What Bass should i buy

Gear
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Hey everyone!

I’m looking for advice on a new bass guitar and would love some input from the community.

A bit of context: I play in a 5-piece alternative hard rock band (bass, lead guitar, drums, keyboards, and vocals). Our sound ranges from dark and heavy to more delicate, ballad-style moments.

My personal bass tone is very mid-focused — I run a “sad face” EQ, boosting the mids while the bass and treble stay at 5. I usallly have always a little Bit of dirt in my sound. My Favorite bassist are Paul Gray from Slipknot and nick Oliveri and Michael Shuman from queens of the stone age.

Thanks in advance!

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What do you already have?

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Cort pj bass and a darlglass microtubes infinity. I run it thought ampeg cl small Version. I like my bass and will always be one of of favs, but i Just want something diffrent if you can say that

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Cool. So for your style of music a J-bass is probably not the best choice, so maybe a double humbucker bass, or a MM-style like a Stingray?

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Music man sounds intresting. A jazz bass Sounds scooped with both Pickups, a p is very midrangy on its own. What is the sound of a music man bass?

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It’s got that humbucker richness but is also kind of growly. They sound cool.

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Well since there’s no budget involved then I’d look at DingWall. it should fit your needs and looks very well.

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Yeah, I think any Dingwall would be perfect for that genre. I just don’t assume that someone has that budget.

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Dingwall, no further questioning required! :joy:

Either an NG3 or a D-Roc. Both are monster basses and fit your use case perfectly. They also look freaking fantastic, especially the D-Roc!! They are all surprisingly versatile in terms of the tone that you can illicit from them - dark and heavy, to ballads and back agin, no problem.

Re: budget, obviously not sure where you’re at, but you can get Dingwalls on the used market for a ‘reasonable’ price, obviously ‘reasonable’ is a relative term though…!

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Yep. This^^^

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I too vote on a Stingray style, either Sterling or MM. Bands like AC/DC, Rage Against the Machine, and the Cranberries use it. It’s got the chops you want, and even has a Darkray version with a Darkglass preamp

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To be fair I always have the modest budget in mind, it just accepts that I blew it most of the time :rofl:

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I totally feel that. I was expecting to spend zero dollars last week and ended up going over that by a bit buying my BBPH.

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See? It’s not like you are getting a custom Alembic or anything :joy:

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My answer will usually be something like this (especially if you want something different)

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Of course, it would be easier if @Krms25 gave us a budgetary range :+1:

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For that style of music, Ibanez and ESP are also solid, solid choices. MIJ ESP’s will easily stand up to Dingwall for quality and looks, but also cost in the same range.

Dingwall is a fantastic choice if budget really isn’t an option. Always wanted an Afterburner, never wanted to pay for one :slight_smile:

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Surf your local used listings and grab the one that looks awesome, has a different pickup config than your current, and feels good in your hands.

My two main basses that I love (Reverend Raymond and Yamaha SBV-550) are fantastic, but would never come up in “what should I buy” threads.

What is your budget?

Were I in your position and know what I know now, I’d want a Reverend Thundergun.

(The three bassists you listed, looking up their rigs… Paul Gray plays a Stingray style, Shuman a Jazz, and Oliveri has P, P/J, and a Rickenbacker.) Get whatever excites you.

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Ooh yeah a Wattplower would work great too. Reverend is a good call.

And I would absolutely recommend a SBV-550 here - one of the best choices for this style of music IMO - except it’s a P/J. And also hard for most to track down.

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Eh, I dunno. The Wattplower is more of an Ampeg sound than Darkglass if you know what I mean. I’m sure it’d do fine but wouldn’t be my first suggestion.

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