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Gear - Basses

In this section you will find our advice and reviews on basses and bass amps.
You will also find more about gear at Metadude's Garage and from Electrik Dave.

Bass Amps.

Peavey MAX 158

Basses

Steinberger XT-25

Fender Jazz 24

The Rail

The Cheap Bass

G-Style 5-string fretless


Guitars

Strings

Guitar Picks

Tubes

Microphones

Keyboards

Peavey MAX 158
-Blaise Ashton

Bass Combo Amplifier

A Practice Amp That Rocks!

I have owned and used a Peavey MAX 158 Bass Combo Amp for about 10 years.

Let's face it kids; this is a practice amp that even works for a certain kind of coffee shop gig. I love this piece of gear and use it almost daily.

The eight inch speaker has its limitations as far as the potential low-end goes, but with the right amount of adjustments on instrument tone and volume controls with whatever pedal board a player might use, this is above average for even a professional musician in a smaller space. Sure, it will never "blow out" a room. It does its job well.

The CD line-in RCA style ports are great for playing along with tunes you might be trying to learn or tightening things up from a scratch track your garage band is trying to figure out. Even a pro can use this feature to practice for a tour. The 1/4" headphone out is great because you need not disturb your nearest and most sensitive neighbors.

This amp is designed for practice, rehearsal or a beginning student on a budget. It is sturdy and portable. I highly recommend it.

I bought mine for around $80 around 2010 or so. I see prices for it today around the same, up to $120. This is not a "run of the mill" beginner amp. It has qualities that even accomplished professionals can take advantage of. This is a five star value at its price point.

This amp seems like it is just for beginners and it is great for beginners. Professionals too, will get great value out of owning and using this piece of equipment.

  • 15W power
  • TransTube emulation circuitry.
  • 3-band EQ.
  • Modern/vintage voicing switch
  • 8" speaker
  • Tape/CD in
  • Headphone out

Steinberger XT-25
-

A 5-String Work Hhorse

The price point is amazing!

I love my Steinberger XT-25. This bass guitar is a workhorse for a day-to-day working and gigging musician. The main advantages are that it has exceptional intonation, consistent feel and great action. I fell in love with it because of the headless, double-ball string design which creates a smooth fret feel without the need for a sophisticated set-up.

The XT-25 is physically resilient. It withstands the physical demands of time, temperature, travel and even being dropped from waist height. It is a working person's bass guitar. I happen to prefer playing 5-String basses over traditional 4-string versions.

The XT-25's tapered neck is reminiscent of certain Fender Jazz basses or the Ibanez SG series. The neck is thinner and consistent. My left hand thumb position can be more consistent. The string action is consistent. There is little to no bowing of the neck; when well set-up, the "action" is Godly consistent. This is true of any "headless" offerings that use double-ball bass strings.

The price point is amazing. At around $450 new (the last time I checked). I have purchased three over the years: one used for $150, one new from ebay for $300 and one more new for $350.

Steinberger no longer offers anything but the XT series for basses. The "classic" version with active pickups and single construction carbon are not available at the Steinberger website. Steinberger was known for that in the 80's and 90's.

The drawback is that the pickups seem subpar. I can emulate almost any classic rock sound I want using a combination of right and left hand techniques. For a more modern sound I either need effects or have to upgrade to active pickups instead. That cost varies,but an additional $600 or so is a reasonable estimate.

The natural tone of this bass is not good. It takes some work, skill and finesse to get there. It loves midrange to the exclusion of both a great low end and punchy high end.

I've worked with this bass because I love how it feels under my fingers. That is why I am a fan.

The XT-25 is a great value for a beginner who can afford the $450 price-tag all the way to an intermediate or even professional player at certain levels. You won't go wrong with the XT-25. This bass will last you well into a career with a working band.

I remain enthralled because it is a quality bass for all the reasons I talked about.

I have tried many bass guitars. You will not find a better bass out-of-the box for the price than the Steinberger XT-25.

  • Low B-5th string.
  • 40:1 Ratio Direct-Pull tuning system.
  • Basswood body.
  • 3-piece Hard Maple neck.
  • 38.5"e; overall length.
  • 8.2lbs
  • 1960's style D profile neck.
  • 24 medium jumbo frets.
  • 34" scale length, and a 14" radius.
  • folding leg rest.
  • Zero Nut Fret with a width of 1.625".
  • 2.40" at the 12th fret with 0.64" string spacing at the bridge.
  • Steinberger HB-1 (bridge) and HB-2 (neck) humbucker pickups.
  • Neck Pickup and Bridge Pickup Volume, Master Tone.

Fender Jazz 24
-F. Davies

The Fender Jazz 24 was made for only five years, 2005 through 2009.

Its most obvious cool feature is that it has 24 frets


-F. Davies
The Fender Jazz 24 was made for only five years, 2005 through 2009. Its most obvious cool feature is that it has 24 frets.

Yes, this is my baby: Rosewood fingerboard with a 9.5 inch radius, "C" shape maple neck an inch and a half wide at the nut, 2 Seymour Duncan Basslines single-coil Jazz Bass pickups. The active EQ provides 15dB of treble boost/cut, 14dB of boost/cut for mids, and 12dB for bass. Hipshot tuners, one of which I've replaced with a matching drop D tuner.

It's the bass I dreamed of having and I have no regrets about finally getting one. It has the standard long scale length of 34 inches and plays as would be expected from a Fender bass. I have the 4 string version, but it was also made with 5 strings and available with a quilted maple top. ...But I prefer black.

