Bass Comparisons

JezWynd

Schnozz

For me...

1. Warwick Thumb
2. Fender Precision
3. Rickenbacker 4003
4. Fender Jazz Bass
5. Musicman Stingray
6. Gibson Thunderbird

Gotta say, I've hated every Stingray I've played. I owned a Sterling for a while and then bought a G&L L2000 Tribute...It just smoked it.

My main players were a Bravewood '55 Precision (Seymour Duncan Antiquity Pickup) and a Fretless Marleaux Consat Custom 5 (Bartolini Pickups/Glockenlang Preamp).

Bridgehouse

Know what I noticed? Just how different the right arm and hand positions were on finger style - some noticeably more awkward than others..!

dazzajl

Thats a great video. The things I take from that are that despite the advances in bass build and design, how well the Precision still gets the job done. (The phrase original and best comes to mind). 

How despite how how poorly the Jazz actually does the job of being ‘a bass’, how much I love it. and how surprised I was that I liked that big ol Gibson so much. 

ICBM

Not too surprising for me...

1. Rickenbacker (The most punchy, good on all the sounds, and has the most deep bottom end.)
2. Precision (The most even overall, but a narrower range of sounds.)
3. Thunderbird (Almost equal with the P, but a little muddy in places.)
4. Stingray (Not bad but a bit too clangy.)
5. Jazz (Thin, honky and too hollow.)
6. Warwick (Tizzy, spiky and just odd-sounding.)

Keefy

Bridgehouse said:

Know what I noticed? Just how different the right arm and hand positions were on finger style - some noticeably more awkward than others..!

Very true, not least because the player rests his RH thumb on a pickup or the edge of the neck.

dazzajl said:

Thats a great video. The things I take from that are that despite the advances in bass build and design, how well the Precision still gets the job done. (The phrase original and best comes to mind). 

How despite how how poorly the Jazz actually does the job of being ‘a bass’, how much I love it. 

'Original and best' - I'll go with that. I did gig a Squier Jazz for a year or so, but it always seemed like hard work to get proper bassiness out of it! Fun for noodling though.

Bridgehouse

@Keefy - that’s an interesting observation. I rest mine on the string below where I’m playing except for the E which rests where it can. I use the thumb for muting along with left hand technique and a bit of palm - thinking about it my whole hand and arm position is different to his

Keefy

Bridgehouse said:

@Keefy - that’s an interesting observation. I rest mine on the string below where I’m playing except for the E which rests where it can. I use the thumb for muting along with left hand technique and a bit of palm - thinking about it my whole hand and arm position is different to his

I've slightly edited my post since yours, as I went back and noticed the player sometimes rested his thumb on the neck.

I used to play just as you describe (sometimes called 'floating anchor'), and with straight plucking fingers. About 5 or 6 years ago I changed to the technique demonstrated in this video. It was a game-changer. After the initial weirdness, I found I can play more smoothly and without stress. Disco octaves have also become easier.

Bridgehouse

Keefy said:

Bridgehouse said:

@Keefy - that’s an interesting observation. I rest mine on the string below where I’m playing except for the E which rests where it can. I use the thumb for muting along with left hand technique and a bit of palm - thinking about it my whole hand and arm position is different to his

I've slightly edited my post since yours, as I went back and noticed the player sometimes rested his thumb on the neck.

I used to play just as you describe (sometimes called 'floating anchor'), and with straight plucking fingers. About 5 or 6 years ago I changed to the technique demonstrated in this video. It was a game-changer. After the initial weirdness, I found I can play more smoothly and without stress. Disco octaves have also become easier.

I’ve seen that vid! Looks like a good technique - but an old shoulder injury (dislocation) means putting the weight on that for long periods makes it really difficult/painful. 

The thumb muting thing is really handy and it feels wasted having it resting on a pickup

Bridgehouse

BTW - my plucking fingers aren’t straight - more like in the vid above.

dazzajl

That’s a very interesting video. Will spend some time trying that and see how it beds in. 
Not that I ever pick up a bass enough these days for it to really matter. 

