Bass suggestions

EricTheWeary

Slartibartfarst42 said:

So you'd rate a Squier as better than the Yamaha and from the sounds of it, possibly even better than a MiM Fender! I confess the fact vthat they're not made of Alder puts me off a bit and the use of Agathis on some Squier models certainly puts me off.

If you're only buying from one shop and dependant on the trade you get I guess it's which bass you like most on the day. 
MIM stuff is a bit variable and Squier will be too so a good Squier would trump a worse MIM. I don't suppose there's really a great deal in it.
I guess the Yamaha is a lesser known quantity and some people prefer the traditional look of a Jazz or Precision but it may well have come out of the same factory in China or Indonesia as the Squier. Unless there's a definite fault it's hard to buy something completely duff at these price points. You may also want to factor in the price of a case or gig bag ( a MIM I think comes with a gig bag, the Squier I think doesn't so that explains a chunk of the price difference). 

pintspiller

Choose my VM Jazz over a MIM Jazz as I could not hear a difference big enough to warrant the price difference.

MattBanshee

Slartibartfarst42 said:

There are some complications in this whole process that certainly won't end up saving me money. Last year I moved to the Falklands so whatever I need to do has to be done in the two weeks I'm in the UK in August. That means it has to be done fast and I'm limited on weight for the flight. I'm already heading to Rich Tone Music in Sheffield for something else so as private selling and Ebay etc. take time, the most likely scenario is that I'll have to just trade my Gibson in to them and get a bass that is new. It's frustrating because my Les Paul is upgraded and kept in such pristine condition that they probably have new guitars that are worse!

It is the weight issues that mean I probably won't get an amp and I'll stick to using the same Atomic AmpliFire and Laney IRT-X that I use with my guitars. At a gig I'll just use the IRT-X as a monitor and go through the PA. For the bass itself, I'm obviously limited to what Rich Tone are selling so at the top end of my budget would be a MiM Fender Jazz or Precision.

http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/fender_standard_jazz_bass_maple_fretboard_lake_placid_blue.asp

I expect these to be very good as I own a MiM Fender Stratocaster Standard and it's superb. As a more budget option I was looking at a Yamaha BB424X.

http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/yamaha_bb424x_bass_guitar_black.asp

If there's anything else on the Rich Tone website I should be looking at that is a good option, by all means let me know.

http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/ibanez_atk200_bass_natural_finish_with_gigbag_2nd_hand-yibanez51863.asp

Slartibartfarst42

I've tried an Ibanez bass before and I wasn't that impressed. I suspect that I'd probably go for either the MiM Precision or Jazz. Which one of those to go for is a really tough one. As a lead guitarist I find I'm drawn to the definition of tone and slim neck of the Jazz but when I think of bass tones I really like (Stranglers, Iron Maiden, Thin Lizzy) it always seems to be the Precision.

guitarfishbay

Yeah if your ideal tone is Iron Maiden I'd go for a P. Worst case scenario you can swap the neck for a Jazz one at a later date, but most people can adapt to playing a Precision 4 string neck after a while IMO

Slartibartfarst42

What about the Yamaha TRBX504?

http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/yamaha_gtrbx504tbl_bass_guitar.asp

Or the TRBX304?

http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/yamaha_gtrbx304wh_bass_guitar.asp

What are these like compared to a Precision and Jazz.

Another interesting option is the Yamaha BB424X as looks to be essentially a PJ so the best of both worlds at a much lower price. What are these like?

http://www.richtonemusic.co.uk/products/yamaha_bb424x_bass_guitar_black.asp

I know Yamaha guitars are very good so would these be a good option?

Rocker

Sound is a very subjective thing.  What sounds great to me could be awful to you.  I like the sound of Fender Precision bass but cannot get on with Stingray basses.  Yamaha make great kit, if it sounds good to you then it is good.  Nobody can tell you except yourself.

Funkfingers

The woodworking and frets on Yamaha instruments are exemplary. It is the pickups and controls on the lower-priced examples that can let them down. 

Find one of the old Attitude Plus bass guitars. Feed it a Gotoh 201B bridge and an American pickup. You'll be sorted.

Winny_Pooh

After all these varying answers I reckon that if you're already going to richtone then just try what they have and decide there.

