Bass guitar recommendations?

KoopahTroopah

Hey all, aspiring musician here who just got his first yearly bonus from his job. (Yay!) Instead of pocketing it all into my savings like a smart person, I decided to treat myself and use a little of it to fill out my collection of instruments with a new bass guitar. It will be my first bass, but I'm interested in getting a five-string as I'd like the ability to down-tune to match the tone of my seven-string electric Schecter if I wanted. First research is leading me to the Ibanez' SR505, which has an awesome Flat Sapphire Blue color to it which I love, and great reviews for all around playing.

Do any PA bass players recommend a specific brand or model? Anything under 4 figures would be preferable.

Xaquin

admittedly I do not play bass

that said, I hang out with a lot of musicians and when the subject of bass guitars comes up, Ibanez is always at the top of the list

Radiation

May want to swing by in the guitar thread as well:
https://forums.penny-arcade.com/discussion/208875/the-thread-of-shred-guitar#latest

I had a lot of fun on my Fender jazz bass, but that was 15 years ago, and I'm not certain they have a 5 string version.

KoopahTroopah

I called my local George's music store and they have a new SR505 in the Sapphire Blue so I'm going to go check it out later today. My friend also recommended the Fender Jazz, but they're a bit pricier than the Ibanez. Depending on how it feels, I might just go with my gut and get my first pick.

CptKemzik

If you're looking for an affordable 5 string you can't go wrong with Ibanez, provided you prefer active pickups and instrument preamps.

In my opinion, if you're going to go with a fender, you're better off sticking with what made them a household name; passive 4 string Precision and/or Jazz basses.

KoopahTroopah

I ended up getting the SR505 over at George's. It's pretty.

They had a standard Fender Jazz there, but it was like 1200 bucks. Seemed too costly for my first Bass, the Ibanez was almost half that.

@ceres feel free to close this thread if you'd like. Thanks everyone for the short replies! I'm excited to learn this new instrument :biggrin:

ceres

That is a beautiful instrument.