Entry level bass guitars

[dern]

I bought a bass ages ago as an impulse buy and on another impulse swapped it for another 6 string. I regret getting rid of it now so am looking for another. The bass I had was an old japanese p-bass which was ok but not in the greatest of nick.

I'm looking for another bass now for about £200 quid so nothing too fancy... I just want something reliable and good to play. Any recommendations?

I tried out a couple of low ibanez at the weekend from £150-£200 and they were pretty good although some of them string buzzed more than the others... is this just down to setup? I also tried a squire P and J bass and they were ok too. Really liked an epiphone tbird at a little over £200 but it was a big old bus.

So basically they were all pretty much ok apart from the ones that sounded like bees in a tin. Any of these brands I should avoid or any I should consider?

Thanks,

Mark

[conkerman]

I have a squier Jaguar Special

http://www.dawsons.co.uk/squier-vintage-modified-j...

I bought it as I had never played bass before and fancied a go.

The neck feels nice as it is a satin finish.

[dern]

conkerman said:

I have a squier Jaguar Special

http://www.dawsons.co.uk/squier-vintage-modified-j...

I bought it as I had never played bass before and fancied a go.

The neck feels nice as it is a satin finish.

Nice guitar

[ehonda]

I've got an epiphone t-bird and I'm not impressed with the quality, particularly of the tuners. It may well be all you can expect at that price point though. Not tried the others so can't comment on them.
I have an epi 6 string and love it, so I'm not applying any brand snobbery in the above.

[Ganglandboss]

I have a Tanglewood Warrior II that I have had for years. I paid about £180 IIRC. It is a Warwick Corvette copy. It plays really well - the only criticisms I have are the finish isn't particularly special and the pickups are a bit weedy. I don't think they make them anymore, but I would certainly recommend looking at one of their current offerings if you want a reasonable bass on a budget.

[slyelessar]

I had a Squier Jazz vintage 70's rep from a couple years back. Very nice guitar!

[Bullett]

I'm happy with my Epiphone Les Paul Bass.

I always wanted a thunderbird but that is a massive instrument and felt very unwieldy. That's the style though I guess.

[kev b]

Make sure the instrument you buy is set up properly, this makes more difference than anything else, price included.

A badly set up £1000+ bass will be harder to play than a properly adjusted cheap bass.

[davepoth]

A Squier P-Bass is all you'll ever need. I have a friend who did an arena tour with one.

[conkerman]

dern said:

Nice guitar

Thanks.

Depending where you are in Berkshire, you may not be too far from me, you can have a go of mine.

[dern]

I

conkerman said:

Thanks.

Depending where you are in Berkshire, you may not be too far from me, you can have a go of mine.

Thanks very much for the offer, much appreciated. I should be popping in to trading this week so I'll probably do in to Dawsons again and be able to compare it with the others I looked at.

All the best

Mark

[conkerman]

Cool.

Have fun and don't forget to post pictures of the vastly more expensive Bass you actually buy

[gbbird]

I have a LTD B50. Purchased it years ago to lay down basic bass tracks (I'm a guitarist so didn't want to spend too much on a 4 stringer)

The LTD really is very good kit for the money. Does what it says on the tin and it looks cool.. Check out their entry level bass guitars, you might be suprised.

[dern]

I took a chance on a very reasonably priced squier p-bass on ebay as a start point that I collect tonight. The plan is to see how it goes and if well then blow a more worthy amount on something in a few months.

Cheers,

Mark

[alb27]

How are you getting on with the Squier?

I don't think you can go far wrong with a well set up Squier. I have a Jazz VM 5 string which has pretty much become my main gigging bass now. It plays well, sounds decent, and I'm not bothered if it picks up the odd knock in a busy pub.

[dern]

alb27 said:

How are you getting on with the Squier?

I don't think you can go far wrong with a well set up Squier. I have a Jazz VM 5 string which has pretty much become my main gigging bass now. It plays well, sounds decent, and I'm not bothered if it picks up the odd knock in a busy pub.

I only picked it up last night and then haven't had time to sit down with it for more than 5 minutes I'm afraid. However, considering I only paid 80 quid for it (it's an affinity) I'm extremely pleased. The playability is really good and the setup is excellent. It does need new strings and the nuts holding the controls on the pick guard are a bit loose but all easily solved. Very happy with it.

Thanks,

Mark

[KemP]

dern said:

I took a chance on a very reasonably priced squier p-bass on ebay as a start point that I collect tonight. The plan is to see how it goes and if well then blow a more worthy amount on something in a few months.

Cheers,

Mark

I was going to say don't get a P-bass and get a Jazz bass instead. Jazz bass has a much skinner neck and a lot easier to play. I grew using P-bass and the first time i tried a Jazz bass was a real eye opener.

But good luck with the P bass.

[dern]

KemP said:

I was going to say don't get a P-bass and get a Jazz bass instead. Jazz bass has a much skinner neck and a lot easier to play. I grew using P-bass and the first time i tried a Jazz bass was a real eye opener.

But good luck with the P bass.

Cheers. For the price this won't be a keeper so I'll be in a position to decide what I want in the long term once I've had this for a bit. To that end the fact that it plays well is sufficient

[dern]

Put new strings on it at the weekend, tightened up the pots, gave it a good clean and played it loads at the weekend. Got a copy of bass guitar for dummies and working my way through some of that and trying to learn alternate fingers and so on. Really enjoying it and very happy with the guitar. A real leap of faith with guitars at the bottom end of the price range but this is very very good indeed... quite a bit nicer to play than the japanese import fender I used to have.

Cheers,

Mark