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Favorite bargain basses lately
- Thread starter alex1fly
- Start date
"Bargain" is a very subjective term depending on your available funds.
If I was going to buy a "good value" bass now (for me, that's $350 to $600), it would likely be a G&L Tribute (I got a used SB-2 Tribute a couple of months ago for less than that range, and it is excellent) or a Squier CV. Both seem to be well built, good quality control, and easily upgraded if you care to.
For less than that range, I was looking at a Tagima at one point. I liked the look/idea of their PJ, the TW-65.
TAGIMA - Bass Guitars
@LowEndLobster reviewed them not to long ago and they were good for the cost.
That said, things like cavity shielding will be hit or miss depending on the brand. I just bought some copper tape from Amazon for about $10 and shielded my 2000 MIM Fender P and it made a big difference.
(edited for typo...)
If I was going to buy a "good value" bass now (for me, that's $350 to $600), it would likely be a G&L Tribute (I got a used SB-2 Tribute a couple of months ago for less than that range, and it is excellent) or a Squier CV. Both seem to be well built, good quality control, and easily upgraded if you care to.
For less than that range, I was looking at a Tagima at one point. I liked the look/idea of their PJ, the TW-65.
TAGIMA - Bass Guitars
@LowEndLobster reviewed them not to long ago and they were good for the cost.
That said, things like cavity shielding will be hit or miss depending on the brand. I just bought some copper tape from Amazon for about $10 and shielded my 2000 MIM Fender P and it made a big difference.
(edited for typo...)
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I've seen threads from people looking for an inexpensive bass. A bargain. Nothing too fancy. Just something to play around with and not worry about. Just something cheap in the $1200 to $2000 range.
Bargain... as in $500ish?
Squier CV, G&L Tribute, Sire V5...
Squier CV, G&L Tribute, Sire V5...
A bargain by any definition in the particular circumstances: this 349 USD Ibanez RGB305 went head-to-head with a 999 USD Jackson 30th Anniversary Ellefson signature and won, as far as which one I wanted for a particular role.
In general terms I think Ibanez and Yamaha offer the most bang for the buck, and the most consistent quality control, among instruments under 1,000 USD at this time. It wouldn’t surprise me if that held true even on the pricier end, but that’s not for me to find out
I base this on limited personal experience and consistent comments in communities like this one, not exhaustive double-blind testing, so take it with a grain of salt.
In general terms I think Ibanez and Yamaha offer the most bang for the buck, and the most consistent quality control, among instruments under 1,000 USD at this time. It wouldn’t surprise me if that held true even on the pricier end, but that’s not for me to find out
I base this on limited personal experience and consistent comments in communities like this one, not exhaustive double-blind testing, so take it with a grain of salt.
seems to me that choice would depend on the 'remediation' skills (including setup) of the buyer/player.
some brands might require more attention than others (and probably cost less because of it), and other brands might not require anything more than a player-focused setup (and might cost more because of it).
IME/IMO: the more of those skills you have = the cheaper you may be able to go/purchase.
my favorite "bargain basses" have been cheapies from china (kapok, glarry, rogue), but they're all fretless (e.g., no disappointment with fret ends) and i have a certain amount of skill/experience taking them apart and re-assembling them to my own satisfaction.
I’ve learned to do decent setup work on inexpensive instruments, and have tried a bit in the way of repairs on them as well. I’d much rather learn on something I can salvage or replace for minimal cost. Even a nice Fender can, through circumstances not even necessarily including shoddy fabrication or QC, end up with rough fret ends, but I’m not going to learn to file them down on an instrument that costly.
If we’re considering used instruments U.S. Peavey used to be the go-to answer here, but asking prices on those have doubled in the past year, and I’m not going to find out actual selling prices since I’m pretty set with my current fleet. ‘80s and ‘90s MIJ instruments still remain bargains in my estimation.
By bargain I assume you mean good value for the price. The best cheap bass I've ever owned was a SX Jazz 5 string.
Dig it. This is my idea of a bargain. Sub $200 for sure. I'm okay with rounding off some fret ends, shaping a neck, putting my own wiring harness in, doing a setup etc. What I can't fix are things like bowed necks, weak truss rods, poorly spaced frets, soft wood, etc. Would be buying new and online and (perhaps foolishly) want a "sure thing" that's good enough for home recording. I figure with all the praise that offshore CNC instruments are getting I could go this route and save $$$ rather than my normal route of playing instruments in stores.
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If we start with a Stradivarius violin or a "Burst" les Paul from 1959 as a basis of comparison, a Fodera is budget friendly.
Since I bought it I haven't touched it, never adjusted a single thing lol. Fret ends are even surprisingly goods. You'd be amazed the stuffs I recorded with it with fresh strings.
Very helpful lol. What are your favorite $6000+ bargain instruments lately?
That looks very close to the Dean Zone bass that this new bass will be replacing. Single pickup, gnarly neon green, terrible hardware but somehow felt and played like a dream while it lasted.
I called it "The Lean Mean Green Dean Machine"
Really impressed with the demos I've heard of these. I have a H-B SCPB and it is great quality for very little money. Just waiting to get someone to split the shipping costs lol
Harley Benton JP-45OP Blue – Thomann
Harley Benton JP-45OP Blue – Thomann
I’ve managed to talk a friend into buying two basses on kijiji recently , a Riverhead Jupiter , and a Westone Rail. Two slightly vintage , rare and unusual animals.
He once sold me an Ashbory and a Riverhead Unicorn so I’m just getting even…
He once sold me an Ashbory and a Riverhead Unicorn so I’m just getting even…
Squier Affinity Jaguar H, that passive humbucker in the sweet spot sounds killer. Satin neck too (my preference). Played it in the local music store, loved the sound, and bought it (also like supporting local businesses). It's become my (and my band's) new favorite sounding bass.
I’ve purchased eight Ibanez instruments, and received another as a permanent loan, all by mail. I’ve kept them all. Even the budget-iest ones continue to blow me away. As long as you find models with the specs you want, I really think you can’t go wrong with Ibanez.