Interestingly, while I’ve always been a ‘rest the thumb up top l’ player, for slap stuff my hand works almost exactly as he shows in the video. It’s all nothing more than mental training isn’t it 

JezWynd

Favourites for me were the P bass - it excelled in every category of playing and the Ric which had the most personality to its sound though it sounded a bit weak. I was surprised at how poor the Stingray sounded and the Jazz wasn't much better - very lacking in bottom. Didn't care for the Warwick at all, though a tweak of the tone control or change of strings might have massively improved it.

Excellent method of comparison and very well executed.

Bridgehouse

JezWynd said:

Favourites for me were the P bass - it excelled in every category of playing and the Ric which had the most personality to its sound though it sounded a bit weak. I was surprised at how poor the Stingray sounded and the Jazz wasn't much better - very lacking in bottom. Didn't care for the Warwick at all, though a tweak of the tone control or change of strings might have massively improved it.

Excellent method of comparison and very well executed.

I think I largely agree with you. The Warwick was disappointing, which didn't surprise me as I've never really liked them, and the Stingray matched my experience when I had one (and why I don't now). Tho I think with the right pickup it could sound a lot better - I'm going to build a partscaster Stingray next, so it'll be interesting to see..

PolarityMan

ICBM said:

Not too surprising for me...

1. Rickenbacker (The most punchy, good on all the sounds, and has the most deep bottom end.)
2. Precision (The most even overall, but a narrower range of sounds.)
3. Thunderbird (Almost equal with the P, but a little muddy in places.)
4. Stingray (Not bad but a bit too clangy.)
5. Jazz (Thin, honky and too hollow.)
6. Warwick (Tizzy, spiky and just odd-sounding.)

Are you trolling? The rickenbacker was a pile of inarticulate fuzzy garbage, the opposite of what I mean when i say "punchy".

for me the warwick was easily the best, followed by the stingray. 
The fenders showed a clear divide with jazz better with fingers / slap and precision better with a pick
The thurderbird was OK, prob a better all rounder than either of the fenders.
See comment above on rickenbacker...just awful, useless unless you are searching for a specific era of sound.

guitarfishbay

Bridgehouse said:

JezWynd said:

Favourites for me were the P bass - it excelled in every category of playing and the Ric which had the most personality to its sound though it sounded a bit weak. I was surprised at how poor the Stingray sounded and the Jazz wasn't much better - very lacking in bottom. Didn't care for the Warwick at all, though a tweak of the tone control or change of strings might have massively improved it.

Excellent method of comparison and very well executed.

I think I largely agree with you. The Warwick was disappointing, which didn't surprise me as I've never really liked them, and the Stingray matched my experience when I had one (and why I don't now). Tho I think with the right pickup it could sound a lot better - I'm going to build a partscaster Stingray next, so it'll be interesting to see..

What I’ve found with Stingrays is I prefer not using the onboard Pre. I’ve got a 3EQ, I leave it pretty flat most of the time. The bass is voiced a bit too low and the treble way too high for my preferences. Though I do add a tiny bit of treble if I want that gritty top.

Bridgehouse

guitarfishbay said:

Bridgehouse said:

JezWynd said:

Favourites for me were the P bass - it excelled in every category of playing and the Ric which had the most personality to its sound though it sounded a bit weak. I was surprised at how poor the Stingray sounded and the Jazz wasn't much better - very lacking in bottom. Didn't care for the Warwick at all, though a tweak of the tone control or change of strings might have massively improved it.

Excellent method of comparison and very well executed.

I think I largely agree with you. The Warwick was disappointing, which didn't surprise me as I've never really liked them, and the Stingray matched my experience when I had one (and why I don't now). Tho I think with the right pickup it could sound a lot better - I'm going to build a partscaster Stingray next, so it'll be interesting to see..

What I’ve found with Stingrays is I prefer not using the onboard Pre. I’ve got a 3EQ, I leave it pretty flat most of the time. The bass is voiced a bit too low and the treble way too high for my preferences. Though I do add a tiny bit of treble if I want that gritty top.

For the partscaster stingray I'll probably go with an East Preamp - I like them a lot, and it gives a very different flavour - it will also probably be a MM bridge with a Jazz neck pickup setup

guitarfishbay

So I'd be interested to know how the basses were processed in that video.  The Warwick and Jazz seem very bright, brighter than necessary anyway.

The only one I didn't like was the Rick.  But I wonder if that's a setup or even signal flow thing, it sounded weak and almost like it was clipping in the picking section. 

