Jayme's Bass Gear Recommendations
Below is a regularly updated list of gear that I often use on the stage, in the studio and in the classroom. I wouldn't say that I couldn't live without any of this stuff, but I'm as close as I can get to it! For each piece of gear I'll show you a demo-video that I did on the Deadbeat Studios YouTube channel and include a few affiliate links from zZounds, Thomann, Sweetwater and Amazon. If you purchase anything at all after clicking on those links I'll get a very small commission, so THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your support!
If you have any questions at all please don't hesitate to DM me in the Community and I'll get back to you as soon as I can! And don't forget to tell me your availability to help me schedule the next JBA Live Meetup. Alright, enough chit chat. Let's talk gear!
BASSES
Fender Player Series Precision Bass - You may not believe that everyone needs a P Bass, but if you just needed one to gonna get the job done, I'd say this is it. It's got that sound and it's not too pricey. It's a fine P Bass, no frills or glitter.
SHOP FENDER PLAYER PRECISION ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
Fender Geddy Signature Jazz Bass - While I'll admit, it's not my cup of tea and I do not own one, I think that this is the sound that most people are looking for in a J Bass. You probably know that I love J Basses, and honestly any one will do, but this model is probably what you're after if you like a good rock and slap tone.
SHOP FENDER GEDDY LEE SIGNATURE BASS ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
Warwick Corvette $$ - I'm not lying - this is probably the greatest studio bass. I use it on sync-music and TV/Film sessions all the time because it has so many options, you can almost make it sound like anything. If versatility is what you're after, I think this is as good as it gets. It's also my favorite slap tone of all time.
SHOP WARWICK CORVETTE DOUBLE BUCK ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann
Spector NS Pulse - When it comes to modern rock, active rock, nu metal, but rock... Whatever you wanna call it! For all things in-your-face rock music, this bass takes the cake. You couldn't possibly make it any easier to dial in a brutal tone and attack it with a pick.
SHOP SPECTOR NS PULSE II BASS ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater
Squier Bronco - This is such a bad instrument, and that's why I like it. Believe it or not I've used it on many recording sessions - in fact I love it when the producer calls back and tells me how amazing the tone sounded, then I tell him it's a $200 piece of junk bass! It certainly has "character," and that's why I use it (when appropriate).
SHOP SQUIER BRONCO BASS ONLINE: zZounds
Spector NS Ethos 5 - Again, I admit that I do not own this instrument. But if I were in the market for a modern 5 String bass that's effortless to play, it'd be this one. It's very clean and I used it on quite a few sessions while it was in the studio.
SHOP SPECTOR NS ETHOS 5 STRING BASS ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater
Ibanez SR500E - this is a great "1st active bass" for anyone crossing over from passive instruments, and it's also a fantastic bass for guitar players or producers who just need a bass; it's sounds just fine playing anything!
SHOP IBANEZ SR500E ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
MONO Dual Bass Case - I traveled with one of these for 5 years on airplanes, buses, vans and even on foot! I typically gate-checked one of these, and 100% of the time my instruments arrived in one piece and unharmed.
SHOP MONO M80 ONLINE: zZounds
D'Addario 3" Padded Strap - I bought about 20 of these back in 2001, and I still have most of em. Buy once buy right!
SHOP MONO M80 ONLINE: zZounds
PEDALS & DI'S
Ampeg SGT-DI - If the Ampeg sound is what you're after, and pedal-form is a "must," then look no further. I don't think it gets any more Ampeg-tone than this, aside from lugging around big and heavy rigs.
SHOP AMPEG SGT-DI ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
Aguilar Octamizer - This is my go-to octave pedal for bass. I toured with this on my board for 3 years and combined with a distortion pedal I was always able to get neat synth-bass effects with it too.
SHOP AGUILAR OCTAMIZER ONLINE: Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
EHX Bass Mono Synth - This pedal is too easy to use, you can't really screw it up. If you play in a cover band doing 3 hour bar gigs and you need a synth bass for certain songs, just get this pedal and call it a day!
