| Author | Message | ||
| glocke
Senior Member Username: glocke Post Number: 985 Registered: 9-2002 |
Sort of getting out of the high end bass thing...As of now I plan on keeping my SCSD for awhile longer, but am in the market for something less expensive. I am thinking my budget is probably going to be maxed out at around $1200.00... | ||
| keith_h
Senior Member Username: keith_h Post Number: 1962 Registered: 2-2005 |
With a budget of $1200 I wouldn't call it a beater bass.  Having said that have you considered Carvin basses? They get good reviews from folks I know who play them. Keith | ||
| eligilam
Senior Member Username: eligilam Post Number: 418 Registered: 2-2006 |
Stingray: Made in USA. Easily adjustable. Active pickup. Distinctive sound that cuts through. | ||
| jcdlc72
Advanced Member Username: jcdlc72 Post Number: 309 Registered: 11-2009 |
IMHO, for that budget you could probably find a used Epic, and remain Alembic | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 701 Registered: 9-2004 |
I second the Stingray! Also, Fender Deluxe P Bass (active elec), Small body Ibanez Musician (80's, active electronics, way under-rated and cheap). | ||
| glocke
Senior Member Username: glocke Post Number: 990 Registered: 9-2002 |
Yeah, Ive thought about Carvin..almost had one ordered some years ago, but could not decide on the pickup configuration. | ||
| tncaveman
Advanced Member Username: tncaveman Post Number: 222 Registered: 2-2011 |
Third on the Stingray. I also like Jazzes, Rick 4003's, and Carvin. If I was to spend $1200 on a new bass, I'd see what I could do with a Warmoth custom build. Stephen | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1663 Registered: 10-2006 |
Went to my local shop to hang yesterday & a Fender rep was there showing off their new toys. The new Dimension bass looks interesting; pretty much (and he pimped it this way) a Fender with Stingray guts (all cool, qouth he, as both were Leo's spawn). MIA version lists right around your budget, MIM is several hundred less. The new Vaporizer amp is kinda a'ight, too. Peter | ||
| sonicus
Senior Member Username: sonicus Post Number: 3214 Registered: 5-2009 |
I agree with " jcdlc72" in his post 309 above. For $1200 a used Epic is possible . Various Alembic models with neck through construction even sell for about $1500 used on occasion . I am speaking legitimate sales from legitimate owners. Watch Craigslist and eBay and the such and one is sure to wave at you and yell " Here I am !" ___ Good luck on your pursuit ___ | ||
| bonesrad
Intermediate Member Username: bonesrad Post Number: 107 Registered: 5-2002 |
I think I would go for a nice jazz bass (either Fender MIA or import clone). The Lakland Skyline 44-60 is a solid bass. Bones | ||
| rami
Senior Member Username: rami Post Number: 1038 Registered: 6-2002 |
I have several Carvins as well. They really are great basses. You can get one with stainless steel frets and abuse the hell out of it and it will never wear out. For pickups, I like their stacked J-style humbucker. Recently, I got my hands on a 2011 60th Anniversary Fender P-Bass. Great vintage styling, beautiful blonde finish with the Ash wood grain showing through. I love it. The wider neck really gives your fingers a stretching and workout. You'll really get in shape to do justice to that beautiful Alembic. | ||
| coop
New Username: coop Post Number: 10 Registered: 1-2014 |
Another option is a Warwick Thumb (used) or a Corvette $$. I've played Thumbs for years and love them. Very similar string adjustments as an Alembic (adjustable bridge and nut) and they sound great. They are also well constructed and have a very "custom" feel to them as long as you stay away from the "RockBass" models - stick with German engineering. In fact, my "beater" bass is a Thumb with a Moses fretless neck on it. Makes a good backup and a decent jam session bass when I don't want to take out my SCSD. BTW, I've got a Corvette $$ I'm getting rid of. 32" scale, great shape. Message me if interested. Can't go wrong with a MusicMan, but I'd go for a Sterling (the Sterling model MM, not the "Sterling made by MusicMan"). I had a Sterling fretless and it was a great bass. | ||
| stout71
