arabassist Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Hello, The only bass I've played for the past 10 months or so is my ibanez artcore, which i taught myself with it. The other day i went to a guitar shop and tried out a random bass. It was a 5 string ibanez priced at £225. I've never played a 5 string, and haven't played a solid body bass since i bought my semi hollow one, so i thought what the heck. But for some reason, playing that bass felt so much easier. I remember my legs shaking with excitement when I played. It felt like it was half the weight the neck felt like half the size. It also felt like the frets were tiny. I got home and tried out my own bass and thought, 'it can't have been that much smaller, could it?'. What was it about the 5 stringer that made it so much easier for me to play? Is my artcore simply too big for me and needs to be gotten rid of? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xilddx Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Sounds to me like you need a new bass. Go out and try loads of them. Stick within your budget though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul S Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I had much the same thing here. Although I actually started with a cheapo Peavey 'kit' I soon 'treated myself' to a gorgeous 70s Hayman 4040, for all sorts of nostalgic reasons as well as the build quality of the instrument. I got used to playing it and did the lion's share of my early learning on it, despite it weighing more than a double-decker bus and having a neck like a plank, and thought it was the mutts. Then I decided to treat the old girl to some new strings and noticed the perspex bridge (ah, those old 70s guitars!) was cracking and had little life left in it. I was devastated! Anyway, I decided to buy a new bass for rehearsing and gigs - and after a couple of afternoons playing everything on the wall in my local music shop got myself a nice skinny necked Fender Jaguar. Like you, I just couldn't believe the difference. To cut a long story short, I have now parted company with the Hayman. Nice as it was to have a real old vintage piece of superb quality it was like playing a floorboard, with about the same tone. She has now gone to a far more appreciative owner. The jaguar is just amazing to play - I guess that is modern basses - and I believe I have improved exponentially as a result. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josh3184 Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 wouldnt surprise me if you player an SR, they have silly small necks. The artcore looks like it has a pretty chunky neck too. Its all a matter of personal preference, I quite like large necks whereas it may be that you personally are more suited to smaller neck. Like silddx says, go try some out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budget bassist Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 5 string generally means smaller string spacing and easier to move around on a lot of the time, plus, the artcores have HUGE bodies. My corvette feels tiny in comparison to my musicman. You should buy it, or at least try some others out Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonybassplayer Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Had a similar experience playing my Yamaha TRB for years then decided on a whim to buy a Geddy Lee Jazz and wow it's so much easier and i love playing it. The Yamaha in comparison has strings on that seem very thick combined with a very high action so I suppose when I re-string and sort the action it will be easier but it took a new bass for me to see how bad the other was set up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJA Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 the top horn on the 5 string (putting the strap button around the 12 fret?) probably made it easier to reach the nut-end frets of the neck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Looks like you might be a 5 string want to be player. I've personally always wanted to own a 5 string bass and i don't know why i didn't get one as my first bass really. Try them out and see if you like one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thepurpleblob Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 I've had a few of those moments. Started on a Yamaha BB605, then got a TRB4 which was a revelation, then got a StingRay which was a revelation, then got a G&L (Tribute) 2500 which was another revelation. There's been quite a lot of junk that I hated in there too, though. As everybody has and will tell you, get out there and try everything you can! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted March 15, 2009 Share Posted March 15, 2009 Another possibility is that your artcore just needs a setup. If the relief is outside of the ideal range it can feel stiff and uncomfortable to play. I picked up one of my basses yesterday (my self-built fretless Precision, which I haven't payed for a while) and I hated everything about it - it was just harder work to play it compared to my others. I noticed the action was a bit high so I checked the relief. There was obviously more relief than I normally have, so I got my tools out, tweaked the truss rod & checked action & intonation. Five minutes later its back to its easy-playing old self. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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