Best Bass for Country

Bill Miller · Post by **Bill Miller** » 16 Apr 2004 5:39 am

A friend is thinking about buying a new bass. Can anyone recommend a brand name and model that's associated with country music in particular? Are there a few basses that are more favored by country players than all the others on the market? I kind of thought Fender Precisions were very popular at one time. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Brad Sarno · Post by **Brad Sarno** » 16 Apr 2004 5:47 am

Fender P.

Brad Sarno

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 16 Apr 2004 6:13 am

The Fender Precision of course, the Fender Jazz wil work also.
But there are some nice Ibanez like the ROoadster, the GL's by Leo Fender are cool, Musicman makes a decent bass.

As long as it has a full round sound and sustains well, most any bass over $300 that you are confortable with will work for country.

Ain't met an electric country band yet that compained about the type of bass,
except playing bluegrass with a 28 fret 6 string electric bass. "Not TRAD", but they did like the 1958 P bass.

But "the best" is a 1954 Kay upright with David Gage pickup.

Steinar Gregertsen · Post by **Steinar Gregertsen** » 16 Apr 2004 6:15 am

Ditto the Fender Precision.
The P-bass can handle almost any kind of music, a good model will have a full and rich sound anywhere on the neck.

Steinar

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www.gregertsen.com

C Dixon · Post by **C Dixon** » 16 Apr 2004 6:29 am

Stand up accoustic bass

(Any brand will do)

Oh before I forget, NO drums either

carl

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 16 Apr 2004 12:30 pm

David, a 1943 Kay is a good choice, too!
And, Brother Carl, drums are OK, as long as they ain't got one of them new-fangled "bass drums!!!"

John McGann · Post by **John McGann** » 16 Apr 2004 12:35 pm

What are "drums"?

Larry Robbins · Post by **Larry Robbins** » 16 Apr 2004 12:51 pm

I think a snare with brushes is o.k.!

Alvin Blaine · Post by **Alvin Blaine** » 16 Apr 2004 2:19 pm

I've got an '41 Kay bass.
If you get a good standup bass player, kill the drummer, and it makes all the deference in the world for playing country music.
You won't even miss the drums, and everyone will be able to hear every instrument and even understand what the singer is singing.[This message was edited by Alvin Blaine on 18 April 2004 at 11:16 PM.]

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 16 Apr 2004 2:39 pm

I like you guys LOL.

My band 3 acoustic guitarists and me on Kay bass.
Vat's not to like!

Stephen Gregory · Post by **Stephen Gregory** » 16 Apr 2004 2:49 pm

Upright and tic tac together, and left hand on piano likewise.

Bill Miller · Post by **Bill Miller** » 16 Apr 2004 3:28 pm

Looks like a Fender Precision is a pretty good choice then...that's what I had told him initially. I wonder what a good price is for a used one? I know he won't be looking to buy one of those super expensive vintage ones from the '60s.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 16 Apr 2004 4:24 pm

Tell him to play a Precision in the store,
dial in a good sound on the amp.

Then try a few others in various price ranges in the same amp with same settings.
He is bound to have a clear decision shortly therafter.

I have played dozens of Precision and jazz basses, I have owned a few too.
But it is far from your only choice for a good bass.
They are very nice classics, but a bit heavy too.
No need to just lock on to it as your choice, just use it as a reference

My present bass is a custom cousin of this Fodera.

28 frets low B to hi E on the c string[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 16 April 2004 at 05:43 PM.]

Mike Perlowin RIP · Post by **Mike Perlowin RIP** » 16 Apr 2004 4:27 pm

Nothing wroing with Fender P basses, but there are some better ones available. Many newer basses have active electronics and get get richer and deeper sounds than can be achieved with the Fenders.

Some of the companies making basses with active electronics are Music Man, Carvin and Ibanez. I'm sure there are others.

I'd check out some of these instruments before I made any final decision.

James Morehead · Post by **James Morehead** » 16 Apr 2004 4:55 pm

I like the G&L 2000 series. Killer tone.

erik · Post by **erik** » 16 Apr 2004 5:54 pm

I think the tone character of the band would dictate whether a P or J bass is better. The J bass can enhance the twang factor, IMO.

