Wanting a cheap ABG...

[christw]

I may well give that Kingman a shot...

[stepswork4me]

Right on. Good luck. I had a buddy in Louisville that would fill acoustics with insulation foam that hardened and would mount the pup in that.

[tmdazed]

Originally Posted by MakoMan

I've toyed with the idea of getting one of the $69 Sky acoustic/electric basses off of Amazon or Ebay. Don't see how they could possibly be any crappier than some of the $150-300 ABGs I've owned/played.
Never considered one before buy my local pawn shop got one in used last week and it actually played surprisingly well. Certainly as well or better than the Dean I had.

dont kid yourself, the Sky acoustic I have actually sounds nice, just the same as any acoustic , isnt loud enough , I even used it on a multi track we did of a song we wrote

[christw]

Well, I'd probably dig the Kingman but I can get a new one on eBay for $375 shipped rather than the used one with a relic'd pickguard and dings. Both ways that would be expanding my budget a bit. I still wish they came in sunburst/tort.

[stepswork4me]

I'd love to see the finished product. Post pics when ya get done.

[MakoMan]

Originally Posted by tmdazed

dont kid yourself, the Sky acoustic I have actually sounds nice, just the same as any acoustic , isnt loud enough , I even used it on a multi track we did of a song we wrote

For $69 I can put up with an acoustic not being loud enough, seeing as how none of them are

[tmdazed]

Originally Posted by MakoMan

For $69 I can put up with an acoustic not being loud enough, seeing as how none of them are

Yup, better yet I got mine locally for 40 bucks, actually the pre on it is not terrible, actually doesn't feedback as quick as guitar players tak 6 string does, like I said , I actually used this bass in an accent line in a multi track recording and it turned out well

[christw]

Again, acoustic volume is not an issue for me. I've never met an ABG I liked unplugged. I'm looking for a tasty electrifried tone.

On that note, eBay is kind of disappointing. Plenty of nameless ABG's of questionable quality but not many used ones in my price range. I like the looks of this Ibanez... http://www.ebay.com/itm/310531350225...84.m1423.l2649

[carl h.]

You might not like not having the cutaway. I go up there all the time on my ABG.

See if you can find an artcore in your price range.

[christw]

I go up over my acoustic guitar's body for that range. I wouldn't mind doing it for bass too. I like the look of a body without a cutaway and this purchase is as much about looks for me as tone or playability.

Edit: Just noticed the Xaviere has a big body too. Darn... I'm looking at the Ibby's for the minute. I like the Artcore guitars, not so much the basses. They don't make an ABG in that line, do they?

[christw]

Found a Takamine EG512C for $250 through GC... Thoughts? http://www.guitarcenter.com/In-Store...id=108530185_U

Edit: Taking a chance with a refurb Ibanez AEB10E-NT + case for $250 off the evil bay...

[MD]

^^^

I've had a Takamine G series (512C) for over 6 years. Good bass. Can't go wrong for $250.00 seeing that they go for well over that.

[Orangeclawhamme]

Originally Posted by MakoMan

I've toyed with the idea of getting one of the $69 Sky acoustic/electric basses off of Amazon or Ebay. Don't see how they could possibly be any crappier than some of the $150-300 ABGs I've owned/played.
Never considered one before buy my local pawn shop got one in used last week and it actually played surprisingly well. Certainly as well or better than the Dean I had.

I hade one of those. I liked the 30" scale (actually 29 5/8"), the sound when amped and the relatively small body. Once I filed down the fret ends, which could have almost allowed the neck to be used as a saw in an emergancy and messed with the truss rod, it was OK for playing around the house. However, the action was too high for playing out, so I got an Ibanez AEB 5. Twice the money for a hundred times the instrument.

[satellite4]

Originally Posted by superdick2112

I grabbed a used Fender Kingman a few months ago for a great price, and I love it. Decent volume & tone unplugged, and beautiful tone when amplified.

I would second this...

Have had my Kingman for 2 months now. Really good tone and playability, and as mentioned, sounds very good plugged in. Built in tuner is also nice.

The materials used in the body & neck especially are on par for the price of the bass. Would I rather have a +1k Thunderchief or Martin ABG? Yes...but for the price range I played my Fender against Ibbys and Takis in similar price range and the Fender won hands down.

Another big plus for me is that since I'm a Fender guy, I appreciate the headstock shape on the Kingman is the classic Fender P shape...looks cool.

[6jase5]

I got my Michael Kelly for $200 used. Certainly got my money's worth at open mics and some recordings. I don't like the overdone inlay look on the neck, but for $200 I have no complaints and I get a ton of compliments on the tone at any open mic. It's just fun to play and for the price, hard to complain.

Here are some links to it from an acoustic thingy we did.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciIfR...715133&index=1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lu8IZ...477773E2715133

I see them all the time used for $150-$225. You'll need any amp to jam, but great bedroom writing volume.


.

[christw]

Thanks for the additional input guys... I had a $250 budget and wanted a bass with a case. That's why I made a move on the Ibanez. I made sure the guy had a return policy since it was a B stock just in case.

As far as the Kingman, I really dig the look but I was afraid it would have a way huge neck. Fender listed the nut width at 2.125" where I like J necks. The Ibanez was 1.715" so at least it'll be around P size. If I was going to break my budget it was going to be for a sunburst/tort bass. The Kingman didn't offer that.