridge and played either heavier or lighter.

My advice would be to find a bass that you really like to play, that feels good and you can comfortably play all night. Chances are the audience won't notice the difference anyway.

Sometimes we get too caught up in trying to find something that we don't really need. I know that I was incredibly guilty of it in the past. When I change basses it's for the hell of it and not the sound. Any half decent bass will sound decent through the PA.

Once I had it out of my system I started enjoying playing more instead of trying to find something that I thought I needed but had all along

Edited December 30, 2017 by Delberthot

[Pinball]

I'd go for Ibanaz ATK 800 or 1200. They are really easy to dial in and the electric system is superb at least on mine. I leave everything flat and flick the swith down to some jazz or stingray fizz or in the up position it is very P like. There is a blend to focus on the neck pickup if you want to. I find that I rarely need to touch the other controls when changing the pickup selection. Here's the 800. As an alternative I'd look at G&L's but they are less easy to change on the fly.

 

[TheGreek]

20 hours ago, Jus Lukin said:

There's an Enfield 4-string for sale here somewhere. Pickups do P, J, and MM at the flick of a switch. Would be a bloody good all rounder. I was planning to get one made for me, but a Status I fancied popped up, and I blew my wad on that instead!

I'll try to find the thread...

 

20 hours ago, Jus Lukin said:

https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/316586-enfield-lionheart-4-price-drop-£1300/?tab=comments#comment-3435262

The Enfield site will give you a lowdown on the deal with the pickups too.

Damn, I'd forgotten about these. I kind of hate to use the term but... I just got GAS...

I have the SimS system pick ups in my Silk Bass, installed by our own Andyjr1515. Dead easy to use, remarkably agile and they provide a great range of tones. I believe you now have a choice of pre-amps too but why anybody would want anything other than the Glock bemuses me..

[leftyyorky]

13 hours ago, King Tut said:

+1 on the Sandberg VM or VT. Very versatile. I was really lucky and picked up a Yamaha BB1100s from crack converters for silly money but you can often pick em up for about £250. A massive amount of bass for peanuts!

Plus 1 on the bb1100s,  ive had a lefty one since 1996, paid £189 for it second hand, it is punching way above its weight and , active or passive its got it all. Wouldnt part with it for anything.

[Sean]

Here’s a BB1100S for peanuts from a fabulous retailer...

http://greatbritishbasslounge.com/product/yamaha-bb1100s/

It’s the owner’s bass and comes with an excellent pedigree. You can spend the leftover money buying me a thank you gift 😉

[Sean]

On 12/30/2017 at 14:20, Pinball said:

I'd go for Ibanaz ATK 800 or 1200. They are really easy to dial in and the electric system is superb at least on mine. I leave everything flat and flick the swith down to some jazz or stingray fizz or in the up position it is very P like. There is a blend to focus on the neck pickup if you want to. I find that I rarely need to touch the other controls when changing the pickup selection. Here's the 800. As an alternative I'd look at G&L's but they are less easy to change on the fly.

 

Once you become familiar with G&L switches you can make the changes instinctively - I do.

The L2000/2500 with those MFD pickups is astounding! It’s really Basszilla through my big rig. I have a mod on mine that does the inner single coils in parallel, it gives a Faux ‘Ray sound on top of all the other fantastic combinations. The 3-band East Pre-amp mod helps with the shaping too. G&L MFDs cut through the mix too.

Edited December 31, 2017 by Sean

[AndyTravis]

32 minutes ago, Sean said:

Here’s a BB1100S for peanuts from a fabulous retailer...

http://greatbritishbasslounge.com/product/yamaha-bb1100s/

It’s the owner’s bass and comes with an excellent pedigree. You can spend the leftover money buying me a thank you gift 😉

Join the queue...I’m seeing this when he’s back from Spain on the 10th 🧐