What are the best bass guitar brands?

The best? Well, that's a question which requires an opinion- as any answer is subjective when it comes to the "best" of anything pretty much.

If most expensive translates to the best, there are a number of custom makers or "boutique" manufacturers which use very high quality materials and make them by hand. Companies like MBass offer instruments for $4,000. Suh-WEET, but pricey. Eden and Zon make some beautiful stuff too at about half to 3/4 of that. Alembic was the "it" bass to have through the 80s. Jazz Fusion virtuoso Stanley Clarke endorsed them. Steinberger is another company with innovative ideas. Ken Smith, Lakland, Pedulla, Modulus are some other highly regarded brands.

The best in the $1,000 and under category? The grandaddy of electric basses, the Fender Precision bass (the first solid body electric bass) or it's brother the Jazz Bass are used and have been used by thousands of bass players in the pro ranks. Vintage examples bring big money. One of the most revered names in Bass Guitar, the late Jaco Pastorius played a Precision- or "P" Bass. Recordings of the 50s, 60s, and 70s are almost exclusively made of tracks with a Fender holding the bottom down. The Rickenbacker 4001 was also chosen quite often by the biggest names in the English bands of the era- with the exception of Jack Bruce of Cream who played a modified Gibson the majority of the time and occasionally pulled out a Fender VI- which was more like a baritone guitar than a true bass.

The best? I think the best is whatever aids you in sounding and playing the most like you want to and/or are able to. Good quality can be had very reasonably these days; but real craftsmanship and the finest woods and components never come cheap. Performance however, in the right hands can be had from a Camaro that could rival a Ferarrai....

To me I would consider many basses a "good" bass the thing is that it all comes down to what feels right to you, my advice would be to go down to your local guitar store and ask them first what's good, test them out and choose a favourite, then if you are still uncertain try them all and buy whatever one feels best to you
other than that you should check this website out
http://www.thomann.de/ie/index.html
This is a great website and you can save allot of money on it too!

I prefer Leo Fender's axes:


G&L

Music Man

Fender

What about Warwick?

If you want the absolute best, you have to go with an Alembic custom. Probably one of the most expensive out there, but they have one of the best tones out there.

Fedora and Sadowsky are pretty good too.

Now the best that I've actually played is the Stingray 5.

Very nice!

Ernie Ball Musicman. That is all.

Some of the better basses would be custom made instruments. Vintage guitar magazine has some ads for luthiers that built quality hand-made electric basses. As far as "off-the-rack" brands, I would recommend: Fender, Music Man, G&L, Carvin, Rickenbacker and Gibson. Ibanez makes a few good basses, but they also make some cheap ones I'd stay away from. If yo want a good, cheap bass, try a Squire, made for Fender. If you want a vintage instrument, Alembic and Oasis made some nice basses in the `70's.

Basses are like anything else,"You get what you pay for" Inexpensive basses can, at times be difficult to play. They are not set up properly,ie, string height, neck adjustments ect. Most of your mid to high level basses are set up at the store, so you can get an accurate feel for the bass. Keep trying them out, only you will know what feels good to you.

Best bass? Well I have a Washburn XB 600 & I kid you not mate - it is a fine old tool. Good balance & aesthetics (it's light), warm active tone (no hum), superb action (no buzz), great neck (width & depth), pukka hardware (Grover heads). Now for the best bit - I got mine for £150 green queens! There were wankers who walked around the college with their Warwicks & Pedullas that daddie bought for them which they couldn't play for shit. At first they laughed at my XB & called it a 'plank'. But it always filled me with a naughty satisfaction to blow them away with my old Washy that cost a tenth of the price of their 'investments', so basically the moral of the story is - if you can play like a god buy an expensive & exotic bass but if you're like the rest of us mortals with day jobs & girlfriends to feed just get a decent axe & forget luxury items. Cool is being able to play a 'plank' really well. Wanker is being a weak player who sports a 'Mach 1 Dubai' bass made out of deep fried Shaolin Monk's testicles & rocking horse shit. Who would you rather be? Eh?
;)

I think the best bass guitar is the peavey zodiac de scorpion the bxp is good as well.

Warwick is by far my favorite. The tone is unbelievable, theyre easy to slap, you can play anything on it, they look fucking amazing, and they don't kill your wallet as much as some others.

It depends on your application.

Best bet is try out several brand names.

In the past, my band member bass players used Fender, Gibson and Rickenbacher.

The very best bass for recording is Gibson. it produces the richest, fullest bass sound. we tried them all and Gibson it was. Fenders bass does not record well in the studio. a good example of a Fender bass not sounding too good on a recording is the Ventures. they are on Youtube.

Gibson bass all the way.

Rush,Yes and the Chili Peppers. However, theres like a ton of great bass players.

