Suggestions for non alembic "beater" bass?

[gtrguy]

I also love the Yamaha TRB neck-throughs like the TRB 4p, 5p, and 6p and of course the TRB-JP is a real favorite. These basses are fairly rare, though no one has caught on to that yet, so the price is reasonable.
 
The TRB-4p 4 string is very rare (the bass player for Earth Wind & Fire uses one a lot, but does not talk about it), the 5Ps I have tried or owned did not sound as good as the 4 or the 6 but looked and played super. The TRB 6p is killer but has the wide neck like the TRB-JP. The TRB-JP is a bolt on neck and is really in a class by itself.  
 
The high end Yamaha BB neck throughs are great, too. The Yamaha BX-1 (looks like a vintage Steinberger sp?) is also a cool bass, especially if you upgrade the pickups to an active setup, but they all have a crack around the output jack (some worse than others).

[tbrannon]

I'd recommend a G&L.  I had an L-2000 that I picked up for under $500 that was one of the best basses I've ever owned.    You can find them used for absolutely ridiculous steals and what you're getting is what Leo thought was best after Fender and Musicman.

[peoplechipper]

I recently picked up a Yamaha reissue SBV bass...very solid and far more even tone across the strings than most Fenders due to it's SERIOUS neck pocket and bolting...they didn't fly so they'll probably become collectors items in the future(sometimes people are stupid...I have three of the guitars from the era and they're better than the Fender strats of that era in some respects; hugely above anything else coming from Japan at the time, but few know...Tony

[rami]

All great Basses. It painful to hear any of them referred to as Beater Bass - even next to an Alembic.

[alembic76407]

Here are my 2 beaters, a Hofner Icon-b for under $500 and it weights 4lb and play's great and A Squire Jazz bass for under $200, I love the this bass play's and sounds great
 
 

[alembic76407]

sorry, here's the Squier Jazz
 
 

[peoplechipper]

I didn't mention that the old Yamaha electrics I had were the original '60's ones...they used t-nuts for neck bolts and pickup height, and had shielding paint long before Fender did; they got lumped in with the rest of the Japanese guitars of the time, but were clearly superior...Tony

[bigredbass]

I think there is a small corner of the vintage market for guys like peoplechipper and me who dig the hell out of the 70's and 80's Japanese vintage pieces.  The problem:  Unlike Fender or Gibson, who never abandoned Pauls and Strats while seeing what else might stick to the wall(Corvus or Starcaster anyone?), Yamaha, Ibanez, Aria, et al, would often come up with real gems, and after a run, they'd replace everything, over and over (compare current BB's and TRB's vs. their 80's or 90's forebears), and rarely gave anything time to truly build a following with anyone save hardheads like me.  That their labor rates and the resulting shift in production sites (and products) into the 90's and beyond only worsened this.  Amazing these days that most 'Japanese' guitars are rarely if ever crafted in Japan for export.  Cruise thru the Japanese Alembic dealer Ikebe Gakki's website, and you'll see lots of eye-watering guitars you'll . . . never . . . see . . . on this side of the Pacific.
 
J o e y

[gtrguy]

I have to agree with Joey, the Japanese at times made some pretty cool stuff back then. There was an amazing variety of stuff they made as well, some of it never being exported. They were also able to more freely copy other makers instruments at times, too, like this Frontier 12 string guitar (you know who got copied). It sounds as good as any 12-string electric I have ever played and is solid as a tank but not particularly big. Note the small headstock.   Ibanez made some fine jazz boxes in the 70?s, culminating with the George Benson GB-10 model. The lawsuit era was a prolific one. Old catalogs from back then show tons of cool rare stuff.  



 

 [edited for picture alignment]  (Message edited by adriaan on February 26, 2014)

[lbpesq]

Very cool, David.  Never saw one of those before. I also appreciate the 70's-80's Japanese instruments.  I have several Daions (my all time favorite production line guitar - Yamaki factory), an Aria Pro II RS 850 (Matsumoku), an El Maya, an original Washburn Falcon, a couple of Fernandes Masterhands (think Alembic neck-thru Strat), and an Ibanez 2680 Bob Weir model.  Never heard of Frontier until now.  And, should you ever want to sell it ....
 
Bill, tgo

[alembic76407]

I just picked up a Daphne Blue Fender Precision
 
 

[poor_nigel]

Best beater bass I have owned over the decades was/is an American-made Fender Deluxe Precision.  I am not a Fender fan, but do love the old burst Precision and Jazz basses for their look.  I bought mine a few years back off eBay for around $850, case and bass near mint condition.  Active/stacked pot for bass/mid-range (I think) and plays harmonics at an unreal volume level.  Good over-all sound and if something happens to it, who cares.  Parts are common, and more importantly, the parts are decent enough not to need replacing as they are too crappy, like the old pressed parts on the older ones.  A really good dollar for results equation from that bass.

[gtrguy]

I have to agree. I have been gigging the past 2 years with a Precision Deluxe and it has great versatlie tone. it was not too much money, either, used. I have recorded with it and it sounds great too.
 
My only problem is that the neck is typical big Fender size. Oddly enough, I have played a few American Jazz Deluxe ones and did not like them at all.
 
However, I just replaced it with a 20 year old Stingray I found 2 weeks ago that has a slim birdseye maple neck!