[Closed] Bass guitar recommendations

Learn a bass line on your guitar, the first four strings are the same tuning as a four-string bass. If your left hand is relatively static within a chord and you use all your fingers you'll probably find a short scale easier (I do). If you play using mainly index and ring fingers and moving your hand around to reach notes you'll be equally happy on long or short scale.

Junior plays long scale, I play short scale. He has no trouble playing mine, I struggle on his.

Long scale bass, unless you have a really really small hand span.

I have quite small hands and have been playing long scale bass for over 40 years: it is definitely the way to go for both sound quality and for range of instruments available.

There’s a lot more you’ll want to do on the bass than holding your hand in a series of static chord positions.

Just for the record, in case this ever becomes a reference thread.

I gave up full scale for a shortscale and I'd consider myself to have quite big hands albeit a bit 'claw-ey' due to previous breaks.....the reason for me being a dodgy shoulder. I didn't realise how much I was actually struggling with shoulder pain to stretch to the low frets which it also seems was affecting my hand shape, had a fiddle about on a short scale at the LGS and it was like a light going on (or a light marked 'pain' going off)  I wouldn't have thought 4" would make a difference but then again if cleat angle can cure knee pain like that, why not.

I’d go long scale - in fact I have two, a PB copy and a Thunderbird inspired bass by Harley Benton, the in house brand for www.thomann.de. They’re really good value. By god it’s long. Makes my pb copy look like a strat

Short scale is a bit easier (i play guitar too) and you can always sell and get a longer one in a few years.

I found my bandmates long scale bass quite off putting due to its size. If he borrows my short scale bass he actually prefers it (he's a very good player). If its a barrier to you enjoying it, get the easier one.

My left hand is a bit messed up. I really don't like fenders, it's something to do with the profile of the neck. I'm a big fan of Warwick and ibanez.

I started with a budget Yamaha that came with a small amp. It was good enough. Moved onto a 3/4 size ibanez because it was cheap, but I missed the range. After that a fretless 6 string Tanglewood (daft!, Too much to think about for me to play well).

Right now I have a four string Warwick streamer and a five string Warwick corvette. Slim necks, great tone and solid build. The rockbass streamer is good value and it is really versatile. I'll play Warwicks for life, really happy with them.

I've also got an electro-acoustic ibanez. The electrics are awful but it plays nicely unplugged.

In an ideal world, try a few 🙂

. I really don’t like fenders, it’s something to do with the profile of the neck.

There is no one Fender neck shape. The P is quite fat and the Jazz skinny, different years had different shapes, there will probably be one to suit if you check out the whole range including the Squiers. If there isn't order a Warmoth custom neck for the Fender of your choice. I play a Squier Jaguar short scale which has narrow C neck, 10mm string spacing at the nut.

As for the tone of short scales the best bass I've ever heard live is Jim Lea of Slade's short Scale EB 3. No doubt more to do with his stacks than the instrument but a short scale can sound great. Jack Bruce played an EB 3 too. A local touring bassist who'd always played a P (because that's what punk bassists play, right!) tried my Jaguar and
bought a short scale Mustang which is now his main stage instrument.

Edit: Junior's bass is a Squier vintage modified Jazz. He likes the thin neck but also likes using heavy strings that give the narrow neck a hard time - heavy strings for the numbers in drop tuning. The neck has suffered with the skunk stripe popping out in protest. It's a dog of an instument but he loves it and makes it sound huge. I struggle to hold the strings down for long enough to get through a four-minute song.

i never even considered a short scale when i started so god knows. it might be difficult for you to make an informed decision at this stage too. on that basis id default to long scale and revisit it once you've put some time into it?

in terms of what to buy - depends on your application to an extent. again, might be difficult to make an informed decision based on where you are now. so perhaps something cheap to begin with, see how much you use it? i think that Yamaha's budget basses are regarded as a good starting point. look for some online reviews. might be worth a look on your local gumtree too.

whatever you get, take it to a tech for a setup if you can.

my personal preference is Ibanez Soundgear series basses, but not cheap ones. they are crap. i've a SR650 and an SR1400. they're really versatile guitars, lightweight, comfortable to play and well specced for the money.

For a beginner I’d go Ibanez SR series. Massive amounts of bass for the money, regardless of how much you spend.

