Bass Question for Mr Stewart in P-cola

Jacob’s Question:

How do the following options affect Metal-Core 5-string bass guitars?
- Active or Passive pickups
- Ibanez's thin neck or Schecter/ESP's added value
- Three knob EQ or one with just two or concentric ect.


My Thoughts:

First off, the biggest difference in the sound of a bass will come
from the type of string used.

Flatwound gives you a mellow sound and are butter smooth which means less finger noise,
Roundwound are brighter and crisper think lots of pop,
Half flat is in the middle of bright mellow and have many variations.

String Choice and music style lay the foundation for the other options such as
pickups, construction, or EQ.



1. Regarding Passive vs. Active, I have and like both. One thing to
consider about Active pickups is that they require batteries. If you
choose this option, make sure to have extras in your gig bag! As the batteries voltage changes the sound changes till its gone. I like the warmth of the active pickups found on Ibanez guitars and with EMG's pickups.  Passive pickups have a solid consistent sound and are work great if you have a good amp and are using out board gear.


2. Branding Ibanez's thin neck or Schecter/ESP's added value – This depends on
your budget. If you’re not spending over a month’s pay for your
instrument, its junk and that is my opinion (there are some exceptions).  I like Ibanez for the cheaper or more budget freindly stuff. It is better than fender's stuff at the same price point. ESP has really fallen off last 10yrs (long story), but Schector guitars are great have not met a bad one, and Music Man makes really hard-rocking stuff at a decent price.

4. Passive EQ is useless on the guitar if you are playing a real show (passive being an on guitar EQ using pots to change "tone").  You really want to leave that up to your amp, effects units, and other cool toys.  Active EQ pots are cool but just as useless, especially in the studio. As an engineer, let me offer this advice: Never touch the knobs! Guitar players are notorious for brushing them in the middle of a recording and jacking the whole track up!

5. Strings, the decision to play a 5-string falls on the musician
and his sound preference. Aside from considering each other instrument
in the band, the only real reason for a 5 string is if the guitar player is tuning down a seven, and stepping into the bass guitars range and "mudding" stuff up. There
is also the question of anatomy. I have stubby fat fingers, so I
prefer to have 4 strings on my guitars.

Ok taking off the engineer hat now. Hope I answered some questions.

Mr. Wimmer "The Engineer/Bass Player"