thank you for taking my question.

I currently have a Squire P-Bass which is currently truning to junk. I am wanting to buy a new bass and I was think a Fender MIM jazz bass. My price range goes up to about $500. Is this a good choice? I play in a punk rock band. Any other suggestions?

Thankyou -Matt-

matt,

does "mim" mean "made in mexico," maybe? I've played some of these that felt really good. though $500 might be a little high. if it plays good for you and has some good tone, then go for it - don't just get a bass on sight, though - you gotta really check it out w/some serious playing and listening.




on bass, watt






Originally posted by bassboy_2003667
thank you for taking my question.

I currently have a Squire P-Bass which is currently truning to junk. I am wanting to buy a new bass and I was think a Fender MIM jazz bass. My price range goes up to about $500. Is this a good choice? I play in a punk rock band. Any other suggestions?

Thankyou -Matt-

You may want to keep an eye out for a used bass. I picked up an incredible 1975 Fender P-bass for $600 used online. You can do the Ebay thing, which is risky, or use GuitarBase's GuitarMall at http://www.gbase.com/ GB goes through a lot of dealers so you can purchase with a lot more confidence. I've found, over the years, that for most equipment, buying used is the way to go. It makes the old dollar go a lot further. Good luck.

hi,

in my opinion it's pretty scary to buy a bass w/out playing it first - there's so many varibles w/each individual instrument. to be safe, make sure there's a return policy if it checks out lame for you.







on bass, watt









Originally posted by Rob Horton
You may want to keep an eye out for a used bass. I picked up an incredible 1975 Fender P-bass for $600 used online. You can do the Ebay thing, which is risky, or use GuitarBase's GuitarMall at http://www.gbase.com/ GB goes through a lot of dealers so you can purchase with a lot more confidence. I've found, over the years, that for most equipment, buying used is the way to go. It makes the old dollar go a lot further. Good luck.

Yeah, but I checked out Altoona, KS on the old Mapquest, and it's about 3 miles past the end of the world. The gbase stuff works out pretty good. I bought a Les Paul off of there from a store in Denver and their return policy was incredibly liberal. Very classy guys, I wish I remembered their name. Anyway, in case I'm hit by an out of control panel truck or somethig else equally godawful, thanks for all the music, Mr. Watt.

I find too much variability between basses of the same model to allow purchasing a bass without playing it for several hours. That's just me. It helps weed out the potential lemons.

Whatever you do, do yourself a favor and play as many different basses in your price range that you can and don't settle for anything less than what you want. If you find a bass that you "love" that might be a little out of your price range it would be well worth it to nickle and dime it for a while and get what you truly want. Even though your P-bass may be turing to junk you still have a bass that you can play while you are saving for your new one. I know that it can be a pain when you really want to get a new bass but if you settle you'll only end up cheating yourself.

I have a "MIM" Jazz bass and am really happy with it.

I tried a few and compared the Mexican and American models and IMO the Mexican Jazz bass is worth the price I paid for it.

Some folks say the pickups and bridge are a less than great and I tend to agree somewhat but these are little things that you can change over time.

One piece of advice I have is to take your time when trying out instruments in a shop. Don't feel weird about the salesperson standing over your shoulder or the shredder in the corner playing everything you can't play (yet ;). It's an important decision and it deserves time and an open mind.

One thing to try that I plan on doing when I go to buy a new acousic this spring is to collect a few guitars in your price range then take them aside and have someone hand you differnent guitars from the group w/o looking at the name or model number on the headstock, just feel and listen.

Good luck!

I have a "MIM" Jazz bass and am really happy with it.

I tried a few and compared the Mexican and American models and IMO the Mexican Jazz bass is worth the price I paid for it.

Some folks say the pickups and bridge are a less than great and I tend to agree somewhat but these are little things that you can change over time.

One piece of advice I have is to take your time when trying out instruments in a shop. Don't feel weird about the salesperson standing over your shoulder or the shredder in the corner playing everything you can't play (yet ;). It's an important decision and it deserves time and an open mind.

One thing to try that I plan on doing when I go to buy a new acousic this spring is to collect a few guitars in your price range then take them aside and have someone hand you differnent guitars from the group w/o looking at the name or model number on the headstock, just feel and listen.

Good luck!

I have a "MIM" Jazz bass and am really happy with it.

I tried a few and compared the Mexican and American models and IMO the Mexican Jazz bass is worth the price I paid for it.

Some folks say the pickups and bridge are a less than great and I tend to agree somewhat but these are little things that you can change over time.

One piece of advice I have is to take your time when trying out instruments in a shop. Don't feel weird about the salesperson standing over your shoulder or the shredder in the corner playing everything you can't play (yet ;). It's an important decision and it deserves time and an open mind.

One thing to try that I plan on doing when I go to buy a new acousic this spring is to collect a few guitars in your price range then take them aside and have someone hand you differnent guitars from the group w/o looking at the name or model number on the headstock, just feel and listen.

Good luck!

Sorry for the multiple posts... my browser didn't refresh when I hit "submit".

hi,

three times but still good advice: take your time to pick your machine.




on bass, watt









Originally posted by Sofo
Sorry for the multiple posts... my browser didn't refresh when I hit "submit".