Harley Benton is good for the money. There's a chance of getting a lemon, but Thomann has a generous return policy. I'd budget ~100-150$ to take the bass to a luthier/tech and have him check for any problems, level/dress the frets, and do a proper setup.
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First Bass Recommendations
- Thread starter DHarmon71
- Start date
Sonic Precision Bass is $219.99 retail-the limited Edition green color was $175.99 but is now out of stock. Still $219.99 is good, and you may never need to get rid of the bass as a "starter" instrument, as it could last you a lifetime (buy other basses as you keep evolving if you wish, but that bass should remain quite usable.)
How far are you from St Louis? Memphis?
If are going to buy online, check out the classified here. If nothing strikes your fancy, go to GuitarCenter.com for used gear. All gear comes with a 30 money back guarantee. Buying inexpensive instruments at full retail is a dead loss as when you are done with it, like if you decide you really don’t like playing the bass or you get really good and find the instrument is holding you back, you are not likely to get your money back out of it.
I must admit a used Peavy Fury made in USA is a very good one no matter the budget.
TBH, it would be worth driving 1.5hrs to try some basses and at least get an idea for what you vibe with.
Also TBH, if you're %100 beginner just start rocking a used P Bass like probably %70 of people here did when they just started out and didn't know one thing from another. You can always figure out preference later.
Also TBH, if you're %100 beginner just start rocking a used P Bass like probably %70 of people here did when they just started out and didn't know one thing from another. You can always figure out preference later.
Solid little bass, classic styling, pbass type neck, fun to play. I'd recommend as a first bass.
I first started on a yamaha many many years ago and really liked it. I got a mexican fender jazz after that and player it for more than a decade. Few years ago i restarted my tone-journey and now i have quite a collection (jazz, precision, dubble humbucker, music man, yamaha pj). My main player now is a 5 string sire v5 champagne gold i recently got. I'd say:
- Squier classic vibe (or 40th anniversary. The jazz has a great neck)
-Sire (great value)
- G&L tribute (great value)
- Yamaha bb series
- fender mexican
- And dont forget to check out the used market.
But most important, as already mentioned, get your hands on em and try them out (you can do some initial youtube research off course). Find the one that makes you happy, and go for it. If you feel Joy when playing, you'll stay motivated to keep playing. As a beginner, playing alot and practicing is the way to go.
Enjoy your search and being a bassplayer
- Squier classic vibe (or 40th anniversary. The jazz has a great neck)
-Sire (great value)
- G&L tribute (great value)
- Yamaha bb series
- fender mexican
- And dont forget to check out the used market.
But most important, as already mentioned, get your hands on em and try them out (you can do some initial youtube research off course). Find the one that makes you happy, and go for it. If you feel Joy when playing, you'll stay motivated to keep playing. As a beginner, playing alot and practicing is the way to go.
Enjoy your search and being a bassplayer
I don't want to give advice as I am new as well, but here's my "story":
I am just a bedroom player, (I am in my late 40s), some guitar some piano/keys playing through the years, nothing special, but I listen to music a lot all of my life. Nowadays, I listen mostly jazz, fusion, funk, soul
In the beginning of the year I decided to buy a bass and try to learn.
I didn't know if I would like it so I decided to go for a cheap one first. I wanted and I liked the Classic Vibe 60s in Daphne Blue but 400+ euros seemed a lot to me for just a try...
- So I went for a cheap Harley Benton jazz bass. It was not bad, excellent for the price, sound was just ok but my main problem was that it was very heavy for me (about 4.6-4.7 kg). It was uncomfortable (even I only play seated) I had pain in my back, even I fent numbness in my right leg after playing.
- Then I decided to try a short scale and went for an Ibanez Mikro bass (PJ)
It is a joy to play, very light (lighter than my stratocaster), one thing that I didn't like though was the sound I was getting. Sounded muddy, or "cheap" I would say. Also electronics are a bit crap, tone pot not very usable, could not get a sound that i like (except for the P pickup alone)
(af course can change electronics, pickups etc but thats another story), so I sold the Harley Benton.
- The I decided to try the jazz bass I wanted first but there was also the 40th Anniversary Jazz Bass and I couldn't decide, so ... I ordered both Classic Vibe 60s and 40th Anniversary jazz basses to try and choose from.
