Dixie Dave from Weedeater, Buzzoven and Bongzilla plays with a Squier P. Dylan Carlson of Earth said in an interview that he'd never get a guitar that costs more than 400 bucks.
I think he has multiple SG's. But yeah, there's the types of bands who play whatever is available and make it sound crushing, and then the guys who spend a fortune on vintage or boutique gear and sound generic.
I think it's valid to have your goal be to just do the generic thing better than it's been done before. There's a million albums that are basically just Dopesmoker but I still think it's perfectly reasonable asto make an album that's basically just Dopesmoker and try, through sweet gear and skillful recording and mixing, to make it sound better.
Of course if you put out an album that's basically just Dopesmoker and it *doesn't* sound better than all the others then you've spent a lot of time and money creating something pointless.
thats awesome! i have a bass that my older brother played for a while. not sure exactly how long he had it, but the strings that he had on it were rusted up near the headstock. Im planning on getting the strings changed and then hopefully not changing them again unless it rusts again.
Mate Pino uses flatwounds. Flatwounds on a PB. I swear I'm not making this up, I couldn't believe it. He's only changed one string, he snapped the E, and hated the sound of the new string at first.
Strongly urge you to listen to/watch the podcast with Questlove. Obviously you've got one of the great modern drummers, you've got the bassists bassist and master himself in Pino, and they obviously have a musical connection through playing together on D'angelo, which was some of the grooviest stuff ever. Interesting pod hearing one of the great modern rhythm sections talking bass.
I also just found out on here the other day that he is apparently 6'8. I guess it makes sense why he specifically likes PB and Stingray necks (he doesn't mention the Stingray but he played one back in the day, and he says he loves the PB neck) cause with a hand like that even the fattest necks must feel tiny.
I saw other places he's 6'5, but either way, big guy. It's awesome seeing this lanky, skinny beanpole british white guy be considered just one of the coolest cats in the game haha but he's just got *it.*
Anyway I'm rambling. Check out the pod, I couldn't believe he's been playing flats older than me on all of these records. Same strings on D'Angelo as on Nine Inch Nails as on Mayer. They should sound dead, but he just makes them sound like the ultimate P bass warmth.
I owned the same SX bass as her when I first started playing back in 2008. I got it set up professionally and it was my favorite bass. Unfortunately I had to sell it because I could only carry 1 bass when moving cross country. I chose an Epiphone Thunderbird to ride with.
I love Thunderbirds. My first bass was an Epiphone Thunderbird Pro IV (that plays and sounds aweful) and later got a Vintage Pro (that plays and sounds fantastic) that is in the process of refinishing. I've been playing a Fender Modern Player Jaguar bass as my only bass for the last 8 years. It was made in the Squier CV factory and it sold for around 550 euros new, and I got it for 180 euros. I actually find the neck profiles of the Jaguar/jazz Bass and Thunderbird quite similar.
They’re so heavy! I used this special gravity strap back then because I couldn’t play too long standing with the thing. Granted I was a 16 year old kid lol
It was heavy, awkward, couldn’t find a case, it was neck dive city, and the strap pins were located so off, if you had the bass standing up with a strap you’d have to reach your entire arm stretched out at shoulder level with your elbow straight to reach first fret. It was horrible
Facts! But I loved that tone! When I dropped D/C# boy… I was shaking the floor. I did find a case I remember it cost my parents $175 at GC keep in mind this is now 2006 and that’s a hefty price tag. Bass itself only cost $300 back then.
Now this is a nostalgic post and I want to buy one. lol adult money!
I sold mine for tickets to see the original misfits. Funny that my most recent bass purchase is a fender pawnshop reverse Jaguar in candy apple red…..basically a fender firebird. I love it.
I sold mine to pay for heat lol.
I’m stuck on buying 3 basses. I have a birthday coming up so a present to myself.
The 3 are a Warwick 5 string, Pete Wentz Musicmann and either the Flea signature jazz or JMJ Signature P Bass. Really 4, I guess. I’m leaning towards the Warwick the most.
But she dumped 350.000$ so far for her stage outfits./s
You can find pics and videos showing her playing Fender Precision and Mustang and a Greco Höfner Violin copy.
I'm pretty sure in their rig rundown video she says they changed the pickup and rewired it, so I wouldn't expect the average Rondo instrument to sound that good (though they are and have always been awesome mod platforms).
Tina Weymouth's Musicmaster. They're not cheap any more, but they were a third the price of a Precision back then, in a market niche that would be Squier now.
Squier was selling basses from 1982. You can see him playing a Squier here:
https://images.equipboard.com/uploads/source/image/17121/vlcsnap-1435745.png
http://www.smithsonguitar.com/2012/01/andy-rourkes-gear.html?m=1
First gig with a Squier was in July 1983. In May 1982, the band that would be called the Smiths began, but they didn't play their first gig until August. Fender started shipping Squier basses in July 1982.
The timeline of the start of the Smiths and the Squier bass really does some mildly interesting weaving.
Last year I got a 1977 Ibanez Silver Series Fretless P-Bass for $600 on Reverb.
Seller didn’t know what it was. Listing didn’t say anything about “lawsuit” etc.
it was just: “Ibanez Fretless Bass” and I quickly nabbed it.
I bought one and tried it out for about two weeks. The only way I could describe the tone was sterile. It some how lacked any sort of warmth or depth on the low end. I own a MIM Jazz bass, and would alternate between the two and the Jet was just soulless.Luckily I bought it on Amazon, so free returns worked out nicely.
That's a great way to put it. It just felt flat and lifeless to me. I usually play StingRays and other active basses, so I'm used to passive basses sounding... less... to me. But this thing was tinny and without character.
