I put those in my Squire Jazz and really love them.
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The Duff McKegan, Aerodynes and Paranormal are all very, very attractive basses to me. The other one I really like the look of is the Sire Marcus Miller V9. I don’t know much about how this plays but just from looks alone it’s got my vote! Must try and find it one day to have a play.
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I play short scales exclusively, gone through 3 makes/models prior to my latest acquisition, but think I’ve finally found the one that just looks, feels and sounds right for what I want/need:
MIM Fender Player PJ Mustang.
It’s all really very subjective, but when it’s right, I think you know it pretty quickly. It’s been a couple months, but every time I pick this guy up, the magic is still there!
(But also still enjoy my Sterling Stingray when I need other tones)
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I have a Mustang PJ as well and I love the way it feels in my hands. It just fits.
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Check out the Fender MIM Precision Special. It’s a P Body with a Jazz Neck and active pickups. I love mine. Perhaps a tad over your budget but not by much.
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Well, purely cosmetic bias does come and go and you shift your preference sometimes overnight so if it’s “purely cosmetic” personally, I like the one piece look and feel of maple neck and fingerboard especially roasted maple version.
I’d keep the Ray34, and maybe get your fix on the cheap Squier first. You can get one each used or new jazz, p and pj. The new Squiers will get you at lease 80% of the “fender” experience, you can even do the pickup upgrade as you see fit and swap back when you want to get the real fender and sell the Squier.
If you already own a stingray and didn’t click with this one I can understand but if this is your first MM and you are newish to bass then I’d hold off on selling it right away. Chances are as soon as you sell it you’d missed it.
I like both brands and designs and even I sometimes would switch my favorites and stick with playing just one bass for a few days for any reasons that would be triggered.
I just want to remind you that stingray is one of the top 4 mainstream (in no particular order) iconic basses to own and play; jazz, precision, stingray and pj. Of course there’s the contemporary designs with the soapbars. I’d agree with you more if you were to complain about the weight of the bass because there’s no such thing as a light weight stingray, or you don’t like and it should be verging on hate the aggressive growling sound of the stingray and prefer softer warmer tone of a passive p bass. Not saying that MM is not capable or producing a finesse gentle tone. Personally, I prefer active electronics to the passive ones, but to each its own.
On the side note I’m upgrading my Ray34, I ordered a Status graphite neck fretless. It’s all graphite so it would be a dark color fingerboard. That can you an option for you too.
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If you’d consider a short scale, Fender’s Mustang P/J basses are fun. (There’s also a Squier version, but I have no experience with them.) They run around $700, and Chicago Music Exchange and Sweetwater both have custom colors (as does Anderton’s in the UK).
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Does it sound like a Ukelele?
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Honest if you wanna go Fender route try it. But id recommend you to check out Sire before it. They offer much more “Fender” bass for much less cash.
Im not very happy with my MIM Fender hardware for which I gave around 900$. I also have Ray4 and I tell you, by my opinion its much better instrument all around.
Even that Fenders finish feels good under my hands.
My motto since then is always check out other stuff, if you arent happy go Fender. But I believe there are so many basses around you, you would never need to approach fender.
P.S. I was told that Fender considers 900$ instrument entry model so they dont care much about it.
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Soon as I get myself a 4 string (which I may swich out dependingly) my next bass after that will undoubtedly be a 70s Fender Jazz with Labella Flats that have been kindly recommended to me on here.
But after that if I ever buy a bass it will only be to replace another.
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Famous last words?
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LOL Definitely. But that Fender Jazz won’t budge once I get it. My uncle had one with flats and I was in love.
I plan to keep it to a 3-4 basses max. Honestly 3 max is my goal but if I plan to do more death metal then I will need another bass to be downtuned for these purposes. But I look at that like I look at cheater double bass pedals on drums.
I’m honestly feeling like I’m set for life with my 6 string bass but I do have other wants and needs of course. Too many famous last words, sorry.
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Yes. I have a P-bass that’s becoming a Steve Harris worship relic, I have a double-humbucker frankenjazz that I’m building, and I just bought a Peavey Milestone BXP JJ.
I promised the missus no more basses for a while. But, since I’ve become a peavey fanboy over the last week, I’m alread eying a Milestone BXP P-bass.
It. Never. Ends.
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This is the rub with Fender. There’s lots of reasons someone might want one, they may simply be the bass for you, but price for performance is not one of them. You can get a lot more bass for a lot less money from other manufacturers. Including the level of quality, really - not saying Fenders are low quality, more that you can get seriously high quality basses for less, from many manufacturers.
With Fender you’re paying for tradition, name, and two very specific bass styles - both style and sound wise. With few exceptions.
Even then, Fender doesn’t even make the best Fender style basses - plenty of boutique, custom, and even production Fender-style basses outclass them - though in these cases it is often at a similar or higher price point.
But they do make the only ones with the logo. And the tradition.
I am not harshing on Fenders here - I think they are overall great basses. There’s a reason they are the favorites of a lot of people. They are the standard. Everyone knows what to expect with them. But you need to be aware of what you are paying for with them, because it’s not the overall features or quality of the instrument.
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You are paying for a known quantity coupled with the Fender legacy and logo. You can definitely buy said known quantity for less from another vendor. However “known quantity” is not the only reason people buy basses.
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FWIW, I am digging older, quasi-vintage MIJ/CIJ Fenders vs. new.
I find there are more interesting things, styles, etc and quality is great.
You def get more for your money used.
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Many of those old MIJ Fenders were made by Fujigen. Those will be equal to (or depending on the era, better than) MIA.
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Yeah, like @JT says, brands and logos have value because people are willing to pay for them. I certainly have my own brand affinities.
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