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Guitarist looking to get into bass and get simple rig
- Thread starter Slaytallideth
- Start date
The P has a deeper sound than a Jazz, though the Jazz is more versatile and has a friendlier neck to boot. Anyway, I started on and still play guitar too, and I don’t have big hands, but I find a P neck to be absolutely fine (and yet, whenever I play a Jazz, I’m always reminded that the Jazz neck is even finer, lol. But still, the P neck isn’t any big deal. Like, I play two short scales and two Precisions, they’re all fine — sold my Jazzes, actually). But get whatever bass appeals to you; I’m just saying that I wouldn’t avoid the P because of its neck.
For good quality at an affordable price in a known brand, you might try a used Made In Mexico Fender. Assess them pretty much like buying a used guitar. Meanwhile, Ibanez is a different kind of standard bass brand that has some lower priced models you might consider.
If you’ll be a bedroom bassist or mainly a recordist as a bass player, a short scale would be best, I’d think. They play basically the same as any other bass and sound great while being arguably easier to play, and easier on the body. However, if you’re planning on playing out on bass in a hard rock/metal band, you’d probably want to consider the look (regardless of scale length, actually). But a short scale makes for a fun, easy second instrument for a guitarist to have around. Relatively compact, too, so less banging into into stuff with the headstock (Ooof!) before you’re used to the extra length you’re wielding.
About pedals, I have 12 pedals on my [frankly, unnecessarily large] bass pedalboard, and of those pedals, only 3 are dedicated bass pedals: an MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe, an MXR DynaComp Bass, and an Electro Harmonix Bass Clone (chorus). Another pedal on there, a Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret MKIII, which simulates a Marshall amp, has an internal switch to cop a Marshall Super Bass bass amp sound, which I have switched on, so it’s a pedal half-dedicated to bass. And my other distortion, the Catalinbread SFT which simulates an Ampeg amp, is probably intended equally for guitar and bass.
Also, a Mu-Tron Micro Tron III envelope filter I have on the pedalboard is another pedal that is equally for guitar or bass, or any other electronic instrument, really.
Of the remaining 6, two, a tuner and an ABY switch, are "utility pedals" that can be used with essentially any electronic instrument. Finally, four are sold as "guitar pedals". So, as others have said, feel more than free to experiment with your guitar pedals and see what works (some will, some won’t)
For good quality at an affordable price in a known brand, you might try a used Made In Mexico Fender. Assess them pretty much like buying a used guitar. Meanwhile, Ibanez is a different kind of standard bass brand that has some lower priced models you might consider.
If you’ll be a bedroom bassist or mainly a recordist as a bass player, a short scale would be best, I’d think. They play basically the same as any other bass and sound great while being arguably easier to play, and easier on the body. However, if you’re planning on playing out on bass in a hard rock/metal band, you’d probably want to consider the look (regardless of scale length, actually). But a short scale makes for a fun, easy second instrument for a guitarist to have around. Relatively compact, too, so less banging into into stuff with the headstock (Ooof!) before you’re used to the extra length you’re wielding.
About pedals, I have 12 pedals on my [frankly, unnecessarily large] bass pedalboard, and of those pedals, only 3 are dedicated bass pedals: an MXR Bass Fuzz Deluxe, an MXR DynaComp Bass, and an Electro Harmonix Bass Clone (chorus). Another pedal on there, a Catalinbread Dirty Little Secret MKIII, which simulates a Marshall amp, has an internal switch to cop a Marshall Super Bass bass amp sound, which I have switched on, so it’s a pedal half-dedicated to bass. And my other distortion, the Catalinbread SFT which simulates an Ampeg amp, is probably intended equally for guitar and bass.
Also, a Mu-Tron Micro Tron III envelope filter I have on the pedalboard is another pedal that is equally for guitar or bass, or any other electronic instrument, really.
Of the remaining 6, two, a tuner and an ABY switch, are "utility pedals" that can be used with essentially any electronic instrument. Finally, four are sold as "guitar pedals". So, as others have said, feel more than free to experiment with your guitar pedals and see what works (some will, some won’t)
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I would absolutely get the nicest playing Fender P "style" instrument your budget allows and have some room for some upgrades to make it a great player.
A Sire P5R or P5, or a Squier Classic Vibe P and seasoned to taste with upgrades for preferences in sound/quality - and you have a great player that is gig ready forever.
Getting a P bass first is a great start to the collection. I enjoy a pair of Sire P shape models called the P5R and the P5. I have upgraded nearly all the things on each and I absolutely love them for the money. ($500 or $540 new plus mods). After I tried the Sire P5R, I parted out and sold 3 Warmoth parts basses that I selected everything on. Just loved the Sire necks.
A Sire P5R or P5, or a Squier Classic Vibe P and seasoned to taste with upgrades for preferences in sound/quality - and you have a great player that is gig ready forever.
Getting a P bass first is a great start to the collection. I enjoy a pair of Sire P shape models called the P5R and the P5. I have upgraded nearly all the things on each and I absolutely love them for the money. ($500 or $540 new plus mods). After I tried the Sire P5R, I parted out and sold 3 Warmoth parts basses that I selected everything on. Just loved the Sire necks.
