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the bass player in my band has overall, pretty great gear. at this point the bass itself is really the weakpoint. currently it's a 70's gibson sg style bass, can't remember the model number, but you know what i'm talking about. it looks fairly cool, and plays well, but it's short scale and that fucking pickup sounds bad. we tune to drop b and play metal, mostly mid to faster heavy black metal that meanders over to slow doom at times. the amp is an svt classic through an 8x10 fridge. it's just not the right bass. it lacks clarity big time and it's just not sounding good. we were talking last night about basses and i thought i'd post here to get some more ideas. the budget is around a grand. i of course like fender basses. i think a jazz bass would be great, or a precision. she's really likes the aesthetic of gibsons, which i agree with but it just seems they've never been that serious about making a great bass. she seems to want to find something other than a fender, although those are certainly on the table still. i also like those earnie ball music man basses. what else is out there that we should think about?

why force her to play a bass other than the one she's comfortable with? the shorter scale is probably easier for her. the svt has a ton of tone options--perhaps that's the ticket.

i'm not forcing anything. i think you have the wrong idea. a new bass is her idea. going full scale is her idea. we just like to talk gear and were talking about it together.

Peavy T-40? They weigh a ton, but have a great tonal range.

Are you skilled with building? You could get a Gibson-shaped body from Warmoth, a full-scale neck and some humbucking jazz pickups from Nordstrand, a Badass bridge, and have a beast of a bass on your hands.

Edit: crap! It looks like Warmoth doesn't stock SG bass bodies anymore...

Thunderbird?

I'd go with new pickups and pots and caps first. Old wood is good wood IMO. The magnets can loose strength over time and that means less punch and weaker sound overall. A LOT cheaper and can make a huge differance.
If the bass plays good, feels good, looks good, give it an overhaul and be happy with it.

A Sterling RAY5 would definitely be the ticket.

a good friend, who was also talking basses with us last night had the same model bass for a while. he had the exact same problems with it. he replaced all the electronics trying to fix it. aftermarket pickups that fit those things are extremely uncommon. he got a dimarzio, which i think was the only one he could find. all that stuff helped, but he ultimately sold the bass cause he just couldn't get it to work out. that was a discouraging part of the conversation for sure. she's been wanting a new bass for a while, and i think is just leaning towards that rather than put money and work into this one, particularly since it seems that it may not get her where she wants to be anyway.

For more clarity, something with a mid / bridge pickup would be the right way to go.
A stingray or thunderbird, as already mentioned, would be good to check out.
But both usually have active pickups. Not a bad thing, just different. More EQ options.

You're in Portland so go to a music store and try stuff out . The brands they have might not work for you but you can check out pickup combinations you like. G&L is nice, I've got a Warwick that I'll probably never sell. Stingrays had too much clang for me but low tuning+flatwounds could be badass. Some people go crazy for Spectors too. Thunderbirds are cool but I never found them to have a ton of clarity if that's what she's after.

A grand gives you some pretty good options but beware of overpriced shit, Warwick, for example, was VERY guilty of this before the market crash

What does she set her EQ at now?
Does she care if it's active or passive?

For drop B I'd go with a 35" scale bass.

I definitely agree with a MM Ray or Sterling, since you already mentioned it. The difference will be night and day to an SG style bass.

For drop-tuned metal along with the Ampeg rig, it will be killer.

Bon Hoga wrote:For drop B I'd go with a 35" scale bass.

I agree with this too, but going from short scale to 35" is a BIG jump.

yeah those EB basses have a really weird sound, dark and murky and woofy. It's too bad you don't see more aftermarket pickups for them, because they are cool shortscales.

If you live in portland you have a couple of amazing shops to try basses out.

Old Town Music - Hit or Miss depending on what walk through the store. But from time to time some really great pieces of wood drop on in. I picked up a Gibson G3 that I am in love with.

Trade up Music - This is a roll the dice type of shop, but you can find certain basses for a really damn good price. I saw a mint G&L SB2 for 850.00 with the case.

Apple Music - Limited to just a small corner on the wall but they carry newer stuff. Lots of G&L basses, and other cheep chinese models to be had from. Plus they have Rickenbockers in stock generally

Or bite the bullet and take a day trip to Seattle and go to Bass NW. If you can't find something there then I don't know where you would. By far the most amazing store on the planet.

as far as a type of bass, that is so very dependent on the type of player you are and what fits you best. I love what G&L produces. Cheep on the after market and they sound really damn good.