Should i build my first bass?

[magnumtrooper]

I'd really like to get a bass guitar, I've played them before but don't own one. The thing is, i don't have much money to spend on one. I don't want to get one of those really really cheap ones made out of plywood, so i thought i'd build one, i'm pretty good at building stuff. I'd like to spend less then $200 on it, i know that's not very much.

I was planning on buying most of the stuff on ebay, like a neck with tuning keys and frets on it already and some pickups.
The part i'm not as sure about is buying wood (i was thinking walnut) on ebay and making the body out of it.

Is this a bad plan? is there a better website for parts? would regular 'lumber' be good enough? i really dont want to make any expensive mistakes on this project.
Would it be better to just buy one?
Also, what brands for pickups fit my price-range?

[puremusic]

I am building 2 basses right now and I find the experience cool. One of the basses was a kit bass tat I bought off the ebay sight and I I only paid 55$ in a bid auction and it comes with all the hardware and you van substitute as you would like.

[Bill Posters]

If you're in the US then it's highly unlikely that you'll be able to build a bass for less than what you'd pay for a pre-built bass of similar quality.
Cheap instruments are better than they've ever been. SX basses fit well within your price limit and tend to be very well regarded as beginner instruments.

[Bongolation]

Should i build my first bass?

Absolutely not.

Incredible waste of time and money compared to the much better bass ready made.

Homemade basses aren't cheap and they only have scrap resale value to knowledgeable buyers.

Spend your time doing something worthwhile, like learning your instrument and playing with others.

[ronaldpdbrandt]

I'd save the building for later, when you've become more familiar with the instrument. For now, buy used. I picked up my first* bass, a no-name P at a pawn shop for $47, and it's still a nice player for me. Since then, I've bought other basses, and I've started building them for fun, too! But I'm glad I got some experience playing and taking lessons initially.

*By "first", I mean since I started playing bass again, after 12 or so years of not having or playing a bass.

[M.R. Ogle]

Should you build your first car?

No.

Just like getting your first car, you should probably start with a nice used one, or maybe a budget model, practice your playing (or driving) skills, move up into better and better models as you want and can afford them, and then, maybe later, build yourself a one-off custom one.

There are waaay too many good basses out there for MUCH cheaper than you could build one yourself at retail costs for the wood, electronics, tuners, misc hardware and paint.

[Osprey]

Originally Posted by Bongolation

Absolutely not.
Spend your time doing something worthwhile, like learning your instrument and playing with others.

Spot on. Used basses can be absurdly cheap. Once you've played for a month you'll know more what sort of bass you might build, if you build. Once you've played for six months you'll know a lot more. Once you've played for a year you'll know if you want to be a bass-player or an amateur electrician. Maybe you'll find you have some of the skills to build a decent bass, but for your sake I hope you become a player too.

[pie_man_25]

Originally Posted by Osprey

Spot on. Used basses can be absurdly cheap. Once you've played for a month you'll know more what sort of bass you might build, if you build. Once you've played for six months you'll know a lot more. Once you've played for a year you'll know if you want to be a bass-player or an amateur electrician. Maybe you'll find you have some of the skills to build a decent bass, but for your sake I hope you become a player too.

This. I would recommend playing the bass a bit before you decide to build one. Although there are plenty of Saga and Saga-like kits on ebay and such for around $100. I built a strat from a saga kit, and it didn't turn out badly, but you'd be able to get a similar quality instrument for a similar price, if you don't want an SX or the like look around pawn shops and used sections for a good deal. If you want a cheap instrument, buy a cheap instrument - you wouldn't save any money from building one, it's generally more about the novelty of building your own instrument.

[Blah114]

it's like a mattress. I speak from experience.. why bother building when you don't know what you're getting.. 2000 fender jazzes all play and sound differently.. with those, you can choose between them.. you can feel them immediately, like/dislike what you see. when you build a bass, like a custom mattress.. you are stuck with it.. you cannot sleep on a mattress/lay down on it until it's made.. but yet you pay for it ahead of time. I had a bass made once.. it was the dumbest thing I ever did.. experiences vary.. but with the 10s of 1000s of basses already made, why bother making one? that's just me..