Both were very good, the 40th Anniversary seemed and was more premium (neck was great) but in the end I kept the classic vibe 60s even though it had some minor flows (for example fret edges), because :
- It was more of a classic looking jazz bass
- I liked the sound a bit more.
- it was lighter (4kg), only 200-250gr lighter but it made a big difference for me.
- for some reason I cant explain, I wanted to play it more that the other.
Now I am getting lots of different sound combinations that are all good and usable for my taste. Pickups are great (for my taste), blending of pickups is perfect, tone pot very usable.
Recently I put fender flats on it, the most well-spent (music instruments-related) 33 euros for me so far.
Now I have both Jazz and Mikro, Mikro is perfect as a couch bass (and not only that of course), thinking of keeping it and putting flats on it as well, maybe I will do something with the electronics but classic vibe is my clear choice for now.
At some point I would like to try a jazz short scale (japan ones) as best of both worlds (I guess ?) but are a bit expensive for me.
I haven't regretted that I bought 3 basses so far, I don't think someone can easily get a first bass if they don't know exactly what they want. You can buy and sell till you find what you like.
Some other thoughts:
- what music do you like, what shape do you like the most? Looking at your fav playes can lead you to a decision. You have to like the look of it first.
- You cant go wrong with any Jazz or P type bass, are the most used basses in music history. Unless you have something else in your mind.
I am just a bedroom player, (I am in my late 40s), some guitar some piano/keys playing through the years, nothing special, but I listen to music a lot all of my life. Nowadays, I listen mostly jazz, fusion, funk, soul
In the beginning of the year I decided to buy a bass and try to learn.
I didn't know if I would like it so I decided to go for a cheap one first. I wanted and I liked the Classic Vibe 60s in Daphne Blue but 400+ euros seemed a lot to me for just a try...
- So I went for a cheap Harley Benton jazz bass. It was not bad, excellent for the price, sound was just ok but my main problem was that it was very heavy for me (about 4.6-4.7 kg). It was uncomfortable (even I only play seated) I had pain in my back, even I fent numbness in my right leg after playing.
- Then I decided to try a short scale and went for an Ibanez Mikro bass (PJ)
It is a joy to play, very light (lighter than my stratocaster), one thing that I didn't like though was the sound I was getting. Sounded muddy, or "cheap" I would say. Also electronics are a bit crap, tone pot not very usable, could not get a sound that i like (except for the P pickup alone)
(af course can change electronics, pickups etc but thats another story), so I sold the Harley Benton.
- The I decided to try the jazz bass I wanted first but there was also the 40th Anniversary Jazz Bass and I couldn't decide, so ... I ordered both Classic Vibe 60s and 40th Anniversary jazz basses to try and choose from.
Both were very good, the 40th Anniversary seemed and was more premium (neck was great) but in the end I kept the classic vibe 60s even though it had some minor flows (for example fret edges), because :
- It was more of a classic looking jazz bass
- I liked the sound a bit more.
- it was lighter (4kg), only 200-250gr lighter but it made a big difference for me.
- for some reason I cant explain, I wanted to play it more that the other.
Now I am getting lots of different sound combinations that are all good and usable for my taste. Pickups are great (for my taste), blending of pickups is perfect, tone pot very usable.
Recently I put fender flats on it, the most well-spent (music instruments-related) 33 euros for me so far.
Now I have both Jazz and Mikro, Mikro is perfect as a couch bass (and not only that of course), thinking of keeping it and putting flats on it as well, maybe I will do something with the electronics but classic vibe is my clear choice for now.
At some point I would like to try a jazz short scale (japan ones) as best of both worlds (I guess ?) but are a bit expensive for me.
I haven't regretted that I bought 3 basses so far, I don't think someone can easily get a first bass if they don't know exactly what they want. You can buy and sell till you find what you like.
Some other thoughts:
- what music do you like, what shape do you like the most? Looking at your fav playes can lead you to a decision. You have to like the look of it first.
- You cant go wrong with any Jazz or P type bass, are the most used basses in music history. Unless you have something else in your mind.
- I would not advise to go for an active bass as a first bass. Complexity that is not needed at first, most cheap ones as this cannot be played as passive.
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