Seeking Inexpensive - Good Sounding Bass for Tracking


Damn you! I came here to suggest some decent low priced basses and saw your post and now I'm probably going to have to buy another bass! :rolleyes: I've always wanted a Spector bass.


I suggest looking at Rondo Music:
+ https://www.rondomusic.com/basspacks.html
+ https://www.rondomusic.com/bassguitars4.html
+ Check here for B Stocks https://www.rondomusic.com/camp.html

I like the Jackson JS2 bass for $249 new because it feels like a guitar. I also like Ibanez SR and Schecter Stiletto basses.

Make sure you get a bass with humbucker pickups or 2 single coil pickups that you can use at the same time to cancel hum like in a Jazz bass or else you may get a lot of noise. If you get active pickups, they're usually not too great in lower priced basses, so you may want to set the tone knobs at center and not boost anything because they may cause noise.
 
Ibanez SR are great, especially if you're mostly a guitarist. They have narrower necks than most basses so you'll feel more at home. Not the best if you're planning to do a lot of slapping etc, but it's manageable if you adjust a bit to the narrower spacing.
 
I have a Squier VM Jazz bass (great!), Fender P-bass (great!). Ibanez SR300 (great!) but of all the basses I take out for track recording I end up taking out the Ibanez ATK. I got one long time ago as it was both versatile (active electronics to tweak sounds on the spot using odd bass rigs) and was close enough to the MusicMan Stingrays (60% there sound-wise). Also a good slap machine. Saw they are not even produced any longer so you get a used one cheap.
 
In years gone by when I was a highly active musician, as a hired gun I'd get most of my work as a bassist.
I got a chance to play and I own quite a few basses myself.
I'd personally go with the spector. Ibanez and Schecter are hard to beat for features and value, so you can get a nice bass, at a low price point, but spector tone is hard to beat at that price point, and for slappin and poppin they really have a great sound.

I'd recommend an active with a tone pump, or 18v onboard preamp, and a good scale length...sure the short scale ones are easy for a guitar player to adopt, but the longer scale length makes it sound like a bass, and not just a guitar with 4 strings. Plus it's better for intonation issues
 
So much good info here. I've got a good feeling I couldn't go wrong with any of the suggestions here. I've got my eye on a couple and am in contact with some sellers checking some stuff so I should know soon what I'm going to do.

I really appreciate all the help.
 
Anything with good pickups/bartolini pickups preamp is a great value for the money

Ibanez MIJ 4 strings are pretty cheap and amazing
I like Conklin & Cort Basses- late 90s early 2000's made in Korea, good pickups/electronics

Even a hofner beatle bass- the $200 one sounds great on recordings

I'm not a bass player but I have at least 6 for recording
 
Great choice! Let us know what you think of it!

Generally most of us here use the SVT amp model with some 4x10 or 1x15 cabs or IRs...... I'd start there and see where it takes you
 
Look for an Austin bass — the older block-logo ones, ca. 2001-2010 (I have no experience with the newer script-logo stuff, so I can’t comment on those). There are always a few available, particularly the P-Bass copies. Prices for those run well below $200.

Austin is a bargain brand. Zero street cred. Sounds like you’d expect a P-Bass to sound. Dirt cheap. The necks on these are wonderful.
 
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I ordered this Squire from Sweetwater for $199 to mess around with and use for home recording. Sounds and plays great. I don’t use it much so couldn’t justify spending more than what I did.
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funny this popped up, i was looking at the SRC6 short scale 6 string. mainly for ambient nonsense as another voice to compliment my regular axes and my baritone, but also for tracking live bass parts. it's good to hear they're getting a lot of love. i'll probably snap one up used, if i can find one.
 
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