Guitarist Looking for Bass

[ThePIGI King]

So I'm finally looking to get serious about recording music I wrote in high school, a decade + later! But I no longer have a bass. I had a B205 but hated it due to the glossy neck.

I'm looking for recommendations for a 5 or 6 string bass around the $500 mark (used) that I can use to write the bass parts and then record everything. The signal will be the bass into my helix.

I know very little about bass tone, so that's going to be a fun side project of mine - I have no preference on passive or actives, or any of the specs except for: 5 strings (or 6 if it's a good price), and no glossy neck. It doesn't have to be a looker either.

The low B will be as low as it is tuned. I don't think I would mind the 34" scale, but again, I don't know.

There isn't really any good places I can try stuff either. We have a guitar center, but it's enough of a drive that I can only make it on Saturdays, and thats if I'm not busy. If yall need more info, lemme know what you need to know!

 

[Crungy]

34" scale would be minimum for lower than B, I'd lean towards something that's 35" scale like a used Ibanez BTB for example.

Have you played any basses? Are there any you like, kind of like or dislike?

 

[TedEH]

Realistically, that's open-ended enough that it's hard not to recommend just eating the time and going to the guitar center. Any basic P or J bass will probably do the trick. I've owned a handful of basses, and landed on preferring the single-coil passive j-bass kind of sound.

If you're going to go for a simple clean sound, I expect you'll get J / P recommendations. If you're going to do the more gritty/dirty "I'm a metal bassist" sound, I'd expect the recommendations to lean more towards Ibanez, since they're designed a little more for speed and their pickups IMO tend to be more geared towards driving some dirt. (Aaaaand Ninja'd as I'm typing this, with a BTB recommendation )

IMO I would avoid 6+ strings unless you know you'll use them. I have a 6er and I like it, used it for a long time, but it's heavy and cumbersome and costs a lot in strings for the sake of extra range that I almost never use.

 

[Crungy]

IMO I would avoid 6+ strings unless you know you'll use them. I have a 6er and I like it, used it for a long time, but it's heavy and cumbersome and costs a lot in strings for the sake of extra range that I almost never use.

I'd second that. I've had one 6 string bass in the last 27 years of bass playing. Nothing against them but I've never had a need for it... generally 4's and 5's will cover the majority of what you need. I'd start with a 4 or 5 and then find a 6 later if you're still curious.

Another question for the OP to kind piggyback on @TedEH's post: any certain types of tones or artist's tones you're shooting for?

 

[ThePIGI King]

As far as tones go, bands like Archspire, Revocation, and Obscura have good bass tones - so metal bands with some dirt.

 

[Crungy]

As far as tones go, bands like Archspire, Revocation, and Obscura have good bass tones - so metal bands with some dirt.

I have no hands on with the Helix, does that have a Darkglass type pedal in it?

 

[ThePIGI King]

I have no hands on with the Helix, does that have a Darkglass type pedal in it?

Yes, something based on the Microtubes B7K.

 

[Crungy]

Okay nice, that will make it easier to get those types of tones. Don't be afraid to put overdrives or other distortions before or after it... I have four DG pedals that I use in varying combinations with additional drive pedals and compression. They generally stack really well with other things!

 

[wheresthefbomb]

consider cruising pawn shops. I have a classy mustard yellow Austin J bass I paid $100 for that sounds shockingly good for the price. might not satisfy a real bassist, but as a guitar player who just wanted a bass-shaped object around, it more than does the job. I have it set up in C with a set of NYXLs (cost half as much as the bass lol) but I don't see why it wouldn't handle a semitone lower just as well.

 

[nightsprinter]

Used Sire M5. Has every tone you can think of with the active/passive switch and parallel/single coil/series switch for the humbuckers. And 35" scale. Has literally everything you need unless you're dead set on multiscale 37"-whatever inch like a Dingwall or upper tier BTB which you likely won't find on your desired price figure.

 

[Crungy]

I didn't know Sire did 35" scale! I've always heard they make great stuff with very flexible electronics.