A bass is like a sneaker,It's what ever fits YOU the best.It's really a matter of opinion..nuff said.

has anyone played a warwick streamer stage 2???

which one to pick the stingray 5 or the streamer 5?

I have vintage/rare greco jazz bass. sounds great too!!

what about cort curbows basses ?

cort curbows?

I have an Ibanez R 200 and was about to give it up until I bought an AXL Badwater. The AXL fits me better and sounds G R E A T. My playing improved instantly. I know it's a cheapy but you should try one. One week after buying the AXL I was picked up by a band. What more can a guy that has only been playing for 2 months ask for?

Just play the axe that feels right and sounds right for you, its not the cost that makes great music its the person doing the playing. If you have a pricey rig and cant play it you'll just be a poeser, cheap rig and can play? then welcome to the world of every musician just starting out.Start out on the cheap and you wont loose too much green if you decide music ain't for you, work your way up as your talent improves. Remember, you'll never get what you paid for an instrument when you sell it, just keep that in mind.There may be the rare case where this happens but trust me! its rare indeed!!. I've been playing for 31 years and rarely made money selling a bass or guitar. Expect about a third to half what you paid if your lucky!. I own a Rickenbaker 4003 and a Fender Percision as well as a number of other makes and models and beleive it or not, my favorite is an applause GTX purchased for about 50 bucks and pumped through a Hartke XL series 4/10 cabinet with a Tube Works TD-752-ES guitar amp head, all purchased for under 900 bucks .Shop around and look for deals , and dont be affraid to look at older equipment, solid state is nice but you cant beat a tube amp for warm tone and sustain. But buyer beware, if a deal sounds to good to be true,it probably is. Dont buy a bass just because its expensive or because joe i forget his name has one like it , you might regret it later if you get discouraged and stop playing. I found some of my best deals from guys like that!!. buy what makes you happy, but dont go for the gusto right out of the starting blocks, you might be sorry down the road!, AND REMEMBER practice practice practice, real musicians do all the time, poesers just say they do!!. Watch any bar band where your at and you'll see the real players , the posers get booed from the stage!!!. Quality gear ain't cheap, but if your careful and patiant you'll be suprised what you can get for your dough, nuff said...

I went to a local dealer to test out many "pro" basses and amplifiers and i gotta say:

AMP: Mesa/Boogie Walkabout Scout 15" 300 watts amplifier

Bass: Gibson (Thunderbird or SG),Fender (Precision bass Steve Harris Signature) Or simply a musicman.

Im going to buy a Nikki Sixx Bass (not epiphone but gibson)

I Have Played FENDER JAZZ5'S, MUSIC MAN STINGRAY 5'S, THUNDERBIRD5'S And for MY money there is NOTHING Better Than SPECTOR Basses. They are consistant , Very Well Ballanced, Sound GREAT too, Even the lower priced ones are Very playable and a GREAT 2nd bass , Other people here are right though. . . PICK THE RIGHT BASS FOR YOU. Just thought that SPECTOR Deserved to be on this List.


Peace
Stone

http://www.spectorbass.com/index.html

For Me Hands Down It's WARWICK! I play a 2005 6 string thumb bass BO and a 2009 RB Corvette 5 String. I will never let my Thumb bass go. Best Damn hunk of wood on earth. There not cheap though, but worth every penny.

And, Eden produces bass amplification, not bass guitars.

I like Steinbergers the best - they sound great played fingerstyle and unlike headed basses they actually stay in playing position without downward pressure applied to the body or upward pressure applied to the neck.

Jaco played a fretless Fender Jazz bass, not a Precision.

The one you like playing best :)

I like GLs.

Chris Stambaugh makes the bestest basses in the continental U.S.A. and they aren't that expensive either. They are light weight and sturdy and sound great but, it is mainly due to the electronics that makes it feel and play very well. (Audere Audio Pre-amp, and Aero pups).

Carvin is also a good beginner choice. But it must be bought used or you'll pay a premium price. They have a unique sound that is all their own. If that's the sound you're looking for or feels right to you you might consider them also. This site seems to have left them out so here's one bid for Carvin.

'Best' is a strong word. Jerzy Drozd is even stronger.
http://www.jerzydrozdbasses.com/

What about Sadowsky :) & of Corse I can't forget my Jolana Iris Vintage Custom from 1973 :)))

fender or musicman...

that all depends on what your needs are. i really like ibanez.

I Have a nice Ibanez BTB 5 String and im reall impressed with it, but i think that Fender and some Spector basses have good quality to them.

fender, ibanez,and tobias are good intermediate brands but squier and esp ltd are good for beginners

Depends on what you like, what's your style. Could be Fender Precision, could be Alembic, might even be Steinberger