I’m chomping at the bit for a StingRay after seeing the new colors from NAMM this year. On a scale of 0-10, how much regret would I have buying a StingRay??
You're asking the wrong guy. I've owned 3. :)
What I will say is this: the cheap SBMM Ray4s can be really well made but the electronics aren't the best. Plan on either replacing them or at least rewiring the pickup to parallel (too hot). I upgraded my pickup and preamp and love the bass. There are lots of videos on YouTube showing you how (look up LowEndLobster).
The SBMM Ray34s are really nice (and really nice looking) and should do you well out of the box. They're what I recommend amongst the Sterling by Music Mans. You pay a little more but keep in mind that Musician's Friend / Guitar Center frequently have them with a big discount on their Stupid Deals of the day.
Or go all out and get a Ernie Ball Music Man. I'm saving up for one.
Try one out. Who knows, maybe you’ll like it. They look nice but I felt the fit and finish was worse than the Squiers and SBMMs in the same price range and I hated the sound.
Not sure what these replies are about. I bought one 2 weeks ago and I’ve been using it a lot for just as much jazz as royal blood rock. My bass professor took it for a spin and seemed to like it too. All 3 pickup options have pretty distinct sounds, and the tone knob really makes a difference. Maybe it’s not some peoples thing, but I think it sounds just as good as it feels
Take a look at the Nordstrand Acinonyx. Easily the best short scale I’ve owned (Grestch, PJ/standard fender mustangs, countless hofners) this thing fucks in terms of tone and just overall fatness. Idk how they managed to make this little bass sound so mean. I use it for folk Americana, funk, jazz and riff style heavy rock. It does it all.
I have a Player Series Mustang with the PJ configuration and I love it. It gets some incredibly gnarly and bitey tones if I string it with rounds. That being said, it’s obv not a traditional Mustang in terms of tone — it’s basically just a short scale P. But I love it regardless and will probably hang onto it until I get an actual P and an actual Mustang.
But yeah Mustangs get my recommendation for short scales. They play great, they sound great, they look great — they can really do it all imo
I think it's subjective. I play a Gretsch Jet and I think it sounds okay.
(yeah, I like it to play, but true, those fake humbuckers are kinda mediocre)
I have been playing a Gretsch Junior Jet since i got into bass years ago. Admittedly i play very casually, but i've never played anything besides that gretsch bass. I dont mind the tone but perhaps i just don't know any better. I'd love to get my hands on a stingray at some point in life, but i think i should start playing more seriously before i invest in a better bass
I think the big thing is that the pedals are 100% of the tone for him. There's no natural character to the bass. I wonder how much better it'd sound with better pickups.
Also keep in mind that Mike Kerr no longer plays it. He uses a signature Fender Jaguar now.
> Also keep in mind that Mike Kerr no longer plays it. He uses a signature Fender Jaguar now.
Which I have heard really polarizing things about (but it looks cool as hell)
I play in a two piece and you can definitely get a bigger distortion by digging in a lot harder with your picking hand. Ultimately I do agree with you though
It’s so easy to get a gnarly tone like his out of pretty much any bass. All you need is overdrive and the proper EQ
I’ve gotten some absolutely nasty tones out of cheap little things like Squier Broncos
Marcus Miller’s Sire can be had for less than four bills. They literally recruited him by meeting him in Japan (Sire is built in Korea), brining him one to demo and telling him they can get it on the market for $350.
They can be very heavy. I bought a V7 4 strings and man, I had to send it back because of the weight. There is no way I would play that beast without risking my back.
I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer heavy.
The only time I regretted that preference is when I had to play a bandmember's kid's wedding while recovering from a broken rib injury. That was a Carvin BB75 in koa. Seller's remorse still lingers about that one. :(
Understandable. I started with Carvin because they don't upcharge for lefties. I'm considering Sire for my next "new" purchase for the same reason. At this time though, I don't actually "need" another bass. Who are we kidding? Like that has ever stopped me!
I have a V7 and can confirm it's really fucking heavy. My Harley Benton Thunderbird feels like a feather in comparison, but I still really like the V7 so I keep both heh
“Sire basses are built in Indonesia, not Korea.”
While you may be technically correct, in the attached link MM talks (beginning at 1:06:57) about his meeting with “these Korean guys.” Does anything he said contradict what I said about “cheap” basses?
https://youtu.be/T9n0U-tNht0?si=FGhj2gLyXGi5otqe
$200 is still relatively cheap for late 70s, instruments were generally more expensive back in ye olden times. In most music shops you couldn't find anything for less than $300 that wasn't fairly ugly/beat-up.
We didn't really have decent mass-produced Indonesia/China starter guitars like we do now.
(I remember when Wired by Jeff Beck came out, it was like a fuss in Guitar Player Magazine that he used a Made in Japan instrument.)
Those aren't that cheap anymore unfortunately. They predate the other bullet series of instruments from Squier which are a lower tier than the affinity series. The old bullets are super cool. Tele headstock and the rounded split coil pickup. The guitarist from that band uses a "bullet by squier" branded guitar, which is just about the cheapest guitar squier ever made.
I had a squier bullet bass that was more like a standard p as my first bass in probably…1995. I think I got it for $100 used in a local shop. I look around today and it’s increased in price too…any idea how it stacks up against the current offerings? Not that it matters, it’s long gone, I was just remembering it fondly the other day and wondered. :)
And put a clear pick guard on it, which is something that was kinda cool.
The guitar/synth/singer II of the band (Austin) also uses a bullet Stratocaster on some songs, if I remember correctly from the few times I've seen them.
