hip hop bass guitar?

[Black Animal]

want to buy a bass guitar and start learning bass so i can hopefully put it into my beats one day. are there any in particular that are good for hip hop or does it not really make a difference? just to give you an idea of the sound im trying to get get, i like the bass dr. dre, kanye west, and 9th wonder have in their songs. the only reccomendation i have is to from my teacher, he says get a fender. im looking to spend under $500. Thanks.

[digiman]

Fender Deluxe Active Jazz hands down. You can get the cheaper Jazz models, but for $600.00 you really get a lot of bang for your buck with that. Sure you can go higher end if you want. But you should be able to dial up most of what you need in terms of hip hop and R&B with the Deluxe Active Jazz. Another secret is the Jazz Bass 24. That thing has got crazy tone.

[Left Headphone]

Why not a P-bass?

[ryst]

Whatever you do, make sure you get a 5 string. You need that Low B for Hip Hop!

[TTB]

YEah man get a FENDER jazz!! I have one with the S1 Switch on it so I can get P-bass tones. But I also use a 78 P-bass strung with La bella flats ( I love this Bass!). Then theres the active Jazz 5. You do gotta have the 5 for hip hop...need that Low end! The LOW B will make you crap your pants if you sit on on your cab...lol!

I love my P-bass so much for the tone but it's not a 5, so what I do is tune it down to C# to get the Low tones.

(Sameless Plug) You can check out my bass work on this video.....there's 2 videos in one.

I used Fender Jazz bass on these ones (4string)

MySpace Videos: ROCA DOLLA | by <--=[ MEANMUGGâ„¢ ]=-->

[jonfromsomobe]

you're safe with the fender jazz basses. i'd say if you can afford a little more than the mexican deluxe, get the marcus miller 4-string. you dont NEED a five string, tons of hip hop records we're made with 4-strings. look at Hubb from the roots.

the reason i say get the marcus miller is because it's active for when you need eq and more output, but it also has a switch that lets you bypass the preamp. to me, passive basses ALWAYS record better.

but any of the fender jazz's will do you good. just make sure to play it before you buy, because the lower end models are vastly different from bass to bass.

[Methlab]

Originally Posted by digiman

Fender Deluxe Active Jazz hands down. You can get the cheaper Jazz models, but for $600.00 you really get a lot of bang for your buck with that. Sure you can go higher end if you want. But you should be able to dial up most of what you need in terms of hip hop and R&B with the Deluxe Active Jazz. Another secret is the Jazz Bass 24. That thing has got crazy tone.

Hands down? I don't think so, even though it's not a bad choice. I would pick a passive Jazz any day of the week over that. They sit down in the mix better and engineers love me when I walk in with my passive jazz and Tech21. Any active bass under 1 grand is noisy as ****.

If I was going active, I would buy a Sadowsky. In fact, don't go active unless you have a lot of money or you like a shitload of hiss on your bass tracks.

[TTB]

Originally Posted by jonfromsomobe

you dont NEED a five string, tons of hip hop records we're made with 4-strings. look at Hubb from the roots.

Ya Your right, You dont need a 5. But When Im playing notes on my A string, the producer is always saying "can you do that? But Lower notes?" A Tuned down 4 works for me though.

OK guys I have a related question. I have the bass part worked out but I need to know what amps/DI/amp sim etc.. You guys recommend for hip hop. (Same thing for guitar as well.)

I'm pretty covered as far as basses I have:
An old fender Jazz passive and a Lakland 55-02

My guitars leave a bit to be desired, I have a Fender mexican strat, a squier strat (that doesn't sound worth recording but is cool for practicing) and an acoustic that I haven't seen yet (It was a gift and it's at the crib in New Orleans. I haven't been back to get it yet.)

[Black Animal]

how does this look?

Buy Fender Jazz Bass 24 V 5 String Bass (Tobacco Sunburst) At Sam Ash

and what about amps? i dont need anything too crazy, since ill only use it to practice with.

thanks for the help!

[digiman]

Originally Posted by Black Animal

how does this look?

Buy Fender Jazz Bass 24 V 5 String Bass (Tobacco Sunburst) At Sam Ash

and what about amps? i dont need anything too crazy, since ill only use it to practice with.

thanks for the help!