Intermediate Member Username: stout71 Post Number: 198 Registered: 7-2011 |
+1 on the Warwick Thumb, but I'm not sure I'd classify it as a "beater." Mine has been my go-to bass since I bought it new. It's second in line now that I have the MK5, but it's still a sweet sounding axe. | ||
| 5a_quilt_top
Advanced Member Username: 5a_quilt_top Post Number: 258 Registered: 6-2012 |
+1 on Music Men (4 & 5). Also, a bit of sleeper is this:  It's a Fender Jaguar. If you get one, you'll want to have a tech repair the noise issues with the electronics (known defect - easy fix) and probably replace the stock stamped metal bridge with the Fender milled brass replacement bridge. I had both done and my tech liked it so much he wanted to buy it from me! Orignal cost $595 new w/gig bag, bridge $75, install $30 = $700. YMMV. | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2116 Registered: 9-2002 |
Another alternative for MM's are the Sterling line basses. One of the familiar off-shore build recipes: Made-in-CA hardware, woodwork and assembly in the Far East, and set-up and shipped from CA. http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/ Myself, I love Squiers: Cheaper and faster than Warmoth or the like, cheap enough to add real electronics and hardware. There's a couple of Squier fives on the radar at the minute . . . . http://www.fender.com/squier/basses/precision-bass/vintage-modified-precision-bass-v-maple-fingerboard-3-color-sunburst/ . . . . may very well be a Nordstrand five-string PJ set headed for this and a Babicz bridge. I know the feeling. Some days, these axes are just too fancy for me (or maybe they just don't belong under my rusty fingers . . .). It's like going fast in a Ferrari or a Boss Mustang: Some days are just a cheesburger and a Coke instead of antipasti and a glass of vino . . . . J o e y | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 706 Registered: 9-2004 |
I also love the Yamaha TRB neck-throughs like the TRB 4p, 5p, and 6p and of course the TRB-JP is a real favorite. These basses are fairly rare, though no one has caught on to that yet, so the price is reasonable. The TRB-4p 4 string is very rare (the bass player for Earth Wind & Fire uses one a lot, but does not talk about it), the 5Ps I have tried or owned did not sound as good as the 4 or the 6 but looked and played super. The TRB 6p is killer but has the wide neck like the TRB-JP. The TRB-JP is a bolt on neck and is really in a class by itself. The high end Yamaha BB neck throughs are great, too. The Yamaha BX-1 (looks like a vintage Steinberger sp?) is also a cool bass, especially if you upgrade the pickups to an active setup, but they all have a crack around the output jack (some worse than others). | ||
| tbrannon
Senior Member Username: tbrannon Post Number: 1616 Registered: 11-2004 |
I'd recommend a G&L. I had an L-2000 that I picked up for under $500 that was one of the best basses I've ever owned. You can find them used for absolutely ridiculous steals and what you're getting is what Leo thought was best after Fender and Musicman. | ||
| peoplechipper
Advanced Member Username: peoplechipper Post Number: 395 Registered: 2-2009 |
I recently picked up a Yamaha reissue SBV bass...very solid and far more even tone across the strings than most Fenders due to it's SERIOUS neck pocket and bolting...they didn't fly so they'll probably become collectors items in the future(sometimes people are stupid...I have three of the guitars from the era and they're better than the Fender strats of that era in some respects; hugely above anything else coming from Japan at the time, but few know...Tony | ||
| rami
Senior Member Username: rami Post Number: 1039 Registered: 6-2002 |
All great Basses. It painful to hear any of them referred to as "Beater Bass" - even next to an Alembic. | ||
| alembic76407
Senior Member Username: alembic76407 Post Number: 745 Registered: 5-2002 |
Here are my 2 beaters, a Hofner Icon-b for under $500 and it weights 4lb and play's great and A Squire Jazz bass for under $200, I love the this bass play's and sounds great  | ||
| alembic76407
Senior Member Username: alembic76407 Post Number: 746 Registered: 5-2002 |
sorry, here's the Squier Jazz  | ||
| peoplechipper
