Discussion
Looking to buy a bass guitar to learn on, recommendations?
Total spend is £200 tops, new or second hand. Saw a Squier Fender copy today which looked ok and was in budget and their 6 strings are supposed to be ok for beginners. Don't want something that's hard to play because it's cheap - the bass equivalent of a Yamaha Pacifica I suppose!
Also, is it essential that I get a bass amp or can I run it through my guitar practice amp? Not going to be gigging for quite a while!!
Total spend is £200 tops, new or second hand. Saw a Squier Fender copy today which looked ok and was in budget and their 6 strings are supposed to be ok for beginners. Don't want something that's hard to play because it's cheap - the bass equivalent of a Yamaha Pacifica I suppose!
Also, is it essential that I get a bass amp or can I run it through my guitar practice amp? Not going to be gigging for quite a while!!
Friend of mine has just bought a Squier Tele. Had a play the other night and it was not a bad bit of kit at all.
Re. amps, not being a bass player I'm quite sure but I presume they make bass specific amps for a reason. You can probably pick up a cheap and cheerful practice amp for buttons anyway.
ETA nice Jazz on e-bay...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FENDER-SQUIER-JAZZ-BASS-...
Re. amps, not being a bass player I'm quite sure but I presume they make bass specific amps for a reason. You can probably pick up a cheap and cheerful practice amp for buttons anyway.
ETA nice Jazz on e-bay...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FENDER-SQUIER-JAZZ-BASS-...
Edited by B17NNS on Wednesday 24th August 14:11
Squier are ok - reasonable enough for the money and their "vintage modified" range are well regarded. Ibanez and Yamaha also make good value entry-level instruments.
However, I'd wholeheartedly recommend the brand "Vintage". I have one of their Jazz basses (EJM96) and use it as my primary gigging guitar. They're built in China but English designed. It's so good that I sold my Japanese Fender P-bass as I preferred the sound and playability of the Vintage! In 18 months of hard use it's not let me down, holds tuning well, has been subjected to all manner of knocks and abuse. For less than £200 I really can't think of anything better.
Regarding the amps - best get a bass-specific amp. You can run basses through a guitar amp but I wouldn't trust a practice amp to be up the job - you're at risk of damaging the speaker.
However, I'd wholeheartedly recommend the brand "Vintage". I have one of their Jazz basses (EJM96) and use it as my primary gigging guitar. They're built in China but English designed. It's so good that I sold my Japanese Fender P-bass as I preferred the sound and playability of the Vintage! In 18 months of hard use it's not let me down, holds tuning well, has been subjected to all manner of knocks and abuse. For less than £200 I really can't think of anything better.
Regarding the amps - best get a bass-specific amp. You can run basses through a guitar amp but I wouldn't trust a practice amp to be up the job - you're at risk of damaging the speaker.
I use an El Cheapo Yamaha RBX 250.
I'd say it was an easier bass to play for a beginner than the Fenders, though tone is limited as it only has a single split pick up.
I had mine set up properly by a local bass playing luthier and as a result, it is nicer to play than some basses I've seen costing £2-3,000.
Not bad considering it must have only been a couple of hundred new.
And it's metallic pink!
I'd say it was an easier bass to play for a beginner than the Fenders, though tone is limited as it only has a single split pick up.
I had mine set up properly by a local bass playing luthier and as a result, it is nicer to play than some basses I've seen costing £2-3,000.
Not bad considering it must have only been a couple of hundred new.
And it's metallic pink!
Bill Carr said:
Yoda. said:
I bought a Vintage V1004 for £155 ish a few weeks ago. I'm a 'returning' beginner 
Oooh, I like that. How does it sound?3 pickups give a pretty good mix of sounds, although there is a bit of fret buzz & a few other minor niggles I'm afraid I'm no expert so can't do much better than that.
I don't think they were that expensive when new, however bought this with the idea of not wanting another cheapy (I used to have a Marlin Sidewinder back in '87 which I played until the early 90's before packing it in). Overall reviews were quite favourable hence me choosing it...ultimately from a seller on here: http://basschat.co.uk/index.php? which funnily enough was the place I saw as being recommended by a fellow PH basshead a few weeks ago on another thread...
[edit] For the OP...I bought a Fender 'Rumble' 15 amp (about £90), they seem very popular as I had to ring round to find one in stock from a shop. I run the hifi through it via an MP3 / a couple of phono sockets. I can then play along to stuff through the headphones...sorted
Edited by Yoda. on Thursday 25th August 16:32
I think you've done well - £155 looks to be half the new price, and that's a lot of bass for the money. A trip to a local setup guy should fix the fret buzz, although if you fancy trying yourself I've got a pdf of a very good guide (pm me and I'll email it).
I like quilted maple-topped guitars and the J/MM p'up combo. Fancy a swap? I've got a spare 6-string bass on ebay at the moment.
I like quilted maple-topped guitars and the J/MM p'up combo. Fancy a swap?
I've got a spare 6-string bass on ebay at the moment.Bill Carr said:
I think you've done well - £155 looks to be half the new price, and that's a lot of bass for the money. A trip to a local setup guy should fix the fret buzz, although if you fancy trying yourself I've got a pdf of a very good guide (pm me and I'll email it).
Yep I think I did well there - it's been used but well looked after as far as I can see and apart from a little fading to the gold finish in places, looks brand new.The fret buzz seems only really apparent when it's not plugged in...I'm wondering whether all basses (at least ones with a relatively low action) are like this?
Bill Carr said:
I like quilted maple-topped guitars and the J/MM p'up combo. Fancy a swap? I've got a spare 6-string bass on ebay at the moment.
Nooooo....that has 2 too many strings for me at the moment! I've got a spare 6-string bass on ebay at the moment.
My first bass was a second-hand Westone Thunder II active. Nice sound, absolutely lovely playability but bloody heavy Cost me £150 IIRC, but as they stopped making them in the '80s it would be a case of whatever you could get.
However, I'd definitely recommend Yamaha basses. I forget which exact model, but a few years ago the school bass was a cheapo Yamaha, and it actually played really nice. For the money I can't think of anything else that would match it.
ETA: Bass will wreck a guitar practice-amp. Can't really help regarding what's a good buy though, I use a Roland Cube 30 as a practice amp and it is fantastic but over budget
Cost me £150 IIRC, but as they stopped making them in the '80s it would be a case of whatever you could get.However, I'd definitely recommend Yamaha basses. I forget which exact model, but a few years ago the school bass was a cheapo Yamaha, and it actually played really nice. For the money I can't think of anything else that would match it.
ETA: Bass will wreck a guitar practice-amp. Can't really help regarding what's a good buy though, I use a Roland Cube 30 as a practice amp and it is fantastic but over budget
Edited by vit4 on Friday 26th August 02:19
I have a fender rumble amp and for me plodding away to tunes in mt room, it's more than enough. In terms if basses, I have an Aria CTB-II bass which must be near 23-24 years old now and a RH fender musicmaster which i swapped the strings over (I'm a lefty and this was my 1st bass.
My Aris still sounds nice, although if cash allowed i'd think about another one..
My Aris still sounds nice, although if cash allowed i'd think about another one..
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