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Old 10-07-2016, 06:39 AM   #1
insub
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Default Bass Players: Recommend Starter Bass Guitar?

Needs to be inexpensive, but good enough for light, local gigging.

Genre: Alternative Rock
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Old 10-07-2016, 06:51 AM   #2
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Any of the Fender Squires and Tribute line from G&L (whatever suits your taste). Get even more for your money and buy used. I have amazing luck with Reverb.com.
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Old 10-07-2016, 07:05 AM   #3
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Not just a starter, but a finisher. Neck thru, 24 frets, active pickups, VERY kickass
Cheap as hell
http://www.rondomusic.com/eb970trgr3.html
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Old 10-07-2016, 07:22 AM   #4
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I'm very pleased with Ibanez SR 305, low mass and narrow neck makes playing rather effortless. Super ergonomic design. Altough I imagine it sucks for slap n pop (not much space between strings).
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Old 10-07-2016, 07:28 AM   #5
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I like passive basses best in the lower price-range,
but depends on your rig.
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Old 10-07-2016, 07:38 AM   #6
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Originally Posted by G-Sun View Post
I like passive basses best in the lower price-range,
but depends on your rig.
Passive should be fine. I have a Studio Projects VTB1 that I'll be using as the preamp. In my last band we switched from using the instrument input on my MOTU 828 MKII to using an ART Tube MP Studio and the difference was night & day. The bass player couldn't believe how much better it sounded going through that cheap-ass preamp versus the direct instrument input of the 828.
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Old 10-07-2016, 07:44 AM   #7
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Originally Posted by pipelineaudio View Post
Not just a starter, but a finisher. Neck thru, 24 frets, active pickups, VERY kickass
Cheap as hell
http://www.rondomusic.com/eb970trgr3.html
This one seems awesome. Neck through, dual humbuckers, tone controls.
Can't say I care for the green color though. But, dang... price/options ratio is unbelievable.
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Old 10-07-2016, 07:48 AM   #8
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Why 5-string?
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Old 10-07-2016, 08:02 AM   #9
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It's 20% more bass!
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Old 10-07-2016, 08:08 AM   #10
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Any of the Squier CV (classic vibe) or VM (vintage modified) will do the trick for low bucks. I bought a Squier Jag VM (full scale) in mint condition, used, for just $80. A quick setup and fine adjustments, and a set of flatwound strings, and I was amazed at how good it played and sounded. While I bought it to use for open mics and jams where someone else could use it without me stressin' out ... it could handle any gig I play.

You could also find Fender MIM basses used for around $300-400. I use a MIM Jazz as my main giggin' bass, and have for years.

I have one short scale bass, a Fender Coronado, and it's been sitting in its case for a couple of years, virtually unplayed. Just don't care for the short scale.

I also play guitar (acoustic fingerstyle) and keys.
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Old 10-07-2016, 12:14 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pipelineaudio View Post
Not just a starter, but a finisher. Neck thru, 24 frets, active pickups, VERY kickass
Cheap as hell
http://www.rondomusic.com/eb970trgr3.html
+1 on the rondo music stuff.. I think their higher end basses are under the 'Brice' line.. so not sure on the Hadean.

I have two of their Agile guitars and they're fantastic.
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Old 10-07-2016, 03:44 PM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by pipelineaudio View Post
Not just a starter, but a finisher. Neck thru, 24 frets, active pickups, VERY kickass
Cheap as hell
http://www.rondomusic.com/eb970trgr3.html


Holy @#$%!,

Have you actually held one of these. The features are outstanding. My concern would be a green neck wood that may twist with age and climate change. But WOW, for 200 its worth a gamble.
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Old 10-07-2016, 04:04 PM   #13
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Holy @#$%!,

Have you actually held one of these. The features are outstanding. My concern would be a green neck wood that may twist with age and climate change. But WOW, for 200 its worth a gamble.
I have one and one of the Random Weirdos moms has one. I haven't tried the Douglas bolt on one myself yet though.

It feels just like my neck thru Agile, and just as @#%^$^$ heavy. One of them came with a mono jack so the battery drained whether plugged in or not. The other one had a slightly high 23rd fret when checked with a fret rocker. Well within the range of any 2000 dollar guitar or bass (take a fret rocker to any guitar store, grab the most expensive guitar there and check for yourself, its almost a guarantee there will be a bit of rocking)

For a 4 string I have an Ibanez SGR, but this is the 5 string I use everyday.
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Old 10-07-2016, 04:35 PM   #14
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I have one and one of the Random Weirdos moms has one. I haven't tried the Douglas bolt on one myself yet though.