That was the one I was referring to earlier when I mentioned the Jazz 24. This one just came out from Fender. One of my boys who is a bassist by profession played one of these at NAMM and now uses this in favor of some of his axes that cost 2 times the price of this one.

[t.dizzle]

Originally Posted by no ssl yet

OK guys I have a related question. I have the bass part worked out but I need to know what amps/DI/amp sim etc.. You guys recommend for hip hop. (Same thing for guitar as well.)

Believe it or not, 9 times out of 10 hip-hop bass is recorded direct. I watched Quick record bass and guitars many times and it was always direct with just a normal Whirlwind D/I or into the instrument input on a 737.

Didn't know you were a "player" in the true sense of the word!

[s.d.finley]

Originally Posted by Black Animal

how does this look?

Buy Fender Jazz Bass 24 V 5 String Bass (Tobacco Sunburst) At Sam Ash

and what about amps? i dont need anything too crazy, since ill only use it to practice with.

thanks for the help!

I would recommend NOT buying a Bass that you personally have not actually picked up and played on yerself.

Specs may look nice and all, but each bass has it a little variance on quality. What you are looking for is a bass that has good action, straight neck, and sounds good being played WITHOUT an amp. No buzzing or dead/flat notes.

I am a bass player. I own 6 basses. 5 strings are heavey and bulky. I own One! I prefer to drop D if I need togo low.

[t.dizzle]

Originally Posted by Methlab

Any active bass under 1 grand is noisy as ****. If I was going active, I would buy a Sadowsky. In fact, don't go active unless you have a lot of money or you like a shitload of hiss on your bass tracks.

I can see why you're saying this, but it's really about the pickups as far as actives and noise. Quality active p/u's (with a new 9volt) are 100% of the time gonna be much quieter than passives.

One of the baddest active basses I've ever recorded was the Peavey Cirrus. Don't sleep on that thing - it's a beast!

Originally Posted by t.dizzle

Believe it or not, 9 times out of 10 hip-hop bass is recorded direct. I watched Quick record bass and guitars many times and it was always direct with just a normal Whirlwind D/I or into the instrument input on a 737.

Didn't know you were a "player" in the true sense of the word!

I play "some" basic stuff, but most times I use my friend/music teacher Chris Severin (I actually just found his bio online today)

Mr. Severin began his studies at Southern University at New Orleans, then quickly moved on to the professional jazz world. He has performed with many jazz greats, including: Dr. John, Dianne Reeves, Ellis Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Terence Blanchard, Lou Rawls, Alvin Batiste, Herlin Riley, Victor Goines, Irma Thomas and Kent Jordan. He has toured worldwide to such venues as the Bern Jazz Festival, Berlin Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Mt. Fuji Jazz Festival, Montreau and the Nexus Night Club. He has also been selected by top jazz recording companies such as Blue Note Records, Rounder Records and Windham Hill Records. Mr. Severin also serves on the faculty of the New Orleans Creative Arts Center.

[No4PCs]

You will run better with the corvette, i mean, warwick !

[camerondye]

I think you could do a good job with any decent bass. I would find a good used one though. I think basses that are broke in sound and play better. Since you are asking which bass to buy I'm going to assume you are relatively new to bass. I would not buy a 5-string because learning how to keep the low B string from rattling takes time and ruins takes IMO. Most of the best groove bassists of all time laid the bass down on 4's... Jaco, James Jamerson, Larry Graham, Stanley, Bootsy, Marcus Miller...the list goes on. And all but Stanley Clarke I have seen pictures of them playing a Fender Jazz bass, so I think that would probably be a safe bet. I think a Musicman Stingray would be the other bass that comes to mind, but is going to be more than $500 even used. Good luck and don't play bass like a guitar player...
Cameron

[TTB]

Originally Posted by s.d.finley

I would recommend NOT buying a Bass that you personally have not actually picked up and played on yerself.

Specs may look nice and all, but each bass has it a little variance on quality. What you are looking for is a bass that has good action, straight neck, and sounds good being played WITHOUT an amp. No buzzing or dead/flat notes.

I second that, you need to sit down with it and check that buzzing and look for dead spots. Play unplugged! If it Feels and sounds Good unplugged...then your good to go. That Jazz 24 is nice lookin though!

