Who has a cheap bass but consider it to be a great instrument?

[Busker]

I do. I bought a used Squier P Bass Special (Standard) last weekend at a pawn shop (P bass w/ P/J pups, Jazz neck). I left it sit at the shop after seeing it because I was undecided, then went to get it about five days later, and luckily it was still there.

After a set-up and a new set of GHS Boomers, this is a really nice bass. It almost is as good as my MIA P, and at the silly price of $97 plus tax. It has a nice and true neck, fairly lightweight at 8.5 pounds, nice finish, and great tone even with the stock pickups. Go figure.

The one on the right is the one I just bought. Its stone stock except for a different capacitor that I installed as an experiment. The one on the left is another P Bass Special that I modified. Made into a fretless and I threw those pups into it. Its also a good bass, but I wouldn't mind trying some different pups in that one.



Lets hear about yours.

[DeanT]

I've got an SX SJB-75 LTD in Natural with a Maple board. With the upgraded tuners pickups and hand-filed frets it is as good as any Squier or MIM Fender out there in my opinion. Sounds really nice and plays really sweet. All I did was change the strings to DR Sunbeams.

[Stampy]

I bought a 2003 Ibanez GSR200 from a co-worker about two months ago in brand new condition for 150 bucks. I absolutely love it!!!

[Wwolof]

*ducks flying $200 Univox Jazz copy*

[ibanezcollector]

I have 2...

My SX which I adore, I love this bass to death.. Refinished, Nordstrand NJ4 pickups, Audere Pre


And I just refinished this Squier Standard in Daphne with Fender Lace Sensors

[Marill]

my wine red Yamaha BB414....

looks good, plays excellent after taken to a pro for setup, and good on the wallet. oh and it definitely sounds good.

[Jimbow]

I have a black SX SJB-75 with a maple neck with black blocks. I am playing the stock strings and it still sounds nice. It could use a setup, eventually I'll get around to that.

[Shelly]

I like my SX and Squier VM's. Nice for when I'm in a 4-string kinda mood.

[jsingles]

my schecter rocks pretty hard.... at around 1/4 the price of my fender.

[fretlessman71]

I have a Vega P-bass copy with two stock DiMarzio pickups and a one-piece, solid mahogany body that I paid $80 for, and a Univox Lectra "Beatle Bass" copy that I paid $125 for. Didn't need to change a thing on either one for them to be terrific basses, although I had the wiring re-done on the Vega to let me go in-out of phase and added a Hipshot D-tuner (now a C-tuner since I keep the bass dropped a whole step). The Univox is a bass that has gotten me at least 3 studio gigs, just because I had that bass with That Tone.

[Mark Wilson]

My Squier P-bass. i've spent more modding it than it's worth, but my Mom bought it 8 years ago for 200 bucks, brand new.

It's still my main bass.

[Muddslide]

My only two basses at the moment are an SX '57 P copy and a Jay Turser '54 P copy. I'm still surprised at both of them. I have under $250 in them together.

I've been playing since 1978 and have owned many a nice bass in my day. Cheap offshore instruments aren't junk anymore.

Both of these basses sound great and play great. I will say that the tuners, bridge and nut are somewhat flimsy (but functional) and the stock strings blow chunks. However, as far as I'm concerned these are woth more than I paid for them just for the bare bones of the bodies and necks. They do sound great though and the neck on the Turser especially is one of the nicest maple necks I've played on.

[envika]

My bass teacher couldn't believe I only paid $300 for my Thunderbird. My Precision was only $250 but if price was directly related to how good an instrument sounds, I would have paid around twice that...or more.

[jayarroz]

SX P and 5 er Fretless

[rootshock]

G&L L2000 Tribute

[Shambleau]

Same here, Tribute L2000
Even if I now have a 6-stringed fretless Warwick Thumb, I still miss it... I think I need a new one

[Lucas G]

i too have a squier P special that i got for pretty cheap about 6 months back. i put in some EMG's and a new pickguard that really ties the room together, and it is my go-to fender-family bass, i usually will pick it up over my highway one P or geddy if i am in the mood for a fender. it feels great, sounds great, looks great. i have played out with it before and would not hesitate to do so again.

[winstonthecat]

Both my basses are both relatively low cost.

Ibanez Ergodyne EDB600

Fender '84 Precision, MIJ.

I like them both, and they do the job. I sometimes GAS for something higher-end, but I'm a cheap bastard, so I will probably only window shop.

[nutterisgo]

My dean z metalman. I absolutely love this bass. the only thing i miss is a second pickup xD

[Gashaponcito]

I bought a MIJ P-Bass at a little price (for mexico) 200 bucks, it has its flaws but I can only notice them when I play "unplugged" when I have my amp on its the best bass ever =D