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Bass for 14 year old son.

#81
ThudThudThud said:
So my 14 year old son (6'2 and growing/continuing to eat my food) is being pressured by his guitar playing friend to acquire and learn bass. Great. That's how I started (albeit a couple of years earlier). 'er indoors says, "Why don't you just let him have one of yours?"
I'll wait while you good people stop reeling from such a suggestion. I know, right?
Now, I'll probably let him have one of my old amps, and probably a multi-effect unit, but a bass?

Here's my thinking:
* He's one of those kids who either throws his everything into things, or can't be bothered to put in the time/effort to get through the learning curve.
* He often doesn't take good care of stuff, because....you know...he's 14 and lives in a bubble sometimes.
* If he gets into it, looks after his bass, and gets bitten by the bug I can always upgrade his equipment, or even (shudder) give him one of mine.
* If he doesn't get into it, and the bass just starts collecting dust, I'll just 'borrow' it indefinitely because.....well.....you know.....MOOOOORRRRRREEEEE BASSES!!!!

I'm thinking something cool, but not too expensive but serviceable.
Currently in the running:
1. Ibanez TMB100
2. SX American Alder Series Jazz or P or PJ
Keeps the budget low, but gets a TB-proven bass. If he gives up, then a fun bass for me.

3. Used MIM Fender.
'Real' Fender, but the budget goes up. If he gives up, "YAY!"
If he sticks with it, this bass should see him good for a while until the GAS starts.
Not 100% that 'er indoors wants this sort of money spent on an experiment (or another bass for meeeeee!!!!!).

4. Other suggestions from you good people.

Help an old guy out here. What say you TB?
No, he doesn't get an American Standard/Elite right off the bat because he'll never need another one. That's out of the budget.
His guitar playing friend is a huge Metallica fan, but my son actually prefers Tchaikovsky. FWIW.
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I'd get something you wouldn't mind playing if he doesn't stick with it. If it was me I'd probably go with an inexpensive bass like the ESP LTDs vintage 204
image.jpg
so that way if he did give up on it you had a bass you could swap the pickups and have a respectable gigging bass. I've seen these go for $200 used. Mim fender is another option but you're looking at another $100 and I'd swap the pickups in a fender personally if I ended up playing it.
 
#82
Sid the Kid said:
19361363[/URL], member: 244552"]I agree! You could buy mine in the classifieds for a fair price... *shameless plug over*

The SX basses aren't bad and you can beat the snot out of them because they cost about as mich as a good pickup and a set of strings.
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Or buy my SX in the classifieds :)

But really.. with a set up and new strings SXs are good instruments. At this point he isn't going to obsess over tone etc like us.. more so probably aesthetics. Sx has tons of options. Have him pick one out and as he progresses you and him can mod it. Or if he decides to quit, you have a cool project bass. I just got an Ursa 2 jazz that is great. Stock pups aren't bad but put some quarter pounders on my xmas list..
 
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#83
I'd think an MIM or Squier would be a good choice. The Talman is pretty nice too. I'd get some input from him regarding the looks, as we all know that's crucial to a teenager! But you're a vet so you can at least check it out before hand and make sure playability is great, that's the important part.
 
#85
Can't go wrong with a Squier, for both price/interest point... If I was handed anything at that age, I would have treated it like it was the coolest thing in the world. Let him pick the color, to get him involved in the process...
 
#89
I would get him something much like an SX...something cheaper that he can see if he likes the instrument and wants to get serious about it...he can learn more about bass as gets serious by tinkering with upgrades and obsessing over them like we do...he could learn what pickups he prefers, which tuners feel good to him, etc...it could help him customize his sound and buy you more time before investing in another bass for him down the road..what a cool situation to be in though..I envy you..I tried to get my 14 year old into the bass, but he's all about playing football..There's still hope for my youngest son to catch bass fever at 14...13.5 years to go...:meh:
 
#91
I didn't read all the responses.
6'2" and growing! I would go to the store and have him try a bunch. If his fingers are big, string spacing is going to be important. at 14, the most important part will be how cool looking the bass is to him.
Yeah, that's also most important to all of us, who plays a great sounding bass that they think looks stupid?

My 'Bang for the buck' cool used basses are mostly from the early 80s. Peavey, Ibanez and Westone of that era proved the best bang for the buck. Or the fabulous Ibanez ATK of the 90s which is a great big bass / wide neck for a big guy.
 
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#92
Immigrant said:
Let him pick it out, but make sure it's something you wouldn't mind playing or that you can recoup some of the cost of when he changes his mind and wants drums later on.

He picks it. You approve it.
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This. Give him the budget, go with him to the shop and let him try some out. If he wants something that's over the budget, he pays the overage or negotiates a way to pay it off over time. He's more likely to be invested if he picks the instrument and shares in the investment.

P.S. I vote Squier, but that's just my opinion. He may end up choosing a *shudder* Dean.
 
#94
When my son was in middle school at a charter school that did not have band or orchestra he started learning electric bass with the music teacher there after having done upright in 5th grade. I bought him a short scale SX P (he wasn't yet the >6' he is now). I dropped an MFD P pickup in it, gave him an old tiny combo I had picked up in a CL deal to leave at school, and off he went. That got him started.

He liked it enough that a few years later he wanted a different bass. So for Christmas that year I gave him a budget (low) and started pushing some ideas at him. I stayed with a low budget because I didn't know how much he'd actually stick with it in the long run, I could always get him a nicer bass later. I suggested things like a used Peavey G-bass, G&L Tributes (my faves), and various other interesting high quality used basses. He wanted new and although he looked at the neon green Deans, pointy ESPs and the like in the end he decided he liked the Jaguar body style and chose between a Squier Jag and an SX Jag-style bass. He went with the Squier and I was pretty impressed with the overall playability of the bass. He's been very happy with it, chose it himself, and still talks about playing although he hasn't. We did send him through a "rock school" summer camp where he went daily for a couple of weeks and at the end played a concert where he got to play the songs they worked on with various groups. He really had a good time with that but hasn't found something else on his own so far, so your son having a friend wanting him to play with him is a big plus.

So my advice would be set the budget you can live with, point him at some choices (SX, Squier, interesting used basses) and let him pick what he wants. You can make sure it's playable, set up well, and ready to go. Since he's 6'2" already full scale is the way to go.

I had ulterior motives with the short scale SX and have the strings ready to set it up piccolo and try some different stuff but now my daughter (middle school at this point) has claimed it. I think it's more for the idea of playing bass and the decoration in her room of the bass & amp that she likes. I want to encourage music so I'm leaving it with her for now while she decides whether to continue with bassoon in high school.
 
#98
Thanks, everyone. I just knew you lot would be the voice of reason.
Condensing a lot of the comments it would seem that the best bet is to involve him heavily in the process, use it as a learning experience for him, but make sure he's not choosing something that is never going to make the right noises.
Lot of terrific responses. Cheers.

Now I need to step up my game in finding the kinds of deals everyone mentions.
 
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#99
As a former 14-year-old son who received his first bass as a Christmas gift, I think the SX basses hit just the right spot. They look good, have good options, and a great rep. I started out on a P-Bass knockoff of a similar caliber, and I still love it and have it, with some mods. Mine isn't an SX, but is extremely similar, right down to the headstock shape (closer to the older SXs, the new ones are freaking pretty IMO).
 

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