Squier Jag bass OR Epi Thunderbird

[JohnnyC]

so...every 6-12 months, i get this idea in my head that i can play bass/do more recordings.
end up buying a bass and/or amp/cab then end up selling it on.
ive been through 3 basses in the past...all yamaha RBXs as thats kinda what pops up cheap used round my parts, and i quite dig the shape and comfort, but i end up just giving up as im primarily a guitar player. id love to learn slap and get my funk on, but frankly...i suck.

id love to get a warwick or even rockbass but for some random reason...these 2 have caught my attention...

Vintage modified Jag special? shortscale


or

Epiphone thunderbird IV?


im gonna got try and track these down for a play...anyone able to chime in?
havent played a short scale bass before...not sure what style i want...mainly to track along to some rock/metal/doom/triphop/ambient tunes? either clean or with fuzz.
anything else i should look at apart from the ibanez SGR? P and Js etc?

[dase]

squier is probably more what you want. I mean I really wanna say get the thunderbird because they just look so much cooler but unless you're actually going to play shows with it, and wear it around your knees, and do that steve harris machine gunning people with your bass thing, and possibly beat someone who knocked over your bottle of cough syrup half to death with it...there's no real point.

[DarkAxel]

the Squier is awesome, long or shortscale definitely can recommend...

absolutely a dream to record as well dirty or clean...

[greyscales]

I've never played the Epi Thunderbird, but have that Jag bass. It is definitely worth every penny as far as being easy to play and sounding good. The action on mine is suuuuuuper low, really easy to play.

The only complaints I have with it are the concentric pots (the neck pot on mine was bad from the start) and the frets (I have a couple buzzing frets at the 16/18 frets). I took out the pots and put in two switches.

[MrNovember]

I used to own an Epiphone Thunderbird and ended up trading it for a Rockbass Corvette.
I absolutely hated how it felt so I would recommend playing one first before committing to anything. It definitely sounded and looked wicked though.
I've dug all the Squire Jag basses I've picked up in shops but I don't have any extensive experience with them.

[bigchiefbc]

I personally love my Squier VM Jag (full scale). The P and J pickups are cool because you can get a J tone, a P tone, or a cool hybrid (and it really barks and snarls when both pickups are on full)

I'm not as big on the TBird, just because the mudbuckers a little too muddy for me. I think G&L's bucker implementation is a lot better.

[Haki]

The Epi T-Bird can do the styles you listed just fine. I've been playing one for a few years now and I like how it plays and sounds. Definitely worth trying out because it's one of the coolest looking basses out there.

[CaptainWampum]

Having played both many times I would always choose the Jag.

[blahquaker]

I didn't like the way the epiphone thunderbird felt at all. especially sitting down.

[Mike]

My wife has had the Jag SS for close to two years now. She she doesn't play it as much as her P Bass Jr., but still loves it.

I wired it up so that the front knob is master volume, and the back knob is master tone. The middle knob blends the P and J pickups. Full P in one direction, full J in the other, and with a detent in the center when both pickups are even. I used a Bourns PDB182-GTRB2 pot, and it works great. Highly recommended.

Mike

[JohnnyC]

so...the epi T-bird
looks badass but after trying it...defnitely not really comfortable for me ...either standing or sitting...unless doing the "machine gunning" thing lol!

also...the Jag...i was under the impression it WAS a short scale, but turns out it is standard 34' with the option of shortscale...and ive not been keeping up to date with how awesome squier are (in terms of new bass stuff...big fan of their guitar VM and CV range) but saw that they have...this!!!

im not usually a sucker for sig guitars but ...i think im in love!

[bigchiefbc]

so...the epi T-bird
looks badass but after trying it...defnitely not really comfortable for me ...either standing or sitting...unless doing the "machine gunning" thing lol!

also...the Jag...i was under the impression it WAS a short scale, but turns out it is standard 34' with the option of shortscale...and ive not been keeping up to date with how awesome squier are (in terms of new bass stuff...big fan of their guitar VM and CV range) but saw that they have...this!!!

im not usually a sucker for sig guitars but ...i think im in love!

Ah, ok, I thought you were specifically looking for the shortscale version of the Jag. Anyways, yes they have both versions. The main differences between the two (other than the scale, obviously) are:

full scale gets duncan design pickups, short scale has normal squier pickups
full scale has concentric pots with volume and tone for each pickup, the short scale has two volumes and a master tone
full scale gets block inlays, short just gets dots

[JohnnyC]

[/quote]

Ah, ok, I thought you were specifically looking for the shortscale version of the Jag. Anyways, yes they have both versions. [/quote]

haha can you tell im primarily a guitarist? i just assumed jag - short scale.
im gonna have to now try both and see which suits better.
im thinking hte shorter scale wont be as good for slap should i wish to learn that.

drooling over htat greyburst mastadon one....damn im gonna have to track one down.

[DarkAxel]

yeah, that Troy sig is pretty gnarly and both passive and active circuits? yes please

[Psyre]

my local shop just got one of those Troy Sanders sigs in, looked nice, active though, idk if that would be an issue for me.