Some bass with 4 strings. (As opposed to 5 or more). Probably passive (no battery). Make sure the neck feels good to you. Compare a few basses and pick your fav. Get a little Fender rumble 40 or even a 25 for your amp. If you have a need for silent practice in consideration for your family or neighbors, get a pair of AKG K240 monitor headphones. Make sure your amp has a headphone jack the kills the main speaker if your going that way. I believe the Fender amps I recommended have that feature, but 2x check.
That should get you squared away. Don’t be afraid to buy used. That’s always a good bang for the buck.
Put fresh strings on whatever you pick. Set it up or a good shop do it.
Welcome to Bass!
That should get you squared away. Don’t be afraid to buy used. That’s always a good bang for the buck.
Put fresh strings on whatever you pick. Set it up or a good shop do it.
Welcome to Bass!
This point can’t be emphasized enough. The biggest change in the bass amp market in the last decade or two has been the advent of powerful but lightweight heads. ( my Genz Benz kicks out 900 watts but is under 10 pounds). Older , heavier amplifiers got dumped like last weeks bananas. Many of these older, heavier amps are reliable and sound fantastic, and can be had for Pennies on the dollar.
I feel like 9 times out of 10 a player just picks the instrument that they think looks cool.
I think that probably goes for guitars too.
I would decide on your budget, and then buy whatever seems coolest on the used market in your area.
People tend to recommend what THEY use, but they are not you.
Just get whatever, and there is no need to think about pedals.
Despite what talkbassers might make you feel... all bass guitars sound like bass guitars.
Good luck and most importantly HAVE FUN!!
I think that probably goes for guitars too.
I would decide on your budget, and then buy whatever seems coolest on the used market in your area.
People tend to recommend what THEY use, but they are not you.
Just get whatever, and there is no need to think about pedals.
Despite what talkbassers might make you feel... all bass guitars sound like bass guitars.
Good luck and most importantly HAVE FUN!!
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Thank you all for the replies! A lot of good information here and I think it puts me at ease in that the basic setup isn't too complicated. I'll probably go test out a few different rumble sizes and see what I think is the right volume for what I'm looking for. I was thinking a fender or squire, but those Sires look very nice as well.
I know I don't want to use my guitar cab, but it was mentioned that basic guitar amps can work nicely. I have an EVH 5150 III EL34, which sounds like a high gain amp might not be best for a bass.
I appreciate everyone responding!
I know I don't want to use my guitar cab, but it was mentioned that basic guitar amps can work nicely. I have an EVH 5150 III EL34, which sounds like a high gain amp might not be best for a bass.
I appreciate everyone responding!
Most of the Squier P bass necks I've tried are not as thick or wide as a vintage or North American, Mexican-made P bass. I find the Squier P bass necks closer to a Jazz neck. I call them Import necks, totally different shape. Closer than further apart. But I have not played all Squiers.
I came from guitar and what I did was visit a few shops and tried several basses within my budget until I decided which one felt best to play. I put comfort over sound, as the first affects everything I play while the latter depends not only on bass but on other things. In my case I decided an Ibanez GSR200EX was my best fit.
However I bought my bass NEW because I preferred not to have to figure out myself if previous owners might have messed it up with modifications or broke something, or if the bass was defective. For example, basses have this thing called truss rod which guitarists don't need to worry about but it is a big deal for bass if broken. With a new bass at least I had my back covered by the shop if something was wrong, and since it was definitely not an expensive bass then I would not have saved much buying it second hand.
I didn't buy an amp, I used an old guitar amp I didn't really care if I blew up. Anyway I rarely use even that at all since at home I typically play with headphones, and I can take the bass with me at work and then play it in our rehearsal room as much as I want. So I can't myself recommend specific home amps. I would look both into new and second hand. They are anyway cheaper than amps for gigging so even new ones can have reasonable prices in the 100-200 range, but if you are not sure about the model then look for a second hand that you can resell without losing money in case it doesn't suit you.
As a guitarist who can't play without lots of effects, I instead found out that I don't need much of them on bass. Yes I did buy a multieffect anyway but I am not really using it. I am trying to figure out if I can still get some usefulness out of basic stuff like equaliser, compression, filtering, but mostly the bare sound of a bass is already so good that may need nothing added.
However I bought my bass NEW because I preferred not to have to figure out myself if previous owners might have messed it up with modifications or broke something, or if the bass was defective. For example, basses have this thing called truss rod which guitarists don't need to worry about but it is a big deal for bass if broken. With a new bass at least I had my back covered by the shop if something was wrong, and since it was definitely not an expensive bass then I would not have saved much buying it second hand.
I didn't buy an amp, I used an old guitar amp I didn't really care if I blew up. Anyway I rarely use even that at all since at home I typically play with headphones, and I can take the bass with me at work and then play it in our rehearsal room as much as I want. So I can't myself recommend specific home amps. I would look both into new and second hand. They are anyway cheaper than amps for gigging so even new ones can have reasonable prices in the 100-200 range, but if you are not sure about the model then look for a second hand that you can resell without losing money in case it doesn't suit you.
