A LOT(heh) of questions from a total bass newbie.

[platinumweird91]

hey guys!
to intro myself a bit, i've been watching this forum for a VERY LONG time but only now had i decided on which instrument i wanna play. and its BASS.

so straight to the point,
there are still questions that I haven't really cleared.

Precision or Jazz bass?
I would like to play songs from Muse, Kill Hannah, Circa Survive, Lifehouse, Arctic Monkeys and Anberlin to say the least. So what do you guys suggest I go for?

Bass + Amplifier costing below 300 bucks but can last me pretty long?
I've seen people talking about starter packages like SX and Craftsman. But the thing is, my friend told me the amplifier for SX won't last me long. In the case of Craftsman, my friend told me that the Line 6 amplifier included is very good.

But after seeing some threads, I'm kinda interested in modding my bass to get better sounds. (Like I saw in some threads that SX basses can actually be modded to be comparable to Fenders i think. i might be wrong haha.) Is there anywhere I can get the SX bass on its own only?

I've heard about Orange amplifiers which gets a lot of thumbs up too. How much does this amp cost? I don't mind other recommendations as long as its within my budget. And also I really don't mind the bass or amplifer to be second hand.

Pedals?
What pedal would be the most important for me to have? As for when I just get my bass of course. Compression pedal?

Ok shoot I kinda forgot the questions I wanted to ask. So if you guys can bear with me I'll keep adding questions when I remember? Sorry about the wordspam too.

advice me with your most honestest opinion.
i really need guidance.
EDIT!: those who wanna advertise your second hand items can actually pm or reply me too!

THANKS GUYS!

 

[MHD]

although i play guitar, i must say,
the SX amp wont last you long. sooner or later, you got to have a better amp.
when i just started out guitar, i use a SX amp. and a few months later, i think that the amp is not good enough. so, i bought a Roland Cube 30X. but i say, go for the Line 6. its a good brand. sound is good. its way better than the SX. as you said that you want to get a SX bass on its own, try searching on Soft's Buy/Sell. i saw some people selling the sx bass before.

 

[platinumweird91]

although i play guitar, i must say,
the sx amp wont last you long. Sooner or later, you got to have a better amp.
When i just started out guitar, i use a sx amp. And a few months later, i think that the amp is not good enough. So, i bought a roland cube 30x. But i say, go for the line 6. Its a good brand. Sound is good. Its way better than the sx. As you said that you want to get a sx bass on its own, try searching on soft's buy/sell. I saw some people selling the sx bass before.

thanks for the heads up!!! :d

 

[jbarks]

P v. J
Either works. Circa Survive uses a Stingray, Anberlin uses a Jazz if I remember correctly; Arctic Monkeys uses a Precision. Try both and see which you like better.

Amp
Try to find a used Peavey Microbass. They are pretty cheap and very good for their size.

Bass
SX works well, even unmodded. Remember to get it set up properly. I have no experience with Craftsman.

Pedals
Get a tuner pedal. Pedals aren't necessary for bass, depending on the type of music you play, but they're nice to have. If you're new to bass, I wouldn't recommend a compressor as a first pedal... maybe an overdrive, EQ or envelope. Or get a Sansamp. Their Bass Driver DI is great to start out with.

 

[platinumweird91]

thanks for your opinion. i forgot to put in my post that i want to be able to learn all the techniques on my first bass. for example slapping and sorts.

P v. J
Either works. Circa Survive uses a Stingray, Anberlin uses a Jazz if I remember correctly, Arctic Monkeys use a Precision. Try both and see which you like better.

Amp
Try to find a used Peavey Microbass. They are pretty cheap and very good for their size.

Bass
SX works well, even unmodded. Remember to get it set up properly. I have no experience with Craftsman.

Pedals
Get a tuner pedal. Pedals aren't necessary for bass, depending on the type of music you play, but they're nice to have. If you're new to bass, I wouldn't recommend a compressor as a first pedal... maybe an overdrive, EQ or envelope. Or get a Sansamp. Their Bass Driver DI is great to start out with.

 

[alanchia]

or buy a bass with both p and j pickup.

slap n pop? i've been playing bass for >10yrs and i hardly slap/pop. lol.

 

[b33r]

for the whole precision vs. jazz bass thing, go on youtube and look for sound clips of both, and see which one you like. then, go try both, and see which one FEELS best. precision basses tend to have chunkier necks, whereas jazz basses have slimmer ones. it's up to you. actually, the above applies for any bass. you have to actually play one for yourself, then you'll know which bass is for you.

as for brand, i'd go for a Craftsman over an SX. i used to have a Craftsman jazz bass, it was pretty good. a bonus is that Craftsman basses have 21 frets. also, they are generally better built than SXes, from what i've seen.

