Cheap basses

bottom2 · #1 08-11-2009, 09:57 AM

I accidently bought one of those $99.00 basses on ebay. I didn't realize that no one else was bidding and just thought I see if there was any movement. Howver, I was the only obe and now I will be receiving this junk. Just wonderoing if anyone has bought ot heard of these and any reviews.

bassteban · #2 08-11-2009, 10:03 AM

The term 'cheap' covers a lot of instruments; could you be more specific? A brand name or pics would help. BTW, welcome to TB.

willhop1964 · #3 08-11-2009, 12:00 PM

I purchased a "cheap" Bass a few months ago from Rondo Music. It's pretty good for $118.00....but keep in mind, I'm not a professional musician or really an experienced player. I remember a quote from a certain Jazz musician (forgot who): "If it sounds good, it's good."

--- William

bottom2 · #4 08-11-2009, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassteban

The term 'cheap' covers a lot of instruments; could you be more specific? A brand name or pics would help. BTW, welcome to TB.

yeah it was a poor thing to do. O hit the bid key without doing any research. No brand name that I coukd see just "new"

bottom2 · #5 08-12-2009, 01:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassteban

The term 'cheap' covers a lot of instruments; could you be more specific? A brand name or pics would help. BTW, welcome to TB.

Its stedman Pro jazz bass.

bassbenj · #6 08-18-2009, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bottom2

Its stedman Pro jazz bass.

So what's the question? No I never heard of them, but I have heard of cheapo clone jazz basses of which you now own one!
I even own a couple myself! There are lots of mystery brands out there, but at least this one comes up on a Google search and apparently Amazon and a few places are selling the Stedman brand.

Here's all you have to know: How good is this bass you bought? Does it play decently? Does it have passable tone? Does it buzz a lot on certain notes? Does it have dead spots on the neck? Does it hum like mad unless you touch the strings? In short is it a decent clone jazz bass?

The "brand" isn't going to tell you this. You'll have to do this by playing the one you get (or having a knowledgeable bass player do it for you). Cheapo basses are the luck of the draw if you don't play them before you buy. They might be a killer "keeper", better than some $1000 bass, or they might be a nasty sounding, buzzy, piece of crap with a neck so bent it can never be straightened.

So find out which you bought and then decide "keep or sell". You paid about the going rate for clone basses of this type so you aren't learning a huge lesson here (except the lesson that used instruments sell for a lot less than new instruments!)

Just be glad you didn't bid without looking on a house or something expensive!

bottom2 · #7 08-21-2009, 12:16 PM

I have been playing for over 20 years, and this bass is definitely not up to par. The pups are terrible, the sound off the frets is bad, buzzing at various frets. And to top it. They had as usual a plastic coating on the pick guard, when I pilled off took off most of the pick guard's paint.. The body i made of basswoood, and the neck is maple. Overall. this is a bad bass, but for the $99.. you get what you pay for. Any suggestions to improve?

Richard G · #8 08-22-2009, 12:00 AM

it can be a project bass....find a neck that fits it and upgrade parts ....i bought a cheapie (johnson)bass used at a good price because i liked the natural wood look of the body neck is ugly i swapped the neck for a squier jazz neck and it fit and sounds real good and its gonna sound better once i change the pick ups and put a fender logo on it!

Turock · #9 08-22-2009, 07:04 AM

I fail to understand the reason that someone would bid on a cheap, POS instrument that they do not even want.

sterob · #10 08-24-2009, 08:14 AM

I have no experience whatsoever with basses, wouldn't know if a 99$ bass is any good....Apparently not if you label it as junk, what do the good ones cost? I guess the sky is the limit ? :P

bottom2 · #11 08-25-2009, 09:44 AM

well I was interested to see if anyone would bite in order to taste the value of what was being offered.

bottom2 · #12 08-25-2009, 01:23 PM

cool! where did you buy the neck?

Halxbass · #13 08-26-2009, 01:40 PM

I have a friend that bought a 5 strings. and after having put 300-400$ on pickups, preamps and craftmanship he's pretty happy with the end result. He's using the bass professionnaly in various events and it's doing its job. If it wasn't for the small strings spacing I would even consider one for some Jazz bass slap sound I might need.

bottom2 · #14 08-27-2009, 09:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halxbass

I have a friend that bought a 5 strings. and after having put 300-400$ on pickups, preamps and craftmanship he's pretty happy with the end result. He's using the bass professionnaly in various events and it's doing its job. If it wasn't for the small strings spacing I would even consider one for some Jazz bass slap sound I might need.