-johnson

Tom Campbell · Post by **Tom Campbell** » 16 Apr 2004 6:36 pm

Try a Fender P Bass "Special". It has a P bass pickup and a Jazz bass pickup, jazz bass neck and a P bass body. It's the best of both basses in one instrument. Most Fender dealers have them, ebay, Musiciansfriend, etc. Fender also offers active electronics on some of their basses. Happy Hunting!

Bill Llewellyn · Post by **Bill Llewellyn** » 16 Apr 2004 8:00 pm

(Where'd this come from? See http://www.chipchapin.com )

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Bill, steelin' since '99 | Steel page | My music | Steelers' birthdays | Over 50?

[This message was edited by Bill Llewellyn on 16 April 2004 at 09:02 PM.]

Gary Walker · Post by **Gary Walker** » 16 Apr 2004 9:31 pm

I love my Carvin LB75 with active electronics. It plays, sounds and looks incredible and is the best value for the money. Sustain out the kazoo and will rattle the walls. Dial in the tone to suit.

Jussi Huhtakangas · Post by **Jussi Huhtakangas** » 16 Apr 2004 10:49 pm

If it's not an upright, a Dano Longhorn would be my choice! Our bass player just bought a 60's German Hoyer electric bass off the German ebay. It sounds great, kills his old Fender P any old day.

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 17 Apr 2004 1:13 am

Seems John Ashcroft couldn't find another fig leaf...

Tony Prior · Post by **Tony Prior** » 17 Apr 2004 2:46 am

I'm not sure I ever heard of a Bass..or any other Instrument just for Country..

You still need a quality tone with clarity and strength..which means you need a quality Bass and a HIGHER quality amp and speakers..

P Bass..nice choice..

J Bass also nice choice..with a little more flexibility..

Music Man Basses as Mike mentioned..also very nice..

Been thru 3 P bases, a Music Man Sterling..and now since '96 , the last ( final) Bass is a Fender 62 RI J Bass with Stack Knobs..for me this one shows the rest of them where the tone is..Live and recording , especially thru the Hartke 350 watt amp and 4x10 Aluminum cone cab...Oh and don't forget fresh strings..always..

When you try them out, play everything under the 5th fret..you'll know if it's the right Bass or not in less than a minute...

good luck..I would just comment that you should get a Bass that is not limited to Country !

t

Bill Miller · Post by **Bill Miller** » 17 Apr 2004 4:23 am

Lots of good suggestions here. He kind of put me in charge of doing the shopping...there's nothing but third rate junk at the tiny local music shop so whatever he settles on will probably be bought by mail order or off eBay. What he's playing now is an old Mansfield through a Kustom amp....it sounds pretty muddy to me. I know there would be lots of basses that would do the trick but I was just looking for something that's an automatic winner the way Telecasters have that well known association with country lead. Of course I personally play an American Stratocaster with Lace Sensor pickups for lead and I like the tone...so I know there's no hard and fast rule. I'll keep all of these suggestions in mind when I'm looking around for him. Thanks folks.

Erv Niehaus · Post by **Erv Niehaus** » 17 Apr 2004 6:49 am

I think that the amplifier to play the bass through has more to do with the sound than the instrument itself. You don't want to cut corners in this department. You need a good amp with GOOD speakers to handle those low notes. You need to "feel" them as well as hear them!
Erv

David L. Donald · Post by **David L. Donald** » 17 Apr 2004 9:50 am

I half agree with Erv... maybe a first too.

Ok. No the bass itself is important, but the amp is also very important.
I would judge a lot of the mud you are talking about is the Kustom amp.

The cabs are to thin and poorly ported.
The sound can't develope in relation to the length of it's waveform.
The technology when Kustom was building cabs was really totally hit or miss.

The brain might be OK, but the box forget it by todays standards.

You likely could replace tha cabnet put some good pickups on the Mansflied and get a good sound.

Still it would be worth the 150 mile drive to a store in Montreal to try some real stuff.[This message was edited by David L. Donald on 17 April 2004 at 10:53 AM.]