As a guitarist who can't play without lots of effects, I instead found out that I don't need much of them on bass. Yes I did buy a multieffect anyway but I am not really using it. I am trying to figure out if I can still get some usefulness out of basic stuff like equaliser, compression, filtering, but mostly the bare sound of a bass is already so good that may need nothing added.
I’ll second (third, really) DanAdams and Shenron’s mentions above that pedals aren’t so important on bass as compared to guitar, at least in general. Of course, specific situations can call for a pedal or pedals, and some bassists regularly use a lot of pedals or rely heavily on a few pedals, but for most of my playing, I’m more than fine with going with no pedals at all except for a tuner. Just the bass on its own sounds great.
Of course, pedals can be fun though
Of course, pedals can be fun though
First of all you need to understand that while you can get good sounding GUITAR amps for bedroom use, that's not really gonna happen with bass amps. "Bedroom size" bass amps won't sound great, period. Any bass amps that DO sound great will also be WAY overkill for bedroom use and be audible in the entire building. For bedroom practice I would recommend some kind of modelling gear with a headphone output and a good pair of headphones.
As for the choice of bass.... A Squier Classic Vibe J or P is a good, safe choice. They're easily as good as MIM Fenders, if not better. The lower end Squiers (Sonic/Affinity) aren't nearly as good though. The Sonic series in particular feels extremely cheap IMO. In that price range you can get far better basses from the likes of Harley Benton.
But... with the bands you refer to, maybe you would be happier with an active, more metal/progmetal-oriented bass? Something like an Ibanez SR300 might be a good choice if you're on a tight budget (and actually quite decent basses regardless of price). I normally never recommend active basses to beginners though, for mainly two reasons:
1) With an active bass it's much easier to dial in a poor tone if you don't know what you're doing. Boosting the lows too much is perhaps the most common mistake. As a guitar player you're probably used to dialling in a great tone alone, and then still have a great tone when playing with a full band. That's not gonna work with bass. With bass it's nearly always (unless you're a virtuoso soloist) all about how the bass SITS IN THE MIX. The best tone for bass with a band is almost never the tone that sounds the most impressive when playing alone. With a passive bass it's actually hard to dial in a tone that doesn't work reasonably well in the mix. With an active bass it's VERY easy to dial in a tone where the bass will end up boomy, muddy and get completely lost in the mix.
2) The electronics in passive basses can usually be very easily repaired, relatively cheap. The electronics in active basses is a different story. If the active preamp fails you could end up with a rather expensive repair. If you buy active, at least buy a NEW one from a store with a good warranty policy.
I'm not saying you shouldn't get an active bass. Active basses are great (although I personally prefer passive). You also have experience as a guitar player so I'm assuming you're not a total beginner. But these are still things you need to consider before making a decision.
And as always: The best investment you can EVER make when buying basses in the low-to-mid price range is to factor in the cost of a professional setup, including levelling/crowning the frets if needed (and it very often is on brand new instruments, even on expensive MIA Fenders).
As for the choice of bass.... A Squier Classic Vibe J or P is a good, safe choice. They're easily as good as MIM Fenders, if not better. The lower end Squiers (Sonic/Affinity) aren't nearly as good though. The Sonic series in particular feels extremely cheap IMO. In that price range you can get far better basses from the likes of Harley Benton.
But... with the bands you refer to, maybe you would be happier with an active, more metal/progmetal-oriented bass? Something like an Ibanez SR300 might be a good choice if you're on a tight budget (and actually quite decent basses regardless of price). I normally never recommend active basses to beginners though, for mainly two reasons:
1) With an active bass it's much easier to dial in a poor tone if you don't know what you're doing. Boosting the lows too much is perhaps the most common mistake. As a guitar player you're probably used to dialling in a great tone alone, and then still have a great tone when playing with a full band. That's not gonna work with bass. With bass it's nearly always (unless you're a virtuoso soloist) all about how the bass SITS IN THE MIX. The best tone for bass with a band is almost never the tone that sounds the most impressive when playing alone. With a passive bass it's actually hard to dial in a tone that doesn't work reasonably well in the mix. With an active bass it's VERY easy to dial in a tone where the bass will end up boomy, muddy and get completely lost in the mix.
2) The electronics in passive basses can usually be very easily repaired, relatively cheap. The electronics in active basses is a different story. If the active preamp fails you could end up with a rather expensive repair. If you buy active, at least buy a NEW one from a store with a good warranty policy.
I'm not saying you shouldn't get an active bass. Active basses are great (although I personally prefer passive). You also have experience as a guitar player so I'm assuming you're not a total beginner. But these are still things you need to consider before making a decision.
And as always: The best investment you can EVER make when buying basses in the low-to-mid price range is to factor in the cost of a professional setup, including levelling/crowning the frets if needed (and it very often is on brand new instruments, even on expensive MIA Fenders).
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