Beginners bass

[Cory rich40]

I have been playing bass for 32 years. I started out on a Martin Stinger my dad had in 1994. The amp I used was a Peavey mega bass head with the heavy Peavey cabinet that had 210’s and an 18 inch speaker. I used that gear for 8 years. In 2002 I purchased my first bass which was a Fender American Standard Jazz V. Got a Peavey 115 combo amp which honestly could maybe be considered a downgrade. Felt just as heavy and was actually harder to maneuver because of being shorter than the older Peavey. I remained a Fender player for years until 2020 when I started becoming a gear head. I discovered I liked Musicman, Dingwall and even the BTB line by Ibanez. Still hold a lot of respect for Fender. My choice in amps currently is a Mess Boogie Subway WD 800 head played through a Fender 610 cabinet. Today I found out that my daughter who starts high school in August wants to play guitar. Specifically the bass and she is taking guitar class as an elective. What would you guys recommend as a beginner bass. I’m thinking cost wise of a budget between the $500-800 range. We could do the nod to Fender with the Squire cv series. I could go with a sterling by music man Ray 24 for the nod to the stingray. Or an Ibanez SR priced around $500. From what I can tell from high schiol
Band performances. Those kids are playing mainly Yamaha’s. I realize she will need to find her own voice. I play 5 and 6 strings and occasionally fretless but I feel she definitely needs to start on a fretted 4 string. Amp wise a 115 or 210 combo would work fine I think. She can’t use the Peavey 115 combo since I sold it back in 2021. Even if she could she couldn’t carry it. Luckily today’s combo amps are a lot lighter. My biggest concern is that the school may try to force her to use an acoustic bass guitar. I’ve never seen one I’m really impressed with. I do feel like she needs to get the feel that she likes the instrument before investing serious money. But we don’t want an instrument that feels bad and will be uncomfortable to play. I also need to warn her about calluses on the fingertips when she is learning. Maybe part of me feels like it may be better for her to learn guitar first.

 

[GretschWretch]

Guitar and bass are two completely different instruments. The best gain I can think of from learning guitar first is that she will be better grounded with regard to theory and the make-up of chordal harmonies, which would carry over to her bass playing.

Does the school not have a bass she can test-play to get a better idea of what suits her?

 

[Cory rich40]

Guitar and bass are two completely different instruments. The best gain I can think of from learning guitar first is that she will be better grounded with regard to theory and the make-up of chordal harmonies, which would carry over to her bass playing.

Does the school not have a bass she can test-play to get a better idea of what suits her?

I’m sure they do.

 

[crazycloud]

What would you guys recommend as a beginner bass.

Ibanez SR - there are too many out there to give a specific model. As you should know what you're doing, used would be better as you can get the best model / version for the available budget and be able to check out set up, operation etc to make sure she gets a good 'un.

Second choice would be Yamaha RBX/TRBX.

Both are smaller physically than FSOs which I'm assuming will be of benefit to the young lady, but for all I know, she's 6'4".

I haven't used a combo in 40y so I can offer no suggestion beyond the generic Rumble 100 or similar. Maybe also get her a smaller fold up hand (furniture) truck and some elastic straps to make it easier to move, like a roller suitcase.

 

[ardgedee]

tbh I wouldn't rule out fretless if she's interested. If I had my high school years to live over again (and thank goodness I'll never have to do that) one of the things I would've done is hold out for a fretless rather than get the fretted I got. I'm not necessarily better on fretless but it feels more natural to play and probably most importantly I enjoy it more.

When you're starting from scratch the learning curve is not that much steeper.

 

[JonathanPDX]

tbh I wouldn't rule out fretless if she's interested. If I had my high school years to live over again (and thank goodness I'll never have to do that) one of the things I would've done is hold out for a fretless rather than get the fretted I got. I'm not necessarily better on fretless but it feels more natural to play and probably most importantly I enjoy it more.

When you're starting from scratch the learning curve is not that much steeper.

Going to be a pretty tough sell if she listens to contemporary music and has never heard a fretless bass. Great way to put her way behind the learning curve with peers, though!

 

[Cory rich40]

I’m surprised that I don’t see any of these kids with a Squire or MIM Fender. I feel like maybe the parents are just getting them something to get by. And I guess that’s perfectly fine. The high school band and middle school bands utilize bass players. The middle school band has 3 electric bass players and one upright bass player. I do know most of these band kids rent their instruments. The Martin Stinger I started out with, I’ve always felt like was something dad used to get by with since bass was not his primary instrument. He was primarily a lead guitar player that was playing the bass because the band he was in already had a lead and rhythm guitar player and they needed someone to play bass. I would be willing to bet that in 1988 that Peavey mega bass head and cabinet costed more than the Martin Stinger did.