The Rail by Westone...
-F. Davies

An Odity Back Then

A Collector's Item Now

I first began playing bass on a Fender Precision Bass a friend had loaned me ...long long ago.

I simply dig the low end and many of the riffs I invented or played on the guitar transposed nicely to playing the bass. That beat-up old Fender was a treat in being a small departure from six string guitars, and for the player who is just starting out, I would recommend getting one right off the bat. The Squire models are both affordable and playable for those whose budget is a bit too tight for a new Fender brand bass. The Precision Bass is just the de-facto standard of electric basses.

"Electric bass"? Yes, that's what they are called I was told by the fellow who loaned it to me. They are not "bass guitars" but electrified versions of the regular stand-up bass we all recognize. Most folks I know however, just call them a bass.

So, that Fender gave me the bug for playing bass in addition to already playing guitar. And as fate would have it, I was in a local music store hanging out with some friends and spotted this odd but cool looking bass with the price tag of $250 on it and a half price sign in front of it. I looked the counter girl in the eye and asked "Is that half off the price it has on the tag?" To this day I feel guilty wondering if she made a mistake selling it to me for just $125. But at the time, I laid out the cash and bolted for the door when she replied: "yes."

So, I wound up with a Westone bass called "The Rail" as the first bass I ever owned.

It was a very unusual and fast bass with a sting length of just 32.5 inches. The pickup was mounted on a middle section of the body which slid on two metal rails, ...hence the name. It was also headless with the tuning machines down aft of the bridge. The tuners were a bit tough to turn, but otherwise worked well. I didn't like how the output jack was on the front or top, so I moved it to the opposite side from where the volume knob was. But I did really like that it had 24 frets, a full two octaves on a string, something that Precision bass didn't have.

I'm not sure it got much respect from other musicians, possibly because of its brand name (not a Fender LOL) or its odd looks or short string length, ---but I absolutely loved it!

In hindsight I wish I had never sold it (in a moment of desperation for money) as they are hard to find now and the last one I saw at Reverb was going for $750, six times what I paid new! ...Well, it was red anyway, and one of the first models with black instead of chrome tubular rails. But I'm keeping my eye open hoping to find one again. If you happen upon one for sale, I highly recommend you do not buy it and instead notify me immediately.

The Really Really Cheap Bass
-F. Davies

From China

Possibly Useful As A Backup - With A Set-up Performed On It?

There was a time in my life where I missed having a bass around and had just enough spare change to pick up a cheap no-name imported one and I went for it. Having just got it, I was at a friend's birthday party, out on his porch picking and grinning when another fellow suggested we play the local tavern. I think I was playing through like a 6 inch speaker using a 15 watt amp when next we met at the tavern. Eventually I stepped up to a 25 watt amp. matching the power of the other two guitarists.

Mind you, I wasn't a pro at knowing all the bass lines as might be expected in a cover band. While they knew a couple hundred songs apiece, it was all new to me. With a few exceptions, I just improvised the whole time, relying on knowing a little about music theory and such and kind of having a feel for how the songs seemed like they should go to me. My two band-mates were old school, self taught, Jack Daniels drinking, grinning and picking kind of guys, ...country raised cow milking, hot rod building folks who played the shit out of their guitars and sang loud and in tune. They never complained that I was making it up the whole time, and joked that they didn't need a drummer when they had me.

I guess we did this for about a decade, often going on for half a day at a time. So, I got a lot of use out of that cheap blue bass from China. And that may be the point, almost any instrument will do in a pinch. There's not much to an electric bass. Strings of about the right diameter and length, a fretboard of about the right distance between frets, a pickup with volume and tone controls. How it sounds has more to do with the technique of the player than the instrument.

Okay, it was a cheap bass and the action was higher than the Mullen Road overpass. But a high action allows a performer to play harder, really dig in when they want to. Usually I had the volume turned all the way up, as it was on the little 25 watt amp too. But anyone else who'd picked it up ever set it down 3 minutes later and shook their hand for a while to get the blood flowing again.

So my recommendation is yes, unless you can afford something better. You can always sell it the minute you get something better ...as I did.


People remember it still, it was seriously blue.

G-style Bass
-F. Davies

5-String Fretless Bass

A Really Cheap Bass

Well here's another example of an inexpensive bass coming from China. I actually don't have any issues with it. It would be hard to beat the quality for a price under $150. Tuners are nice, and I've installed flat wound strings.

This is another dream come true. I've wanted to try out a 5-string as well as a fretless and finally got both in one instrument. I must admit it has taken a while to get used to the additional sting. I tune it to a low B and yet in my mind that string is an E as on the 4 string bass. But as they say... practice. The more I play it the less confusing it seems. There are some pieces where the extra string makes a huge difference.

Aside from the lower notes available, this extra string makes playing some things easier as a pattern on four strings can be shifted up a string to 4th above rather than changing to another fingering pattern or moving a great instance up the neck. I've even taken advantage of this in writing one particular piece.

The fretless aspect is also interesting. I find myself relying more on my ear, rather than just trusting in the position of the frets for proper intonation. And slides are much nicer sounding as they are smooth and even, and go through a micro-tonal range which would not be possible on a fretted instrument. It is possible to play quarter tones too without trying to bend a string.

I can now see why Jaco pulled out his frets and filled them in.