GAS, SAG, and newbie gear questions

Gear
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TLDR - Not sure what I have and what I should keep or flip?

Old guy here making another run at learning the bass. I started in 2015. I bought a washburn off of Craigslist and then decided I didn’t really like it so I sold it for what I paid for it. I then found at a pawn shop for $125, a like new LTD ESP B-50 2003 model, Black on Black, totally passive unlike the newer ones. I tried different strings including D’addario XL Nickle, DR Black Beauties, and settled on D’Addario Chrome Flats which I like and don’t feel that I need to change. I have learned how to do my own setups and really my only complaint with the instrument is that it is a little heavy at almost 10 lbs. I do know that is midrange.

My practice amp is a Orange Crush Bass 25 that I got LNIB from Facebook Market for $100. It’s a little small but so is the house so my lady is happy with that. It has a tuner, bass, mid sweep, and treble. It sounds good and can get loud but not shaking. I have a lllloooonnnngggg way to go before I start gigging, if ever. I do also have a Tech 21 Sansamp that I found at a garage sale and Zoom B1XOn that gives me my drums and other sounds.

I have not really been wanting a new bass but last week on Craigslist I spotted a Schecter Stiletto Stealth 4 for $80 as it was not outputting any sound. It still had the protective plastic on the pickguard and has no scraps, dents, scratches. I had just seen these on sale for $549 so I grabbed it thinking that I could fix whatever. Turns out the pre-amp was bad so I replaced it with an Audere Classic 4-band V/V/Mids/BasTre. I shielded the cavities and this thing is dead quiet. I’m into it for about $240. Serial Number makes it a 2017 build. It is setup well. It had a new set of D’Addario round wounds on it, I tried the Black Beauties (too floppy again!) and then the XL Nickels which I left on.

From a sonic standpoint, the precision pickups sound very similar. The Stealth with the pre-amp is hotter and maybe a little more detail. The bridge pickups are just different but I can’t say one is better than the other. With everything flat, I would say the Stealth is has a little more twang. From a control standpoint the Stealth is very responsive to the mids and bass, treble does almost nothing with this bass and my 8" amp (Audere FAQ confirms). The B-50 is VVT and is pretty straightforward. Sustain on both instruments is fantastic. I can get different tones from each one, not that I know what to do with that tone!

Physically, the Stealth is about 1 lb lighter and slightly thinner. Tuners feel the same. Bridge is nicer on the Stealth. Fretboards are both rosewood. Radius is slight flatter on the Stealth (15" vs 12" it think). Fretwork is excellent on both with zero sprout, etc. Necks are straight and thin on both and truss rods work and are adjustable. Both intonate and saddles look fine. Saddle adjustment screws on the B-50 are a little high and sharp and have bit me. I have the action pretty low on each with no buzz. Both are pretty classy looking but can also be MAP (metal as phuck!) i guess.

Here is my dilemma. I now have two black on black, 4-string, 34" guitars. One P/J passive with flats, , one P/MM active with rounds. Sonically to my ear, they are more similar than different. I won’t say I’m disappointed in the Stealth but guess I did expect more from an upgraded midrange instrument vs. what I always believed was an entry level starter bass.

I’m only into my gear for $6-700 but I think I could be covered for a long time. I don’t have GAS but I do like to tinker and I have learned a LOT with these instruments. People say you will always regret selling your first bass. The Schecter seems like something to keep since it was such a good deal. Should I keep both or sell one and maybe try and get a 100 watt amp, or some lessons(1)? I don’t think I can lose any money here but I also don’t need to make anything either.

Any thoughts or advice is greatly appreciated.

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Keep them both. There’s no rush. The more you learn, the more you’ll be able to discern which one will work better with different tunes.

You might well sell one or both in the future, when/if you GAS for a specific tone and feel of another bass(es). It is not an uncommon occurrence.

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Put rounds on the P/MM and flats on the PJ.
The tonal differences will be striking.

Agree with @MikeC - no reason to sell anything. Unless you need the money.

You’re new to this and your ears and fingers will develop over time and tell you what you want / like don’t want / don’t like. Could be too early to tell.

I have a good friend who says “in the absence of the proper amount of information, do nothing, get more info”

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Sorry it it wasn’t clear, I edited. I do have the rounds (Xl Nickle) on the P/MM and flats (Chromes) on the P/J. The P/J is “smoooooth” but the P/MM is only a little “brighter”.

