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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71950
    most people, when they think of 'bass tone', are thinking of a 34" scale Precision, Jazz or a Stingray tone.
    There might be somebody on this forum who thinks of neither the 34" scale nor any brand whose name does not begin and end with the letter R. 
    IC what you are saying.

    However 33.25 is near enough 34" that I'll let it go.
    :)

    lol

    However that can't be my answer here because no matter how you try, you aren't going to get even a worthwhile fake one for £200...

    For that money, I would either second Bridgehouse and get a Squier P-Bass, or if you do fancy a short-scale bass, the Squier VM Jaguar Bass is unbeatable value, at least new.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14320
    ICBM said:
    no matter how you try, you aren't going to get even a worthwhile fake one for £200.
    For £200, you wouldn't even get an empty RIC case.
    Be seeing you.
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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11411
    A short scale does affect the tone of a bass - it is a distinct sound, so you need to know what sort of bass tone you’d like.

    McCartney in the Beatles, Jack Bruce in Cream, and Andy Fraser in Cream all used short scale basses.  It's a valid option.

    The first bass I bought, I thought I'm going to keep this simple and get a Precision.  I got a second hand Fender Japan reissue of an early 60's (62?) P bass which had a really wide neck.  I've got really short fingers, and it was a struggle to play.  Playing a Jazz for the first time was a revelation.  After that I ended up selling the Precision and getting a Jazz, which I got modded to PJ specs because a Precision sounds better.

    A couple of months ago, I borrowed a friend's short scale Supro, and that was another revelation.  It was so much easier to play.  It's a different sound but short scale didn't stop McCartney selling bucket loads of records.  Not everyone is going to have my short fingers, so a long scale bass might not be an issue, but I did want to make the OP aware of short scale as an option.

    If you have a shop near you with a decent stock, then it's worth going and trying a few.  Try a Precision, but also try the Jazz to see if you like the narrower neck.  Try something like the Mustang bass to see if the short scale is better for you.  Even if you do end up buying a second hand one off of Gumtree, you will have a better idea of what you want.

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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    crunchman said:
    A short scale does affect the tone of a bass - it is a distinct sound, so you need to know what sort of bass tone you’d like.

    McCartney in the Beatles, Jack Bruce in Cream, and Andy Fraser in Cream all used short scale basses.  It's a valid option.

    The first bass I bought, I thought I'm going to keep this simple and get a Precision.  I got a second hand Fender Japan reissue of an early 60's (62?) P bass which had a really wide neck.  I've got really short fingers, and it was a struggle to play.  Playing a Jazz for the first time was a revelation.  After that I ended up selling the Precision and getting a Jazz, which I got modded to PJ specs because a Precision sounds better.

    A couple of months ago, I borrowed a friend's short scale Supro, and that was another revelation.  It was so much easier to play.  It's a different sound but short scale didn't stop McCartney selling bucket loads of records.  Not everyone is going to have my short fingers, so a long scale bass might not be an issue, but I did want to make the OP aware of short scale as an option.

    If you have a shop near you with a decent stock, then it's worth going and trying a few.  Try a Precision, but also try the Jazz to see if you like the narrower neck.  Try something like the Mustang bass to see if the short scale is better for you.  Even if you do end up buying a second hand one off of Gumtree, you will have a better idea of what you want.

    Just to be clear, I wasn't suggesting not going for short scale, but being aware that they can (and often do) sound different to full scale basses. But in the same way that basses can sound different through pickup choices or positions, or string choice. 