Orange bass amps aren't bad, i have an Orange Crush 20B. can't remember how much it cost first hand. maybe $200? anyway for practice in your room, a small 20W one should do. brands like Peavy, Hartke, and alot more are good too.

like jbarker said, get a tuner if you don't already have one. if you want a pedal tuner, get a Korg Pitchblack. as for pedals, none are absolutely necessary for bass. start off with the minimal basic first, then see if there's anything about the tone that you find lacking. if you do, maybe an EQ pedal would be useful. go check out the Boss GEB-7. but of course, if you're looking to play effects-heavy music like Muse, then you're gonna need effects like a Fuzz.

you can learn any technique on any bass, just make sure you get it set-up properly first. if you want to go into slap&pop, then maybe the traditional slap tone of a jazz bass might be for you.

 

[Morlock]

I'm planning on getting these myself...

SX fretless jazz bass (so far reviews for sx basses are great ) + hartke A25 or A35 (only 130+SGD but one of the best amps I have heard so far) + Boss lmb3 + boss chorus + boss overdrive

I will replace pickups with SDs and put a J-retro preamp... if you get a fretted one, you might need to re-dress the frets as well. can get a luthier to help with that. but all in all still cheaper than a fender.

I prefer Jazz bass over p bass. I feel that it is more versitile. I hate the sound of p+j's hehehe.

 

[platinumweird91]

wow thanks for your opinions guys! really appreciate them! i'm actually looking out for people selling SX basses. lol

 

[platinumweird91]

hey guys! i'm pretty curious about something. is Fender Rumble 15 a good amp to begin with?

 

[ashchong]

Precision or Jazz bass?
Muse uses Jazz mostly Arctic Monkeys uses a pbass. I would say a jazz style is more versatile but p brings the funk man lol

Bass + Amplifier costing below 300 bucks but can last me pretty long?
It can last u pretty long but yea Craftsman is packaged with a Line6 so take note. SX basses are good for price to performance ratio so its still ur pick

SX basses can be ordered thru rondo or davis guitars Rondo is an internet shop

Orange Amps cost about 200+ for the 20w i believe.. i might be wrong. its a yamaha go check it out Thomson or PS both has em i believe

Pedals?
I love ODs but its your pick. MUSE uses fuzz alot and arctic has ODs in some lines
You can probably get really cheap ones for good prices like boss obd or even beta aivins but i have never tried one

 

[shinobi]

chris wolstenholme didn't always use jazz basses, he only started using them on the black holes and revelations album.

if you are talking about FENDER basses then jazz basses normally have slimmer necks than p basses. this may be a bigger concern than the tone since you don't really have a preference over tone. if its not a fender then don't read too much into the whole jazz/precision/jaguar/mustang nonsense, you are just buying into the ghosts of fender users. otherwise every bass is unique in its own respect.

if you are not picky over the tone, don't bother picking a certain kind of bass just because the bassist of some band uses it. at the entry level it doesnt make much of a difference. furthermore the tone of the bassists from many bands is usually more a result of the standard no-brainer ampeg SVT rig that they use rather than the kind of bass they use.

also, the kind of gear a certain bassist uses may not necessarily be the best tool for the job. their choice may be due to other factors, such as endorsement or whatever. some jackasses are even endorsed by squier. very pro. for example, arguably the best fuzz for recreating chris wolstenholme's fuzz tone is the zvex woolly mammoth. but does chris use it? no. he uses some rare or discontinued pedals but we can easily get close results using alternatives.

for practice amps you can go for a peavey microbass. i would advise against hartkes below the a35, the tone is paper thin, otherwise it's a good choice and citymusic's prices can rarely be beaten. i hate laneys. i dunno much about orange amps but they just seem gay. where bass is concerned, you are not gonna be able to get good low end from less powerful amps or smaller speakers. that's just the laws of physics.

what pedals do you need? you do not need any pedal. not even a compressor. compression is usually such a subtle effect that you will know when you need it. if you don't need it you wont miss it. that can be said about all fx. maybe u can get a korg pitchblack and it can last you forever, extremely basic and practical.

keep practicing. eventually you will come back to us and ask "how do i get chris wolstenholme/tim commerford/justin chancellor's tone" then we can advise you further. eventually you will have an idea of your own chris wolsteford chancellor tone and you will go through tons of effects on your own to achieve it. it's a slippery slope so i don't think you need to be pushed.

 

[platinumweird91]

wow i'm so honoured by the amount of replies that i had been getting. its really an interesting read. thanks guys for putting so much effort in explaining to me.

on the side note, how much can i get a peavey microbass for?

 

[alanchia]

someone was selling peavey microbass 20W 2nd hand for S$150.

 

[platinumweird91]

someone was selling peavey microbass 20W 2nd hand for S$150.

where?? thanks for the heads up! is it at the buy sell area?

 

[alanchia]

yes. in fact latest one is S$120.

http://soft.com.sg/forum/bass-buy-sell/164001-wts-peavey-micro-bass-20w.html