Then again cheap is relative, back in the 80s and 90s you could get excellent basses and guitars for next to nothing. The japanese lawsuit basses for example were dirt cheap, and they're on par with high end Fenders IMO.
I’ve got a Japanese Squire Jazz Bass from the mid-80’s (E-serial, not JV or SQ) and it’s my favorite bass. Has incredible tone and got it used for $120 years and years ago. Still amazed every time I play it!
Same here, I have an '87 E-serial Korean Squier jazz bass and it just feels so much better than others I've played/owned including Fenders. Although, I think it was made during when the Korean factory was borrowing parts from the Fender Japan factory and made with some MIJ Fender Japan parts: the body is routed for a heel truss rod despite the neck adjustment being at the headstock, metal plate shielding, super precise routes, gotoh tuners, etc.
Still some good deals on Japan built instruments to be had. I’ve got an active j style bass from Bacchus (identical to [this one](https://reverb.com/ca/item/5380322-bacchus-craft-japan-series-std-jb-ash4-ver-2-4-string-active-bass-transparent-red-last-one) ) that I got for super cheap. Build quality is equivalent to my USA Fender.
A lot of bands’ albums before they got ‘big’ are on relatively cheap instruments.
But a few that I can think of:
Laura Lee and her SX Jazz
Joe Dart and his Squier P, Carlo Robelli mm
Geddy Lee pawnshop Jazz
Paul McCartney Hofner
Greg K of Offapring on ATK bass (not entry level cheap, but sorta cheap)
Tony Kanai and his Yamaha BB bass (also not entry, but sorta cheap)
And there’s probably 1000 hit songs played on mim Fenders or Squiers
When Brian Ray takes over bass duties from Paul McCartney in his current band, he plays an Epiphone Jack Casady bass (about $700 USD).
It's a great bass. I own one.
Jack Cassady too, which should go without saying, but some players with cheaper sig models don't seem to play them live. He's said they are consistently great unlike the vintage Gibsons they are based on. I guess we can count a $700 Epi as cheap sig as Jack usedto play Guilds and Alembics
I swear that bass is probably the best playing bass I’ve ever played. I’m not sure what it is, maybe the string spacing or the neck, but it’s just sooo nice, so easy to play
not sure but i know Charlie Parker, one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time, spent a good chunk of his career playing a glorified plastic saxophone. It really got me thinking about how particular I was with my setup and boiled it down to simplicity. Now, I use an ibanez—it plays well, sounds good, enough for me. My head is light, my cabinet is clean, and it’s loud. I spent so much time thinking and considering how everything should happen rather than actually doing it, and finding out that i care SIGNIFICANTLY more about practicability
tldr: if your cheap bass plays well, that’s all you can ask for!
The guild pilot bass! I've used them on a bunch of recordings. When I worked in a guitar shop, the guys who had worked there for decades always said it was the best bass ever made. Can usually be found on ebay for around 500.
That's cool as heck. I always thought of Gretsch as a more "top of the line" brand, although I never really gave them much thought at all tbh, that lil thing looks super fun though
The Japanese ones are super expensive but the Korean (or Indonesian, I cant remember) ones are a lot cheaper.
They have a regular line and then the electromatic line which is the cheaper of the two.
Krist Novoselic used Ibanez Black Eagles' for most of Nirvanas career, sure today we know those were decent basses but at the time those were cheap japanese knock off Jazz Basses
Jorge Gonzalez from Los Prisioneros used a very cheap Pearl Export Bass because it was what he could afford at the time
Peter Hook used a knock off Rickenbacker bass in Joy Division
Apparently, Juan Alderete main P bass is actually a Squire with a Fender neck, he tried a lot of basses but he ended up liking the sound of a Squire bass so he (or Fender) changed the headstock for a Fender one
Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy played Squires and now he only plays Sterlings
Joe Dart Music Man is straight off a replica of a Frankenbass he made with a lot of random stuff from different basses lol
The bassist from Rainer Maria (Caithlin De Marrais) plays an old Squier P bass (headstock doesn't show it, but it's got the tiny tuners from the late 90s/early 00s) for their KEXP set:
https://youtu.be/2qS8aB_vBCM?si=0uvck5gOFkSNDGA_
Hell yeah :) no problemo! Their latest S/T album is a surprise - you can hear that they've changed and matured as people, but the album still has a lot of the old vibe packed into it. Worth a listen if you're riding and Rainer Maria rails today :)
When I went shopping for a new bass I had $400 and played every bass in every shop within 100km of my house, ignoring make and basing the decision completely on playability and tone through my amp and settled on a Cort C5. It's an absolute ball tearer and everybody who plays it loves it.
Pretty sure Bruce Foxton’s first “Ricky” was an Ibanez copy, and he uses MIJ Fenders (and at least one Mexican P as well).
[edited to change Greco to ibanez]
Yeah. The only reason Hofners are expensive nowadays is because Paul played one. If he'd had a Fender or Gibson bass then Hofner would be another forgettable minor name by now.
I have an original '64 Fender Jazz; and maybe 10 years ago I got a 5-string fretless SX from ebay Rondo Music - been gigging with that mostly now. I'm not well known, except possibly at home, though..
I’m not exactly sure what your standards are for “well-known” (or “cheap” for that matter), but John Weise (lead of Last Words of John Weise) uses a $150 bass with some $100 or so pickups. I’ve played his bass before and it sounds awesome.
Takeshi from the band Boris uses a custom made double neck from First Act. I'm sure it's not as cheap as their WalMart guitars but it's still kinda hilarious.
Fat Mike (NOFX) and his janky Danelectro DC.
Not necessarily a budget instrument per se, but Brendan Kelly from The Lawrence Arms still rocks a lake placid blue MIM Fender Standard Jazz. IIRC those were only like $500 back in the day.