Thanks, that makes me feel better. Do you know if changed the neck or replaced the nut? etc..

bfizzle · #15 08-29-2009, 11:11 PM

play it. i bought a squier j bass just over 10 years ago from a local shop. it cost me $220. my cousin bought a johnson p bass maybe 6 years ago for $119. i just recently saw a squier p bass for $75 from craig. now i bought my squier not even knowing if playing was something i liked. my cousin bought his knowing he enjoyed playing. i bought the p just because it was a steal and i was curious of the way that j and p were different tonally. i played my cousins bass... felt crappy sounded crappy. i didn't even bother to play the squier p bass just because it felt light and the neck felt like veneer. however the first instrument i bought is still my main. it is heavy (a banjo player that i took lessons from taught me that trick, not quite sure if it relates to guitars and basses, but it seems too so far) has very low action with no buzz, has a smooth neck, and doesn't hum too much through my crappy yet loud amp. however after learning how to play on this instrument and still playing it today i've found that there is no possible way to fret the f note on the first string (maybe a new nut?). now i guess what my theory is is that you should sit on that instrument and play it for a few months. you will learn what you like about it and what you hate about it. once you figure that out, you should figure out if it is economically viable, there is no reason to polish a turd. i was lucky enough to find an instrument that i believe is worth an upgrade. my cousin found an absolute piece of trash. i wound up getting a piece of crap but it was cheap when i picked up the p. moral of the story sometimes you have to cut your losses and start over... i was somewhat lucky and found a decent upper lower class instrument, my cousin found a low lower class instrument. i cut my losses and gave the squier p to my cousin, now he's upgraded and plays a little bit more. what i would do if i were you would be to sit down play that mofo and love and hate it. if you hate it try to sell it to somebody that thinks that they might want to play bass but isn't really sure about it. maybe try to get 50 dollars for it and maybe you'll turn some kid onto music while only losing some financially but gaining more musically. however there still is the option of upgrading, but unless your filthy rich (which most musicians are...) make sure you really understand what you're getting into. well anyways i'm sorry for the wordiness, i'm new here too, it's late, i just hope i could help out

bassbenj · #16 09-09-2009, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bottom2

I have been playing for over 20 years, and this bass is definitely not up to par. The pups are terrible, the sound off the frets is bad, buzzing at various frets. And to top it. They had as usual a plastic coating on the pick guard, when I pilled off took off most of the pick guard's paint.. The body i made of basswoood, and the neck is maple. Overall. this is a bad bass, but for the $99.. you get what you pay for. Any suggestions to improve?

You don't always get what you pay for. I bought an SX bass from Rondo for $139. Ash body, killer neck and frets, great looking wood, tone that doesn't quit, and a pretty large hum. Some shielding solved the hum and the bass is now one of my favorites. Over at the used bass store they get a great may weird named clone basses in there. Some suck, some are really great buys.

So I'd say you need to decide if the bass has anything you'd like to keep and build upon. For me Basswood bodies sound too dull, but that may be the sound you like. We can't decide for you. If the bass has the raw materials for something you'd like (even if it's only a cheap bar-bass that you aren't scared to take to a dive bar) Then go for it. Pickups, new pick guards,even a new neck can bring a so-so bass right up to the boutique level if the parts you keep give you what you want.

As for me, if that were my bass, I'd be trying to make the sell-or upgrade decision. In my case it was my $119 SX fretless alder body I got from Rondo. It played OK, but somehow the tone just never did it. In the end I decided to keep. Mostly because it played nice and I figured one day I could upgrade the pickups to improve the tone. In the meantime it's a nice bar bass that I don't have to fret over drunks falling into or being stolen when I turn my back. But it's nothing like my other SX which is a "keeper".

And here's my philosophy: I figure $99 for a cheap bass as raw materials for a bass upgrade project is a small tuition for lessons in what the various parts of a bass do to the tone and playability. I figure that even if you really screw up and the whole bass becomes unusable (highly unlikely with any care at all) you are STILL only out $99 which is pretty cheap for luthier lessons on what various upgrades do to a bass. And that's a whole lot better than starting with say a $600 G&L Tribute and screwing that up! Save that for later after you've practiced on the $99 bass.

blopazone · #17 09-09-2009, 05:16 PM

well... you might try just do whatever you need with it.. you can just upgrade and keep the things you do like about it... if its nothing at all.. then you can just try taking it all off and take the electronics, if you dont have a fretless bass then you can just difret it and just use it to learn to use fretless bass

Just tons of things you can do with it that you can end up gettin alot from it, for $99.

Bass-desires · #18 09-10-2009, 09:01 AM

"however the first instrument i bought is still my main. it is heavy (a banjo player that i took lessons from taught me that trick, not quite sure if it relates to guitars and basses, but it seems too so far) has very low action with no buzz, has a smooth neck, and doesn't hum too much through my crappy yet loud amp."

What exactly is he talking about here? Heavy is good for....?

I myself have done the same thing, I got a Epiphone Rockbass awhile back and while it is a great bass, I am not as happy with it as my ole Ibenez GSR 200. Looks alot better but doesn't play as nice.

The beauty of making a bass a project is that it becomes "yours". There will not hundreds more just like it. Its like making your own signature bass....and as a workman type...it just forms a bond to work with something with your own hands.