Recommend a good beginner bass?

The short vs. long scale thing is interesting to me because it's counterintuitive. Short scales supposedly produce more low end so, imo, the difference is a little bit more of a question of sound than feel. Though I am an absolute pig of a low end junkie, I still prefer both the sound and feel of long scales.
 
Lots of great suggestions! Probably gonna head over to my local guitar store. Less than 5 minutes away but I only go there once a year. Go figure. I always tell myself I should go, but never do. I guess it’s time
 
thewintersoldier said:
Short scale anything is not for me. I had a short scale bass and never bonded with it. It felt wierd. Pbass for me. If Jamerson could do all he did with one bass I don't need nothing else.
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I found some good uses for a short scale bass. They produce less overtones and make it easier to modify the sound. As such, you can do cool things like changing the octave and adding gnarly amounts of distortion without it sounding weird. I tried doing this sort of thing with my 5-string Ibanez but didn't have as much luck. But with a short scale bass it was pretty much instant. :D
 
This is my 5-string baby. I tried another 5-string Ibanez but ended up taking it back because the string spacing was too narrow. This one has the same spacing as a standard 4-string bass. Not the cheapest bass...but you can probably find a similar model for around $700.

www.ibanez.com

BTB745 | BTB | ELECTRIC BASSES | PRODUCTS | Ibanez guitars

BTB745 at Ibanez. Ibanez offers electric guitars, bass guitars, acoustic guitars, effect and pedals, amps, plus guitar accessories like tuners, straps and picks.
www.ibanez.com www.ibanez.com
 
Throw a series/parallel switch on a jazz bass and you can get close enough to have the best of both worlds
 
peccary said:
Personally I prefer passive basses. I think that a precision or jazz would be able to cover most people's needs. The MM SUBs are nice (I have one) but you are then stuck with a very particular sound. Nothing wrong with it, it sounds great, it's just a very specific sound.

I prefer a P neck (9.5" radius) over a J neck (12" radius) but I'd say that the majority probably prefer a J.

Ibanez make some good lower model instruments but I always found their necks anemic, but you may dig that.
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Sorry to be the "uh...akshully" guy but all modern Fenders have a 9.5" fretboard radius. P basses have a 1 5/8" nut (vintage is 1 3/4) while all Jazz basses have a 1.5" nut. They all have the same 19mm string spacing at the the bridge.
I'm also a P bass guy. Jazz basses feel cramped.

I second the suggestion of getting a used bass. Squier Classic Vibe if you decide to go the Fender Shaped Object route.

I have two short scale basses but the real sound is in the 34" scale. More flexible too. Tons of strings to choose from and you can downtune to accommodate a singer without entering floppy town.

Sire is killing it with the Marcus Miller line. Arguably a much better value than Squiers and Mexican Fenders.
If you are in Europe, Thomann's house brand Harley Benton has a number of clones of famous basses (Fender, Rickenbacker, Music Man, Hofner). These are all made in China or Indonesia and very good value.

A little TLC is always necessary but nothing major. Any competent tech can get you up and running for little money. Emphasis on competent.
 
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Mentaltossflycoon said:
The short vs. long scale thing is interesting to me because it's counterintuitive. Short scales supposedly produce more low end so, imo, the difference is a little bit more of a question of sound than feel. Though I am an absolute pig of a low end junkie, I still prefer both the sound and feel of long scales.
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Yeah, it is weird. The guitar analogy is that strings are easier to bend on a Les Paul thank they are on a Tele, because of the lower tension. It’s counter intuitive though because it seems like the longer length of a fender would make bends easier.

I suppose if the fender was tuned down to the point where it had the same tension on the strings as a Les Paul that might be true.
 
andare said:
Sorry to be the "uh...akshully" guy but all modern Fenders have a 9.5" fretboard radius. P basses have a 1 5/8" nut (vintage is 1 3/4) while all Jazz basses have a 1.5" nut. They all have the same 19mm string spacing at the the bridge.
I'm also a P bass guy. Jazz basses feel cramped.

I second the suggestion of getting a used bass. Squier Classic Vibe if you decide to go the Fender Shaped Object route.

I have two short scale basses but the real sound is in the 34" scale. More flexible too. Tons of strings to choose from and you can downtune to accommodate a singer without entering floppy town.

Sire is killing it with the Marcus Miller line. Arguably a much better value than Squiers and Mexican Fenders.
If you are in Europe, Thomann's house brand Harley Benton has a number of clones of famous basses (Fender, Rickenbacker, Music Man, Hofner). These are all made in China or Indonesia and very good value.

A little TLC is always necessary but nothing major. Any competent tech can get you up and running for little money. Emphasis on competent.
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Don't apologize for being that guy I can take it 😂

Not sure where I got the radius idea in my head, now.
 
Matmosphere said:
Maybe you got the idea from the American Ultra Jazz that they make right now. It has a compound radius

American Ultra Jazz Bass® | Electric Basses

American Ultra Jazz Bass®, Maple Fingerboard, Texas Tea
www.fender.com www.fender.com
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Could be. Was it the case in the past that J's had a 12" radius? I may just be operating with outdated information as I've been out of the game for a while.

I'd like to think it had some bearing to reality and not that I hallucinated a 12" radius being the preference for lots of players. That doesn't seem to hold water though with everything being moved to 9.5" so I feel like a crazy person. I'm going to chalk this one up as me turning in to an old coot, I think 🤣
 
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