[Black Animal]

yeah i would do that, except i don't know how to play bass, never have, and wouldnt know what to be looking for at all when testing them out. i don't even know what a fret is, im truely completely new to bass guitar

[s.d.finley]

Originally Posted by Black Animal

yeah i would do that, except i don't know how to play bass, never have, and wouldnt know what to be looking for at all when testing them out. i don't even know what a fret is, im truely completely new to bass guitar

Bring a bassplayer you trust and respect to go shopping with you!

[Methlab]

Originally Posted by t.dizzle

I can see why you're saying this, but it's really about the pickups as far as actives and noise. Quality active p/u's (with a new 9volt) are 100% of the time gonna be much quieter than passives.

One of the baddest active basses I've ever recorded was the Peavey Cirrus. Don't sleep on that thing - it's a beast!

yeah, i just prefer how fenders sit in the mix. I did a lot of sessions with a Modulus Flea, and engineers loved it, but then i switched to the jazz and they were like..damn thats even better.

passive can be noisy, but they sound so ****ing good. noisey actives just sound hissy and harsh to me. This guys budget is light, i just dont see him getting an active bass that will sound better then a used american jazz or P in that range.

As for guitars, Teles hands down for me. An american Tele set up right with strings thorugh body is what I use, and it is killer. But there is a ton of wiggle room there. I like the tele through fender tube combo...there are a million variations you can pick though.

[GTR]

I had to spend a lot of money to get a good sounding 5th string on a bass. (F-Bass BN-5)

I had been using the active pickups for most of my recordings until I read about how passive pickups rock for recording. (read about it here on G-Slutz) Thank god I am now using my bass in passive mode, because I am getting a MUCH better tone when recording direct. The bass sits in the mix, punches through, is clear, not to clacky, etc. And I am using it in this manner on a song I am recording with a funky hip hop bridge, and it sounds thick and meaty even with it's single coil bridge pickup.

Signal chain -- Sans Amp DI --> DAV BG-1 --> Distressor with HD2 enabled --> A/D

With that being said, I would buy a decent 4 string passive bass and detune the low E down when needed. The Fender Jazz may be the ticket because single coil pickups on a bass sound f'ing GREAT in my opinion.

[Black Animal]

i know nothing of playing bass guitar so could someone please enlighten me on a couple things. first what is the difference between active and passive basses?

what exactly do you use the 5th string for? can you do some things with a 5th string that would be impossible/difficult to do without? thanks. oh and whats a fret?

[camerondye]

Active means the pickup has a battery to help the pickup "pickup" more I guess...I know they sound different from passive pickups. Active usually gives a brighter sound, i like active better but passive definitely has some great sounds too...all to preference. A fifth string is usually a low B string. It basically gives you 5 more notes lower than the normal low E string and usually a more thuddy type tone when notes played on that string. I don't like 5 strings, but a lot of people do...again up to preference.

What type of bass playing are you wanting to get in to and I will try and help give you some free direction. My advice will be free but the direction may not...
cameron

[jonfromsomobe]

OH! dont forget to check out the Geddy Lee signature fender jazz. its a really nice bass. I was actually going to get one until i picked up the marcus miller signature next to it. honestly, the japanese made fenders are the best deal going right now, they sound and play fantastic. i actually sold an american deluxe jazz 5 for my marcus miller, and for me, the marcus kills the american.

[Black Animal]

what i want to eventually be able to do is after i make a hip hop/rnb beat, or during i guess, when i hear a bass melody in my head i want to be able to play what i am hearing on my bass guitar, and then record onto the beat. now im just trying to decide between 4 or 5 strings... i just dont want to get a 4 string bass and then find out i need a 5 because it seems like from what some people said a 5th string helps a lot with hiphop. what do you think?

[Methlab]

Originally Posted by Black Animal

what i want to eventually be able to do is after i make a hip hop/rnb beat, or during i guess, when i hear a bass melody in my head i want to be able to play what i am hearing on my bass guitar, and then record onto the beat. now im just trying to decide between 4 or 5 strings... i just dont want to get a 4 string bass and then find out i need a 5 because it seems like from what some people said a 5th string helps a lot with hiphop. what do you think?

If you are new and don't know what a fret is...it will be a littl while before you will have the skill to intonate right and make good basslines. even hip hop ones. I mean, you can get there. but it takes some time to get it right. So my point is, dont expect to rock it right off the bat, and dont give up playing it either.