Advanced Member Username: peoplechipper Post Number: 396 Registered: 2-2009 |
I didn't mention that the old Yamaha electrics I had were the original '60's ones...they used t-nuts for neck bolts and pickup height, and had shielding paint long before Fender did; they got lumped in with the rest of the Japanese guitars of the time, but were clearly superior...Tony | ||
| bigredbass
Senior Member Username: bigredbass Post Number: 2120 Registered: 9-2002 |
I think there is a small corner of the vintage market for guys like peoplechipper and me who dig the hell out of the 70's and 80's Japanese vintage pieces. The problem: Unlike Fender or Gibson, who never abandoned Pauls and Strats while seeing what else might stick to the wall(Corvus or Starcaster anyone?), Yamaha, Ibanez, Aria, et al, would often come up with real gems, and after a run, they'd replace everything, over and over (compare current BB's and TRB's vs. their 80's or 90's forebears), and rarely gave anything time to truly build a following with anyone save hardheads like me. That their labor rates and the resulting shift in production sites (and products) into the 90's and beyond only worsened this. Amazing these days that most 'Japanese' guitars are rarely if ever crafted in Japan for export. Cruise thru the Japanese Alembic dealer Ikebe Gakki's website, and you'll see lots of eye-watering guitars you'll . . . never . . . see . . . on this side of the Pacific. J o e y | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 707 Registered: 9-2004 |
I have to agree with Joey, the Japanese at times made some pretty cool stuff back then. There was an amazing variety of stuff they made as well, some of it never being exported. They were also able to more freely copy other makers instruments at times, too, like this Frontier 12 string guitar (you know who got copied). It sounds as good as any 12-string electric I have ever played and is solid as a tank but not particularly big. Note the small headstock. Ibanez made some fine jazz boxes in the 70’s, culminating with the George Benson GB-10 model. The lawsuit era was a prolific one. Old catalogs from back then show tons of cool rare stuff.    [edited for picture alignment] (Message edited by adriaan on February 26, 2014) | ||
| lbpesq
Senior Member Username: lbpesq Post Number: 5665 Registered: 7-2004 |
Very cool, David. Never saw one of those before. I also appreciate the 70's-80's Japanese instruments. I have several Daions (my all time favorite production line guitar - Yamaki factory), an Aria Pro II RS 850 (Matsumoku), an El Maya, an original Washburn Falcon, a couple of Fernandes Masterhands (think Alembic neck-thru Strat), and an Ibanez 2680 Bob Weir model. Never heard of Frontier until now. And, should you ever want to sell it .... Bill, tgo | ||
| alembic76407
Senior Member Username: alembic76407 Post Number: 748 Registered: 5-2002 |
I just picked up a Daphne Blue Fender Precision  | ||
| poor_nigel
Advanced Member Username: poor_nigel Post Number: 258 Registered: 11-2009 |
Best beater bass I have owned over the decades was/is an American-made Fender Deluxe Precision. I am not a Fender fan, but do love the old burst Precision and Jazz basses for their look. I bought mine a few years back off eBay for around $850, case and bass near mint condition. Active/stacked pot for bass/mid-range (I think) and plays harmonics at an unreal volume level. Good over-all sound and if something happens to it, who cares. Parts are common, and more importantly, the parts are decent enough not to need replacing as they are too crappy, like the old pressed parts on the older ones. A really good dollar for results equation from that bass. | ||
| gtrguy
Senior Member Username: gtrguy Post Number: 716 Registered: 9-2004 |
I have to agree. I have been gigging the past 2 years with a Precision Deluxe and it has great versatlie tone. it was not too much money, either, used. I have recorded with it and it sounds great too. My only problem is that the neck is typical big Fender size. Oddly enough, I have played a few American Jazz Deluxe ones and did not like them at all. However, I just replaced it with a 20 year old Stingray I found 2 weeks ago that has a slim birdseye maple neck!  |
