The cheapest I have is a Squier Bronco but the best budget bass I own is the Harley Benton RB-414 which I ordered from Thomannmusic.com and received in under 7 days. Currently selling for $215
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Favorite bargain basses lately
- Thread starter alex1fly
- Start date
I picked up a 2003 (made in Korea) G&L Tribute L2000 for $375 a few months ago. New Tribute's L2000 are $750.
I can attest to the excellent value of the Gotoh's, see my Lilac one (they called it Burgundy Mist, but it ain't, the bass on the left end is real Burgundy Mist) second from the right below. But my J25th (between the Gotoh and the real BM) takes that up a couple of notches!
BUT, my new fav value bass is my HB JP-55OP:
Last edited:
Two years ago, I crossed over from guitar to bass. I was a budget beater guitar modifier/player. I didn't do any form of formal training or instruction and stagnated. I got into bass and started some online courses and have been improving slowly, but steadily (old dog, new tricks).
Now I have six basses, all budget variations. Three under the $200 limit set by the OP, and three over that limit. The three over were even at less than normal retail at the time, one on sale, one for being a long time/regular customer at my local shop and a B-Stock. Many of you have probably seen my other postings about these basses, but I figured I would add reviews for those who want a review of some inexpensive basses, from someone who handles them regularly.
My first, favorite and most played is my Donner DPB-510BK. At the time it was $147.99, but was on sale for $126.99 and I had a $20 gift card for a discount, $107 for my first bass. It's a full size Poplar bodied P style bass. It does have a fat P style neck. The only thing I "had to do" was polish the frets and do a full setup. It played well and sounded good for budget bass. Liking to craft things to my taste, I've done a bit more. Along with the polish/setup, I installed a TUSQ XL nut, which I use on most of my stringed instruments. I got a custom cut pickguard (I don't like major cutting work on plastic!) in simulated brushed gold, a thumb rest, an Oripure Alnico 5 pickup and CTS/Switchcraft/Sprague wiring parts. I did sand down the edges of the fretboard for a rolled feel and more rounded fret ends. It wears D'Addario XL's, that are due to be changed. The stock tuning machines are really good on such an inexpensive bass, very smooth and very stable. To me, it now sounds fantastic and plays like a dream.
A very close second favorite/player is a Harley Benton PB-50SB '50's P style bass. This one I got a couple months ago, from their Reverb store at their regular price of $189. It did require a little more attention to the frets, as there was some minor fret sprout. It was simple enough to level, with my marble stone sanding beam (marble threshold with roll sandpaper glued to it), that I use for fret leveling. A few swipes up and down the sides and that cured the sprout. I used my files to round over the ends. I went over the frets and found a few off. A couple I was able to tap down with my nylon faced tap hammer, the others I had to use my shorter, spot leveling marble sanding block. I polished the frets and did a setup added an ashtray bridge cover and a thumb rest and it was awesome. This one has a fat P neck too. The stock pickup is actually really nice, but I wanted this to be a bit more vintage sounding. The stock Roswell is an Alnico 5 pickup, a little on the hot side. I got a Bootstrap Palo Alto Single Coil P Bass pickup, which is a bit more vintage flavored. It wears a set of D'Addario Chrome Flat Wounds, which sit just right for what I was aiming for on this bass and is close to taking the top spot. As for the stock pickup, I now want a second PB-50, in Fiesta Red for a hotter sounding single coil P bass, in addition to this more vintage style one.
My third sub $200 bass is a Glarry GP in red. It needed more fret care than the HB let alone the Donner. After the fret work and set up, the neck plays like the others, but the very light weight body causes some serious neck dive. This one also has the fat P style neck. I have a heavier bridge (back ordered) the way, but I think that may just be a drop in the bucket. Just for the sake of tweaking the tone and the tone control sweep, I took the Alpha mini pots and wiring that I took out of my Squier Affinity Jazz and the stock Donner pickup and put them in the Glarry. It helped noticeably, but it can be better. I'm looking at a Guitar Madness Quarter Pounder for my rock voiced P bass. The tuning machines on this one were pretty bad, stiff and gritty feeling. Lubing them helped a little, but still pretty bad. It wears a set of Ernie Ball Slinkys, that were originally bound for my SBMM StingRay 4. Their brightness would be perfect on my Ray4, but seem to be a bit too bright for the Glarry/Donner pickup. I'll probably change to a set of XLs, when I do the pickup change. I don't see this being but a niche bass, used when I want the tone I expect with this bass.
