Post by TonyAside from being less money than the 400, are the other 2 models more poorly made? I know the 400
has active electronics that I do not want. If the body and sound and performance is comparative to
the 400, I would like to get one of those.
Any help will be appreciated.
Tony
Tony, welcome to the group. I am Lynrd, resident sayer of
psuedo-witty things and dispenser of unsolicited product reviews.
As you are a guitar player, with perfect pitch an 20+ years of gigging
without needing a tuner, there may be a few things about the bass
world that you are unclear on. You may want to read the FAQ at
www.altguitarbass.com for a lot of sensible advice on gear and
technique in general.
But, when inquiring about most any low buck bass (I'll draw that line
at $800, completely at random) keep in mind that these instruments are
mostly made of organic materials, in big factories, by humans.
Therefore, you cannot say "A SR400 is good, a 300 is bad" or "Fender
is good, Peavey is bad" or even "Made in Mexico is good, made in
Korea is bad" or anything else like that. As your ear recovers from
the abuse of belonging to a guitar player and learns to hear the
subtle differences in tone, the overtones, warmth and nuances that a
really good instrument has, you will recognize that those qualities
are not the exclusive domain of ANY brand or model. I have had a $200
MIM J bass that had awesome acoustic tone...it just took a decent set
of electonics to bring it out. I have played a very expensive
American made Fender Deluxe 5 with all the goodies that some guitar
player bought when he thought being a bassist was easier. It was very
beautiful with gobs o' knobs, but it had no tone...just a lifeless
plank.
When you get into the expensive custom made jobs, more care goes into
selecting the wood the instrument is made from, and from there comes
better tone. Good electronics help, but if the bass does not have good
tone when played unamplified, it will not have good tone amplified.
But in the low buck jobs, because they are made in factories, by
humans, to spec, to sell at a certain price point, you really have to
evaluate each particular instrument on it's own special merit. Ignore
the name on the headstock...they all come out of the same factory
anyway. Pick up the thing, close your eyes, play...and listen! Don't
shred, don't plug it in, just play slowly and listen to the tone that
this instrument has. Generally. the louder it plays acoustically, the
better it will sound amplified. A good trick is to rest your chin on
the upper sound horn for bone conductance. If the tone is
particularly good, you will KNOW, right to the pit of your stomach and
soles of your feet. Then you have found your instrument, or it has
found you.
It may sound silly, but it's true.