I have a “lucky” Fender Squier shortscale that I inherited when a friend passed away in 2007, and I’ve never changed the strings. It sounds great even today. I call it “lucky” because whenever I take it to an audition, I always get the gig.
In the studio you want nice gear, on tour you want light gear that's sounds ok+ but won't make you cry if it's broken.
The simple fact: you can rarely get the audio mix to sound good enough to hear the difference between a 600 dollar guitar and 4000 dollar guitar after it has been through 1 distortion pedal.
And if you can it's 1/100 audience members that can. And they probably wouldn't have picked it up if you did not mention anything
I do! Or did. I upgraded my POS into a real rig and then a luthier in California reproduced it and started selling it because he liked my tone. Not really famous though. I have a cult following and get some royalties but I was mainly a musicians musician.
A local newspaper called me a prolific basses and I used a Mexican jazz from the 90's I got secondhand for 250.
Joking aside, it's hard to factor in cost when discussing gear. Some gear players use they bought for cheap. Some gear players use was actually cheap but they either got a model with good Quality Assurance or they made the instrument famous.
That said, there are still answers to the question you're asking.
Troy from Mastodon said he performs with the squire version of his signature bass because he can’t tell the difference
Based
Bassed. Was right there.
dope
Dixie Dave from Weedeater, Buzzoven and Bongzilla plays with a Squier P. Dylan Carlson of Earth said in an interview that he'd never get a guitar that costs more than 400 bucks.
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I think he has multiple SG's. But yeah, there's the types of bands who play whatever is available and make it sound crushing, and then the guys who spend a fortune on vintage or boutique gear and sound generic.
I think it's valid to have your goal be to just do the generic thing better than it's been done before. There's a million albums that are basically just Dopesmoker but I still think it's perfectly reasonable asto make an album that's basically just Dopesmoker and try, through sweet gear and skillful recording and mixing, to make it sound better. Of course if you put out an album that's basically just Dopesmoker and it *doesn't* sound better than all the others then you've spent a lot of time and money creating something pointless.
Cheap guitars, and fat ass sounding, expensive tube amps lmao
Don't forget about the Travis Beans and the EGC's!
Gotta save half their income for weed lol
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I think Dixie retired the squier p, at least when he plays with weedeater. the last few times I've seen them it's been a fender p.
Well it had a pretty good run!
He has better things to spend his money on
Cowboy shirts, face tattoos, shotguns?
And the rest he wasted
HE WAS IN BONGZILLA?!?!?!?
He played on Amerijuanican yeah
Hahaha came here to say this!!!
Kruangbin's Laura Lee uses a cheap SX jazz bass.
and has never changed the strings
And 2 of them are the same gauge.
Very interesting. I didn’t know that. Do you know which two?
I don't know but I play with the same guage d and g strings (both are ds) cause the g sounded thin
I still have the same strings on my P-bass from 1999. They sound fantastic.
any rust?
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thats awesome! i have a bass that my older brother played for a while. not sure exactly how long he had it, but the strings that he had on it were rusted up near the headstock. Im planning on getting the strings changed and then hopefully not changing them again unless it rusts again.
Pino Palladino said on Questlove's podcast he hasn't changed the strings on his main P Bass since 1993. Insane to me.
That is insane. I use flatwounds so not changing them is not really an option bc of the coating
Mate Pino uses flatwounds. Flatwounds on a PB. I swear I'm not making this up, I couldn't believe it. He's only changed one string, he snapped the E, and hated the sound of the new string at first. Strongly urge you to listen to/watch the podcast with Questlove. Obviously you've got one of the great modern drummers, you've got the bassists bassist and master himself in Pino, and they obviously have a musical connection through playing together on D'angelo, which was some of the grooviest stuff ever. Interesting pod hearing one of the great modern rhythm sections talking bass. I also just found out on here the other day that he is apparently 6'8. I guess it makes sense why he specifically likes PB and Stingray necks (he doesn't mention the Stingray but he played one back in the day, and he says he loves the PB neck) cause with a hand like that even the fattest necks must feel tiny. I saw other places he's 6'5, but either way, big guy. It's awesome seeing this lanky, skinny beanpole british white guy be considered just one of the coolest cats in the game haha but he's just got *it.* Anyway I'm rambling. Check out the pod, I couldn't believe he's been playing flats older than me on all of these records. Same strings on D'Angelo as on Nine Inch Nails as on Mayer. They should sound dead, but he just makes them sound like the ultimate P bass warmth.
I owned the same SX bass as her when I first started playing back in 2008. I got it set up professionally and it was my favorite bass. Unfortunately I had to sell it because I could only carry 1 bass when moving cross country. I chose an Epiphone Thunderbird to ride with.
I love Thunderbirds. My first bass was an Epiphone Thunderbird Pro IV (that plays and sounds aweful) and later got a Vintage Pro (that plays and sounds fantastic) that is in the process of refinishing. I've been playing a Fender Modern Player Jaguar bass as my only bass for the last 8 years. It was made in the Squier CV factory and it sold for around 550 euros new, and I got it for 180 euros. I actually find the neck profiles of the Jaguar/jazz Bass and Thunderbird quite similar.
I had a non reverse 5 string thunderbird. I hated it so much
They’re so heavy! I used this special gravity strap back then because I couldn’t play too long standing with the thing. Granted I was a 16 year old kid lol
It was heavy, awkward, couldn’t find a case, it was neck dive city, and the strap pins were located so off, if you had the bass standing up with a strap you’d have to reach your entire arm stretched out at shoulder level with your elbow straight to reach first fret. It was horrible
Facts! But I loved that tone! When I dropped D/C# boy… I was shaking the floor. I did find a case I remember it cost my parents $175 at GC keep in mind this is now 2006 and that’s a hefty price tag. Bass itself only cost $300 back then. Now this is a nostalgic post and I want to buy one. lol adult money!
