1st bass

tja2 · #1 10-20-2007, 01:15 PM

Hi everyone,
I'm looking to buy my first bass. I checked out a few online and I always seem to come back to the Engelhardt Swingmaster. Honestly, it's because of the look of it. I know nothing about what type of bass I should be looking for. What I do know is that I've tried playing on a friend's Kay and I'm hooked. My price range would be around 2k. Any helpful suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thank you all,
Tim

ZachDad · #2 10-20-2007, 01:36 PM

Hey Tim! So yer gonna take the plunge! Get ready for alot of fun! If your looking at the swingmaster, check out the superswing from upton bass. It looks great and comes well set up from upton. Don't get me wrong, I have an Englehardt and after a lot of work I love it. But in hindsight...

accutone · #3 10-20-2007, 01:47 PM

In my opinion, Zach Dad makes a good point. Set-up is a huge factor in terms of playability. If you buy a 10K bass and have to spend $400 to get it set-up correctly, no big deal. But if you are buying a 2K bass, you need to seriously consider set-up as it may increase cost by a large %tage. Basses in the 2K price range also can be readily found second hand, and I wouldn't be afraid to go that route as well. Finally, read the cheap bass horror story threads to get an idea of the brands you should avoid. Have fun!

chuck1073 · #4 10-20-2007, 04:24 PM

Sounds like you're really after a blonde...and who isn't

Seriously...while the Englehart is an OK bass..you're going to need a luthier like the Upton guys to fix it and set it up in the end anyway.

May as well start right. Take it from one who learned the hard way a long time ago.

There's no replacement for a good initial set up and and someone who really knows your instrument.

tja2 · #5 10-20-2007, 06:24 PM

Thank you all for the input. I just logged back on and, unless I'm losing it, is one of the previous replies missing? I could swear soemone wrote about a SB 90 Shen. Did anyone else see this reply? What may have happened to it? I checked out a Shen online and it looks real nice. Any opinions on Shen?

**Francois Blais** · #6 10-20-2007, 06:41 PM

For your information, that Shen plug was deleted because it was a violation of the Commercial User Policy.

mpoppitt · #7 10-22-2007, 02:55 AM

I have a Shen SB-100, and it is a solid, dependable bass. The blonde SB-90 looks sweet too.