Part II
I went on a Bass Odyssey over the last two years. I felt like I should get my chops and rig up to par. I started studying what makes a good rock or metal tone, pick vs fingers vs slap.
"What bass for metal?" is a big huge cliché. Because they'll all work. And yet a valid question, because they'll all titillate some and infuriate others.
What do I mean by "they"?
While many will argue, your "Jaguar" is PJ. (Or series J depending on version). If a Stingray Pickup and preamp are installed on a P bass, what is it?
Aside from body shape and tonal differences of wood choice, the "sound" you hear is the pickup or combination thereof AND that "chassis tonality" combined. Swap Slash's Alinico HB for a Tele bridge single, or Steve Harris' P pickup for a Music Man style, and although they're still playing a Les Paul or P bass, you'd hear a Tele or a MM, respectively.
So, pick your pickup, then pick the body style you like that carries it.
Pickup Styles
P Type - the Original and still Essential. Much like strat copies, though, they can vary from sublime to kindling. This tone is about perfect for many styles, & to have a P pickup in your arsenal should be considered essential. If not on your main, on your backup.
Some people hate them and think they sound "dumb", but Geezer, Harris & many others say nay! Plus EVERY 60's and earlier bass tone that mattered in Rock.
J type - this bass is a bit sexier than a P, surprisingly a bit bigger body size since it looks slimmer in photos. There are three basic tones on this type of layout:
J neck solo - P like but Growls instead of Grinds, and has a smaller tighter bottom. A Model J gets you very close to P territory here.
J bridge solo - Geddy, Jaco. Some love this sound. Be prepared, if you have a rig that's maxed with a P sound, you'll need a louder rig to push this pickup to fill the lows like a bigger sounding pickup would. IMHO useful perhaps for getting a smaller sound out of the same amp setting for a quieter song, but for big bottom...meh. Model J here is an antidote to many of the above problems.
J Both Full - this is a scooped sound due to the parallel pickups cancelling the mids. It sounds great in many contexts, but can get lost if you need pushed mids to deal with scooped guitars.
Bonus J setting - Series Mod, big like a P but different. Cheap easy and switchable.
Music Man Style - these are more modern sounding basses. Think Rex from Pantera, Sean Iseult from White Zombie, a billion punk bands, Queen and...AC/DC? You'd swear it was a P thump, but thanks to the MM's Active Preamp, gets in the ballpark. Of course, it's also one of the great funk sounds, & IME slap and strikethrough, what's good for one is good for the other.
Typical MM sound is the Sting Ray sound, which like the Jazz Both setup, scoops the mids via parallel wiring. Funky, grindy, hi fi.
The alternative MM is the Sterling, which subs ceramic mags for the Ray's A5 and series wiring. Take the MM Ray tone and add balls, mids, and output. Only a P makes one sound thin.
If you check say EMG's catalog, you'll notice all bass pickups they offer are one of the above, even in Soapbar or Thunderbird size. While there are otherer types of pickups out there, in general some combo of the above will get any tone you'd need...except perhaps "Roundabout".
Speaking of 'birds, Gibson, Rickenbacher, and others have unique takes on bass pickups, but no clones are in this price range except the bolt neck Epi Thunderbirds or used Epi SG basses, & IMHO the former is just ok at the price, & the latter your third or fourth bass for variety, not a main axe for most.
If you like looking like a hipster girl and sounding like Abbey Road, & only Abbey Road, a viola type bass *can* be had for -$300, but short scale basses aren't friendly as I'd like to non picking styles, & downtuning would be adventurous. Great instrument but very niche.
There are many hybrid choices. The P-J setup is the original and very hard to beat. Versatile as it gets.
The J-MM setup is gaining traction. While the MM isn't in the traditional "sweet spot" Leo Fender intended it to be, it only gets more aggressive closer to the bridge. Lakland and Warwick made this famous, & a MM Bongo HH has it's bridge pickup in the same position.
Combined with a J Neck, you get a similar flavor to a PJ, but different. A two-bass stable of a PJ & J-MM would cover any need. What 2 bass gig bags were made for.
Personally? I liked a Jazz more in theory than in practice. Even on guitars I like the "just play" simplicity of a single good pickup, so tweakability aside, I wasn't entirely sold, though I thought Js were the shit and had an ash/maple, block neck with 70s spacing.
What ruined my mental ideal? A P. Every damn time.
I'd be smiling, trying out Ampeg flavors with a really good sounding/playing J I owned and set up, would contrast with a random P...and the lesser girth was palpable. Even though it compared well with other Js.
The neck J tone has a good application, as a less thick alternative to the P sound if that's simply too big for a particular mix. If the P is just right, though...the J is just less.
The bridge J...could care less. Seen guys who want to boost the stuffing out of these for rock tones, and someone beat me to it: "sounds like you want a Music Man".
The MM pickup is also somewhat less than a P. Unboosted, that is. Just a hair more than neutral though...and very different than a P, grindy but in it's own fashion. Sterling Style is the bass realm's most overlooked tone and my pick for a non-P tonality.
My personal bass and thee winner for best sub $200 bass is a J-MM config though, and I can't recommend this enough if you're anti P bass. My two other fave sounds are Neck J solo and MM Sterling, and I have both, can blend...if you dig EMGs, a J and MMTW nets you a JJ and J-MM config.
What's best for rock or metal? I personally am augmenting my JMM with a P soon. I rarely do more than solo a P pickup on a PJ, so for my purposes all basses are covered with 2 axes.
Final thought: I don't see why you'd ever be sent away from a gig for showing up with a P bass or equivalent, but there are gigs that you'll need one for.
Leo kinda nailed it off the bat.
Looks? Why so much about looks?
If you're a joining member of a band and not a founder, a supporter not a writer (or a main one), showing up at a blues gig with a Warlock, or a black metal gig with a Roadworn P, don't be shocked to see people wrinkle their nose.
Your style, your genre, your band...make it fit. And with so many to choose from, why invest in something you hate the aesthetic of? (Money, possibly, but short of that...)
The exception is the recording instrument or the home noodler. In that case, whatever plays and sounds killer to you in your price range. Many bassists have a stable of Fenders and will point out their old Roadstar or Peavey Fury as "The One". The Fenders are there to satisfy lets say more visual concerns.
And yes, when you're Les Claypool, you too can play whatever you damn well please ;-)
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