give good advice

[JacoLesFlea]

your 17 year old son or daughter says they want to learn bass and are serious.......what is a good beginner bass

[FutureTense]

I'd say the Ibanez GSR is a pretty good "starter bass" for a fairly reasonable price.

In addition, the Squier Affinity basses are pretty good to get started on as well.

I'd suggest buying used if possible, since if they decide they don't want to play after all, you can generally sell it for what you paid (or a little less).

Remember that you'll need an amp, tuner, and cable as well.

Good luck!

[ibateur]

Those are good brands, but if you're seriously trying to help them out, bring them to the local GC and have them try what is available, giving them the instruction that
a) Must be comfortable to them, and not too heavy
b) Must sound good to your ears (their ears more than yours)
c) Cosmetically the instrument must not say "my dad is a schmuck"
d) Must be "well built"
e) Must be <insert brand here> haha

Cheers

[Audiophage]

The GSR is a solid choice. It's on the small side of 34" scale basses, lightweight, and aesthetically sort of a chameleon. I've had mine for over ten years now and I still play it on gigs from time to time.