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Those are flat out great buys, it was my first Zoom as well.

I guess my first question would be “What are you looking for?”

I assume you’ve played with the tone control on the passive and EQ on the active?

There’s also ways to make your bass sound brighter or darker by just playing. Picks are brighter than fingers, and playing closer to the bridge is brighter than closer to the neck.

You could also solo the MM on the P/MM and it would get a different tone than the P/J with both (or the P soloed).

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Hmmm. I don’t do chromes so can’t comment on those as the flats. I’m a Labella guy

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Honestly, I don’t really know. There is not a particular sound or tone I’m looking for. The Schecter just seemed too good to pass up given I was confident I could getting going one way or another.

There just seems to be a lot of attention paid to gear, tone, equipment, one these forums, Reddit r/bass, and TalkBass. I felt like I was missing something I should learn about. Now I’m thinking I need to just play and practice. As John said above, my ability to discern what I’m feeling and hearing will develop.

I guess at this point I can be confident that any issues are due to skills (or lack there of) and not equipment.

Anyway, thanks for the input, off to the woodshed now!

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Yes and also have fun. Being on time is more important than tone.

You can have the best tone but if your timing sucks it’s irrelevant.

Oh and welcome to the forum. It’s a nice place.

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Welcome to BassBuzz @Bodhammer !

You should have included BassBuzz in that list also. :rofl:

You’re not missing anything. Gear is easy to talk about, so people talk about it… alot. (I’m guilty of this.) That, and everybody likes to talk about whatever new toy they’ve gotten. Then, there’s all the talk about what gear can be used to get a specific sound. Either the sound in a particular song or chasing the sound someone hears in their head. (I’m guilty of chasing the sounds in my head.)

From what you’ve said, it sounds like you’ve got really good gear. I bet that Schecter sounds huge with the P/MM setup. Even after including the cost of the Audere preamp, that thing was a steal!

Nobody needs to worry about gear until they find something they want to do that their current gear doesn’t do. If you like what you’ve got, that’s all that matters.

The thing is, even though you got great deals on your instruments, they are both really good instruments. Anything beyond what you have is going to come down to very specific wants instead of needs. The trick, at this point, is going through the paces to figure out if there even is anything these basses can’t give you. I hope that makes sense.

I wouldn’t trade the amp for more wattage unless you plan to start playing with others or you just want something bigger. If it was a Fender or an Ampeg, going up to the 100 watt would be as much about getting that 12" speaker as having the extra watts. With those there is a pretty big jump in how it sounds going from an 8" to a 12". But I don’t know enough about Orange or how good their 8" speaker is.

Do you have the Beginner to BadAss course? If not, I can’t recommend it high enough. It’s worth far more than what Josh sells it for. Easily the best music purchase I’ve ever made.

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100% get the course here. Best money you will spend on bass.

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It will absolutely be my next online educational purchase. I have some TrueFire courses and I just got Fender Play for $15/year on a promotion is what I’m working through. I’m trying to find a live instructor in my small town as well. I have watched about 15 of Josh’s videos and I do like his style!

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That is what I have Rocksmith 2014 Remastered and CLDC for!

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I 'd advise you to save some money on live lessons and go through B2B completely first.
Otherwise you will pay the local guy to teach you same for much much more.
B2B is the foundation, I would even say pause your Trufire / Fender Play work til after B2B or along with it.

Once through B2B, you will have a much better understanding of what needs to be worked on or what goal you will have to get live instruction.

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Certain strings feel good on one bass and not on another. Flat Chromes are by far my personal least favorite string along with the Rotosound flats. But each person is going to respond to touch in different ways just like the instrument can sound different in different hands. Strings aren’t free but they are a good way to chase tone and find what you like along the way. 25-50 bucks every now and then is a lot cheaper than a couple hundred dollar maybe over and over. I can attest to that. You’ll find lots of fans of the GHS Boomer rounds and the LaBella Deep Talkin Flats in these parts for good reason.

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D’A Chromes are OK, but not stellar, in my opinion. They are brighter and more modern sounding, which is fine unless you’re chasing a classic flats tone. That, they do not have.

TI Jazz Flats cost a tad north of 50 bucks, but they’re more than worth it. They feel, sound and play really great. Same goes for TI Jazz Rounds.

But string prefs are totally personal, and what works for one might not work for all.

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The first question on strings is what sound are you chasing?

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