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Best Bass for under $300?

#24
dogfishslayer said:
What would you prefer out of the Epiphones?
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i would prefer to not bother. i bought a chinese epiphone thunderbird ( the 299 epis are from the new factory in china) and it has too many issues to list. i am keeping it but a lesson has been learned and i will not make that mistake again. i was going to exchange it, but the other epiphones i have handled were equally bad if not worse. (2 EBO, an EB3 and a goth tbird) the only saving grace with mine is that it has a tight neck pocket, straight neck and was able to set it up with .3mm relief and 4-5/64 action at the 19th fret on the low side and even lower on the high side. it plays really well but is a very poorly made instrument. i wanted a cheapie to keep in the stand and drag around and not have to worry about it. but a rondo would be all that and more for a lot less.


for 1/2 the price a rondo sx is a far better deal . this is not conjecture, this is opinion based on having handled quite a few sx's at this point. the QC seems a lot better. the epiphones have better hardware and pickups, but the bridge installations are hit and miss with crooked inserts and such.

now, if you can find a korean epiphone, thats another story. the manufacture quality rivals or exceeds that of MIM fenders.
 
#27
I was just messin' around at a music store yesterday and ran into a beautiful Peavey Zodiac 4 string. I played it and was pleasantly surprised...low action, nice tone, and then they told me it was $379 (I know, it was under $300, but c'mon...$80 extra???).

If I was a beginning bassist, that would be on my short list :hyper:
 
#34
Yamaha...consistantly great necks, even at sub $300 prices...solid tone...looks don't impress most
Ibanez...good quality on low end gear...many love them
SX...great looks at obscenely inexpensive prices...w/ a little bit of "know how" can be really great instruments
Squier Vintage Series...darn nice for the price...some inconsistancies in construction...try b4 you buy
Peavey...consistantly good, even on their lower end import stuff...
 
#35
Thunderchicken said:
I was in Sam Ash in LA on Sunset Monday and they were closing out a lot of stuff. I picked up a black Yamaha BB-414 4 strings (passive version of the BB-614) brand new for $299 with gig bag.

A frickin steal and I'm loving it!!! Great P and J sound and the neck is jazz-like. Not too heavy either. :hyper:
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I am truly envious...
Can't touch a BB414 here for much under $670 AU ($550 US)
 

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