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First Bass + Amp with a Limited Budget
- Thread starter sandraaaaa
- Start date
Excellent choice at your budget. A friend has one and loves it. Lots of feedback on it here:
Your opinions on squier bronco bass?
I recently did all the "help me find a first bass" research and the Bronco was a definite contender. I ended up getting the first thing on my list of candidates which showed up on Craigslist, and it was not a Bronco... but if I was buying something new, it probably would have been.
I managed to find a used Yamaha TRBX174 which the seller says they've used for 2 years. It came as a combo with a Fender Rumble 15 for $400 but they were willing to sell the bass separately for $250.
The bass and amp are selling for around $350 and $160 brand new in stores. Would I be lowballing if I asked for the bass + amp for $350-370?
Here are the seller's images. From these picture, do you guys see any glaring issues I should be wary of? I've asked for the serial number and a video of them playing it just now so they've yet to reply. I can ask for pictures of close ups too.
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Hardly seems fair, the 174 retails for 200USD and the Rumble 15 goes for 100USD. Unless you live in a country with exorbitant markups I'd pass or haggle more.
EDIT: Sorry, just read through the thread. Is that in AUD? I'd say it's a decent deal then, though I think most would recommend getting a bigger Rumble if possible, even for home practice.
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Looks decent. I generally look for things that indicate the bass hasn’t been taken care of. And I see no red flags from the photos.
When actually in person with the bass, I also look at the action (the height of the strings above the fingerboard.) You probably don’t have a machinists ruler, but any way to estimate millimeters would be helpful. Here is my bass, set at 2.5mm. Any bass with action higher than 4mm or so, I would start to question
Then look at the bridge saddles (at the “south” end of the bass.) The screws should have some room to move up or down if needed. If the saddles are all the way down to the metal plate, and the action is really high, that’s another flag cause the neck will need adjusted
Then just look down the neck. It should look fairly straight down the neck, maybe a slight bend away from the strings. Any major twists or bows is another flag
Then finally, look at the truss rod access. (This controls the metal rod inside the neck.) I doubt your going to feel comfortable actually testing this with a hex key (I’ve never actually done this on inspection of a used bass) but just peek at it and make sure it’s not stripped (the hex nut) or rusty. On that bass, looks like it’s at the south end of the neck:
Finally seems like a fair price but not a screaming deal. Hard to say how the seller will respond to an offer, may depend on how long it’s up. 350 is like a 15% discount so not totally unreasonable. It may help to include a heartfelt note about how this is your first bass, it’s all you can afford, how much you would appreciate it... really tug on those heart strings
I’m fairly certain that’s the model of my second bass. Yamaha makes great instruments, that should serve you very well.
good luck!
Yep, it's in AUD. Everything is expensive down here haha. And I think I might end up skipping on the amp and just get an amPlug or something like that. Thanks!
Looks decent. I generally look for things that indicate the bass hasn’t been taken care of. And I see no red flags from the photos.
When actually in person with the bass, I also look at the action (the height of the strings above the fingerboard.) You probably don’t have a machinists ruler, but any way to estimate millimeters would be helpful. Here is my bass, set at 2.5mm. Any bass with action higher than 4mm or so, I would start to question
View attachment 4061975
Then look at the bridge saddles (at the “south” end of the bass.) The screws should have some room to move up or down if needed. If the saddles are all the way down to the metal plate, and the action is really high, that’s another flag cause the neck will need adjusted
View attachment 4061974
Then just look down the neck. It should look fairly straight down the neck, maybe a slight bend away from the strings. Any major twists or bows is another flag
View attachment 4061973
Then finally, look at the truss rod access. (This controls the metal rod inside the neck.) I doubt your going to feel comfortable actually testing this with a hex key (I’ve never actually done this on inspection of a used bass) but just peek at it and make sure it’s not stripped (the hex nut) or rusty. On that bass, looks like it’s at the south end of the neck:
View attachment 4061976
Finally seems like a fair price but not a screaming deal. Hard to say how the seller will respond to an offer, may depend on how long it’s up. 350 is like a 15% discount so not totally unreasonable. It may help to include a heartfelt note about how this is your first bass, it’s all you can afford, how much you would appreciate it... really tug on those heart strings
I’m fairly certain that’s the model of my second bass. Yamaha makes great instruments, that should serve you very well.
good luck!
Wow, thank you so much! Thanks for the haggling advice haha, though I'll probably not end up getting the amp since it'd be cheaper for me to get a headphone amp anyways. Cheers!
Sounds like a plan! I was gonna say that about the amp too; I said earlier that Vox is fantastic and is a smart move, IMHO
I'm far from an expert but when people talk about the Rumbles around here, they seem to say that the Rumble 40 is the smallest one you should consider. I like the plan of not getting the amp and starting with headphones. When you find the right amp later, a small headphone amp will still be useful.
Instead of the Amplug, consider Link Removed if available. I have one and it sounds great... does all kinds of cool stuff.
Instead of the Amplug, consider Link Removed if available. I have one and it sounds great... does all kinds of cool stuff.
There a definitely plenty of people who say no less than a 10”. But in my personal experience, I’ve been very happy with my last two 8” practice amps. (Rumble 25, Ampeg BA 108v1.) The Rumble I’ve never had past 9:00 in the apt, and the Ampeg I even used for bluegrass gigs. Fills a room with plenty of rich bass, at the volume a double bass would acoustically.
For my money they get the job done. And the 100 is the smallest Rumble I’d want to put up against a drummer. (Can you guess which two Rumbles I have?
)
My son got through 4 years of High School Jazz band, with a drummer, guitarist, and horn section, with just his Rumble 25, and never dimed it in school auditorium and church sized halls. Its more than loud enough for any practice situation, and the line in and headphone out are perfect for playing along with music. Obviously underpowered for a full blown rock band, but thats not what its designed for.
Update! I got the bass and I'm in love with it! Now I'm just waiting for my amp and headphones to come in and I'll be set. For now, I guess I'll just be learning where all my notes are. Thanks for everyone's advice!