SHOP ELECTRO HARMONIX BASS MONO SYNTH ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
Darkglass Microtubes Infinity - Although I'm not a big fan of bright top end on bass guitar, and I don't play a lot of metal either, this pedal was my personal favorite of Darkglass' offerings. Very clean, and it does much more than metal. If you needed to bring just one pedal to the gig, I'm pretty sure you could get away with this one.
SHOP DARKGLASS MICROTUBES INFINITY ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater
Joyo Monomyth - It's crazy how much this thing sounds like the Darkglass pedal that it's cloning. I have the AOU here at the studio too, but I record with the Joyo the most!
SHOP JOYO MONOMYTH ONLINE: Thomann - Amazon
Phil Jones Bass PE-5 - This is my go-to pedal for dialing in slap tones. The 5 band EQ makes it easy to scoop out the right place and add sizzle on top without adding hiss. It's the perfect EQ!
SHOP PJB PE-5 ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Amazon
Quilter Interbass - I'm not going to lie, I really don't know what this pedal does. But I love what it does :)
SHOP QUILTER INTERBASS ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
Radial Bassbone V2 - If you're a regular gigging bassist then I highly recommend this DI. Plug in two basses and send a balanced signal of both to FOH and your amp, or have a regular setting and then a 'slap' or 'solo' setting. It's essential for me any time I play out with more than one bass.
SHOP RADIAL BASSBONE V2 ONLINE: zZounds - Sweetwater - Amazon
Source Audio Aftershock - I toured with this distortion pedal for 6 years and I love it. It's so versatile, especially if you tap into a computer using a USB cable or the mobile app. Possibilities are endless!
SHOP SOURCE AUDIO AFTERSHOCK DISTORTION ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
Source Audio Nemesis Delay - I don't use delay very often, but when I do I play this one.
SHOP SOURCE AUDIO NEMESIS ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
AMPS & CABS
Phil Jones BG800 - This rig is plenty loud and perfect for the weekend warrior and cover-band bassist. 800w and 12x5" speakers is enough to fill most small venues.
SHOP PJB BG800 ONLINE: Sweetwater
Phil Jones BP-800 - Serious power with a tiny footprint - if you need power like the BG800 above but already have your own cabs, I highly recommend you check this out!
SHOP PJB BP-800 ONLINE: zZounds
Hartke LH1000 - If you're looking for a tremendous amount of power without breaking the bank, it's hard to beat this head. The tone is limited but fine, especially if you hit some pedals first. It's not my favorite rig but it's SO LOUD and only $0.68 per watt!
SHOP HARTKE LH1000 ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
Phil Jones Nanobass X4 - I keep one of these in the kitchen and in the living room, that way there's always a small amp nearby so I can practice while I watch TV.
SHOP PJB NANOBASS X3 ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann
MICS
Universal Audio Sphere L22 - These mics are awesome because they emulate different mic models. Buy one mic and you'll get dozens! It's great for vocal sessions too.
SHOP UA SPHERE L22 ONLINE: zZounds
Shure B52A - A staple bass amp microphone, the Beta 52 has a really nice scoop and lift in the top end that makes it perfect for recording modern rock tones.
SHOP SHURE BETA 52 ONLINE: zZounds
Royer R-121 - Mellow and smooth, this mic captures the most natural-sounding bass tone you'll ever hear. Great for acoustic, singer songwriter, classic rock, funk and old-skool recordings.
SHOP ROYER 121 ONLINE: zZounds
Electro-Voice RE20 - This mic is well known for bass cabs because it has no proximity effect, allowing you to get it right up to the speaker without overloading the low end. Great for old-skool, vibey tones too!
SHOP ELECTROVOICE RE-20 ONLINE: zZounds
AKG D112 - This is another classic bass amp and kick mic; a bit more "honky" and flatter than the Shure B52. I like this for more full-spectrum pop/rock songs and thumpy low-mids.
