Looking for my first bass!

[DeMayunn]

<exposition>
After playing guitar for 7 years in several bands
i decided my true calling was to play bass,
that it was the passion for playing i was missing for a long time.
Sold my guitars for pocket change(one chinese ibanez clone of unknown origins and a Cort Stat2) and am now on my journey
to find my bass!

Now i have a bit of an issue, i live in Israel,
and guitars/basses cost in stores about 2/3 times what you would pay for the same brand/model in america or uk.
</exposition>

i managed to gather around $240
I really dislike the neck profile of P-basses, as i have small woman-like hands and the girth is too much to handle.
Jazz Basses are fine, scale length is long but i can get used to it. I would love the extended range of a 5 string but it really isnt a priority for me.

I love SX Basses but Rondo charges $115 shipping to israel, plus i have to buy a hardshell case, making it cost more than twice what i pay for a bass.

Thomann seem kind of fine, since most of their harley bentons plus the 50 euro shipping is still cheaper than any other bass i can find.
Any opinions on this bass? http://www.thomann.de/intl/harley_be...rod_5_bass.htm

A big thanks if you actually managed to read any of this, let alone reply!

P.S. Dont comment about finding Second-hand basses, the second hand market for bass in israel is dead, both online and in local retailers.

[Bassist4Eris]

I have no idea if they're any good or not, but Squier makes a short scale bass called the Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass Special you may want to check out.

I don't know what your buying options are in Israel, but here's a link that you can see the bass at anyway:

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/...ss-short-scale

[DeMayunn]

That squier IS a nice bass, but i have no way of bringing it affordably in to Israel that i know of.
and buying it new is (And i am not joking) $423.64

[2meterbassman]

So, you have 240 $ - and in Israel instruments cost 2 or 3 times as much as in the US?

That means, in US prices, your pricerange is between 80 and 160 $.

For that, you get...........nothing. Only crap.

My tipp: try to earn some money, and then buy a used bass.
There are musicians in Israel, too - and they sell instruments, too.

Look at all the Squier models, Jazz Basses with 4 or 5 strings - there you'll find the right bass for you.

Greetz from germany

[Kryptos]

Originally Posted by 2meterbassman

So, you have 240 $ - and in Israel instruments cost 2 or 3 times as much as in the US?

That means, in US prices, your pricerange is between 80 and 160 $.

For that, you get...........nothing. Only crap.

Not really-take a look at a Squier Bronco, short scale, nice slim neck and may well be within your price range. Perfectly serviceable instrument.

[deeptubes]

Dude, go for it. If you have a decent amp, I'm willing to bet it will do just fine.

Welcome to the family!

[DeMayunn]

Originally Posted by Kryptos

Not really-take a look at a Squier Bronco, short scale, nice slim neck and may well be within your price range. Perfectly serviceable instrument.

I'd love one of those, a bit hard to find though (in this part of the world).

Since buying a bass at retail/second-hand is almost entirely out of the question, i was wondering about buying from online vendors, if you know any like Thomann who have cheap international shipping or something. I know buying Sight-unseen is a big issue, but for the ammount of money i'm saving here i'm willing to take the risk.

[NYCbassist]

Originally Posted by 2meterbassman

So, you have 240 $ - and in Israel instruments cost 2 or 3 times as much as in the US?

That means, in US prices, your pricerange is between 80 and 160 $.

For that, you get...........nothing. Only crap.

My tipp: try to earn some money, and then buy a used bass.
There are musicians in Israel, too - and they sell instruments, too.

Look at all the Squier models, Jazz Basses with 4 or 5 strings - there you'll find the right bass for you.

Greetz from germany

+1 on this. Used is the way to go. A used Squier Made in Japan would serve you for many years.

[DaniKettu]

Originally Posted by deeptubes

Dude, go for it. If you have a decent amp, I'm willing to bet it will do just fine.

Welcome to the family!

I have actually played few harley bentons and i have to say don't go for it. There are some decent harleys but most of them are crap. You need to fix them all the time. Squier affinity serie jazz bass isn't that much more expensive but it is in whole different league than harley bentons.

[DeMayunn]

Well a couple of basses i could find i sort of afford if i stretch are:
Epiphone EB-0
Cort Action Junior (Had good experience with Cort guitars so leaning a bit to it)
Flea Bass junior, though that one is stretching me quite a bit.
Any opinions on those?

[DaniKettu]

Originally Posted by DeMayunn

Well a couple of basses i could find i sort of afford if i stretch are:
Epiphone EB-0
Cort Action Junior (Had good experience with Cort guitars so leaning a bit to it)
Flea Bass junior, though that one is stretching me quite a bit.
Any opinions on those?

For those i would pick the epi eb-0. Its short scale. Fwiw the lowend corts i have played are not that good basses. And the flea basses look horrible. Never played one but what i have read about the bass isn't that convincing.