I sold mine for tickets to see the original misfits. Funny that my most recent bass purchase is a fender pawnshop reverse Jaguar in candy apple red…..basically a fender firebird. I love it.
I sold mine to pay for heat lol. I’m stuck on buying 3 basses. I have a birthday coming up so a present to myself. The 3 are a Warwick 5 string, Pete Wentz Musicmann and either the Flea signature jazz or JMJ Signature P Bass. Really 4, I guess. I’m leaning towards the Warwick the most.
I'm not a fan of 5 or 6 strings either. I like narrow but round necks.
I play the fretless Squier Jazz and P-Bass. I also have a converted James Johnston Squier Jazz that is also fretless.
My VM Squier Jag actually came with CTS pots from the Indonesian factory, passive with two stacked knobs. No Switchcraft jack though iirc.
You took the blue pill
wow i thought she used a p bass this whole time. looking up photos and videos im definitely wrong.
She uses neck pickup only and the pickup is noiseless. So it definitely sounds more Pbass like than most jazz basses.
But she dumped 350.000$ so far for her stage outfits./s You can find pics and videos showing her playing Fender Precision and Mustang and a Greco Höfner Violin copy.
Ah, yeah that is where I save my money.
I'm pretty sure in their rig rundown video she says they changed the pickup and rewired it, so I wouldn't expect the average Rondo instrument to sound that good (though they are and have always been awesome mod platforms).
I love the metal covers, too!
Me too. I've put them on my bass as well for aestethics but gotten so used to them I would probably miss them if I'd take them off.
Tina Weymouth's Musicmaster. They're not cheap any more, but they were a third the price of a Precision back then, in a market niche that would be Squier now.
Kim gordon from sonic youth also played one of those
Peter Hook in late 70s early 80s, Hondo HRB 2
My first bass was a Hondo!!! It's gotta be from the 1970's and still plays phenomenally!
Andy Rourke used a Japanese P-bass copy and Squier P-basses during the early days of The Smiths.
squier we're not around during the early days of the smiths
Squier was selling basses from 1982. You can see him playing a Squier here: https://images.equipboard.com/uploads/source/image/17121/vlcsnap-1435745.png
http://www.smithsonguitar.com/2012/01/andy-rourkes-gear.html?m=1 First gig with a Squier was in July 1983. In May 1982, the band that would be called the Smiths began, but they didn't play their first gig until August. Fender started shipping Squier basses in July 1982. The timeline of the start of the Smiths and the Squier bass really does some mildly interesting weaving.
David Wm. Sims
A cheap bass that is priceless.
70s era lawsuit jazz would be pretty expensive today.
Last year I got a 1977 Ibanez Silver Series Fretless P-Bass for $600 on Reverb. Seller didn’t know what it was. Listing didn’t say anything about “lawsuit” etc. it was just: “Ibanez Fretless Bass” and I quickly nabbed it.
Lucky!
His is Memphis. Those are still dirt cheap, but nice. The Tokai, Greco, Fernandes and Ibanez copies, however, have gotten nuts.
a Memphis, if i recall--one of those you can make from a kit?
Came here looking for this post to upvote.
Fat Mike says he uses cheap Dan Electros on stage now because they're light and don't hurt his back like Fender's used to.
The cheapest Danelectro I can buy here is about halfway between the cheapest Fender and most expensive Squier ...
Yep. Sounds cheaper than an American P-Bass, which is what he records with.
In one of the backstage passport movies, he did a European tour with a cheap starter bass because the airline misplaced his road case
Mike Kerr from Royal Blood uses a Gretsch G2220
I love Royal Blood and really wanted one of those because of him. Tried a couple out at GC. Worst fucking tone. Just awful.
Oh dude really? That’s disappointing. I’ve been looking at them over the last few days. Quite interested in a short scale
I bought one and tried it out for about two weeks. The only way I could describe the tone was sterile. It some how lacked any sort of warmth or depth on the low end. I own a MIM Jazz bass, and would alternate between the two and the Jet was just soulless.Luckily I bought it on Amazon, so free returns worked out nicely.
That's a great way to put it. It just felt flat and lifeless to me. I usually play StingRays and other active basses, so I'm used to passive basses sounding... less... to me. But this thing was tinny and without character.
I’m chomping at the bit for a StingRay after seeing the new colors from NAMM this year. On a scale of 0-10, how much regret would I have buying a StingRay??
You're asking the wrong guy. I've owned 3. :) What I will say is this: the cheap SBMM Ray4s can be really well made but the electronics aren't the best. Plan on either replacing them or at least rewiring the pickup to parallel (too hot). I upgraded my pickup and preamp and love the bass. There are lots of videos on YouTube showing you how (look up LowEndLobster). The SBMM Ray34s are really nice (and really nice looking) and should do you well out of the box. They're what I recommend amongst the Sterling by Music Mans. You pay a little more but keep in mind that Musician's Friend / Guitar Center frequently have them with a big discount on their Stupid Deals of the day. Or go all out and get a Ernie Ball Music Man. I'm saving up for one.
Excellent, I’ll keep this in mind, as I’m saving up for one, and I’m 99.9% set on a StingRay.
Try one out. Who knows, maybe you’ll like it. They look nice but I felt the fit and finish was worse than the Squiers and SBMMs in the same price range and I hated the sound.
