Show Us Your Basses (Part 1)

Did not see this one come by yet.


From the new Fender Vintera Series 70Jazz Bass, the workmanship is great and the tonal options are amazing, very smooth to play on

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Welcome to the Forums, @Marcel . . . :slight_smile:

Nice-looking bass . . . I like the square inlays, too!

All best, Joe

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Oh it’s going in a video no doubt. People will think I’m 8 feet tall. :slight_smile:

I had a similar experience to @terb with the Bronco - I thought the pickup sucked. Wouldn’t recommend that bass based on my (limited) experience, the Mustang is a world apart in terms of quality and legit-feeling-bassyness.

That J looks gorgeous @Marcel! And welcome to the forum. :partying_face:

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Is there a reason Squier put a block on the 1st fret of their full scale basses? I only noticed when I started trying to get to grips with the differences in their VM/CV ranges, but it keeps catching my eye - and I don’t like it.

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My first and (so far :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:) only

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Yay Yamaha :slight_smile:

TRBX174? Looks nice!

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Just decorative I should think, @PeteP . . . but after playing mine for 6 months, I really appreciate the block inlays vs dots . . . :slight_smile:

Cheers, Joe

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Beauty :smile:

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yeah, just decorative. I like this first fret block … it’s a matter of taste I guess :slight_smile:

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It is indeed a TRBX174EW :slight_smile:

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I thought as much but it seemed odd to break with convention. It instantly made me count the frets thinking there were more or less than standard. Given that you shouldn’t be looking at them while playing - a habit I’m slowly weening myself out of - I know it doesn’t really matter.

I’ve been considering a VM or CV for weeks now, and probably only don’t have one yet because I can’t find one even close to local. I’ve been in touch with a couple of guys who have 5+ between them (dealers, I suspect) and they both live on the route to Edinburgh where I will be in two weekends time, so there’s a chance I’ll be coming home with one.

In the meantime, I’ve been getting to grips with the setup of my Peavey, and so far it’s been improved enough that I’m not sure I should be changing right now.

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@howard Can you speak to the differences you’ve experienced between the TRBX 304 and 604? Weight? Neck/Fret feel? Sound of Electonics? Overall quality? Versatility of having the passive/active switch? Anything else you can think of.

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Short answer: IMO they are both great basses. So is the 504.

The 304 is a comfortable weight, feels good, and was contoured well for me. It has a very fast and playable thin neck. The neck is honestly probably my favorite part of the guitar, Yamaha really did well with it.

Overall the tonal range of the 304 is very impressive for the price. Pickups were very good, electronics were great in mine, a little preamp noise when you cranked the treble, but nothing worse than other similar guitars I tried and better than many.

The 304’s five preamp presets were an interesting choice and I would say all but one of them were useful, and one is a mid scoop on a switch, which is pretty much perfect for styles I like.

The 604 has an identical neck to the 304 - which is good, because it is awesome. The fretboard is slightly different but the feel is the same. Frets are identical. Pickups are a bit better sounding on the 604 to me - clearer and deeper (magazine reviewers describe them as “stellar”, which I won’t argue with :slight_smile:

The 304 is all mahogany body while the 604 is alder with a maple top. Unscientifically, the 604 feels like it weighs about a pound less than the 304, which actually makes a difference. It also sounds brighter to me, but that might be because they also tweaked the preamp EQ freqs. The 604 has a 3-band EQ which I find more useful and versatile than the 304’s 2-band + presets.

The Active/Passive switch is super cool. I play in passive mode a lot more than I expected I would - the guitar has a great passive tone, modern yet thumpy.

Quality of both guitars is top notch for the midrange production guitars I’ve seen, you won’t go wrong with either in that regard. Same goes for the 504s I have looked at. It’s just a nice line of guitars.

Also, all the TRBX models, from 174 to 604, look awesome IMO. Like the Ibanez SR line, it’s much more a modern look than classic.

Any of them would make an outstanding first bass. The 174 is currently getting a lot of attention as a “best bass under $200” kind of thing at the moment. If I were buying as an upgrade from a 304, what I would probably look for is a used 504 in good shape, while keeping an eye open for a deal on a 604. 504’s are great basses and the price point of the used ones is really good. This is in fact what I was looking for when I found the deal on my 604.

Not gonna lie though. That flame maple top is gorgeous, on all of the color choices. I highly recommend checking out the transparent black one in person, even if you don’t like black guitars.

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About tone woods : alder sounds actually brighter than mahogany. mahogany gives a warm tone with great medium, whereas alder gives more attack and an overall clearer/brighter sound. Ash is a kind of best of both worlds to me : almost the attack of alder, bright enough, and not too far from the warmth of mahogany. Alder is lighter than mahogany. About ash, the weight vary a lot from a piece of wood to another one. The lighter ones (swamp ash) sounds usually warmer but with less attack.

Also the maple top, depending of its width, can add some brightness. But if it’s only a thin layer of maple, it won’t change anything.

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Yeah that might be one reason for the brighter tone.

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@howard Thanks! That was just what I was hoping for.

My understanding is the difference between the 500 and 600 is purely cosmetic. Can you confirm this?

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The 504 has a mahogany body like the 304. The other differences I am aware of are cosmetic only.

Here’s a handy chart:

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Oooh! Nice chart. Thanks.

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Bought the cort action after watching blind review and I like the wood finish look…I like the cort wood look on the cort artisan tobacco

which maybe my upgrade or I will keep reading and looking as I like the look of this starter bass

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Congrats, @kiwiliveshere . . . :+1:

Wishing you lots of fun and good luck with it . . . :slight_smile:

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