The Best Bass In The WORLD

[blue_jays]

Question to all the bass players:

Which is the best bass to use:

Warwick or Fender

If so...4,5 or 6th string

Many musicians often ask me to provide them my feedback on which is the best bass to use again I know this comes down to personal preference. I want to know what you think.

[malthumb]

Question to all the bass players:

Which is the best bass to use:

Warwick or Fender or Sadowsky or MTD or Alembic or Roscoe or Ken Smith or Ibanez or Yamaha or Music Man or Ritter or Lakland or Conklin or CallowHill or Fodera 

If so...4,5 or 6th string

Many musicians often ask me to provide them my feedback on which is the best bass to use again I know this comes down to personal preference. I want to know what you think.

Fixed it for ya.    You acknowledge that you know it's a matter of personal preference, then you only provide two choices.  Why is that?  Are you trying to make a purchase decision on one or the other?

[blue_jays]

There's a huge debate going on between the different types out there.

[berbie]

So true, blue-jays.  It is difficult to get a solid answer at all even as to use of a four or five string.  Probably because there is no answer other that what suits the individual better.  But I wanted to ask you this:  Do you think there is more difference between basses according to cost brackets---or according to brand of bass.  Put another way, would a five hundred dollar fender and ibanez be more different from each other than a $1000.00 ibanez would be from a $500.00 ibanez?  (discounting neck width, length, etc.)

[SavnBass]

I prefer 5 string to 4 .. and I have never really played a 6 so I can't speak on it.. but for me the 5 is where it's at..  6 is overkill for me ..too much ..  As for brands..  that's like beauty.. it is in the eyes of the beholder once you get past a certain point.

[blue_jays]

Absolutely, bass players have been asking and thats why I pose the question

[floaded27]

Absolutely, bass players have been asking and thats why I pose the question

and you tell them, its all subjective. its kind of like asking whats the absolute best sneaker or car or something like that. it all depends on whats best for the person you ask. what their wants and needs are. if you wanna be technical, for a performing bass player, the best bass is the one they're playing.....otherwise they're just standing on stage.

[superjaay]

Godd discussion, I would like to add the Carvin SB5000/5001 to the mix. We all have our personal preferences, but you have to admit a custom American made bass that packs some serious punch delivered to your door in  about 2 months for $1000 is an unbelievable deal. And the sound is perfect for contemporary gospel/praise/worship/quartet style music.

[browntree]

I think you could pick say... 15 basses that everyone would mostly agree are the most versatile.  I think versatility and quality are really the only "hard" factors we have to judge on.  All the rest are extremely subjective like everyone has said. 

Now I'm about to get in trouble... I would say that the following 10 basses (everyone can argue order) are some of the most versatile and long lasting (i.e. quality design/parts) on the market... keep in mind I didn't say the most widely played...
1) MTD
2) Fodera
3) Callowhill
4) Sadowsky
5)Ken Smith
6) Alembic
7) Warwick
8 Fender
9) F Bass
10) M Bass
11) Music Man
12) Lakeland
13) Conklin
14) Nordstrand
15)Roscoe
That should add a few logs to the fire...

[malthumb]

I think you could pick say... 15 basses that everyone would mostly agree are the most versatile.  I think versatility and quality are really the only "hard" factors we have to judge on.  All the rest are extremely subjective like everyone has said. 

Now I'm about to get in trouble... I would say that the following 10 basses (everyone can argue order) are some of the most versatile and long lasting (i.e. quality design/parts) on the market... keep in mind I didn't say the most widely played...
1) MTD
2) Fodera
3) Callowhill
4) Sadowsky
5)Ken Smith
6) ALEMBIC
7) Warwick
8] FENDER
9) F Bass
10) M Bass
11) MUSIC MAN
12) Lakland
13) Conklin
14) Nordstrand
15)ROSCOE
That should add a few logs to the fire...

Nice list!  I've played every brand in bold, owned every brand in blue and still own every brand in BLUE CAPS, so that gives you an idea how my preferences fall.  Full disclosure... The Fenders in my house belong to my son.  And one of the Fenders I built from parts.

[sixstringpoet]

I think you could pick say... 15 basses that everyone would mostly agree are the most versatile.  I think versatility and quality are really the only "hard" factors we have to judge on.  All the rest are extremely subjective like everyone has said. 

Now I'm about to get in trouble... I would say that the following 10 basses (everyone can argue order) are some of the most versatile and long lasting (i.e. quality design/parts) on the market... keep in mind I didn't say the most widely played...
1) MTD
2) Fodera
3) Callowhill
4) Sadowsky
5)Ken Smith
6) Alembic
7) Warwick
8 Fender
9) F Bass
10) M Bass
11) Music Man
12) Lakeland
13) Conklin
14) Nordstrand
15)Roscoe
That should add a few logs to the fire...

List looks good,  I would only change out M basses and insert Yamaha.

[tewest86]

I think you could pick say... 15 basses that everyone would mostly agree are the most versatile.  I think versatility and quality are really the only "hard" factors we have to judge on.  All the rest are extremely subjective like everyone has said. 

