Struggled with Fender for months because it was "the best". Have shorter fingers and by chance picked up an Ibanez SR for the heck of it. Now the Fender is gone replaced by an SR 505 + 1993 SR2000 + SR 1005 and SR 1400 all with different PUBs and sounds. Go to a good store and try different brands. What feels best and sounds best to you for the $$$ is what will help you stick with it. Do not be afraid to change either. Most bass players change as time goes along....
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First Bass + Amp with a Limited Budget
- Thread starter sandraaaaa
- Start date
If I knew what I know now and was starting from scratch, my first three purchases would be as follows...
1) Vox AmPlug (they can be found for $41)
2) AKG K-240 headphones ($67)
3) Used Peavey Foundation ($300)
IMHO the headphones will make a huge difference in whether you will want to keep playing or not. I don't think you can beat those AKGs for the price and that Peavey is a solid, American-made tone machine. I love that AmPlug... That is money well-spent.
1) Vox AmPlug (they can be found for $41)
2) AKG K-240 headphones ($67)
3) Used Peavey Foundation ($300)
IMHO the headphones will make a huge difference in whether you will want to keep playing or not. I don't think you can beat those AKGs for the price and that Peavey is a solid, American-made tone machine. I love that AmPlug... That is money well-spent.
I like the idea of a Vox Amplug, I use mine all the time, even when my amp is just in the next room. You will definitely practice more if you have one of those. But I don't know that I would recommend only having the headphone amp, you should probably have a regular practice amp too, so you can hear the sound of your bass in a room and get a feel for it.
I'm in the "buy used" camp. I've had budget issues all my life and I have only ever owned used basses. We're not talking about a lot of them, but I have learned a lot about my basses by learning to do my own setup and maintenance. Even some light repair.
Yes, I've been stung once or twice, but I chalked it up to learning.
If you shop used, you'll get a better instrument for the money! If in doubt about how good the deal is, make a friend of a third party musician and ask their advice. People you trust are rare. Find one and put their number in your phone!
Good Luck!!
Yes, I've been stung once or twice, but I chalked it up to learning.
If you shop used, you'll get a better instrument for the money! If in doubt about how good the deal is, make a friend of a third party musician and ask their advice. People you trust are rare. Find one and put their number in your phone!
Good Luck!!
Squier CV Precision bass & Fender Rumble 40. Best bet. Remember any bass will need to be set up. Do it yourself or have it done.
Hey mate,
Artist guitars are a great company to deal with. They have a 100-day free return policy which gives you plenty of time to see if bass is for you. They offer great customer service too.
However, for two extra pineapples, the Cort will be a better instrument and will retain its value if you decide to re-sell it. That would be my pick.
Amp wise, I would recommend saving up a little longer and getting something like an Ampeg BA108 or a Fender Rumble 15 combo amp...there is nothing like shaking the foundations of your house with your bass to get you hooked on playing! If you need to play with headphones, both those amps have headphone outputs.
I think the Cort would be a much better choice. Might be the way the guy had his sound set, but the distortion on every note would just drive me nuts. A "real" P/J bass has a very clear sound. The Artist one sounds like each note buzzes slightly as he plays it. Cort makes some cheap basses, and some nice basses and although I didn't hear this one, I think it would probably be a better choice.
My grandson got a bass w/amp for Christmas a couple of years ago when we were visiting them in Australia. They're in NSW. Anyhow, my son bought him a "Squier by Fender" Precision bass with the P/J pickups. I play a jazz which has a significantly narrower neck than the Presision basses do. At the nut my Jazz is about 38mm wide and the Precision bass is about 44.5mm wide. So the necks are quite different and a lot of the Precision basses also have very thick necks front to back, whereas my Jazz is very slim front to back. So his had the wider neck but it was slim front to back. I usually hate P-bass necks and I could comfortably ply his wider but slim neck.
It's a great starter kit including a Fender Rumble 15 amp, a gig bag, a strap, and a cord. Amp is fine for practice but not enough to gig with. Price in the US is $329 for the set By itself, the bass sells here for $229. Prices in AU are significantly more, but shouldn't be outrageous. But that's a decent option if it's available. I found one on Amazon sold by someone else and they wanted over 2,500 AU$ for it. My son didn't pay anywhere near that for the one that he bought for my grandson.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
Find an experienced player/teacher to help you find something that’s suited to you starting out would be my advice. There’s an abundance of options out there.
I would say that for your first instrument you'd be best off walking into a store and playing as many used basses as you can. You'll get a feel for what kind of bass you like, and oftentimes you can find excellent used gear for a fraction of the price of something new.
I don't know much about Artist Guitars and the one you're looking at seems fine, but the issue with buying online is that you won't know how it plays until it shows up on your doorstep. There's always the possibility that your hands just won't agree with that particular instrument, and then you might THINK that you don't like bass when in reality you just snagged a bad apple. If you have the option, it's always better to try before you buy.
I don't know much about Artist Guitars and the one you're looking at seems fine, but the issue with buying online is that you won't know how it plays until it shows up on your doorstep. There's always the possibility that your hands just won't agree with that particular instrument, and then you might THINK that you don't like bass when in reality you just snagged a bad apple. If you have the option, it's always better to try before you buy.
Easy to upsell and say something dumb like "only pay for it once" but your options are pretty set so starting to play is better than not playing.
What about Glarry? Can you get them in Oz? Don't know anything about their intro amp, no comment. But their basses are pretty decent for the money especially if you have a friend who can help set it up properly. It isn't hard.
I also would not shy away from used. Always an option.
What about Glarry? Can you get them in Oz? Don't know anything about their intro amp, no comment. But their basses are pretty decent for the money especially if you have a friend who can help set it up properly. It isn't hard.
I also would not shy away from used. Always an option.
This is like the AmPlug but for $20 more does guitar + bass, has lots of effects, and even works as a USB audio interface. I love this thing and only learned about it buried in a thread somewhere around here... surprised it does not have more fans.
Link Removed
(I think I have mentioned it in two posts here today, but I swear I don't work for them.)
Link Removed
(I think I have mentioned it in two posts here today, but I swear I don't work for them.)
Save your money and do it right the first time... trust me! Buy once, cry once. I lived and I learned.
Another +1 for Bass Centre in Melbourne. I've bought gear from them online - bass, pedal, strings. I've been constantly impressed by their service and quality. You won't go wrong. It's worth having a look at their site just to enjoy the equipment . . .
In terms of used gear, consider FaceBook Marketplace as there are always a lot of basses and other gear for sale.
In terms of used gear, consider FaceBook Marketplace as there are always a lot of basses and other gear for sale.
My only advice would be: instead of waiting for months, before you will save money for better gear, buy anything that you can afford and start playing.
Thank you everyone! Everyone has been very helpful!
I've been trying to find a 'good' used bass locally but I just can't find anything on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace. Any recommendations for good music shops in the Sydney area would be much obliged.
I'm planning on popping by my local music stores to get a feel for some basses, especially since my hands are on the smaller side.
I've also seen the Squier Affinity Series Bronco going for pretty cheap in a few local stores and wonder if anyone has any opinions on that?
I've been trying to find a 'good' used bass locally but I just can't find anything on Gumtree or Facebook Marketplace. Any recommendations for good music shops in the Sydney area would be much obliged.
I'm planning on popping by my local music stores to get a feel for some basses, especially since my hands are on the smaller side.
I've also seen the Squier Affinity Series Bronco going for pretty cheap in a few local stores and wonder if anyone has any opinions on that?
That seems like a useful piece. I had never seen it before. I gotta say though the picture of the strat plugged into the computer with an 8 inch mini-usb...? Hilarious!!