Take a look here: ANDERTONS

I’ve got a few used basses in stock at the moment. What’s your budget?

JP

I find short scale better for stuff where I am moving around the neck a lot in a fast paced bass line and it is also more comfortable for my left arm but I have played only fretless for quite a few years now and finding short scale fretless basses is not easy.

Pity you couldn't try first but given a choice I would go for short scale due to comfort.

I’d personally go long scale. That’s what 90%+ of people use. Short scale might be a bit easier if you have tiny hands, however there are plenty of virtuoso small children on YouTube you play miles better than me and most of then handle a long scale just fine.

It is not about hand size, it is about comfort. Holding arm out an extra 4 inches makes quite a difference and because of that I find it more comfortable to play a guitar than a bass.

However, if you are comfortable on a 34" then yes that makes more sense to buy as they are more readily available, have much better range of options etc,.

I'm a complete beginner and love my Ibanez, long scale but quite a slim neck so easier to play.

I came to bass guitar via double bass and accidentally bought a short scale when I started.

All the rest of my basses have been longscale. I only found out my first bass was a short scale after about 10 years of having it when I googled it.

I had a g and l tribute bass for ages. That was always a bit less comfortable to play after a two hours set. Same scale as the rest of my basses but it was a longer reach.

I’d buy a cheap second hand bass you like the look of and see how you go.

See if you can tell which of these was a long scale g and l tribute with active humbuckers and which was a ‘78 short scale fender music master with a pick up from a Stratocaster 😀

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=j2WpreztApM

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=zi_eFEb8kYM

Depends on your budget, but I love the look and price of the Squier Classic Vibe range:

https://www.pmtonline.co.uk/products/bass/bassguitars?manufacturer=8&dir=asc&order=price

They do some starter packs too if you need other bits.

THe bass on the second vid is a lot cleaner and warmer so I think it's the strat pickup, tall-martin. The first vid sounds like there's more gain on the amp and maybe a pedal in there too.

I could be wrong though, junior uses his cleanest pickups for his dirtiest sounds prefereing a clean signal from the instrument that he dirties up using pedals and amp gain.

You sound a bit like the Wombats (that's a compliment)

Thanks! Complement accepted😀

I played my distortion pedal for about 30 seconds in the studio before deciding it sounded terrible and just playing straight in to the board while giving the producer free reign to make it sound awesome 😎

The first one is the musicmaster, second is the G&L😀

are there any decent youtube bass instructors, something like andyguitar or justinguitar ?

https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/online-learn-to-play-bass-options/

Right I just ordered a bass, what else do I need?

A practise amp is the obvious thing, any other kit that is essential or just bloody useful to have?

And on the practise amp front, I was looking at the orange crush 25 or 50, and I guess this will apply to other equivalents. When practising especially as a beginner, will a 50 watt amp sound better than a 25, even played at the same low volume in the front room of my apartment.

Not much to add to the discussion but if you have not seen the BBC4 On bass Tina Weymouth bit from Guitar Drum and Bass it is worth a look if you can find it.
It is a fascinating program and she explains the difference between instruments and playing methods and other bass players add various anecdotes.

When practising especially as a beginner, will a 50 watt amp sound better than a 25, even played at the same low volume in the front room of my apartment.

If you have to play at really low volumes I would use head phones as you can have it loud enough then. You could then just use something like a TC SpectraDrive instead of an amp. Takes a line in so you can play to drum tracks and music on your phone.

BBC4 On bass Tina Weymouth

That is well worth watching. And as a bass player the drum one with Stewart Copeland is fascinating too.

frankly - all three of those in the series are worth seeking out. Fascinating for me on the guitar one was that while guitars and pick-ups clearly influence sounds, a lot of the sounds we recognise on classic guitar riffs are heavily effects pedals as well as the hardware itself.

Having not played in 25 years, I’ve just bought a short-scale Ibanez to get back into it.

As for an amp, I managed to try a few before lockdown. The Orange Crush 25 was nice, but settled on an Ampeg BA108.
It has a lovely sound (plus headphone jack) and a separate aux volume level, which is dead handy for playing along to stuff from another source.

Additionally, I have a Blackstar AmPlug for quiet headphone practice:

https://www.blackstaramps.com/uk/ranges/amplug2-fly

Good luck with playing!