Benefits of saving for your next bass

Hey, that is a very well thought-out case for saving up for a nice bass. I think some folks are making a FAQ, and this might work nicely in there!

Welcome to TalkBass!
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Nice to see another Granite State man here...

You're so right. I've blown so much money over the years trying to go from a cheap bass to one that's a little less cheap.
If I had just saved and bought a good bass even as recently as five years ago, I would have save a LOT of money.

In the past five years alone (which is when I got back into bass playing after about 7 years off) I went from an Ibanez Soundgear, to a MIM Fender Jazz, to an Epiphone EB-1, to an Ashbory (a temporary experiment) to a Warwick Streamer Standard, to a Warwick Corvette (bought yesterday.)

If I had just skipped the middle stuff and jumped straight to the Warwick, I would've been better off. But then, I would've missed out on that great 'woo hoo, I've got a new bass' feeling...

 

that is a very good point.and the new bass feeling is aweomse.it was about 3 months after i got that why did i get this bass? feeling cuz ive only bought one bass,what i have right now,$h!tty squier pbass.ive been playing for 6 months,so i need something cheap when i got my firsst bass.maybe in afew months im gonna "upgrade".what do u guys think would be a good upgrade.something not a little better than my pbass,or something 1,000 more,but something in the middle.

 

When I was looking for my first bass (MIA Jazz), I made up my mind that I wanted something that was good enough that I would never HAVE to upgrade. I may want to but it will not be a requirement because the quality of my gear gives me that luxury. What I've found is that I have a whole lot of room to grow with the instruments that are in my stable. There's a lot of stuff out there that can be considered better but there's also much more stuff out there that's worse in my opinion.

I had the dreaded G.A.S. after my first purchase but my next bass (Cirrus) cured all of that! Knowing that I had two of what I feel are great instruments already allowed me to focus more on getting better and I no longer visit the stores as much. I spend more time practicing and less time drooling over gear.

I'm not advocating that all new players get gear that is similar in price to what I have and there are a lot of options out there that are much more expensive than what I have. I'm simply saying that you should try to make your first purchase one that you will be very satisfied with for a while.

Find your comfort zone. If that's a Squier, Rogue or other inexpensive bass, it alright as long as you are happy. Don't focus on getting something just because it's inexpensive though. One more thing, have fun learning! If I have any regrets about this it's the fact that I didn't start earlier. I'm just a newbie but I'm a well equipped one! Now I've just got to get better.

 

Get the best bass that you can afford that makes you happy and I don't mean just that "new bass" feeling. I look forward to owning all of my basses for the duration.

 

hey i wasnt thinking of gettin another bass for like a year something.oh,the amp im getting,well i've had enough money for a long time its just a matter of my friends mom wanting to the sell the amp.

 

what exactly does G.A.S stand for???

 

I can say that all your statements have very valid points.
But also, as you mature as a player you begin to look for "different" things not just "better".

Also, How can a Newbie know what is what they really NEED or want if they dont have a lot of previous experience?
What could feel nice on your hands now can feel akward when compared to somthing else some years later.

In my case, Upgrades have been because my needs have evolved.
I started on a P-Bass copy, so to have a decent slap sound I had to upgrade to a better bass with good fretwork and great tone.
I got an Ibanez ATK...
For some years it was enough but I wanted a Stingray 4 string. And thats what I REALLY wanted.
But guess what? My needs evolved when I got into progressive music and found the need for a 6 string bass. So I sold the ATK.
I got a SR506 borrowed for some time and then bought my Cort Curbow 6 String, wich has great low action and almost all I need. It has the playability, it has the looks... but it lacks some soulful tone.
I cant try as many basses as I would like becasue there are no decent stores in my area, besides MY OWN store. But I dont stock anything.
Having the experience of playing my uncle´s basses (Lakland, Warwick, Fodera, Modulus,Ibanez,just to name a few) I decided to go custom... using all my saved money and all my knowledge about what I wanted.
It didnt went the way I expected so I returned it.
Now Im expecting a Warwick Streamer LX 6 String for next tuesday.

This purchase is definetly Gas Involved, as I already have a 6 string. This is the only purchase where some of your points are right.
But I needed to get a 6 String asap (refering to the curbow)instead of saving a lot of time to get something I really wanted (The Warwick or similar HQ bass)
The purchase of the Curbow was between it and a Cort Artisan A6 at Ebay. I lost the auction of the Artisan and won the Curbow. End of the story Im happy.

I guess what Im trying to say, is that there are specific cases where you really need to go upgrading by little.
Anyone sharing a similar experience?

 

I'm saving for my MM5 and that ought to just about do it...

 

what are some basses that have REALLY low action,that are under $500???

 

A better question would be, "Which bass is decent that's under $500."

Nearly any bass you can adjust the saddles on.

...we really need the newbie FAQ...

For the record though, MIM Fenders are great basses for that range... Along with Ibanez basses... There's plenty of basses.

 

im talking about low action.cuz i have a squier pbass,when i lower the action,i get fret buzz.i wanna get a bass that has very,very low action but no fret buzz.

 

All good points were brought up. I currently own a Squier P bass, (Not a great bass, but I love) a Musicmaster (starter bass), Ibanez SR400 (my first "pro" bass) and an Ibanez SR305DX. Well, I started playing gigs, and I started making money, so I got the bug that I wanted to buy another bass. I saw an Alverez in Musician's Friend that was beautiful. I was going to get it, but then I saw it was "Factory Reconditioned". (All the Alverez's I've played were excellent instruments, but there's just something about "factory reconditioned" that scares me, I could just see my self up on stage playing, and have the pickups cut out mid song, or have the pots fall right out of the bass) Then I thought about getting a Danelectro Rumor, which was like 150 bucks. My dream bass has always been a Carvin LB70, which I want to buy once I get a job. I basically sat down and thought to myself "The Ibanez's and Squier are fine instruments, why should I go buy a lower end bass, just to say I have a new bass? I might as well choke up and save for a bass I really want." I'm glad I took that route. I still can't see how you people can trade your basses like trading baseball cards. I couldn't bare to leave any of my instruments. Even the ones that aren't so great.

 

This thread is full of good advice, but this is the best of all. Take your Squier and have it set up. You might be surprised at how low the action can be set.

By the way, welcome to Talkbass, Rebel X.

 

And yet another bass player joins the fray.... Hi guys. Nice place you have here. This is a good thread to jump in on. For years, Ric's were my dream bass. It took me a while to be able to afford one, but I finally attained that goal. 18 yrs later, and I've worn it out! Time to replace it, so I did a lot of shopping and comparing. I ended up W/ a Warwick MM fortress one. It's a real funk machine IMHO. Well less than a year later I "discovered" My Pedulla Rapture fretless and Woo Hoo! Now everything I own is collectin' dust. Last year I picked up a cheap 5 string. (Epi LP) But then I found myself lusting for a MIM jazz fretless. Since I got it, I've been having fun with it. It's funny how each time I get my 'dream bass', the thrill wears out after a while. I was impressed witha local band here recently, where the bassist was playing with a beat up yamaha. They're a popular band around here, & he could probably afford anything he wants but he uses a 'cheapie'. My point? The sound really does come from the hands first. And beware of the GAS. Be happy, and just play!