Guitarist looking to get into bass and get simple rig

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Slaytallideth

Nov 26, 2024
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#1
Hello! I am a guitarist looking to expand to playing bass, mostly for my own enjoyment, and I wanted to get a little advice on gear as I am mostly naive on bass beyond the basics! I have plenty of guitars and gear associated with that, so I'm basically looking for a simple "bedroom" setup for bass, though I don't want to get something so cheap/poor quality that it leaves me uninterested or needing to spend more money.

I listen to mostly metal and classic rock, with my favorite sub genre being Progressive metal (Opeth, Mastodon, Elder). While of course there are a tons of different basses being used I see a lot of Jazz and Precision Basses. I was thinking of getting a Jazz bass as the thinner neck might feel a little more comfortable as a guitarist and from what I know its very versatile. Would a Squire Jazz bass be too low quality or if I set it up right would that be good enough for me to have fun with? What bedroom amp would you recommend? Any pedals (I have a great selection of guitar pedals but I'm so naive that I don't even know if they work well with bass)? Lastly for this basic setup would you recommend active or passive pickups?

TLDR?

If you wanted a simple bedroom setup for rock/metal what would you go with?

I appreciate the feedback and I apologize if there are a million posts like this one!
 
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#2
Welcome to the dark side. Like with guitars, if you know enough to evaluate them, you will get the best value from used gear. My advice would be to play a good number of basses to see what feels good to you. Per Squires, they have been around for a while. Some of them a great values, others not so much. You have to try them. For amps, the Fender Rumble series combo's get good reviews. The 100 is small enough for a bedroom but if you want to jam with a drummer it will keep up.
 
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#3
I made the same guitar>bass leap. You know the drill, buy once cry once.

You don’t mention your budget, that might help.

Used does get you more bang for your buck. The Rumble line of amps does get a lot of love around here. Another option would Gallien-Krueger’s line of combos. I have an MB115 II. Great amp and used they are (can be) a great value. Mark Bass also is spoken of well here.

As to basses, P or J would be good. Between the two ( I own both) I would think the J would be better for metal and perfectly serviceable for classic rock. Used Warwicks could be an option as well. Some are passive and some are active. They typically have a similar nut width to the Jazz, but front to back they can be a little chunkier. Used Warwicks can be pretty cheap. Something like a Corvette Double Buck $$ has a tone of tones available. There are German made and import (Rock Bass) models. A Rock Bass might be just what the doctor ordered.
 
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#4
Bass: A squire jazz is a perfectly great first bass.
You might also consider short scale basses as an easier transition from guitar. My daughter is learning fast on a Gretsch junior jet. I love that bass, I pick it up and play it all the time; it's a fantastic value for $300 and has a great sound and vibe for classic rock, and a nice slim neck; maybe not the right look for progressive metal though. I also strongly considered getting her an Ibanez TMB30, those are another short scale that's great value for money and the P/J pickups will do pretty much any sound you could need, but she vibed more with the Gretsch.

Bedroom amps: one left of field option - I really enjoy playing through my spark 40. The bass amp models work great. Bonus, it has a built in guitar practice amp for free ;)

Pedals: Most guitar pedals work just fine for bass! Just try what you have! If it sounds good, it is good.
Drive pedals (distortion, fuzz, overdrive) can be hit or miss, and very much a matter of personal taste - some guitar drive pedals cut the low end for a tighter sound, and that doesn't always work well for bass; or if the lows are present, they can get muddy. But again - just try stuff! I currently have an old modded Boss BD2 (similar to a Waza) and a new Wampler Triumph; neither is a "bass" pedal and I think both sound great on bass as well as guitar.

Active or passive: Don't overthink it :D Either one is fine.
 
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#5
I have a friend who transitioned from guitar to bass a year or so ago. Instead of initially shelling out a ton of bucks on an instrument that he might not continue playing, he bought a pair of Harley Benton basses - one for regular tuning and another that is tuned down. Harley Benton basses are inexpensive, but they actually play/sound pretty darned good.

Incidentally, he absolutely loves playing bass.
 
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#7
Guitarist on site !!!

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#8
If you're thinking Squier I would go with the Classic Vibe series. If you have the means to step up another notch the Fender Player series would be a lifetime bass. Both Precisions and Jazz basses are great. Players use them for every style of music.

Last year I bought my daughter a 32" scale Ibanez Mezzo with a PJ pickup configuration. It's super fun to play and it sounds great. It feels more guitar-like to play so it may be something you would be interested in investigating. It has active electronics which would help you if you're into metal. I also found a used Fender Rumble 40 locally and picked that up for her too. The Ibanez bass I bought her looks like this photo.
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My rig is very basic. My bass is a 1980s MIJ Fender Precision and a GK MB115 amp. I've recorded and played gigs with this setup and it works great. I don't feel a need to accumulate anything more, especially because I can play my daughter's Ibanez anytime I want to!
 
