amps

Ever play an electric bass when it's not plugged into anything? Kinda quiet really.

 

student...all you need is something you can hear yourself with. plug into your computer if you have nothing else. just be careful the low end doesn't take out your speakers. it's a little nicer if you have a halfway decent practice amp, but as long as you can hear yourself, that's all you need till you're ready to jam with others.

 

+1, to be serious really. You could get a 1/4 to 1/8 adapter jack to plug into your computer or home stereo. Keep the volume low on the bass, they weren't really meant to work together but it will work. A little 10watt practice amp will sound a little better, more like a bass. Those are something you could get brand new for $99, used for probably 30 bucks. There are also headphone amps where you plug the bass into a little box you wear on your belt or guitar strap and play to yourself through headphones. They can run anywhere from $49 to a couple hundred. If you're a beginner, look at stuff that's $100 or less. Sooner or later, something will pop up on craigslist or the TB classifieds here that's cheap and works good.

 

This is almost poetry.

BIG question, what do you want to do? Practice at home? Play with other people? What kind of music? Give the "forumistas" some parameters and you'll get some concrete suggestions. Don't forget, we ALL started somewhere.