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Bass for kids?

#22
How about a Danelectro? My little brother always plays my Longhorn and you can find them fairly cheap if you shop around.

danelectro_Longhorn_copperbrst.jpg
 
#28
Well, I found the best bass for my kid to learn on.......


FREE


Turns out one of the guys I work with tried playing bass a few years ago, but gave it up. So he gave me the bass he bought, didn't want anything for it, was in a gig bag and looks in good condition.

Squier Affinity Series P-Bass! Black with a white pickguard.

Gonna clean it, adjust it, and restring it, maybe tonight. Neck is still straight, truss rod may need a tweak, but it should be good to go!
 
#31
My 6 year old has a Squier Bronco. Perfectly fine little bass. I've actually thrown it in the car to have as an emergency backup at a couple punk shows:)
It's still too big for him but as he goes through a shoe size every 2 weeks it won't be long....
 
#32
Nothing wrong with a Bronco bass IMHO, I couldn't find fault with the one I played...and it's cheap enough that if he doesn't take to Bass (and if he does they're meant to withstand a fair bit of punishment) - then you wont have spent too much cash...Personally I'd rather go for the stripped-down-Mustang look than some Ibanez which almost every beginner undoubtedly has :)

If not what about a short scale Danelectro?
 
#35
If you can find one, a Samick Corsair is a 25.5" (3/4) scale bass. I bought one for my son, but he wasn't interested, so I put some piccolo strings on it and use it myself. :D
samick-mcr1.jpg
 
#36
crashonskis said:
Probably best to just jump into a long scale. I started at age 10 with a fender p bass and I think it really helped.
Click to expand...

Bad idea. 10 year-olds kids, themselves, are NOT long scale. Unless you were already 5'6" by age 10, the full size was too big. Fractional sized instruments are more practical on the kid-sized human body. Nothing more out-of-balance than than a 55" (or less) kid holding onto a 34"-scale bass, and attempting to fret a Low-F with their fully extended arm.

MonetBass said:
If you can find one, a Samick Corsair is a 25.5" (3/4) scale bass. I bought one for my son, but he wasn't interested, so I put some piccolo strings on it and use it myself. :D
Click to expand...

My kid started on the Samick Corsair bass at age 7. It's actually a "1/2-size" bass. By age 10, he moved up to a 3/4-size bass.
 
#37
My son is 10, he's roughly 5' 2" and 110 lbs. He has giant, meat hook hands much like my father and the strength of a small horse. Good thing he has a docile disposition...:smug:

Physically handling the Squier has not been a problem for him.

Getting the mods set up now;

As stated earlier, I did a full setup. The thing was so far off it was almost unplayable. I cringed when I adjusted the truss rod, as the sounds that came from the neck weren't real reassuring. But it all held, thankfully. Surprisingly, the intonation came in almost perfect.

The next step is a string change, I ordered a set of D'Addario ETB92 nylon tapewounds. I figure they'll be a little easier on his fingers while eliminating some fret buzz while providing a decent tone.

As I mod this thing out, I'm going to post up in my other thread "Help me pimp my son's Squier".

Stay tuned.....:bassist:
 
#40
BayStateBass said:
He'd dig the double bass. He could play it in the school orchestra....:)

Heck.......I'd like to play one.......
Click to expand...

Do it! He probably could go straight to a 3/4 size bass (the most common size) with a 41-42" bridge-to-nut string length. Lots of good Electric Uprights out there, too. I have a [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]. Check the Double Bass Forum/Electric Upright Basses (EUB's) [DB].
 

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