Samick Fairlane or Squier or Ibanez for beginner?

[Wolfyr]

Heya guys I'm looking for a cheap bass to learn on. I'm on a kind of limited budget: $400 including amplifier and accessories to be precise as I don't have a job yet and parents wont pay.

I've been playing guitar for more than a couple of years now and I'm really serious about learning the bass, so this is kind of long term. As I said, I don't have a lot to spend and I don't play gigs either. This bass will just be my own toy.. I'm aiming to play a variety of music from rock to funk to jazz so the bass has to be a little versatile as well.

I've looked at a few basses and was aiming to buy either a Squier Affinity J bass or Ibanez GSR200 as they fit nicely within my price range, when I came across the Fairlane. I really loved the sound and feel of the instrument and the owner of the shop agreed to sell it to me for about $ 50 more than both previous models.

What I'm confused about is, if the Fairlane is a good instrument. I couldn't find any helpful reviews about it and there isn't anyone I know who plays bass. Also, being new to bass, the other two models also seem good for learning as I've read on the internets, so am confused.

Oh, and will a 5 string be harder to learn on?

links:
Samick:
www.gregbennettguitars.com/fn55.html

Ibanez:
www.ibanez.com/BassGuitars/model-GSR200

any other recommendations will also be welcome.

thanks!

[waleross]

I bought a new Squire J bass for $199 + a case when I needed an extra bass around 6 months ago. I know for a fact that you can get a new bass practice amp to start off with for under $250.

[Wolfyr]

ehh the Squire and the Ibanez I'm looking at, retail around the same price.. The Samick is just 50 bucks more.. Any thoughts on which one I should go for?

And I'm getting an amp for around $50 so no probs about that..

[FCB]

i got both a squire and a samick. play them on a crate 115 watt amp. i would have to say it depend on what you want out of them. my guitars my squire is a 34" scale as all are and my samick is a 30"scale now although they are two different scales i would go with the samick anyday. the samick has alot more room to wiggle with asfar as with tone. another factor i would consider is WEIGHT. the fender squire is a heavy guitar however i have picked up and played a few ibanez basses and they are alot lighter and easy to hold as the samick are also. so i would probably go with a samick or ibanez if i was you. a squire you can get one off craigslist for abour $50 used. i got mine and it was like new with plastic on it for $85

[FCB]

another thing. how big is that amp your paying $50 for.
is it a bass amp?
if you play through a guitar amp even if it is a bigger one like 30-50 watts(regular guitar amp) it will eventually blow up. same as a small bass amp if it;s to small you wont be able to do much of anything with it you will end up blowing it up. i wouldnt use anything smaller than a 25 or 30watt for praticing and thats not even a very big amp. you may buy a nice guitar but whats the use if you will have a amp thats not very big or good quality. your guitar is only as good as your amp.

[4StringGroove]

I'm a Fender guy and the new Squire Vibe series is nice. I just bought one.

[Floridabwoy]

I would go with the squier personally... I would stay away from those SDGR bass's unless you are a midget. The necks on those things are like toothpicks.

I would go for a used Squier VM or CV for $150 or an Ibanez ATK.

[FCB]

a new squire he is talking of cost $199 brand new. i dont think he can afford a vibe series. then if he had just enough there is the problem with the amp he needs to be able to afford a good amp. my opinion buy a used bass and bass amp pay $100-150 for a bass and about $50-125 for a good amp. not a small amp. you need something you can have fun with and not worry about blowing up. i can plug 2 bass in my amp with no problem. i have 4 hookups.

[FCB]

and the weight issue. he needs to find out how the guitars feel. put on a strap does the squire feel to heavy. check out the ibanez they are light. remeber you will have to hold that squire for when you are praticing and playing gigs so make sure you get something your comfortable with and you want to play. if you get in a hurry and just pic one because it looks nice or is cheap you may end up wishing you would have waited.