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First Bass

#2
woofdoggy said:
I'm thinking about learning to play the bass, and i was wondering what a good starter bass would be. Shouldn't be too expensive or anything, but still decent quality i guess. any recommendations?
Click to expand...

Welcome, after reading your thread here I'm thinking the only advice I can offer is this.

If you want more advice you'd be better off posting a few important details.

Basses range from dirt cheap to insanely expensive. Are you just an average joe ?
Or did you just win the Mega Million and sky's the limit?
What's your budget? Perhaps the most important thing to mention.
What do you like? Is there a bass you saw that sparked your interest?
Or maybe a bass player that plays a bass you could see yourself owning?

Basically in short your question is just a bit too vague.

Good luck and I hope your able to find one for yourself.
 
#6
Squier Jazz would be a great starter.

In fact last year I bought a used Made in Japan (MIJ) Squier Jazz for $300. This was made in 1986 and starting to become collectable. Early Fender production in Japan = excellent quality.

The quality may be a lot higher than Made in Mexico (MIM) Fender/Squier range.

Ibanez and Dean offer very good value starter basses. There's lots to choose from.

At the top of the page there is a search button. Type in "new bass" and you will get hundreds of previous threads on the subject.

Cheers
Davo
 
#8
1SHOT1HIT said:
Welcome, after reading your thread here I'm thinking the only advice I can offer is this.

If you want more advice you'd be better off posting a few important details.

Basses range from dirt cheap to insanely expensive. Are you just an average joe ?
Or did you just win the Mega Million and sky's the limit?
What's your budget? Perhaps the most important thing to mention.
What do you like? Is there a bass you saw that sparked your interest?
Or maybe a bass player that plays a bass you could see yourself owning?

Basically in short your question is just a bit too vague.

Good luck and I hope your able to find one for yourself.
Click to expand...

In response to a few of these questions:
Just an average Joe, probably can spend with the 200-400$ range.

Ive been looking at a few basses, and one of my favorite bands is the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so ive seen the Fleabass, which seems to get mixed reviews. ive also looked at the Yamaha RBX374 which is also pretty cheap. And ill probably take a look at the other basses mentioned here sometime soon
 
#9
If you're looking for a starter package (bass, amp, cables, tuner,etc..) I highly recommend the Ibanez GSR190 package. I played the crap out of that thing for years and regretted selling it to buy a MIM Jazz.
 
#10
I just bought a Squire Jazz Bass off Craigslist for $200 with stand , gig bag, small amp and chords.

I have a friend with the Ibanez 190 package and he seems to like it.
Can't remember exact price.

Several different levels of Squires can be purchased for $200-$500 and i am pretty blown away with the few that I've seen and there's affordable amps always on Craigslist.
Or check your local pawn shops for s decent deal on an amp.

I think my next purchase is going to be one of the Olympic White Classic Vibe Squire Jazz basses.
I've gears tons of good things and have seen several for around $300
 
#11
woofdoggy said:
In response to a few of these questions:
Just an average Joe, probably can spend with the 200-400$ range.

Ive been looking at a few basses, and one of my favorite bands is the Red Hot Chili Peppers, so ive seen the Fleabass, which seems to get mixed reviews. ive also looked at the Yamaha RBX374 which is also pretty cheap. And ill probably take a look at the other basses mentioned here sometime soon
Click to expand...

8liter brings up a good point. If you'll need to include an amp, cable, strap and some instructional material in that budget a starter pak may be a good way to go.

I believe Squier has one for around $200 and that leaves you enough left over for some instructional materials and/or to upgrade the bass a bit after a while if you want to. Fender products tend to be the easiest to do that with. They're also a popular style bass and not difficult to sell when you want to upgrade to a better model.
 
#12
soulman969 said:
8liter brings up a good point. If you'll need to include an amp, cable, strap and some instructional material in that budget a starter pak may be a good way to go.

I believe Squier has one for around $200 and that leaves you enough left over for some instructional materials and/or to upgrade the bass a bit after a while if you want to. Fender products tend to be the easiest to do that with. They're also a popular style bass and not difficult to sell when you want to upgrade to a better model.
Click to expand...

I would tend to lean toward this as well, the only downside is that although the Squier package is where I started, you don't get a choice of which bass you get "in the box" and production quality can vary more at this price point.

If I had it to do again, with the knowledge I have now, I would buy used after looking around and being able to inspect and play the bass a little before purchase. This holds for any brand at that price point. And I could have found the same package locally on CL used for half the price of new.

BTW, still have that first bass, modded etc. but still here and still gets a whirl now and then. :)
 

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