Now I'm about to get in trouble... I would say that the following 10 basses (everyone can argue order) are some of the most versatile and long lasting (i.e. quality design/parts) on the market... keep in mind I didn't say the most widely played...
1) MTD
2) Fodera
3) Callowhill
4) Sadowsky
5)Ken Smith
6) Alembic
7) Warwick
8 Fender
9) F Bass
10) M Bass
11) Music Man
12) Lakeland
13) Conklin
14) Nordstrand
15)Roscoe
That should add a few logs to the fire...

I'll put Elrick right there by Callowhill.

[blacklw234]

I'll put Elrick right there by Callowhill.

I would put a good Fender Jazz Active 5 string on top of that whole list. However, I have not played all of those basses, but many of them are over priced. Plus I have seen some Ibanez and Yamaha sound as good as the top 5 on that list.  A lot of it has to do with one's ability to play. I don't care how good it feels, if you can't play and have not put in the time to sharpen your skill, it won't matter.

[ssabass]

The best bass out there, is the Fender Jazz.... There are other great basses out there, but a Fender Jazz tops them all. I have played 9 out of the 15 of the basses on that list & I must say it's a pretty good list & that list doesn't even put a dent, in all the great basses out there. But as blacklw234 said, alot of those basses are way over priced. There isn't a piece of wood out there worth $4500.00, in my opinion.

[malthumb]

Went to a Luther Vandross tribute show tonight.  The bassist played an Alembic.  He N-A-I-L-E-D Marcus Miller's bass lines with a 5-String Alembic Signature bass.  Usually the only Alembic tones I hear are my own.  It was refreshing to hear that it can sound even better in the hands of a more skilled musician.  Some of the best bass work I've heard in a while.  Fenders are really nice, but I still prefer the feel and tone of my Alembics and my Music Man basses to every Fender I've ever owned or played.

[CallowHill]

Strange financial climate.  I think Fender and other mass manufacturers are under-priced.  I've always wanted CallowHill to be accessible to the public, but I make under $10 an hour despite my hefty 3K+ pricetags.  MDMs used to cost under 2K.  Fender and all other mass production instruments are a great value for dollar.  The law of diminishing returns is always a bit of a quandary.  Alembic is worth every penny. 

[malthumb]

Tim,

There's a thread on another forum that's well over 3,000 post singing the praises of your basses.  Although I consider myself GAS-free, the green (J)unk you built for Jeremy and a couple others have me occasionaly thinking.....maybe I DO need another bass.

Keep doing what you do.  Then there'll be enough CallowHills out there for me to test drive one.

[ssabass]

Malthumb it was probably more like the hands of a skilled engineer or some kind of pedal or both. An Alembic off the shelf, has an entirely different tone than the Fender, I don't care who hands it's in. Not a bad tone, just not a Fender. The Alembic is in probably the best hands it can be in (Stanley Clark), & his bass sounds terrible. Also you never know what these cats are playing through or what type of modifications they have done to there basses. So the bass you heard might only be an Alembic by name only, the guts are someone else.

[CallowHill]

Malthumb!  Crazy.  I felt a need to comment because it's a tough climate.  There's a reason all of us snobby expensive bass builders charge what we charge.  It's not greed, but necessity.  Alembics are RAWK-tastic.  You play space shuttles.

[malthumb]

Malthumb it was probably more like the hands of a skilled engineer or some kind of pedal or both. An Alembic off the shelf, has an entirely different tone than the Fender, I don't care who hands it's in. Not a bad tone, just not a Fender. The Alembic is in probably the best hands it can be in (Stanley Clark), & his bass sounds terrible. Also you never know what these cats are playing through or what type of modifications they have done to there basses. So the bass you heard might only be an Alembic by name only, the guts are someone else.

Ssabass,

Here's where I GOTTA disagree with you on a number of points.  I'll start with the easy one.  Stanley's tone is Stanley's Alembic tone, not THE Alembic tone.  His primary bass is strung tenor (ADGC) and his signal chain is highly processed.  The guy last night played through a BBE Sonic Maximizer and an Eden 115 combo.  That's it.  I spoke to him before and after the set, including when he was taking down his rig.

I can assure you that all Alembics DO NOT sound alike.  I have played dozens, owned 6, still own 2.  The two I still own couldn't sound more different.  My 4 string has piano sharp clarity.  If it were a singer, it wold be Jaheim.  My 5 string brings thunder.  If it was a singer it would be Barry White.  Same can be said for various Fenders I've owned.  I've owned, over the years, 3 Marcus Miller Signatures and they sounded very different from each other.

Keep in mind that a number of very popular songs you may have heard a lot were played on Alembics, but they don't have the Stanley Clarke sound.  Just a few that I'm fairly certain of....

Car Wash and I Wanna Get Next To You (Rose Royce), Strawberry Letter 23 and other Brothers Johnson songs on the same album, most anything by Kool & The Gang in the early to mid 80s, most anything by Wierd Al Yankovich.

Fenders are great for most situations.  So are Alembics.  I can make my 5 string Alembic sound like a Fender.  I cannot get my 4 string to sound like a Fender.  The clarity is just too focused.  I'd have to signal process to get a Fender sound.  At that point i'd just use a Fender or one of my Music Man basses.  I cannot get all of the tones available on either Alembic out of any Fender I've ever played without some serious signal processing.  Not a knock on Fender, because no one NEEDS all the tones I can get out of an Alembic, but the thing is, they are there if you need them.

At the end of the day, though, REAL tone comes from the fingers and mind of the bassist.  The issues you and I are haggling over are millimeters on a football field.