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Austin Basses? good? bad?

a friend of mine has one.
they are pretty low quality IMO.
i set his up and it sounded better, but an SX or Squier would be a better alternative.

depending on the price point, it might be worth modding. but that depends what you want to put into it.
if it were me, id probably pass.
 
I bought one at a yard sale once for 100 bucks with a nice case. Worth the money. It was a copy of a musicman or something similar. Single humbucker. I used to as just a practice bass around the house. The action was really good and it sounded good. I sold it for more than what I had in it a couple of years later.

BnB
 
Just found this thread when I was scrolling around. I have the red Austin p-bass. It's not a paint but rather a red stain and clearcoat like what is legitimately on a candy apple (never understood why flat paint would be called candy apple). I love the body so darn much that I am in the process of buying an American Fender Pbass and swapping bodies.

P.S. The thing sounds better stock than any Squier p-bass I've ever played. Just saiyan.
 
Hey all, my friend wants me to buy his bass. it lookes nice and has good sound. But does anyone have anything to say about "Austin" basses? (Negative or Positive):meh:
I have the AJB300N model black with maple neck. It plays great after getting a setup and the fret ends filed because they are sharp. And a set of your favorite strings. It plays better than a lot of 300-500 dollar basses I’ve tried at Guitar Center. The quality is decent. I have high end Ibanez and Sheckter basses and this is just as comfortable as those to play. I had mine for 5 years and no problems with it. I use it for studio purposes being a passive bass. My others are active and too much for a small room. Get one, well worth $200.00.
 
I have the AJB300N model black with maple neck. It plays great after getting a setup and the fret ends filed because they are sharp. And a set of your favorite strings. It plays better than a lot of 300-500 dollar basses I’ve tried at Guitar Center. The quality is decent. I have high end Ibanez and Sheckter basses and this is just as comfortable as those to play. I had mine for 5 years and no problems with it. I use it for studio purposes being a passive bass. My others are active and too much for a small room. Get one, well worth $200.00.
Totally. Had my Austin P professionally set up and frets dressed and it plays amazingly.
 
I see that there is not a lot of reviews on Austin basses. It does play nice for a budget bass. I use it for small room rehearsals with our band or just at home . I prefer this over some of the other basses I’ve seen in guitar center witch doesn’t have a whole lot of choices to try out. The budget selection there is a waste of money . As soon as I start to play one those it automatically goes back n the wall. When I played this Austin at a smaller guitar store , I was amazed how well it played for 200 bucks.
 
The problem is it's easy to make something that LOOKS like a bass guitar in a webpage photograph, so buying online I have always considered treacherous. You have to sit down and PLAY the thing, to get a FEEL for how it plays, and of course, see how it SOUNDS.

Mostly, I feel like there are no "deals" out there left to be had. Everyone wants top dollar for their *very used, dubious quality* instruments. Probably better off having a guitar builder either MAKE one for you or maybe just MOD it heavily. Oh, re starter basses: I'd get a Sire if you have the dough. I hear nothing but good things about them.
 
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I stopped in at a music store across town on my way home to see check out their wares and I pulled one of these off of the wall to take a look at it. In my relatively amateur opinion, this bass played really really well. The one immediate and obvious drawback for some will be the weight as it is *firmly* on the heavier side of bass guitars. So much so that I would warn anyone considering it. I didn't plug it in, so i can't comment on the sound. Nor did I pay much attention to the controls or tuners.

If I were in the market for a 4-string for less than 3 bills then this instrument would be at or near the top of the list.
 
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