A very inexperienced question...

[Saarik]

Hey

I bought a bass off eBay for £40 which quite happily plays Hysteria and Jamiroquai, but when I went to an ACTUAL guitar shop, all the basses seemed SO much easier to play!

My strings just feel lumpy and thick in comparison, and was as if my fingers just glide over the guitar shop ones (nothing special £200 basses)

There's no rust I can see on my strings, but they are second hand..

So I was wondering, in your experience: would it be the Bass' fault or the strings? I don't want to spend £195 more than i have to :P

Thanks

[oerk]

It's probably your action, i.e. if your strings are significantly higher off the fretboard than on the other basses you've tried.

Take it to a shop to get a setup, or learn to do it yourself (it's not that hard).

EDIT: Are we talking about a cheap copy here? Factory strings on cheap instruments are bad most of the time, it would probably be worth it to try a new set of strings. Definitely check the action first, though.

Rust has nothing to do with it.

[Ronbassman]

Does your neck has a high-gloss finish? Usually, satin finished necks are smoother.
Using Guitar Lube or any other lubricant helps with this.

[Saarik]

ah cool
sorry what do you mean set up?

and I think it's a Swift, i'm assuming it wasn't great to start with.. but i don't think it's factory made.

ooer, ok i'll try that too :P is it pretty glossy, although it's a little chunky i don't think the neck is a problem so much as the plucking action on the guitar shop strings.

[oerk]

Setup means adjusting your neck, string height, intonation.

A quick google search revealed this:
Electric Bass Guitar Setup Guide
DIY Bass Setup Guide | bassplaying.com

Go from there, and if you decide to try it, don't forget to apply common sense.

[Saarik]

sure man, thanks if all else fails I can take it to a shop and pretend i'm buying something