    I think if you are going to chose one bass over another it has to be on playability, tone, fit etc. My comment was in response to the suggestion that a short scale is a good choice because it will "suit a guitarist better"

    I disagree - it won't necessarily at all. A short scale may though suit a specific players needs, ear, tone requirements.
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  • thermionicthermionic Frets: 9498
    Used Squier VM or CV Precision or Jazz (take your pick) won’t disappoint. Plenty of pro musicians are seen playing these, which you don’t really see in the guitar world.
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  • valevale Frets: 1052
    edited June 2018
    if you are a guitarist looking to drift into bass, then neck & scale length will be the big things to keep at the front of your thinking. concerns around the shape & electrics may be the next stage once you have found the right neck.

    the most 'guitary' bass neck i have tried is the squier jag shortcale bass. really liked it. but i didn't like the P&J pickup combo so much. combined with the shortscale it sounded a bit dry to me. but that side depends on you are intending to process your signal (pedals & amp). i know royal blood bassman (can never remember his name) uses a shortscale jag now (squier not fender) & if you have heard that stuff, it's not light on bottom end.
    i could have put a hot neck pickup in mine & pumped/saturated the bass eq, but i have now gone semi acoustic bass in search of max phatness (whoever he is).

    the gretsch shortscale (i forget the number but they only do one) is often said to have a similar guitary neck. bridgehouse thinks they are pretty cool but i have never tried one. a highly rated bass you might get used within your budget.

    on the other hand i tried a squier bronco bass (shortscale) recently and it seemed uber chunky. entirely different animal to the squier jag (like precision v jazz).
    i had wanted to try one for a while, thinking 'squier, black, offset, shortscale... whats not to love?' but even at under £100 used i didn't take it. but then you may have loved it.

    anyway, those two above would be good starting points to try if you want shortscale & guitary. & if they are too thin maybe the bronco will be your thing. shortscale seems to be a good way for guitarists to bridge the gap either as a final destination or as a stepping stone to fullscale.

    re tone, to me shortscale basses definitely have a 'softer warmer' tone. less low end aggressive punch ('grunt' maybe the word) and more middy & muddy harmonics (in a good way).
    but again it depends on what you are doing with it. if you are playing in a very fuzzy distorted mix then a shortscale may not cut through enough. but if you are doing cleaner things, then the shortscale has a hint more warmth.
    hofner hussie & hayman harpie. what she said...
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    After today's bass revelations for me I'm going to advise the following:

    Go to a shop with at least a dozen basses in it. Play all of them in your price range. If you can afford the time, go to a second shop and play an equally large number. 

    Ignore the label on the headstock, the scale length, the pickup arrangement and just have a play and listen to it amped up. If you have a bass playing mate take them to twiddle whilst you listen.

    Then, fuck what everyone else says and buy the one that you feel is most comfortable, sounds best and you are more likely to play. Frankly, that's about as scientific as I think it should get.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14320
    After today's bass revelations for me
    Have you finally seen the light and renounced frets?

    vale said:
    if you are a guitarist, looking to drift into bass, then ...
    ... don't.

    Either commit fully or don't bother. (You'll love it. It's a way of life.)
    vale said:
    short scale seems to be a good way for guitarists to bridge the gap either as a final destination or as a stepping stone to full scale.
    That depends on whether you consider Bass to be a larger guitar, tuned lower or to be The Final Frontier. 

    I take the view that Bass is a musical function. In a band context, the role could be fulfilled by a four-stringed instrument, a tuba or a Moog Taurus pedal. Possibly, even, all three simultaneously.
    Be seeing you.
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    After today's bass revelations for me
    Have you finally seen the light and renounced frets?

    Ahahahahhahahhhahhhaaa! Funny man...


    No.
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  • valevale Frets: 1052
    vale said:
    if you are a guitarist, looking to drift into bass, then ...
    ... don't.