 

[nightsprinter]

I didn't know Sire did 35" scale! I've always heard they make great stuff with very flexible electronics.

Yeah not all their fivers are 35", but the M series is. I went through a pretty serious case of bass gas and tried almost everything. I have 2 sires and they're my main players despite having basses that cost a lot more. If you can find a used MTD Kingston Super 5 for a good price, that's another excellent 35" candidate but Sire M5/M7 is probably the best bang for the buck.

 

[Crungy]

I forgot about MTD too, their imports were great. I played some of them ages ago and was going to buy a US made one but stuck with Warwick.

I'll also second Dingwall basses despite them wing out of the op's budget. If you can save up or finance one and get along with the multiscale, they are amazing basses.

 

[ThePIGI King]

I checked into the bases you've all mentioned, and the Sires look a touch out of range...I'll keep an eye out for a really good deal on one!

And I love multiscale, but Dingwall is 4x the budget lol

It looks like the Ibanez SR505e is the route right now? I was reading the 405 and below has a much worse bridge and pickups. I do love my Ibanez guitars, too.

Thanks for the tips guys!

 

[dhgrind]

get an ibanez btb - just search reverb/guitar center/ music go round/ Sam ash/ sweet water used etc.

You’ll find models around 400-500

I bought a btb multiscale and I absolutely love it so much that I wanna buy the btb1835

 

[nightsprinter]

You could also snag a used Peavey Grind 5 for a pittance. Hard to go wrong with Peavey basses of any flavor.

 

[dax21]

Older american-made Peaveys are extremely underrated instruments that can be had for cheap. They will jump in price very soon however because Peavey is reviving them at obscenely high prices right now.

I've recommended BTBs myself here before but guitar players should really try them out first instead of ordering blind. Going from a 34" bass to a 35" BTB with wide string spacing feels noticably diferent, it's not uncomfortable but it is a bit of a stretch in every way. I can only imagine what it feels like to go from playing guitar to grabbing one. Also know that BTBs have a very annoying sharp cutout on the upper body edge where your wrist touches the bass. Playing with a wristband is a must unless you are comfortable sanding it down.

+1 for MTDs, they are uncommon in metal circles but you can check out the dude from Soen on youtube, he plays them and they sound pretty great.

 

[dhgrind]

I don’t think the upper edge on the btb is nearly as painful as playing a BC Rich Mk1 ironbird but to each their own.

 

[TedEH]

I've recommended BTBs myself here before but guitar players should really try them out first instead of ordering blind.

I don't have a ton of experience with Ibanez basses, but I've always shied away from recommending them first because to me they've always felt like basses made for guitarists who want to play their bass like it's a guitar.

 

[dax21]

I don’t think the upper edge on the btb is nearly as painful as playing a BC Rich Mk1 ironbird but to each their own.

I have a reasonably heavy right hand and a few times I forgot the armband at band practice I ended up with bruises on my wrist from rubbing against the edge. If you check out the BTB megathread on talkbass, lots of players who play with more traditional delicate touch and fingerstyle also agree that the edge of the body is quite a hindrance and that it gets in the way.
Obviously we are not all the same but enough people agree that it warrants giving a heads-up. I wear armbands regardless of which bass I use so to me it's not a problem, but for some it may be. It's also not something you are going to pick up on after 10 minutes of testing at a guitar center, but after half an hour I can definitely feel the discomfort.

On the pros side of things, that same flat body profile makes it very comfy to play sitting down because it doesn't slip and slide away from you like more rounded bodies (SRs, Warwicks, what have you). Also worth noting that due to wide string spacing some BTBs have two truss rods. Since some people are uncomfortable adjusting truss rods themselves.

I don't have a ton of experience with Ibanez basses, but I've always shied away from recommending them first because to me they've always felt like basses made for guitarists who want to play their bass like it's a guitar.

That's how I feel about the soundgear series. Fast, narrow necks with tight spacing and small light bodies. When Ibanez introduced the BTB series (short for boutique bass) they intended to use more fancy exotic woods and have a go at making a bass player's bass if you will.