I haven't played one, but I haven't heard one sound that wimpy before either.  Unless the headphones I have on have some kind of dip in the frequency range where you guys are hearing punchy I'm just not hearing it as punchy at all.

There's a big difference between basses just as DI, both tonally and output, so if there's any additional processing it's hard to have one setting work for all basses.  That's the inherent issue with these bass comparisons, it's not like guitar when two humbucker guitars sound pretty similar anyway.  A Jazz with both pickups on sounds way different to a Precision.

Worth noting it's a 70s Jazz in this video, the more common configuration is 60s spacing.  In 70s spacing the bridge pickup is closer to the bridge, and the tone winds up a bit brighter.

I've personally found as far as natural sub lows go it's hard to beat a 60s spaced Jazz with both pickups on if you want actual low end.  P basses do the punchy upper bass thing which almost always works, but Jazz basses have more actual deep bass if you get them to the same volume.

Bridgehouse

guitarfishbay said:

So I'd be interested to know how the basses were processed in that video.  The Warwick and Jazz seem very bright, brighter than necessary anyway.

The only one I didn't like was the Rick.  But I wonder if that's a setup or even signal flow thing, it sounded weak and almost like it was clipping in the picking section.  

I haven't played one, but I haven't heard one sound that wimpy before either.  Unless the headphones I have on have some kind of dip in the frequency range where you guys are hearing punchy I'm just not hearing it as punchy at all.

There's a big difference between basses just as DI, both tonally and output, so if there's any additional processing it's hard to have one setting work for all basses.  That's the inherent issue with these bass comparisons, it's not like guitar when two humbucker guitars sound pretty similar anyway.  A Jazz with both pickups on sounds way different to a Precision.

Worth noting it's a 70s Jazz in this video, the more common configuration is 60s spacing.  In 70s spacing the bridge pickup is closer to the bridge, and the tone winds up a bit brighter.

I've personally found as far as natural sub lows go it's hard to beat a 60s spaced Jazz with both pickups on if you want actual low end.  P basses do the punchy upper bass thing which almost always works, but Jazz basses have more actual deep bass if you get them to the same volume.

Vid at the start says it's an Apogee Duet sound card and a Shift Line Olympic Mk II Preamp. I don't know that preamp at all.. and I suspect it makes a difference......

guitarfishbay

Bridgehouse said:

guitarfishbay said:

What I’ve found with Stingrays is I prefer not using the onboard Pre. I’ve got a 3EQ, I leave it pretty flat most of the time. The bass is voiced a bit too low and the treble way too high for my preferences. Though I do add a tiny bit of treble if I want that gritty top.

For the partscaster stingray I'll probably go with an East Preamp - I like them a lot, and it gives a very different flavour - it will also probably be a MM bridge with a Jazz neck pickup setup

The East Preamp is based on the 2EQ which I think arguably sounds better and a bit beefier in the low end.  I used to feel the other way and prefer the 3EQ sound, but it has an always present presence bump that kind of paints you in to a corner a bit for some sounds.

guitarfishbay

Bridgehouse said:

Vid at the start says it's an Apogee Duet sound card and a Shift Line Olympic Mk II Preamp. I don't know that preamp at all.. and I suspect it makes a difference......

I just wouldn't expect the Jazz or Warwick to be that bright unless there's some kind of tonal shaping going on.  The Warwick especially sounds like there's a treble boost going on

Bridgehouse

guitarfishbay said:

Bridgehouse said:

guitarfishbay said:

What I’ve found with Stingrays is I prefer not using the onboard Pre. I’ve got a 3EQ, I leave it pretty flat most of the time. The bass is voiced a bit too low and the treble way too high for my preferences. Though I do add a tiny bit of treble if I want that gritty top.

For the partscaster stingray I'll probably go with an East Preamp - I like them a lot, and it gives a very different flavour - it will also probably be a MM bridge with a Jazz neck pickup setup

The East Preamp is based on the 2EQ which I think arguably sounds better and a bit beefier in the low end.  I used to feel the other way and prefer the 3EQ sound, but it has an always present presence bump that kind of paints you in to a corner a bit for some sounds.

I'm loving the P-Retro I have in my ACG. I'd have it in a whole range of basses tbh - it's so flexible live.