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#10
Thanks everyone for the feedback! I considered a shorter scale bass, but thought if I'm going to play bass might as well play something more standard. I didn't post a budget as I guess I'm looking for the most affordable option that would leave me satisfied that I have an instrument that does what I need it to do. Like my first guitar way back when was a squire strat, which turns out not to be too ideal for metal. Though I have since modded it completely and that's no longer the case :) When I got that I was into Jimi Hendrix, SRV etc so a strat into the squire amp was fine. When I got into Metallica it wasn't really right, so I guess that's what I'm trying to avoid. It sounds like a Jazz bass into a rumble is extremely versitile. I also love the looks of the Jazz and Precision bass, which is funny as I'm not super fond of strats and teles.

Of course these are just generalizations but in guitar, for metal you'd always go with a humbucker on the bridge, to go more modern/straight up metal you'd want active pickups. (Always exceptions to the rules). Bass seems to not follow these rules.

The spark 40 could be a fun little experiment as well.

This all has been helpful!
 
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#11
You can’t go too far wrong with a Jazz or Precision. Jazz potentially more accessible to play, for someone used to guitar, as it has a narrower neck on the low end.
My recommendation would be to go for a used bass & amp for two principal reasons:

1 You’ll get a better instrument & amp for the same or less money.

2 If you don’t fall in love with playing bass, you should get approximately all your money back rather than the depreciation associated with purchasing a new item. Or if you decide a Precision would be better than a Jazz, you can swap at minimal cost.

Quality used bedroom amps can be had for very little money and if you are already familiar with guitar amps, you should be able to assess a used item, same applying to the bass itself.
 
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#14
Im going to suggest an Ibanez Soundgear, anything 300 series and above is a fully giggable bass, and the slim necks with tighter string spacing will be an easy transition from guitar. You might consider the Squire Bass VI too, that would be like falling off a log for a guitarist. Its just like a guitar, tuned down one octave. The string spacing is tighter than most basses, but wider than a guitar, you can play familiar chords on it, or play it like a bass. Ibanez also makes a 6-string bass tuned E to E one octave down, and it's very nice indeed, but harder to find. My son has a Rumble 30 that's loud enough for small church sized or school auditorium sized spaces, and overkill for home use. A Rumble 25 would be plenty for bedroom use. You really can't play bass through a guitar speaker, it'll fry it, but guitars sound great through a bass amp.
 
#17
For a bedroom amp, definitely get something with Bluetooth. In my opinion, the Fender Mustang Micro Plus is a no-brainer. You connect your phone via Bluetooth one time, and forever afterward, the amount of time it takes for you to be playing over backing tracks, songs, a metronome, etc., is only as long as it takes for you to slip on some headphones and press play on your phone. It also takes up no room and requires no cords. It is really next level for practicing.

If you also need an amp for practicing with others, then you can buy a 200+ watt combo down the line or something, but for bedroom practicing, those are very large and impractical.

Regarding the pedals, they are not entirely necessary with bass. You can certainly experiment with effects, and the aforementioned Mustang Micro Plus has some built in that you can experiment with, but you get a typical and perfectly usable sound that fits in the mix very well from just bass + amp.
 
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#19
I don't know metal, but they say on the internet active basses are good for that. which would lead me toward the Ibanez SR line, and they have a bunch of 5 string options if that's your bag.
If you have a guitar you don't play, you could trade it for a bass. I traded an old Yamaha electro-acoustic for an old Squier Jazz Bass. Though new strings for the bass set me back 40 bucks.
 
#20
There are all sorts of strategies you could used depending on your goals and budget.

If you expect to gig on bass and are certain yuo will stick with it: Buy once, cry once. In other words get nice gear that will not need to be replaced. Which specific gear to buy is totally different matter that is determined by your personal taste. This approach would be more expensive up front, but likely less expensive in the long run.


If you never plan to play with others, you can get a smaller, less expensive rig. Many guitar amps work fine as a low volume bass amps. Guitar cabs on the other hand can be blown fairly easily with bass if you play a little too loud. So if you have a suitable guitar amp, you could buy a bass cab.

Modern, high gain guitar amps are less likely to be suitable. Traditional guitar amps often work fine. I have Hiwatt DR103, Fender TFL5005 Showman Reverb, Fender brownface Princeton, JMI era Voc AC30, Marshall JCM 800 1959 Super Lead, Marshall JMP 2203 Lead, Matamp GT120. They all sound great with bass.

You could also buy a small practice amp or even just use a headphone amp or a small mixer.
 
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