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1st Bass recommendation for 12 yo

#41
Thanks. I never thought of a separate amp. I'll prob stick with the 25 since she will be playing mostly in her room and basement. I'll have to check out the Mikros more. I thought they would be too short of a scale that she would outgrow quick. She had outgrown a 3/4 squire strat i bought her for her first guitar.
 
#43
Yea, should learn on a passive, precision style.
squier P bass.

Why should she? Well, I did, (USA fender though back in those days), and it taught me to get the most from the instrument, and only once I learned why I couldn't quite cop every tone out there perfectly did I start getting VERY picky about pickup configurations, and start renting other instruments to learn how thye sound/work.

Now I'm like the least picky guy out there, as long as I can make it play ok.... because I've learned that "almost" every type of bass can be made to create good music, and most people can't tell the difference when listening if it's played well, setup well, and recorded or amplified well.

affinity series is plenty cheap to get into first.... unless you have some cash to throw around, but I'd still stick with a precision bass no matter how much you want to spend.

I got a short scale Squier for my daughter at 12.... cuz she's pretty dang tiny for her age. Fits her great still at 14, although she can handle my 34" scales if needed too now.

UPDATE: By no means does it have to be a fender/squier, by the way. But I do recommend passive to learn on, and ideally single pickup since 2 pickups suddenly means you're no longer learning how to work wtih a single pickup, but instead learning how to work with the phase relationship between 2 pickups, and how pan/volumes change tone etc. Although certainly nothing wrong with 2 pickups to learn on ... I'm being a little idealistic here with my precision recommendation :)

(the other entry level instruments in this thread are terrific... yamaha might be near top of my list, based on my experiences with entry level basses recently, and I think that gretsch is cool too. Peavey makes some wonderful instruments for cheap, and used values are pretty awesome normally on peavey gear, and I'm completely in love with their stuff these days both import and USA versions. Also I have played Jay Tursers that were fantastic, but sometimes need a good setup... but then many entry level instruments need a setup)
 
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#46
InhumanResource said:
The sterling SUB 4 strings are a great value as are the recent squier models. A short scale might be a good choice but I don’t see a need for one based on what you posted. Hope you’re having fun reading a list of everyone’s favorite budget basses!
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I am having fun reading the comments. Ther
CallMeAl said:
She doesn’t necessarily need a short scale. There are plenty of crazy YouTube videos of kiddos tearing it up on regular scale basses. But She won’t really know what’s most comfortable for her until she plays one for a while, then goes out and tries the other.

In the era of normal business hours, I’d say go out and hold Basses. If she’s played guitar and cello, she’ll be able to make some noise. Hold the neck, see how it feels in her hand. Put it on a strap and see how it balances. if you can wait til this is possible, that’s ideal.

but if you want to get this during stay at home orders, you may have to make an educated guess. Do you have the funds to buy 2 Basses, try at home, and return one? One short, one regular? Most major online retailers have generous return policies.

Most of the basses recommended here are fine quality for a beginner. I think the Yamaha and Ibanez have exceptional quality control at this price point, but the others would be great as well.

For amps, a Rumble 25 or Ampeg BA108 would be my pick.

Finally- ask her! If she helps pick a bass she likes, even if it’s just for looks, she’ll be more likely to play it. Instead of this ugly thing her dad picked out ;)

and watch videos of female bass players for inspiration! Off the top of my head:
Esperanza Spaulding
Haim
Tal Wilkenfield
Ida Nielsen

good luck on your quest! :)
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#49
My niece (now 21) plays a "gear4music" kiddy bass, which my sister bought her years ago. What brought it to life for her was the Fender Rumble 15 I made my sister buy her - she was having her run the bass through a 3 watt guitar amp. My niece is an accomplished cellist, who also makes great sounds on my fretless P, but still really enjoys her £70 bass.

Go, as they say, figure. Why not let your daughter choose her own bass?
 
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#50
I'll give you the same advice regarding short-scale basses that I received from my son's strings teacher regarding small (3/4 and 2/4) violins for sixth graders: don't get a small instrument. Kids grow quickly, a full-sized instrument isn't all that big, and it's better to learn on a full-sized instrument than to get comfortable on a small one and have to move up.