Slartibartfarst42

OK, it looks like I'm not tied to the one shop anymore. I've decided not to trade my Gibson in because it's just too good to part with so now it's just a straight cash purchase. This opens up possibilities with other stores so I can get a good price but it also restricts the budget a bit too. As some of the guitars are on pre-order, to make sure I get what I want I'll need to order it before I return to the UK in August as I only have a 2 week window when I'm there. My investigations so far suggest it's between three guitars:

• Yamaha TBRX304
• Ibanez SR300E
• Ibanez SR370E

As I'm a guitarist and as there is no possibility of trying these before I buy, I need some advice from actual bassists who do know what they're talking about so which of these offers the best quality, tone and versatility?

ICBM

If the choice is just those three, buy the Yamaha - because the Ibanezs have a poor quality output jack which is unreliable and can't be easily replaced with a better type. I don't have any personal experience of the Yamaha but I've never had to change the jack on one...

pintspiller

Carol Kaye swears by Ibanez.

Slartibartfarst42

Carol Kaye using an Ibanez is great but it seems to me that the SRX700 that she uses is a world apart from an SR300E or SR370E.

Winny_Pooh

Slartibartfarst42 said:

My investigations so far suggest it's between three guitars:

• Yamaha TBRX304
• Ibanez SR300E
• Ibanez SR370E

Do you have small hands? IMHO these are characterless basses, a Yamaha BB424 would have so much more vibe. 

JezWynd

Slartibartfarst42 said:

My investigations so far suggest it's between three guitars:

• Yamaha TBRX304
• Ibanez SR300E
• Ibanez SR370E

Seems like strange choices . You came asking for advice about which bass to get. Almost all suggestions have pointed to Fender P or J basses and you choose to go with Yamaha or Ibanez, even though "I've tried an Ibanez bass before and I wasn't that impressed".

crunchman

On a small budget I'd look at one of these:
https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/0310500506/electric-basses/squier-affinity-precision-bass-pj-bass-guitar-in-black

Precision pickup for the sound, and you have the option of adding in the Jazz bridge pickup to taste, but Jazz neck for the playability.

Unfortunately the higher end ones don't have the Jazz neck:
https://www.andertons.co.uk/p/0306800502/electric-basses/squier-vintage-modified-precision-bass-pj-in-lake-placid-blue

In the Mexican range the only way to get the PJ configuration with a Jazz neck is on the Jaguar - which is ugly.

Slartibartfarst42

I was originally looking at a Fender Jazz but decided I couldn't justify the cost. I then did look at the Squire PJ as that really looked ideal but I am hesitant for two reasons. The VM model is made of Agathis and my experience of that on guitars is that it's terrible. For that kind of money I could get the Yamaha BB424, which is also a PJ and almost certainly a better instrument. Conversely, the Affinity looks great on paper as it has the right woods, right pickups and it's dirt cheap as it's about half what the other guitars I'm looking at are costing. I confess the only thing that makes me think twice on this one is exactly because it's so cheap and when I tried a Squier Affinity Stratocaster a few years ago I was very unimpressed.

As for Ibanez, I agree that my past experience of them has now led me to discard the SR300 but as the SR370 is maple, that may be better. Both the Yamaha TRBX304 and BB424 still appeal a lot. As I can't try them myself given where I'm living, I've asked my son who plays bass to try them next week so I'll ask him to take a look at the Squier Affinity too.

crunchman

@Slartibartfarst42 the old Squier Standard Series PJ was a really good bass.  I've got a borrowed one at the moment.

I don't know how the new Affinity Series one stacks up, but it might be worth going and trying one.  My brother in law has an Affinity Series Tele that sounds really good, although it could do with some hardware upgrades.

Funkfingers

The natural finish, maple neck, black block inlays Squier VM Jazz Bass is made from "soft maple". This version has more "spank" to it compared to the Sixties-looking agathis version. 

I recently bought a NOS 2014 VM Precision Bass. (Also agathis.) It sounded pretty funky stock. With EMG-GZR pickups and controls and Gotoh 201B bridge, this bass records as well as any of my American or German instruments.

Squier Affinity instruments are unashamedly low budget. It is not difficult to deduce where corners have been cut. (Almost everywhere.) This does not prevent the occasional example being an absolute peach. 

Rocker

At the end of the day, there is little justification for limiting yourself to a bass, on price alone. Playability and sound must be your top priorities in choosing your instrument. My advice to the OP is to play a few Fender Mexican made instruments and to use those as his yardstick. Do not be blinded by the fact that some well known successful player uses such and such bass. Most of what you hear on CD or the radio is Fender bass. There is a reason for this - it works. You may pay more than you hoped, you might have to eat beans on toast for a few weeks but buy yourself the best bass you can.