[NKUSigEp]

Originally Posted by magnumtrooper

I'd really like to get a bass guitar, I've played them before but don't own one. The thing is, i don't have much money to spend on one. I don't want to get one of those really really cheap ones made out of plywood, so i thought i'd build one, i'm pretty good at building stuff. I'd like to spend less then $200 on it, i know that's not very much.

I was planning on buying most of the stuff on ebay, like a neck with tuning keys and frets on it already and some pickups.
The part i'm not as sure about is buying wood (i was thinking walnut) on ebay and making the body out of it.

Is this a bad plan? is there a better website for parts? would regular 'lumber' be good enough? i really dont want to make any expensive mistakes on this project.
Would it be better to just buy one?
Also, what brands for pickups fit my price-range?

$200? It'll never happen. You're likely to spend $500-$1000 for QUALITY parts. You can spend $100 bucks on a decent SX or Squire bass and then mod it and come out less than $200.

[Grabow]

probably better off to get a Squire for now,
i have built about 5 basses, but never as a way to get them cheaper
for me, its a way to get my ultimate dream bass
my latest build, (a fender Fiesta red Road worn Jazz body, Warmoth slim taper Maple/Rosewood neck with pearloid blocks and binding, Schaller tuners, Lindy Fralin hum cancelling jazz pickups and Badass II bridge) comes as close to that as i think i will ever get
so wait for a while until you have a better idea of what you want

[grendle]

You'll spend far more than $200 building one. Hell my pickups alone are over $200. If you want a cheap, good quality starter bass , that with finishing touches will be really nice. Check out the SX basses from Rondo music. They are fender copies with solid alder bodies and maple necks. They can usually use some fretwork and fretboard details, but are good enough out of the box for under $200. Check out the luthier thread and buzzards workshop. He mods stock ones and guys love em.

Once you have a bass and see what its all about , and have a budget, then build one

[WoodyG3]

Build a bass if that sounds like a fun project. You really learn a lot when you build your own. I just wouldn't build your very first bass. A great used bass is out there for you in your price range.

[carlos840]

Although i like the initiative i wan to say no!
You dont know what you like in a bass, how do you know what you are going to build!

I think 200 dollars can get you a pretty decent used bass that would allow you to get started in he bass world, once you have a bit more experience and know what you want then build yourself a bass!

[GreatScott91]

Friend, hate to seem like I'm piling on, but I agree that you don't need to build a bass right now. As others have said the initiative is great and I completely understand where you're coming from, but you're better off getting an inexpensive new bass, or a used one.

There will be plenty of time to build one later - figure out the instrument first. As Blah114 said, you don't even know what you like in terms of features/details yet. I've had grand ambitions to build a bass myself, but I'm still feeling-out how what I like almost two years after buying my first one.

[NKUSigEp]

Mark the date...this could potentially be the first thread everyone on TB unanimously agreed on.

[Bongolation]

Originally Posted by NKUSigEp

Mark the date...this could potentially be the first thread everyone on TB unanimously agreed on.

Dude, and they agreed with ME!

Talk about "signs of the apocalypse"!

[ffutterman]

Originally Posted by NKUSigEp

Mark the date...this could potentially be the first thread everyone on TB unanimously agreed on. By the way, Flea's the best slap player, Fieldy's a top 5 bassist, wood is the only thing that affects the sound of a bass (or wood doesn't affect the sound of a bass at all), Jaco was wrong, and the Mothman is not awesome.

Fixed

[Immigrant]

If you HAVE to build one (and I agree with everyone else- you can get by cheaper buying one)- buy a kit. A cheap one.

I built a twelve string Tele from an eBay kit for $119. Better strings, a better pickup selector and knob, and strap locks, add $30. It came out GREAT.

I'm trying to build a "Fender" five using a box of parts (eBay) and other parts purchased new online. I'm over $400 into it, and granted it will be better than it would have been as a new MIM Fender, but it's been a giant pain.

Never again. Not for me.

The bass of my dreams is currently being built by a Luthier found here on TB.

[magnumtrooper]

Thanks for the advice, I guess i kinda knew that i should get a used one all along. Even if it isn't as Cool, it'll probably sound a lot better then if i tried to build one now.

i was sort of hoping it would be like building a computer, if you buy parts separately and assemble it yourself, it's a better deal usually and you can upgrade it later.

guess i'll check ebay for some, do some research on cheap basses.