 

[ijump206]

A Squire Jaguar (or used Fender) is not the worst option in the world, though here I am making an assumption that a short scale would be desireable.

We are spoiled for choice these days, so I am sure she will find something great!

 

[jd56hawk]

Epiphone Embassy.

Sounds every bit as good as a Thunderbird, but far more player friendly...I think she'll find it very comfortable.
Not the typical Talkbass recommendation, Ibanez, Squier, Sire, etc, but who wants typical?
If you're concerned about her fingers and uncomfortable strings, do her a favor and put on a set of GHS black tapewounds...smooth as silk, perfect tension, amazing tone.
I probably wouldn't be playing bass today if I hadn't discovered flatwounds/tapewounds early in my journey

As for how good an acoustic bass can be tonewise, please, don't get me started.

 

[Giffro]

I’m surprised that I don’t see any of these kids with a Squire or MIM Fender. I feel like maybe the parents are just getting them something to get by. And I guess that’s perfectly fine. The high school band and middle school bands utilize bass players. The middle school band has 3 electric bass players and one upright bass player. I do know most of these band kids rent their instruments. The Martin Stinger I started out with, I’ve always felt like was something dad used to get by with since bass was not his primary instrument. He was primarily a lead guitar player that was playing the bass because the band he was in already had a lead and rhythm guitar player and they needed someone to play bass. I would be willing to bet that in 1988 that Peavey mega bass head and cabinet costed more than the Martin Stinger did.

My Peavey gear still wakes the neighbourhood when I stoke it up...great cab that Peavey 1820 (1x18" Black Widow and 2x10" Scorpions)

 

[Dana R Gregory]

A nice affordable bass would be a Squire CV60s PBass strung with flats. It is under $600 and will definitely do the job. Worth a look.

 

[IanStephenson]

Can't go wrong with Yamaha.

But just show here the pictures of the basses you think are appropriate and let her choose the one she wants. There's no wrong answers... OK there are few wrong answers (Acoustic bass guitar!), but filter those out, and just get the one that speaks to her. She's going to pick the one she thinks looks coolest, which is totally fine - if she thinks it looks cool then she'll want to pick it up and play it.

 

[ardgedee]

Going to be a pretty tough sell if she listens to contemporary music and has never heard a fretless bass. Great way to put her way behind the learning curve with peers, though!

I didn't tell OP to push one on her, I said that if she shows interest, let her try.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Would the young lady benefit from a shorter (30", 32") bass or does she sport ape-like appendages like yours truly? I'm going to drag TBer @pcake into the conversation as she has a lot of experience in this arena.

Riis

 

[iqi616]

Going to be a pretty tough sell if she listens to contemporary music and has never heard a fretless bass. Great way to put her way behind the learning curve with peers, though!

Way behind? Fretless really isn't that much harder than fretted - not even unlined.

 

[iqi616]

I’m surprised that I don’t see any of these kids with a Squire or MIM Fender. I feel like maybe the parents are just getting them something to get by.

Yamaha is always the safe option for parents who are not into music gear. That makes Yamaha popular with rentals too.

I see that with saxophones and it really shows in the used market at the "end of the school year sell-off" where Yamahas go on Kijiji for a higher price than other student models (even student models that are just as good).

 

[Vincent Van Low]

any bass that doesnt hurt to play + YOUTUBE ....and if you need an amp, make it small and easy to carry.

 

[JonathanPDX]

Way behind? Fretless really isn't that much harder than fretted - not even unlined.

A new player with zero experience puts their finger down just like their friends learning the guitar, and yet, they are the only one out of tune!

You're just setting a newbie up for frustration and failure for absolutely no reason at all.

 

[mambo4]

There are many reasons to consider something other than a PBass, there are many options.
But a beginner has no taste or ears or sense of what the options actually do.
So PBass. Used Squire CV or VM. It will be reliable for any job required
And the beginner can get to playing. Save the gear heading for later.

 

[iqi616]

Today I found out that my daughter who starts high school in August wants to play guitar. Specifically the bass and she is taking guitar class as an elective. What would you guys recommend as a beginner bass.

I play 5 and 6 strings and occasionally fretless but I feel she definitely needs to start on a fretted 4 string.

Have you let her try your basses (including the fretless)? I would do that and I would take her to a music store to try out different instruments. However, if it's really just a try-out, make sure she fully understands before going to the store that it's not to buy because I find instruments are like jewellery - if I try it on and love it, I can't not have it!

I think it's important to start with a bass that inspires her to play it, not some clunky compromise and I would make her part of that process even if her choice isn't what I would choose.

Maybe part of me feels like it may be better for her to learn guitar first.

If bass is what she wants to learn now, she can always switch to guitar later if the mood strikes her. If it was my daughter, I wouldn't foist a guitar onto her.

For an amp, I would go for something easily portable like a Fender Rumble.