A 34" Fender (or Squier) precision, jazz or p/j is the "standard." You'll never be out of place showing up at virtually anything with a p-bass. But you can't say that of other basses (as awesome as they may be.)

You do need a bass amp; a guitar amp's speaker can't handle the lower frequencies of the bass, and you will damage the speaker. But something in the 10-40 watt range is fine for home.
 
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#51
A big part of the equation is how motivated and hungry she is for this.

Kids today are in a totally different world than most of us parents grew up in. The devices provide stimulation and are completely addictive, making it harder to practice than ever. Just look at ourselves; how many of us suffer from this too, wasting time online instead of playing? How many of us used to practice more before internet , phones, forums? I know I did.

I've noticed at my 12 year old's school there are around 200 kids in her grade and we only know of about 5 of them playing music. No other bassists. One drummer. A couple of kids play classical piano. To me it seem that kids are taking up musical instruments less than ever. They'd rather play Fortnite, Roblox, or watch TikTok videos than grind away through the struggle of learning an instrument.

If your 12 year old is one of those outliers that has already sparked that inner desire and passion than maybe she will do ok with a full scale bass. If this is the case, it would be best to let her pick something she likes. If you can wait until lockdown ends, take her to Guitar Center and let her try some short scales, full scales, see the different basses, sit down with each, see if one really inspires her.

If your kid is like most 12 year olds; into TikTok, video games, Youtube videos, and likes Billboard Hot 100 music (which is currently highly influenced by what is popular on TikTok), sort of interested but not really into daily practice, than it's a bit more a challenge. When I was a kid, I learned how to play out of boredom and having instruments around. Kids don't have this problem today; there is no boredom as long as they have a device. The U-Bass was a game changer for us, just because we do have a lot of driving around and it made it possible for her to play every day without taking time away from her other areas; it just worked awesome. But every situation is different.
 
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#52
Damien1971 said:
Normally I would have her try a few out at the local music store. Unfortunatly I live right in the middle of the NYC/Boston hotspot so that won't be an option for quite a while.
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I figured as much, I would highly consider the “try 2” idea. I’m pretty sure Guitar Center refunds the shipping charges if it’s returned in the original packaging. Might take some of the gravity out of the decision. Good luck :)
 
#53
Tim de Martino said:
I would definitely recommend a full sized 34 inch scale. She may have to stretch to start with but it will be more familiar in the long run.
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+1. At 12 years old, she'll be growing into that in no time at all. I'm also a huge fan of Ibanez as starter instruments. The Ibanez GSR200 looks and sounds great, and has a slimmer neck profile that's going to be easier to play. They are well-balanced and comfortable to play. It's also a serious instrument that will serve her well if she gets serious and starts to play out with other people.

My wife bought one for herself as a beginner instrument. I play it all the time; it's that much fun. :thumbsup:
 
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#54
I don't necessarily subscribe to the idea that a short-scale bass will produce a challenge down the road when it's time to move to a bigger bass. (I suspect that a teacher would recommend a regular-scale instrument so they don't have to listen to a parent's complaints about having to buy a second instrument in short order.)

Kids have smaller hands; it seems to makes sense to get them started on an instrument that fits them well enough to keep them from having to come up with functionality workarounds on the instrument that will become habitually ingrained in their playing. And a casual perusal of TalkBass classifieds will show plenty of examples of *adults* who don't enjoy playing long-scale instruments because of comfort reasons; why foist an extra challenge on a young student new to the instrument?

They'll gravitate towards a "regular" bass if and when they get serious about their playing.

I recommend the Ibanez Mikro but they seem hard to find at the moment due to supply issues.
 
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#55
Ibanez Mikro or Squier Bronco. IME both sound great and take a set-up well.

When she gets bigger there is no reason why she should need to upgrade to a 34" instrument, unless she decides she has to have something that's only available in long scale. (Well, maybe if she's a metalhead and wants to tune drop A or something. For standard tunings, short scale is fine.)
 
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#60
Damien1971 said:
That is nice looking. She does like the seafoam /aquamarine color. We just painted her room that color
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Those Fender Mustangs sound great! Famous bassist from Talking Heads, Tina Weymouth, played one much of the time. The one she had when I saw her at my friend Jamie's wedding reception in late 1975, before they recorded their first LP, was a white single pickup model with a red tortoise-shell type pick guard. I was stunned by the very cool tone.
 

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