It feels just like my neck thru Agile, and just as @#%^$^$ heavy. One of them came with a mono jack so the battery drained whether plugged in or not. The other one had a slightly high 23rd fret when checked with a fret rocker. Well within the range of any 2000 dollar guitar or bass (take a fret rocker to any guitar store, grab the most expensive guitar there and check for yourself, its almost a guarantee there will be a bit of rocking)

For a 4 string I have an Ibanez SGR, but this is the 5 string I use everyday.


Thats awesome to hear. I really wanted to play some Rondo stuff when I was in the States a few months back but didnt make it. Enjoy my friend.
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Old 10-07-2016, 07:34 AM   #15
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Thanks, Richie.

This Squire Jaguar Short Scale seems like a good deal.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Squier/V...Short-Scale.gc

It's only $200 which is as good as most of the offerings on Reverb.com right now (after shipping). I'll look around Craigslist locally too.

What do you think about short-scale? Is that a good transition for a guitarist or keyboardist (like me)?

I can play a little guitar and have dabbled in bass with my last band.
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Old 10-07-2016, 08:52 AM   #16
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Originally Posted by insub View Post
Thanks, Richie.

This Squire Jaguar Short Scale seems like a good deal.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Squier/V...Short-Scale.gc

It's only $200 which is as good as most of the offerings on Reverb.com right now (after shipping). I'll look around Craigslist locally too.

What do you think about short-scale? Is that a good transition for a guitarist or keyboardist (like me)?

I can play a little guitar and have dabbled in bass with my last band.
I'd go with a full scale bass. Here's a pretty comprehensive writeup:
http://www.bassplayer.com/gear/1164/...e-basses/58704

The longer length as compared to a guitar does have a few challenges, but it's also great training for guitar as it will feel like an easily manipulated toy when you go back to guitar. I'm of the opinion that longer strings at higher tension just sounds better, too.

As a metalhead and someone who likes sub-bass and deep tones, I'd recommend a 5 string, but there's nothing wrong with a goo 4 string.

That Rondo comes in red, too, although I don't think it's much of an improvement over the green. I don't think they have the best reputation but probably fit the bill. Here's a review:
https://spinditty.com/instruments-ge...w-SX-vs-Squier
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Old 10-07-2016, 10:24 AM   #17
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I don't think they have the best reputation but probably fit the bill. Here's a review:
https://spinditty.com/instruments-ge...w-SX-vs-Squier
Specifically on SX, I ordered a pj style some years back for scratching down some bass tracks (I'm a guitar player). The bad: The neck shape is overly fat and generally uncomfortable. The fret wire is softer than anything I have seen before. Practicing some slapping licks when I first got it actually lightly indented the winds of the strings into the fretwire in some places, later turning into some pretty gnarly scratches in the fretwire. The bridge rings like typical cheap stamped bridges do. The good: The pickups aren't bad at all and are very open sounding (likely not potted). All in all, I wouldn't recommend SX.

On Squires guitars/basses, the pickups on every one that I have played sucked, even the classic vibe stuff. Same goes for the cheap Ibanezes and most other low end guitars/basses. But I have played some low end Jackson guitars/basses that had pretty decent pickups.

Whatever you get, make sure that the neck feels ok (you won't get a great neck in a low end guitar/bass) and the pickups sound good. If neither of these are true, you won't want to play the thing much. On pickups, compare to higher end guitars and listen for muddiness, thinness, and overly focused midrange (lows/mids/highs out of balanace).

I am far and away from liking the looks of metal styled guitars, but I think that a low end Jackson bass would be hard to beat at $300, pissing all over any Squier. The bass player in my band is transitioning away from metal to rock, and at the moment his low end Jackson is the only 4 string that he has. It plays and sounds excellent, with a comfortable neck, heavy bridge, and good clarity and tone in the pickups.
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Old 10-07-2016, 11:01 AM   #18
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The Ursa is as different a bass from the one I linked as Rondo's Douglas is vs Rondo's Agiles, which is a bit weird as Rondo's Douglas basses are pretty damn good.
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Old 10-07-2016, 11:17 AM   #19
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Don't get stuck in the "Fenders are the best" type of thinking that will just be crippling. If you want a fender, by all means get a fender, but if what you want is a "good" bass, its more important to make sure you define what that means to you.

For me, I want 24 frets, that rules most fenders out off the bat

I want decent pickup output and low noise, again ,that strangely, rules out most of the expensive fenders and leaves in a lot of the cheaper ones...I guess tradition is the rule of all evil yada yada...