SHOP AKG D112 ONLINE: zZounds
STUDIO/LIVE RECORDING
Phil Jones Bighead Pro - This thing is perfect for recording live gigs and playing to backing tracks. It functions as a headphone amp and an audio interface, so it allows for a personal in-ears rig that also runs your backing tracks and records your DI signal. I use it every year at NAMM to record all the instruments at booths.
SHOP PJB BIGHEAD PRO (HA-2) ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Amazon
Mogami Gold Cables - I use Mogami XLR and 1/4" cables at Deadbeat Studios cuz if you buy right once, you won't need to buy again.
SHOP MOGAMI INSTRUMENT CABLES ONLINE: zZounds
Presonus Studio One - My DAW of choice is Studio One, and while this video is old I'll still stand by it! It's a great piece of kit and does everything I need it to. I especially love the integrated Melodyne feature.
SHOP PRESONUS STUDIO ONE ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater
Rupert Neve Designs RNDI - In the world of recording bass there's just one name you need to know: Neve. This is a modern update on the classic design and it sounds exactly the way a bass needs to.
SHOP NEVE RNDI ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
Rupert Neve Designs Portico 5017 - Clean and classic Neve DI tone blended with compression and the same Silk circuit as the RNDI... This thing is a killer. Plus you can blend in a mic signal and blend the phase between the two so you can have two signals taking up just 1 channel. Brilliant!
SHOP NEVE PORTICO 5017 ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater - Amazon
Universal Audio Apollo Twin X - I keep one of these on the desk at all times, that way I can plug-in any mic or instrument without crawling behind the desk to get at the other preamp inputs. It's perfect and the UAD plugins are next level.
SHOP UA APOLLO TWIN X ONLINE: zZounds
SOFTWARE
Fab Filter Pro-L2 - I love this limiter, it's almost impossible to mess it up. It can take your bass to the forefront of the mix and is an essential tool for getting my bass to pop on mobile-phone speakers when posting content on social media.
SHOP FAB FILTER PRO-L2 ONLINE: zZounds
Fab Filter Pro-Q3 - This EQ has changed the way I mix. My mixes are so much clearer now cuz the interconnectivity between plugin instances makes it easy to cut out the mud and confusion between related instruments. Total game-changer!
SHOP FAB FILTER PRO-Q3 ONLINE: zZounds
Native Instruments Komplete - These are some of the best VST plugins on the market, you really can't go wrong. Load up a preset and compose away!
SHOP NATIVE INSTRUMENTS KOMPLETE ONLINE: zZounds
Arturia Minilab - A no-fills MIDI controller that's small and will fit on any desktop. Affordable and perfect for composing and just having a keyboard handy.
SHOP ARTURIA MINILAB ONLINE: zZounds
Kemper Profiler - This thing is essential for both the stage and studio these days; I use it for recording DI and effected tones via SPDIF to avoid using up precious hardware inputs, dialing in killer tones, profiling my own rigs and using them at gigs... I'm a fan :)
SHOP KEMPER PROFILER ONLINE: zZounds
Steven Slate Drums 5 - These are, by far, my favorite sounding drum samples. The stock ones are great and the expansion packs are even better!
SHOP SSD5 ONLINE: zZounds - Thomann - Sweetwater
iReal Pro - We use iReal Pro here at Jayme's bass Academy for sequencing chord changes to improvise or jam to. It's especially good for jazz students!
Guitar Pro - We use this software here at Jayme's Bass Academy for playing TAB's along with backing tracks for lessons and songs.
PRACTICE TOOLS & ACCESSORIES
Real Book: Bass Clef (6th Edition) - This is an absolute must-have for all jazz students, players who want to learn how to improvise, and students looking for applicable sight-reading material! I cannot recomment it enough!
SHOP REAL BOOK ONLINE: Amazon
Phil Jones Bass Engine 17 - This is a killer practice amp with some awesome features like Bluetooth and 1/4" line-ins. Probably not loud enough to compete with a loud drummer, but I bet it would be perfect for dinner sets and cocktail hour gigs.
SHOP PJB BASS ENGINE 17 ONLINE: Sweetwater
