Need a 4 string. Overwhelmed with choices so I'm thinking aloud.

Systolic

Systolic

Nov 29, 2009
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4,571
Madison,Wisconsin
#1
I've been a strictly 5 and 6 string player for years and with my preference of 35" scale and at least 18mm string spacing my choices have always been far more limited.

Now I'm looking at a 4 banger to keep in Eb/Drop C# and I don't know what to do with all the choices. Not terribly picky on body shape or neck shape on 4 strings. Just don't like giant bodies or giant necks nor do I love glossy necks. String spacing on 4's tend to be fairly standard so I'm fine there. The more tone shaping options the better, so I prefer active.

Tone Wise as long as it is clear and "aggressive" i'm good.
Aggressive Jazz ala Geddy
Aggressive P ala a lot of the Punk genre at large
Aggressive PJ ala Robert DeLeo or Geezer
Aggressive Humbuckers sure, I love that gnarly Wal tone in particular.

I play in a 90's cover band currently. Covering everything from metal to reggae inspired, but largely centered around the Alternative sub genre. I find that I can tame an aggressive tone monster more easily than I can make a polite bass bark and cut through two distorted guitars.

So here I sit with a couple of options and not sure which way to go:

G&L L2000
G&L M2000
G&L MJ4
Sire M7
The higher end Warwick Rockbass series Streamer or Corvette.
Ibanez SR?
Ibanez BTB?

Would love to stay under $700 new or used.

Any thoughts? I'm just kinda thinking out loud here.
 
#5
Go to GC dot com & put in SRX for a search. (the model name for SR eXtreme)
There are many & some are even neck-thru (the SRX700). Oops, not seeing any 700s now...
I've got the cheapest one they make & it sounds almost as good as my Ibanez Premium with Nordstrand Big Singles in it.

upload_2017-11-15_22-6-9.png


The SRX700 is about 9 lbs, but my SRX2 is only 8 lbs.
G&Ls are about 10 lbs..
 
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#11
n1as said:
In your face aggressive tone? Skip the Jazz style basses.

SBMM Ray34
L2000 Tribute

Be prepared for a heavy bass.
Click to expand...

Well FWIW, I think the G&L MJ4 is not a "standard" jazz style bass by any means. Every clip I've heard of that thing is pretty in your face.

Well the Ray's are single pickup basses, and I'll need a two pickup bass to move towards a general "P" tone for a lot of the punk stuff we do.

I'm ok with heavier basses, it can't be as bad as my old Peavey Grind 6 that was a hair over 16lbs.
 
#12
Solarmist said:
Here's a used Ibanez SRX ($400) from the TB classifieds ... they were marketed as "aggressive".
For Sale - Ibanez SRX700 Neck-Through
Click to expand...

Killed_by_Death said:
Go to GC dot com & put in SRX for a search. (the model name for SR eXtreme)
There are many & some are even neck-thru (the SRX700). Oops, not seeing any 700s now...
I've got the cheapest one they make & it sounds almost as good as my Ibanez Premium with Nordstrand Big Singles in it.

View attachment 2814494

The SRX700 is about 9 lbs, but my SRX2 is only 8 lbs.
G&Ls are about 10 lbs..
Click to expand...

Not familiar with these. Will look into them for sure.
 
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#13
#15
Systolic said:
As much as I love the SB2 tone the lack of tone control really kills it's versatility and I can't deal with that single coil hum on that J pup.
Click to expand...
Never had any hum on mine, but I've heard some do. I was thinking of adding tone control to mine, stacked like on some of the Japanese models.
My L2000 is my number one right now, though, and I've never owned anything quite like it. The SB-2 is a very nice backup, though.
 
#19
Another vote for the G&L L2000. Had one and only moved it on to get the L2500. Mine was not particularly heavy compared to other basses (noted the comment above,) and the weight they do have is well balanced. They also have a great sound.
 
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