    Either commit fully or don't bother. (You'll love it. It's a way of life.)

    plus it's easier. four fat strings, hard-to-miss wide frets & you don't even have to learn chords.
    hofner hussie & hayman harpie. what she said...
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    vale said:

     & you don't even have to learn chords.
    You are SO missing out...  go learn some bass chords, go on.. dare ya.. it's awesome...
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  • darthed1981darthed1981 Frets: 11669
    I tried out a few around the £200 mark as was looking to get one myself.  Personally I found the Ibanez ones in this price range superior to the Squiers and the Sire ones in Andertons.  However, the Ibanez seem to have a far superior factory setup, so it's likely with a bit of TLC and a look at the nut, the others would be just as good.
    We have to be so very careful, what we believe in...
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14320
    vale said:

     & you don't even have to learn chords.
    You are SO missing out...  go learn some bass chords, go on.. dare ya.. it's awesome...
    Insert Billy Sheehan, Les Claypool or Lemmy video content here. :)
    Be seeing you.
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  • RockerRocker Frets: 4941
    vale said:
    vale said:
    if you are a guitarist, looking to drift into bass, then ...
    ... don't.

    Either commit fully or don't bother. (You'll love it. It's a way of life.)

    plus it's easier. four fat strings, hard-to-miss wide frets & you don't even have to learn chords.

    Yeah, a major difference is that bass playing is all about the song (the music). When I took up bass I had to learn the rudiments of music theory whereas before, playing guitar, I did not, or believed I did not, need to know any theory to play guitar.

    Bass is a whole different world. You will either love it or you will love it.
    Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. [Albert Einstein]

    Nil Satis Nisi Optimum

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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    Rocker said:
    vale said:
    vale said:
    if you are a guitarist, looking to drift into bass, then ...
    ... don't.

    Either commit fully or don't bother. (You'll love it. It's a way of life.)

    plus it's easier. four fat strings, hard-to-miss wide frets & you don't even have to learn chords.

    Yeah, a major difference is that bass playing is all about the song (the music). When I took up bass I had to learn the rudiments of music theory whereas before, playing guitar, I did not, or believed I did not, need to know any theory to play guitar.

    Bass is a whole different world. You will either love it or you will love it.
    Playing bass has made me think about how a song or piece of music works more than any other instrument. 

    Writing bass lines for original songs in our band has been has been more rewarding than any other writing too. It really has been brilliant
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  • ricorico Frets: 1220
    To be honest i'll probably never play it through anything other than Bias amp on the laptop or just unplugged. I was noodling on a Jazz-a-like at the studio and that seemed absolutely fine in terms of scale and neck size - do the neck specs differ wildly from manufacturer to manufacturer?


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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    rico said:
    To be honest i'll probably never play it through anything other than Bias amp on the laptop or just unplugged. I was noodling on a Jazz-a-like at the studio and that seemed absolutely fine in terms of scale and neck size - do the neck specs differ wildly from manufacturer to manufacturer?


    Not hugely - a Jazz will be something around 38 to 40mm and a Precision something around 40-42mm (unless it’s vintage spec as a P in which case it may be as much as 44mm)
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  • Phil_aka_PipPhil_aka_Pip Frets: 9794
    vale said:
    plus it's easier. four fat strings, hard-to-miss wide frets & you don't even have to learn chords.
    On the contrary. Although you may not have to finger them in the same way that guitarists do, you need to know their construction and how to arpeggiate them. Try playing rock'n'roll or blues bass lines without knowing dominant arpeggios!

    IMO you need just as much scale theory to make a good bass line as a guitarist needs to make a good solo.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • BridgehouseBridgehouse Frets: 24578
    vale said:
    plus it's easier. four fat strings, hard-to-miss wide frets & you don't even have to learn chords.
    On the contrary. Although you may not have to finger them in the same way that guitarists do, you need to know their construction and how to arpeggiate them. Try playing rock'n'roll or blues bass lines without knowing dominant arpeggios!

    IMO you need just as much scale theory to make a good bass line as a guitarist needs to make a good solo.
    Agreed. I have learned more new theory since going bass than I ever did with guitar. Especially with chord inversions, scales and harmonies. The theory has added some really nice sounding runs to my bass lines which are definitely a product of the theory
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  • JezWyndJezWynd Frets: 6021
    After today's bass revelations for me
    Have you finally seen the light and renounced frets?

    You're not helping. Desperately trying to tell myself this is a bad idea...


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