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BEST (NEW) BASS UNDER $300

#61
alaskaleftybass said:
Welcome to TB. You're going to find that the posters heavily favor Fender products, including Squires. Myself, I love Ibanez products. They have fast low necks, hot-rodded pickups, and come ready to rock hard out of the box after a setup. But then the Squires are great too.

Rondo music makes some good basses. If you don't mind used look through the TB classifieds, you might find some gems there. Good luck! :thumbsup:
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To clarify, it's the SR series with those beautiful necks. The Talman necks are more like classic Fender.
 
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#63
I once bought an SX 62 Jazz bass. Yes very good, but the retro style pickup covers have to come off, need access to all of the string area.
I have to say I have a Peavey Millenium BXP I bought used for less than $150, perfect condition, nothing comes close that bargain. Sold the SX and moved on, but not going back to anything Fender or a Fender copy, just because they're too heavy. The Jazz and Precision bodies and headstocks are outdated designs and bulky, however the pups are great.
The Millenium has the Jazz pups but much updated body, neck and wood, bridge and tuning machines are very good, much lighter and killer tone.
 
#66
St_G said:
I don't have anything new to add (though I did recently buy a super cheap Talman bass, so check my recent threads if you care to read my opinions or listen to some unvarnished clips). I'm just replying to bump your thread further up the front page, because apparently it annoys some people. And anyone who can be annoyed by that deserves to be annoyed.
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Haha thanks, I wholeheartedly agree
 
#67
coheph said:
Don't let one bad experience with a used bass sour you permanently. Used basses are a much better value, in general. Just make sure to buy from a source that (1) tells you that there's nothing wrong with the bass and (2) has a return policy so you can send it back if they lied. (Or, alternately, get a deal so good that it doesn't even matter.)

For example, I got a used Fender jazz bass on eBay for the price of a new Squier. My favorite two basses are used 1980s Ibanez that I got from Goodwill for $150 and Craigslist for $260, respectively. They're incredible basses with quality and features that you just can't get for that kind of money new. Meanwhile, my first ever bass was a brand new Epiphone and it was a bad decision.

Basses and cars are two things that I've bought new once, and will never buy new again. Just doesn't make sense from a value standpoint (unless it's something that doesn't exist used).
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I couldn’t agree more with what you are saying about used basses. I bought 2 used basses from GC because I knew they had a 45 day return policy. Both were opened in front of me in the store so I could inspect them before I left the store with them. Even if I had them shipped to my house, I still had 45 days if something was wrong. When buying used it is best to use reputable dealers that offer some protection if something goes wrong.
 
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#70
wohnjalker said:
Because used basses tend to be a crapshoot... I bought a nice Peavey Forum bass a while back and I got it to my tech and he said the neck was permanently slightly bowed, and the only way I could counter that was to use super light gauge strings, so needless to say I sold it and now I’m just looking to buy something brand new.
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Very few basses ever have a "permanently bowed neck".

You unfortunately just got very unlucky, either with a dud of a bass or a dud of a tech ;)

If your budget is that limited I'd highly recommend taking a look at the classifieds here before buying something new; you get a lot more for your money when buying used, and buying from a seller with good feedback here is pretty much as safe as it gets.
 
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#71
wohnjalker said:
And also what if one is going for a “poopie” sound? Bet he didn’t think about that one eh?!
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I'm pretty sure thinking, of any kind, wasn't involved with that post.

You never know though, you might get a recommendation for THE all time sleeper budget bass: stranger things have happened, this IS TalkBass after all.
 
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#72
St_G said:
I don't have anything new to add (though I did recently buy a super cheap Talman bass, so check my recent threads if you care to read my opinions or listen to some unvarnished clips). I'm just replying to bump your thread further up the front page, because apparently it annoys some people. And anyone who can be annoyed by that deserves to be annoyed.
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Here's to fighting the good fight ;)
 
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#73
Thwack said:
I see it's been mentioned before but if you are looking for a near pro quality P bass for 299, get the Squier Classic Vibe '70's Precision. ...or any other Squier classic vibe series bass. In my opinion and experience they are more comfortable and play even better then the Vintage Modified series which are also quite nice for the money. Good luck - Report back!
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The CV 70's P is $399, but otherwise agree.

Stock it's a fine bass, and modded I'd put it up against just about anything :thumbsup:

 
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#75
CV Squiers are a truly good deal. You can catch them at the $300 mark (on sale) every so often.

Best bargain going for a bass that needs make no apologies for anything is a Gretsch Junior Jet. $299.99 street for a new one. Awesome sounding little short-scale that can put a lot of bigger name and far more expensive basses to shame. One of my favorite basses. And I've got nine others to compare it to. Highly recommended.
 
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#76
My long time personal favorite cheapies are the Yamaha basses. I used to buy them when I was touring overseas as disposable instruments and quick flip em after, but there was one I wish I would have shipped back. These days, I've set up and worked on a few Ibanez Talmans that really set up nice. I kinda want to buy one, even though I have a bunch of other nice stuff. Great days to be a starving artist.
 
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#77
Link Removed I am dumbstruck by how great this bass is for the cost.

Link Removed this one is also really nice but I don't like the headstock as much. I'm considering another neck for it which puts it likely out of the price range but if you have no issue with the headstock it's great.

I'd take the above over any new Squier. Depending on cost some used Squiers could be better or worse for some in comparison. But there's also way better used basses to look for than Squiers.
 
#78
St_G said:
Commercial users may not...

-- Comment on the products/services/character of competition (unless it is praise or recommendation).
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Isn't this predicated on him competing with Sterling, Squier, Ibanez, and/or Jackson? What kind of products does he sell? I don't see anything in his profile...
 
#79
What’s the comparison between SX and say a Squier Affinity? Honest opinions on the SX brand. Sound? Feel? I’ve never even heard of them until I got on here.

I looked on the rondo music site and those SX basses look (look!) pretty decent.

You can get a used Squier Affinity P on GC used site all day for under $150 all day.
 
#80
Like everyone else: Squier CV/VM, Ibanez. I am very partial to Cort but they’re hard to find new. I have a collection of three early 2000s Squier Standards that are used, great, took very little setup, and the most expensive was $149. My used Corts - my main players, the most expensive was $279.
 

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