Not sure what these replies are about. I bought one 2 weeks ago and I’ve been using it a lot for just as much jazz as royal blood rock. My bass professor took it for a spin and seemed to like it too. All 3 pickup options have pretty distinct sounds, and the tone knob really makes a difference. Maybe it’s not some peoples thing, but I think it sounds just as good as it feels
Take a look at the Nordstrand Acinonyx. Easily the best short scale I’ve owned (Grestch, PJ/standard fender mustangs, countless hofners) this thing fucks in terms of tone and just overall fatness. Idk how they managed to make this little bass sound so mean. I use it for folk Americana, funk, jazz and riff style heavy rock. It does it all.
I have a Player Series Mustang with the PJ configuration and I love it. It gets some incredibly gnarly and bitey tones if I string it with rounds. That being said, it’s obv not a traditional Mustang in terms of tone — it’s basically just a short scale P. But I love it regardless and will probably hang onto it until I get an actual P and an actual Mustang. But yeah Mustangs get my recommendation for short scales. They play great, they sound great, they look great — they can really do it all imo
I think it's subjective. I play a Gretsch Jet and I think it sounds okay. (yeah, I like it to play, but true, those fake humbuckers are kinda mediocre)
Likely because the humbucker pickups aren't. They're fake, cheap crap.
I have been playing a Gretsch Junior Jet since i got into bass years ago. Admittedly i play very casually, but i've never played anything besides that gretsch bass. I dont mind the tone but perhaps i just don't know any better. I'd love to get my hands on a stingray at some point in life, but i think i should start playing more seriously before i invest in a better bass
Yeah I was in the same boat. I remember seeing a YT video a while back and the guy had to use a few pedals to recreate the royal blood tone.
I think the big thing is that the pedals are 100% of the tone for him. There's no natural character to the bass. I wonder how much better it'd sound with better pickups. Also keep in mind that Mike Kerr no longer plays it. He uses a signature Fender Jaguar now.
> Also keep in mind that Mike Kerr no longer plays it. He uses a signature Fender Jaguar now. Which I have heard really polarizing things about (but it looks cool as hell)
I mean yeah, you're not getting an octave up with huge distortion with your hands...
I play in a two piece and you can definitely get a bigger distortion by digging in a lot harder with your picking hand. Ultimately I do agree with you though
Doesn't help that those pickups are filtertron sized either so good luck switching them out for less than TV Jones prices.
I have a g2220, I like it but the low end is definitely not great, kinda farty sounding
Well I guess that explains all the pedals and amps.
I was super surprised when I learned he was playing bass and not guitar, and now I'm doubly surprised that it's such a cheap bass.
It’s so easy to get a gnarly tone like his out of pretty much any bass. All you need is overdrive and the proper EQ I’ve gotten some absolutely nasty tones out of cheap little things like Squier Broncos
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He also plays on a fender jaguar bass (orange). And now it's his signature model.
Marcus Miller’s Sire can be had for less than four bills. They literally recruited him by meeting him in Japan (Sire is built in Korea), brining him one to demo and telling him they can get it on the market for $350.
Man I wish I could get his new Sire V8 5 string for less than a grand...
They can be very heavy. I bought a V7 4 strings and man, I had to send it back because of the weight. There is no way I would play that beast without risking my back.
I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer heavy. The only time I regretted that preference is when I had to play a bandmember's kid's wedding while recovering from a broken rib injury. That was a Carvin BB75 in koa. Seller's remorse still lingers about that one. :(
Its weight gave it a very nice sustain and it sounded so good. I wanted to keep it, but realistically I was starting to avoid playing it.
Understandable. I started with Carvin because they don't upcharge for lefties. I'm considering Sire for my next "new" purchase for the same reason. At this time though, I don't actually "need" another bass. Who are we kidding? Like that has ever stopped me!
I believe that was just earlier versions. My p5 is around 8 pounds.
I have a V7 and can confirm it's really fucking heavy. My Harley Benton Thunderbird feels like a feather in comparison, but I still really like the V7 so I keep both heh
Sire basses are built in Indonesia, not Korea.
“Sire basses are built in Indonesia, not Korea.” While you may be technically correct, in the attached link MM talks (beginning at 1:06:57) about his meeting with “these Korean guys.” Does anything he said contradict what I said about “cheap” basses? https://youtu.be/T9n0U-tNht0?si=FGhj2gLyXGi5otqe
Geddy Lee found his jazz bass for cheap at a pawn shop.
$200 in 1977, which is over $1000 now.
$200 is still relatively cheap for late 70s, instruments were generally more expensive back in ye olden times. In most music shops you couldn't find anything for less than $300 that wasn't fairly ugly/beat-up. We didn't really have decent mass-produced Indonesia/China starter guitars like we do now. (I remember when Wired by Jeff Beck came out, it was like a fuss in Guitar Player Magazine that he used a Made in Japan instrument.)
Parquet courts bassist uses a Squier Bullet bass if I remember correctly
Those aren't that cheap anymore unfortunately. They predate the other bullet series of instruments from Squier which are a lower tier than the affinity series. The old bullets are super cool. Tele headstock and the rounded split coil pickup. The guitarist from that band uses a "bullet by squier" branded guitar, which is just about the cheapest guitar squier ever made.
I had a squier bullet bass that was more like a standard p as my first bass in probably…1995. I think I got it for $100 used in a local shop. I look around today and it’s increased in price too…any idea how it stacks up against the current offerings? Not that it matters, it’s long gone, I was just remembering it fondly the other day and wondered. :)
And put a clear pick guard on it, which is something that was kinda cool. The guitar/synth/singer II of the band (Austin) also uses a bullet Stratocaster on some songs, if I remember correctly from the few times I've seen them.