I want easy neck access near the neck joint, again, fender is out the window on this

I want a uniform neck, or as close to it as possible, and again, fender as far as I know has never made anything like this

My back wall has a bunch of guitars, a real ESP USA that cost just under 5,000 dollars back when gas was less than a dollar a gallon, a 2200$ Carvin, and three different Rondos, a douglas 725 ($189), an agile interceptor 727 ($315) and an agile interceptor pro 728 ($425). I play the Agile 728 99% of the time. The fenders sit in the big room where things are much more prone to theft and abuse
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Old 10-07-2016, 11:18 PM   #20
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I'd go with a full scale bass. Here's a pretty comprehensive writeup:
http://www.bassplayer.com/gear/1164/...e-basses/58704

The longer length as compared to a guitar does have a few challenges, but it's also great training for guitar as it will feel like an easily manipulated toy when you go back to guitar. I'm of the opinion that longer strings at higher tension just sounds better, too.
^ This ^

As a long time guitarist (45 years) recently converted to Bass for a gigging band, I found that the extra finger stretch on a long scale bass has improved my guitar technique immensely, a pleasant and welcome side effect
Previous to joining this band as a Bassist, I only played bass in my home studio with fairly basic root notes and such, but now having to bridge the 'groove' of the rhythm section with the melodic section, not only have my bass skills improved but so has my guitar skills as well.

Go with a long-scale Bass ... you won't regret it.

As an aside, my Bass is a 1988 G&L Lynx, not cheap but not terribly expensive either ... it was about $600 used some 10 years ago.

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Old 10-08-2016, 01:06 AM   #21
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Dang! Just checked the price of new tribute basses in the UK and they are a lot more than the guitars and as you say a lot more than your budget - almost none listed used on ebay either.
No way you will find one in your price range, but when I bought my Tokai SDpringy Sound strat new in 1980 I tried a couple of their hard puncher precision copies and was amazed aby how good THEY were, too.

P.S. Just for grins, how many of you giving advice here have the bass guitar as youre first instrument?
Makes a huge difference to your perspective.
I am a guitar playing bass player, so I tend not to offer too much in the way of opinions on guitars, although I certainly do have my favourites. And of course it always comes back to the single most important piece of advice: TRY before you buy.
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Old 10-09-2016, 01:51 PM   #22
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Originally Posted by insub View Post
Thanks, Richie.

This Squire Jaguar Short Scale seems like a good deal.
http://www.guitarcenter.com/Squier/V...Short-Scale.gc

It's only $200 which is as good as most of the offerings on Reverb.com right now (after shipping). I'll look around Craigslist locally too.

What do you think about short-scale? Is that a good transition for a guitarist or keyboardist (like me)?

I can play a little guitar and have dabbled in bass with my last band.
Personally, I'm totally hooked on short scale basses! Nothing wrong with them at all if they're intonated right. They're different, but not worse (all else being equal). With good pickups they can be amazing.
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Old 10-07-2016, 03:06 PM   #23
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Any of the Fender Squires and Tribute line from G&L (whatever suits your taste). Get even more for your money and buy used. I have amazing luck with Reverb.com.
+1 on the G&L Tribute series. I have an Ascari GTS Tribute (MF exclusive tri-bucker), made in Indonesia. Stunning guitar for the money. Really unbelievable build quality at that price point. Sold on G&L anything. The SB-2, for example, lists at $599. Black Friday is coming!

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/...ic-bass-guitar
http://www.glguitars.com/instruments..._new/index.asp
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Old 07-29-2017, 09:01 AM   #24
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Default recommended bass

Warren Huart (producelikeapro.com) swears by the Peavey T-40 as an all around good, inexpensive bass.
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Old 08-07-2017, 08:41 AM   #25
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Warren Huart (producelikeapro.com) swears by the Peavey T-40 as an all around good, inexpensive bass.
Thanks, for the recommendation. Although, I don't think that a vintage, out-of-production $500 instrument is a great option for beginners. There were only 2 on eBay at all, when I looked, and both asking over $500.

I think beginners probably need something a little more readily available and less expensive, IMO.
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Old 09-14-2017, 10:39 AM   #26
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I got it quite a few years ago, but I use a very inexpensive Ibanez for recording. It sounds great, plays great, and works flawlessly many years later. I actually prefer the recorded sound to tracks I have gotten from some highly regarded studio musicians. (Not the playing, however!!!)

Quote:
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Needs to be inexpensive, but good enough for light, local gigging.

Genre: Alternative Rock
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Old 09-14-2017, 12:34 PM   #27
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Yamaha BB424 -> Cheap, versatile, well built, good setup, classic look
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Old 09-14-2017, 12:40 PM   #28
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I brought a Ibanez Mikro bass from Amazon and can honestly say it's the best sounding bass I have owned apart from a Musicman, £155 too

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