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Best Bass under $700 (active & passive)?

#21
hover said:
Opinions are fine, but are you really foolish enough to blow 7 large based on someone else's opinion? It's sucha subjective thing, get off yer butt and go out and play some and shop. So many people here who are just so reluctant to go shop for a bass on their own, and so many opinions loaded with bias, it's like they don't trust their own instincts and need to vailidate through others...trust your hands and your ears...I'm not not saying you're one of those people, but you certainly could be...

Personally I'd go used for that 7 large, and get almost twice the bass for the same money. Opens up a whole nother world of possibilites.

That said, I'm just going to cut and paste this answer form now on for when this comes up again in a week. :)
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You know, there are quite a lot of us who live places where the local shops don't stock anything but cr*p that is not even set up right. Not everyone can just go out and try 10 different quality basses. I value the advice I get here on TB highly.
 
#22
eyvindwa said:
You know, there are quite a lot of us who live places where the local shops don't stock anything but cr*p that is not even set up right. Not everyone can just go out and try 10 different quality basses. I value the advice I get here on TB highly.
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Of course. It's the same here unless I wanna schlepp to Boston, but I wasn't de-valueing the advice here, just due dilligence is a must. If it's important to you, you find a way, or keep taking chances and losing money.

Just as there are a million and one threads exactly like this here, there are as many answers, and 90-95% of them are potentially wrong, to the OP.
 
#23
wvbass said:
In the end, you're going to be splitting hairs. What I mean is this: for $700 you can buy a new G&L Tribute, a Spector Legend, a Sterling by MusicMan, or, with the benefit of a sale, a Lakland 44-01. Are any of these basses not produced in the same factory?

It becomes a question of neck profile preferences, the tone you want, etc. I really think my Tribute L-2000 is absolutely a wonderful instrument - one of the best passive instruments made and a solid preamp as a bonus. My Spector Legend Classic 6 is no slouch either, but is night and day different tone-wise. If my 44-02 was any indication, the 44-01 is going to be a GREAT player, but I'm willing to bet I won't fall in love with the tone/electronics. I'm willing to bet they it sounds very similar to my Dearmond Pilots (from the same Korean factory the 44-01 used to come from.) And then I'm dying to try out a new Sterling Ray35 - I'm sure it kills as well.

To further complicate things, Fender, Ibanez, Schecter, and ESP/LTD know how to build a great bass too. Its really a bad time to be a bass player with $700 to burn - there are way too many good choices.
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what he said, only way to know is to go out and play with them, i will say in that price range id personally be eyeballing the SterlingByMusicMan basses, but i really like the MM look and tone.
 
#25
PRUNEFACE said:
I'd absolutely look at the Ibanez SR series -NOT the SRX (but that's just my opinion, lots of people love them, but remember, the SRX was made to make the SR series available to more people) and MIM Fenders are another great option. I'd get a MIM P and pop in a Lindy Fralin and some heavy duty pots. That's what I got (along with my Spector Euro LX)!
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I agree whole heartedly about the SR over the SRX. I personally don't care for the SRX shape/body/sound. I love the actual SR's though. The only downside to the SR's IMHO is that there isn't a noticeable upgrade in materials/construction/sound from the SR500 until you get to the Prestige models. It's simply cosmetic.
 
#26
I'm with Toomanybasses. The Cirrus BXP has a great rock sound & is a great deal for a neck through under $700.00 also the MIM Fender Jazz has a great sound. Lots of choices for that money!:hyper:

toomanybasses said:
In your price range I like the Peavey Cirrus BXP, the Peaveys are very under rated but the sound great. Even the Peavey Grind bass very nice and is in around $400.

IMO for classic rock, a Fender P-bass is the way to go, for me anyway.

In the end, what people like is subjective and comes down to what you feel comfortable with and what gives your the sound your after. Bare in mind that you can get comfortable with almost any bass given enough time.
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#27
Illbay said:
I may be missing something, but he said "$700," not "7 Large," which I believe would be $7 Million.
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Ok, and yer "pop" is my "soda", and yer "subs" are my "grinders". "large" is actually thousands, not millions, my bad. I shoulda said "c-notes"...but I'm sure we're splitting hairs here.

I'll rephrase ...are you really foolish enough to blow SEVEN HUNDRED DOLLARS based on someone else's opinion?

geez. Didja really think I meant Million? Who'd spend a million, let alone several million on a bass? :hmm:
 
#29
nightcityburn said:
I scored my 08 Jazz for $725 and my Geddy with Nordy's for the same price. Both came shipped in a hardshell case.

You can find pretty much whatever you want, within reason, for $700. Pick a bass you know you want, shop the classifieds and pull the trigger.
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very good point, i got my Sterling like new with case for $900 and even saw one in great shape for 750 + shipping only catch was it was purple. If you shop around online you definitely could get a nice top tier used bass for a reasonable price.
 
#32
G&L 2grand is the way to go!! Tonal options are umnatched and if you ever want to play a different style of music you can switch over. Keep your tone options open if you can because if you go with a straigh p-bass or a j-bass then thats all you have to work with. The G&L (which I own) has tone options for days. Don't limit your playing to one particular style! IMHO. . .
 
#36
The best one is the one that fit's in your hands and is most comfortable to play. Trick is to spend the time and find YOUR bass. You can play rock on a Squire, you can play rock on a Wal ...

In my stable, my 62 RI J (MIJ) is roughly a $700 bass. My Godin A4 was purchased for that. Real different basses but I can rock either - or do bluegrass with either ... or do salsa and reggae with either ... the bass doesn't have much to do with it ... ears and hands are way more important. or as Lance Armstrong said, "It's not about the bike."
 
#39
Davecg2 said:
very good point, i got my Sterling like new with case for $900 and even saw one in great shape for 750 + shipping only catch was it was purple. If you shop around online you definitely could get a nice top tier used bass for a reasonable price.
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I just snagged a MIA Fender Tele, in pristine condition, for $650 - and a friend just got an MIA P-Bass for $500 off Craigslist.
 
#40
The Schecter Model T (passive) PBass/TBass clone looks very interesting, for about $649. The D4 (active) looks like a winner too, for about $689.

There is a short thread about the D4. A member finally went out and played one. He was very impressed. He said it had a huge sound, and a "ridiculous" bottom, with decent articulation. He wants one.

The Stargazer is interesting also. It looks like a Rick's younger, thinner, prettier sister. :D

You can find all of these on Ebay right now, under $700. Last time I checked, there was a new Elite (active) for $700, and some Studios (active) under $700.
 

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