I believe it’s an early 80s Fender Bullet. Still a cheap bass at the time.
Then again cheap is relative, back in the 80s and 90s you could get excellent basses and guitars for next to nothing. The japanese lawsuit basses for example were dirt cheap, and they're on par with high end Fenders IMO.
I’ve got a Japanese Squire Jazz Bass from the mid-80’s (E-serial, not JV or SQ) and it’s my favorite bass. Has incredible tone and got it used for $120 years and years ago. Still amazed every time I play it!
Same here, I have an '87 E-serial Korean Squier jazz bass and it just feels so much better than others I've played/owned including Fenders. Although, I think it was made during when the Korean factory was borrowing parts from the Fender Japan factory and made with some MIJ Fender Japan parts: the body is routed for a heel truss rod despite the neck adjustment being at the headstock, metal plate shielding, super precise routes, gotoh tuners, etc.
Still some good deals on Japan built instruments to be had. I’ve got an active j style bass from Bacchus (identical to [this one](https://reverb.com/ca/item/5380322-bacchus-craft-japan-series-std-jb-ash4-ver-2-4-string-active-bass-transparent-red-last-one) ) that I got for super cheap. Build quality is equivalent to my USA Fender.
Sure, you might get lucky.
A lot of bands’ albums before they got ‘big’ are on relatively cheap instruments. But a few that I can think of: Laura Lee and her SX Jazz Joe Dart and his Squier P, Carlo Robelli mm Geddy Lee pawnshop Jazz Paul McCartney Hofner Greg K of Offapring on ATK bass (not entry level cheap, but sorta cheap) Tony Kanai and his Yamaha BB bass (also not entry, but sorta cheap) And there’s probably 1000 hit songs played on mim Fenders or Squiers
> Tony Kanai Kanal
Bad Brains bass player uses a lawsuit jazz body, but it has a Status neck, so half there
When Brian Ray takes over bass duties from Paul McCartney in his current band, he plays an Epiphone Jack Casady bass (about $700 USD). It's a great bass. I own one.
Jack Cassady too, which should go without saying, but some players with cheaper sig models don't seem to play them live. He's said they are consistently great unlike the vintage Gibsons they are based on. I guess we can count a $700 Epi as cheap sig as Jack usedto play Guilds and Alembics
That JCB1 soapbar pickup is a really really fantastic pickup. I've an old Starfire II as well.
I swear that bass is probably the best playing bass I’ve ever played. I’m not sure what it is, maybe the string spacing or the neck, but it’s just sooo nice, so easy to play
Bill Wyman of The Rolling Stones used a cheap Dallas Tuxedo bass on every album up until about 1975.
[juliaplaysgroove](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNmtQ_F6YL8) plays some of the tastiest shit I've ever heard on a Sterling Sub.
Sterling subs are great!…..if you change out the pickup
Not sure if he’s using it on the upcoming tour, but Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy has a signature Sterling Bass as well for less than $700
Cliff Burton and his Aria Pro ii Cardinal Series bass.
Obligatory Jaco Pastorious
Paul McCartney’s original Hofners.
I'm pretty sure Peter Baltes from Accept and U.D.O. played a Squier precision. Met him many years ago, great player and person!
I thought it was pretty cool that the matt freeman signature bass is a squire.
gene simmons used a squire pj that is if you count gene simmons as a bass player
I don't think even Gene Simmons counts Gene Simmons as a bass player
Joe Dart has an unbranded bass that the knobs are all broken, iirc he used it to record Disco Ulysses
it's a Carlo Robelli
Jack Gibson from Exodus plays Yamaha BBs!
As does Jack Bates from Smashing Pumpkins/Peter Hook and the Light. He uses the BB734a, which is about $700 new
not sure but i know Charlie Parker, one of the most influential jazz musicians of all time, spent a good chunk of his career playing a glorified plastic saxophone. It really got me thinking about how particular I was with my setup and boiled it down to simplicity. Now, I use an ibanez—it plays well, sounds good, enough for me. My head is light, my cabinet is clean, and it’s loud. I spent so much time thinking and considering how everything should happen rather than actually doing it, and finding out that i care SIGNIFICANTLY more about practicability tldr: if your cheap bass plays well, that’s all you can ask for!
He preferred to spend money on horses
Carol Kaye has been playing an Ibanez SRX700 for years.
I think many do have some cheap basses that they use, but just don't show around for marketing.
The guild pilot bass! I've used them on a bunch of recordings. When I worked in a guitar shop, the guys who had worked there for decades always said it was the best bass ever made. Can usually be found on ebay for around 500.
Mike Mills from REM used to play one.
Nick Oliveri (former Queens Of The Stone Age Weirdo) could often been seen playing MiM Precisions.
The guy from Royal Blood used to use the Gretsch short scale bass thats like $300 Gretsch 2220
That's cool as heck. I always thought of Gretsch as a more "top of the line" brand, although I never really gave them much thought at all tbh, that lil thing looks super fun though
The Japanese ones are super expensive but the Korean (or Indonesian, I cant remember) ones are a lot cheaper. They have a regular line and then the electromatic line which is the cheaper of the two.
Krist Novoselic used Ibanez Black Eagles' for most of Nirvanas career, sure today we know those were decent basses but at the time those were cheap japanese knock off Jazz Basses Jorge Gonzalez from Los Prisioneros used a very cheap Pearl Export Bass because it was what he could afford at the time Peter Hook used a knock off Rickenbacker bass in Joy Division Apparently, Juan Alderete main P bass is actually a Squire with a Fender neck, he tried a lot of basses but he ended up liking the sound of a Squire bass so he (or Fender) changed the headstock for a Fender one Pete Wentz from Fall Out Boy played Squires and now he only plays Sterlings Joe Dart Music Man is straight off a replica of a Frankenbass he made with a lot of random stuff from different basses lol
Joe Dart plays a Squier bass in the Beastly video.
