Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share My 2 Bass Guitar Collection, maybe one more
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
My 2 Bass Guitar Collection, maybe one more
MY SMALL BASS GUITAR COLLECTION
http://traffic.libsyn.com/bminusshow/my_basses.mp3
INTRO
I have played with like 10 different brands of basses and have bought and maybe sold around 25 basses through my tenure.
I now own two basses only and I might add a third. It’s not that I have commitment issues, for the most part. I just like what I like. To be 100% honest, I didn’t feel comfortable playing with $2000+ basses. My playing style is kinda rough on stage.
I have banged up a few of my basses against drum cymbals, other guitars and walls (don’t ask, I played a lot of different venues). I concluded that I like the middle of the road and cheaper bass route; without sacrificing tonal quality of course.
In this article I will go over the 2 basses I have and the bass I will likely get next. I will also discuss what I didn’t like about some basses and what I love.
MY BASSES
DA SAMICK: My first bass is a Samick 4 string. My dad hooked me up with it a looong time ago. It was a cheapie, I think around $200 at the time in the late 90’s. It is a super rad sunburst color and Precision bass style body. I have changed the pickups to bass line pickups a few years back at Guitar Center for about $100.
I have changed the strings multiple times, but it is mostly my practice bass at home, so I don’t change them out too often. It sounds pretty good, especially when there are new strings on it.
I tattooed my bass throughout the years. I have no tattoos, so compensated by decorating my first bass as my personal canvas. So there are tons of stickers on it from headstock to toe. I considered upgrading the bridge and tuners, but don’t really want to and it holds the tuning very well.
The pots aren’t scratchy, but the input jack got loose and I have to either go in and replace it or adjust it from time to time. The neck is still straight. I adjusted the truss rod one time only. I have dropped it a couple of times, but the chips are covered up with tattoos.
This bass survived college (all 7 year) with me and was with me during the formation of my band The Mean Muggers (formerly Monomyth Inception) back in the late 2000’s. It has been extremely loyal to me through thick and thin. It has produced rap lines, rock lines and everything in between.
One day, I will frame and retire this puppy. In the meantime, I will get a few more years out of it and then hang it up for good; but I will never get rid of it. It was, and is, my first true bass love. Oh, and I have a cool purple lightning strap on it!
DA MIM FENDER PRECISION: I know what you fucking experienced bassists are thinking, “MIM? What about MIA?” I say, “what about it?” MIM is made in Mexico and MIA is made in America. There is also Fender MIJ and MII (made in Japan and made in Indonesia) and etc. The MIA basses are the best. They are very similar looking to all the other fender products.
Let me back up.
The levels of fender basses range not from where they are made only. There are also bass sub brands like Fender SQUIER, Fender FENDER, Fender Jaguar, etc. Generally, squire is the lowest level, MIM is the middle and MIA is the top. There are more factors involved, but I will explain some major differences and why I am loyal to Fender MIM.
It basically comes down to wood types, finishes and parts. The neck wood is better and higher quality (allegedly) on MIA, better pickups, better truss rod, etc. You get the drift? The price differences are pretty good, usually a new MIM bass will run around $700 and an MIA would run around $1600. A SQUIER rolls for around $200-250.
The SQUIER basses have actually made significant strides. The modified jaguar jazz SQUIRE is only $200 and is totally worth the money.
View all episodes
By Shawn MyersMY SMALL BASS GUITAR COLLECTION
http://traffic.libsyn.com/bminusshow/my_basses.mp3
INTRO
I have played with like 10 different brands of basses and have bought and maybe sold around 25 basses through my tenure.
I now own two basses only and I might add a third. It’s not that I have commitment issues, for the most part. I just like what I like. To be 100% honest, I didn’t feel comfortable playing with $2000+ basses. My playing style is kinda rough on stage.
I have banged up a few of my basses against drum cymbals, other guitars and walls (don’t ask, I played a lot of different venues). I concluded that I like the middle of the road and cheaper bass route; without sacrificing tonal quality of course.
In this article I will go over the 2 basses I have and the bass I will likely get next. I will also discuss what I didn’t like about some basses and what I love.
MY BASSES
DA SAMICK: My first bass is a Samick 4 string. My dad hooked me up with it a looong time ago. It was a cheapie, I think around $200 at the time in the late 90’s. It is a super rad sunburst color and Precision bass style body. I have changed the pickups to bass line pickups a few years back at Guitar Center for about $100.
I have changed the strings multiple times, but it is mostly my practice bass at home, so I don’t change them out too often. It sounds pretty good, especially when there are new strings on it.
I tattooed my bass throughout the years. I have no tattoos, so compensated by decorating my first bass as my personal canvas. So there are tons of stickers on it from headstock to toe. I considered upgrading the bridge and tuners, but don’t really want to and it holds the tuning very well.
The pots aren’t scratchy, but the input jack got loose and I have to either go in and replace it or adjust it from time to time. The neck is still straight. I adjusted the truss rod one time only. I have dropped it a couple of times, but the chips are covered up with tattoos.
This bass survived college (all 7 year) with me and was with me during the formation of my band The Mean Muggers (formerly Monomyth Inception) back in the late 2000’s. It has been extremely loyal to me through thick and thin. It has produced rap lines, rock lines and everything in between.
One day, I will frame and retire this puppy. In the meantime, I will get a few more years out of it and then hang it up for good; but I will never get rid of it. It was, and is, my first true bass love. Oh, and I have a cool purple lightning strap on it!
DA MIM FENDER PRECISION: I know what you fucking experienced bassists are thinking, “MIM? What about MIA?” I say, “what about it?” MIM is made in Mexico and MIA is made in America. There is also Fender MIJ and MII (made in Japan and made in Indonesia) and etc. The MIA basses are the best. They are very similar looking to all the other fender products.
Let me back up.
The levels of fender basses range not from where they are made only. There are also bass sub brands like Fender SQUIER, Fender FENDER, Fender Jaguar, etc. Generally, squire is the lowest level, MIM is the middle and MIA is the top. There are more factors involved, but I will explain some major differences and why I am loyal to Fender MIM.
It basically comes down to wood types, finishes and parts. The neck wood is better and higher quality (allegedly) on MIA, better pickups, better truss rod, etc. You get the drift? The price differences are pretty good, usually a new MIM bass will run around $700 and an MIA would run around $1600. A SQUIER rolls for around $200-250.
The SQUIER basses have actually made significant strides. The modified jaguar jazz SQUIRE is only $200 and is totally worth the money.