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best bass around $300

#61
Update:

I went to GC today and played a bunch of basses. They had a decent selection, but I mostly played Ibanez, Fender and Schecter. I didn't care for the Schecter too much, it didn't quite have the richness of the others. In the end, I was comparing an MIM Fender J to Ibanez SR300 and SR400. I found that the Fender sounded the best, but the feel and playability of the Ibanez was better. The Fenders are a little bulky, and I like the smaller body/neck of the Ibanez--perhaps because I'm coming from guitar.

Right now I'm on the fence but leaning towards the Fender, because sound seems a little more important than feel. The Fender was $550, definitely outside of my intended price range, so I'm currently looking around for a used one that's in good shape.

Thanks again for all the suggestions, this has indeed been helpful.
 
#63
Philbiker said:
You got a Cirrus BXP for $180???? :eek::eek::eek::eek: Goodness gracious. Have you posted that on the "best unbelievable bargains ever" thread? (can't remember the name). Man, GREAT work, you stole that thing. My cousin Tony has a Millenium BXP and if your Cirrus is up to the standard of his bass (I'm sure it's even better) it's KILLER. Enjoy!
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When I went to another GC for a case, one of the guys who worked there asked to take a look at it. I told him about the $180 price, and he said "Damn, your fingers must still be hot! You basically stole the bass for that price."
 
#64
I, too, started on a GSR200. After bringing home a used Squier VMJ, I never play the 200 anymore. It just feels and plays like something much more expensive. Buy it used and you can afford to buy pickups to go in it that are better than those in the $900-1200 Fenders.
 
#65
With a budjet of $300 you're better off spending it on a nice slightly used bass than on a new one. They'll be miles apart. I listened to every single clip on your site. You're more of a classical jazz and new age type of guy. A good warm toned 4-string would be the way to be.

Look for a Fender Jazz Mexican
http://cgi.ebay.com/Fender-Jazz-Bas...4399a2113f&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_500wt_1182

Schecter Diamond J
http://cgi.ebay.com/Schecter-Diamon...3ca4c38e61&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_678wt_1167

A Washburn CB-RG or Washburn Taurus bass
http://cgi.ebay.com/Washburn-CB-4RG...53dc542aa4&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14#ht_4444wt_941
 
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#66
jazzyitalian said:
With a budjet of $300 you're better off spending it on a nice slightly used bass than on a new one. They'll be miles apart. I listened to every single clip on your site. You're more of a classical jazz and new age type of guy. A good warm toned 4-string would be the way to be.
Click to expand...

Thanks for checking out my music. I'm pretty much sold on the Fender J at this point, I just need to locate the "right" one. I'm still open to other possibilities, but of all the basses I've tried so far, that one sounds the best. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
#67
MNAirHead said:
Mighty.. sounds great...

REALLY consider feel.. some fit like a glove.. they're easier to spend tons of time with.

Tim
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response. I'm definitely not discounting the importance of feel, I know that's key to being happy with an instrument and even producing the best sound with it. The reason I'm putting sound over feel in terms of priority right now is because, being new to the bass and comfortable with guitars, I'm likely to prefer the feel of any bass with a smaller neck because it's closer to what I'm used to. I don't want to hold against the Fenders something that may simply be a matter of getting used to.

The thing is, both these basses sounded and felt good to me, it's just that one sounded a little better and the other felt a little better. If either was strongly deficient in one of the areas, then there would be no debate.
 
#68
mightypants said:
Thanks for checking out my music. I'm pretty much sold on the Fender J at this point, I just need to locate the "right" one. I'm still open to other possibilities, but of all the basses I've tried so far, that one sounds the best. Thanks for the suggestions.
Click to expand...

You're welcome. But give the Schecter a try before you settle on the Fender. The Schecter will feel like a Fender and the tone is quite versitile. It's got some nicer hardware, and their proprietary pickups are humcancelling. I'm not so sure the Fender single coils are humcancelling.
 
#70
Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions. I ended up getting a gig, so I needed to cut the search short and get something right away. I really like the Fender J (Mex), and decided it was worth bumping up my budget a little to get it. Guitar Center is running a deal right now where you get 15% off any purchase when you trade in an instrument. So in addition to the $50 they offered for my Ibanez (which was not in great shape) I got $82 off the price of the J, which had been marked down $50 bucks. So in total, I paid $418 (plus tax) for a new Fender J.
 
#71
mightypants said:
Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions. I ended up getting a gig, so I needed to cut the search short and get something right away. I really like the Fender J (Mex), and decided it was worth bumping up my budget a little to get it. Guitar Center is running a deal right now where you get 15% off any purchase when you trade in an instrument. So in addition to the $50 they offered for my Ibanez (which was not in great shape) I got $82 off the price of the J, which had been marked down $50 bucks. So in total, I paid $418 (plus tax) for a new Fender J.
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It's kind of a rule here that your new bass doesn't exist unless you post pics. :) We all love to see new basses. :D
 
#75
mightypants said:
Thanks for the response. I'm definitely not discounting the importance of feel, I know that's key to being happy with an instrument and even producing the best sound with it. The reason I'm putting sound over feel in terms of priority right now is because, being new to the bass and comfortable with guitars, I'm likely to prefer the feel of any bass with a smaller neck because it's closer to what I'm used to. I don't want to hold against the Fenders something that may simply be a matter of getting used to.

The thing is, both these basses sounded and felt good to me, it's just that one sounded a little better and the other felt a little better. If either was strongly deficient in one of the areas, then there would be no debate.
Click to expand...


there is a mix of sound and feel.. I do play best on stuff that is a good match of both..

After owning 300+ basses.. feel first.. sound can always be dealt with (and remember basses are not in the "sweet" hearing spot of your audience - many can not distinguish "your tone")

Action makes the world of difference for bass.

Tim

PS.. if I can be of service, please pm..
 
#76
mightypants said:
Thanks again to everyone for the suggestions. I ended up getting a gig, so I needed to cut the search short and get something right away. I really like the Fender J (Mex), and decided it was worth bumping up my budget a little to get it. Guitar Center is running a deal right now where you get 15% off any purchase when you trade in an instrument. So in addition to the $50 they offered for my Ibanez (which was not in great shape) I got $82 off the price of the J, which had been marked down $50 bucks. So in total, I paid $418 (plus tax) for a new Fender J.
Click to expand...

Grats!!!

And $400 is what those should go for in the first place!!!! :hiding:
 
#77
With only $300 to spend, I wouldn't even GLANCE at new basses. You can get very good used Fender MIM J right here on TB for that much, or a little less, if you're patient.

Also, you should readily ignore cosmetic issues... If it's just for composing/recording, what do you care about about a gouge or two? Used MIM J... That's my $.02


Whups.. Just looked above and found you've already bought one. Change your post title! And congrats on a good purchase!
 
#80
EagleMoon said:
It's kind of a rule here that your new bass doesn't exist unless you post pics. :) We all love to see new basses. :D
Click to expand...

I'll have to wait to post photos, the only one they had in stock at the time of purchase was candy apple red--one of my least favorite colors--so I'm probably going to trade it in within the next couple weeks for something a little more my style. Sadly, the finish I really want is only available for the American Standard: Invalid Link Removed
 

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