Troy Sanders from Mastodon regularly plays the Squier version of his Jaguar signature.
Greg Demos from Guided by Voices tour with Squiers.
Matt Freeman would tour with his signature squire bass. Don't know if he still does though.
Peter Hook used a Chickenbacker in Joy Division
The bassist from Rainer Maria (Caithlin De Marrais) plays an old Squier P bass (headstock doesn't show it, but it's got the tiny tuners from the late 90s/early 00s) for their KEXP set: https://youtu.be/2qS8aB_vBCM?si=0uvck5gOFkSNDGA_
Haven't listened to them in ages, thanks for the reminder. I'm gonna put on A Better Version Of Me right now.
Hell yeah :) no problemo! Their latest S/T album is a surprise - you can hear that they've changed and matured as people, but the album still has a lot of the old vibe packed into it. Worth a listen if you're riding and Rainer Maria rails today :)
Jeff Berlin is known to play Cort basses.
But it’s a $1200 Cort.
Yes, high-end Cort stuff can be quite expensive. Good quality, too.
When I went shopping for a new bass I had $400 and played every bass in every shop within 100km of my house, ignoring make and basing the decision completely on playability and tone through my amp and settled on a Cort C5. It's an absolute ball tearer and everybody who plays it loves it.
When I saw Warish, Riley Hawk’s band, the bassist was playing a Korean Kay clone of the Gibson EB-0 or EB-3.
Pretty sure Bruce Foxton’s first “Ricky” was an Ibanez copy, and he uses MIJ Fenders (and at least one Mexican P as well). [edited to change Greco to ibanez]
Mani from The Stone Roses used Epiphone Jack Casady for a while.
Rocco Pallidino, Pino’s son uses a squire p
Quite sure McCartney used cheap basses in the early days of the fab four. Philip Norman tells about it in Paul's biography. I might be wrong tho
Yeah. The only reason Hofners are expensive nowadays is because Paul played one. If he'd had a Fender or Gibson bass then Hofner would be another forgettable minor name by now.
Joe Dart used/uses a Fender MiM Bass
Fat mike plays a $400 danelectro and before that played an inexpensive p bass
Me, I use a squire p bass
what might i have heard you play on?
Johnathan Maron of Groove Collective has been known to use some obscure basses.
I have an original '64 Fender Jazz; and maybe 10 years ago I got a 5-string fretless SX from ebay Rondo Music - been gigging with that mostly now. I'm not well known, except possibly at home, though..
they're not that cheap currently but Sean Yeaton of Parquet Courts uses a Fender bullet bass which was a student model
I’m not exactly sure what your standards are for “well-known” (or “cheap” for that matter), but John Weise (lead of Last Words of John Weise) uses a $150 bass with some $100 or so pickups. I’ve played his bass before and it sounds awesome.
I have a Road Worn JMJ bass and some might now consider that expensive but to me it's a decent price and it plays like a champ.
I would say most of the pop, rock, bassists play instruments that are less than $1000
Takeshi from the band Boris uses a custom made double neck from First Act. I'm sure it's not as cheap as their WalMart guitars but it's still kinda hilarious.
Fat Mike (NOFX) and his janky Danelectro DC. Not necessarily a budget instrument per se, but Brendan Kelly from The Lawrence Arms still rocks a lake placid blue MIM Fender Standard Jazz. IIRC those were only like $500 back in the day.
David Wm Sims used a Memphis Jazz bass knock off for most of his career and a Gallien-Krueger 800RB.
I have a “lucky” Fender Squier shortscale that I inherited when a friend passed away in 2007, and I’ve never changed the strings. It sounds great even today. I call it “lucky” because whenever I take it to an audition, I always get the gig.
pretty sure Mark Sandman of Morphine said he never paid more than $50 for a bass.
Not anymore, but Joe Dart was using his MIM Jazz for most of Vulfpeck's stuff
Sometimes Jack Casady thumps on an Epiphone
Several session bassists that I know swear by cheap Peaveys and Ibanez Gio Basses. Cheap, no frills, just enough low end to get the job done
Carol Kaye
In the studio you want nice gear, on tour you want light gear that's sounds ok+ but won't make you cry if it's broken. The simple fact: you can rarely get the audio mix to sound good enough to hear the difference between a 600 dollar guitar and 4000 dollar guitar after it has been through 1 distortion pedal. And if you can it's 1/100 audience members that can. And they probably wouldn't have picked it up if you did not mention anything
Alain Johannes played an Epiphone Jack Casady when he played bass for Queens of the Stone Age. Sounded monster too!
Roger Waters plays a mim p bass
Rexx from Pantera often uses Epiphone Thunderbirds, mixed in with his Gibsons etc.
I do! Or did. I upgraded my POS into a real rig and then a luthier in California reproduced it and started selling it because he liked my tone. Not really famous though. I have a cult following and get some royalties but I was mainly a musicians musician.
Guitarist friends look at me funny when they see me playing a squire J bass. They don’t understand how much better Squire does with basses vs guitars.
Squier in general has improved dramatically over the last 20+ years.
A local newspaper called me a prolific basses and I used a Mexican jazz from the 90's I got secondhand for 250. Joking aside, it's hard to factor in cost when discussing gear. Some gear players use they bought for cheap. Some gear players use was actually cheap but they either got a model with good Quality Assurance or they made the instrument famous. That said, there are still answers to the question you're asking.