I do expect to get one more P Bass, as I want a vintage toned one for use with flat wounds. I'm looking at another Donner since the fist one was so good. If not the Donner, then I might go with the new Squier Sonic Precision, but that one is breaking the $200 limit.
I really didn't have any big surprises, as I did my research on each bass before I bought them. The biggest surprise, which really wasn't a big surprise, was how light the body on the Glarry really was and just how much neck dive there is.
I'll see if I can do my review of the other three basses, an Ibanez Talman TMB-100, a Squier Affinity Jazz Bass and a Sterling StingRay4 some other time.
Now I have six basses, all budget variations. Three under the $200 limit set by the OP, and three over that limit. The three over were even at less than normal retail at the time, one on sale, one for being a long time/regular customer at my local shop and a B-Stock. Many of you have probably seen my other postings about these basses, but I figured I would add reviews for those who want a review of some inexpensive basses, from someone who handles them regularly.
My first, favorite and most played is my Donner DPB-510BK. At the time it was $147.99, but was on sale for $126.99 and I had a $20 gift card for a discount, $107 for my first bass. It's a full size Poplar bodied P style bass. It does have a fat P style neck. The only thing I "had to do" was polish the frets and do a full setup. It played well and sounded good for budget bass. Liking to craft things to my taste, I've done a bit more. Along with the polish/setup, I installed a TUSQ XL nut, which I use on most of my stringed instruments. I got a custom cut pickguard (I don't like major cutting work on plastic!) in simulated brushed gold, a thumb rest, an Oripure Alnico 5 pickup and CTS/Switchcraft/Sprague wiring parts. I did sand down the edges of the fretboard for a rolled feel and more rounded fret ends. It wears D'Addario XL's, that are due to be changed. The stock tuning machines are really good on such an inexpensive bass, very smooth and very stable. To me, it now sounds fantastic and plays like a dream.
A very close second favorite/player is a Harley Benton PB-50SB '50's P style bass. This one I got a couple months ago, from their Reverb store at their regular price of $189. It did require a little more attention to the frets, as there was some minor fret sprout. It was simple enough to level, with my marble stone sanding beam (marble threshold with roll sandpaper glued to it), that I use for fret leveling. A few swipes up and down the sides and that cured the sprout. I used my files to round over the ends. I went over the frets and found a few off. A couple I was able to tap down with my nylon faced tap hammer, the others I had to use my shorter, spot leveling marble sanding block. I polished the frets and did a setup added an ashtray bridge cover and a thumb rest and it was awesome. This one has a fat P neck too. The stock pickup is actually really nice, but I wanted this to be a bit more vintage sounding. The stock Roswell is an Alnico 5 pickup, a little on the hot side. I got a Bootstrap Palo Alto Single Coil P Bass pickup, which is a bit more vintage flavored. It wears a set of D'Addario Chrome Flat Wounds, which sit just right for what I was aiming for on this bass and is close to taking the top spot. As for the stock pickup, I now want a second PB-50, in Fiesta Red for a hotter sounding single coil P bass, in addition to this more vintage style one.
My third sub $200 bass is a Glarry GP in red. It needed more fret care than the HB let alone the Donner. After the fret work and set up, the neck plays like the others, but the very light weight body causes some serious neck dive. This one also has the fat P style neck. I have a heavier bridge (back ordered) the way, but I think that may just be a drop in the bucket. Just for the sake of tweaking the tone and the tone control sweep, I took the Alpha mini pots and wiring that I took out of my Squier Affinity Jazz and the stock Donner pickup and put them in the Glarry. It helped noticeably, but it can be better. I'm looking at a Guitar Madness Quarter Pounder for my rock voiced P bass. The tuning machines on this one were pretty bad, stiff and gritty feeling. Lubing them helped a little, but still pretty bad. It wears a set of Ernie Ball Slinkys, that were originally bound for my SBMM StingRay 4. Their brightness would be perfect on my Ray4, but seem to be a bit too bright for the Glarry/Donner pickup. I'll probably change to a set of XLs, when I do the pickup change. I don't see this being but a niche bass, used when I want the tone I expect with this bass.
I do expect to get one more P Bass, as I want a vintage toned one for use with flat wounds. I'm looking at another Donner since the fist one was so good. If not the Donner, then I might go with the new Squier Sonic Precision, but that one is breaking the $200 limit.
I really didn't have any big surprises, as I did my research on each bass before I bought them. The biggest surprise, which really wasn't a big surprise, was how light the body on the Glarry really was and just how much neck dive there is.
I'll see if I can do my review of the other three basses, an Ibanez Talman TMB-100, a Squier Affinity Jazz Bass and a Sterling StingRay4 some other time.
Last edited:
