Good basses $250 or under PLEASE HELP

[CrUiSeR]

do you really want to listen to someone who tells you "fer shure dood"?!?
stay away from squire unless it has the word japan on it.
why buy a import peavey when you can get a used mississippi made one for the same price or less?
imo some other good imports are
yamaha bb### and matsumoku made instruments.
good luck in your venture!

 

[bass81800]

I would check out the Squiers mentioned here as well as the Ibanez Soundgear SR300, new or used, and decide what feels like the right fit for you. Also, is the bass playable to you, i.e. strings close enough to the fret board. Any strings buzzing? Those kinds of problems could cost up $50 up for a good set up.

I do not know much about Squiers, but every Ibanez bass I bought was set up nicely!

 

[aalocklear]

Found a stagg jazz bass used on craigslist for 120, good deal?

 

[Fogoverla]

See how it looks and feels in your hands, make sure you can play it first through an amp, check the neck to make sure it's not warped, but if it meets your needs and it sings for you, go for it

 

[DiAnnoMih]

Oh man... Everybody are trying so hard to help you find a good cheap instrument, and then you go and get a Stagg...

 

[2string1]

This would have been a good one...
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[aalocklear]

Oh and I live in the metro atlanta area.

 

[rtslinger]

Take a look at SX basses at Link Removed. They get consistently good reviews here.

+1

 

[Pimmsley]

Another vote for the classic vibe 50's P with flats if you like a vintage sounding thump machine and 60's rock pick tones, but if you want modern or a variety of sounds, go for something else... Maybe the CV jazz...

 

[CrUiSeR]

uhm, Op said he/she(?) likes indie and 90s!
Hey aa you said you have an ibenhad er ibanez,
do you own an amp?

 

[Pimmsley]

Um... Indie and 90's includes the tones I mentioned, a mix of both modern and vintage depending which bands yer talking about... I know, I was there 😉
Plus most bassist I knew were going through a big muff or pro co rat pedal...

 

[gjbassist]

Found a stagg jazz bass used on craigslist for 120, good deal?

NO!

Like I said previously, you can get a new jazz bass for $139 from Rondo that will be a much better bass! Also Rondo's customer service is excellent.

 

[bolophonic]

Oomjgkn v

 

[Gorn]

stay away from squire unless it has the word japan on it.

I'd stay away from any Squire. It's probably just a cheap knock off of a real Squier.

 

[CrUiSeR]

yep your right did not catch that as i am using my dumb phone and the keys are only a few millimeters big and the e is right next to the r and maybe if the other poster likes ehx and pro co than he should really try a big rat muff as im pretty certain he would enjoy that much more so

 

[RonSound]

TBC

Great basses made in the USA and available for practically nothing. You can get a 4-string for under $250 shipped.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/thebasscompany/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

 

[bolophonic]

Sorry, baby got ahold of the iPhone.

 

[ddhm]

FIRST, I'm not a Fender guy. Feel free to totally ignore anything I type here. Secondly, I've only barely kept up with the budget bass thing as of late.

From what I've seen, the new Squires are VERY nice for the $. The owner of my local music store told me that the guy who used to run the Fender custom shop took over Squire and really upped the quality.

I can't say that ANY of that is true but I looked at an American standard J and a Squire J that was about as close as it gets to the Fender and my overall opinion is that the Squire had better pieces of wood (a little figure here and there even), a better bridge but kinda lesser electronics. I also saw that the Squire was about $250 (US) new. If I were to get one of those 2, it would be the Squire and I'd upgrade the electronics (while still saving $).

I've seen a couple of pretty lookin' (I stress lookin' because I've never touched one) basses from Brice, SX or Rondo. I've seen nice entries from Ibanez in the low range. TBC is interesting for sure. Yamaha is a thought. Most of this has been mentioned before though. Sorry to not be of much more help.

I think that if I were looking for a budget bass, I'd stick in the classifieds here and be looking for used stuff. At least you can trust the VAST majority of the folks here. Most of the baddies are weeded out quickly. You'll also KNOW that the instrument you get if from a player and not a store.

The last couple basses I bought from a store (G.C.) were totally unplayable. I doubt that you'd get a surprise like that here on T.B.

If you get one from a store, I suggest playing the exact instrument you will buy BEFORE you buy it. Just because it's a Fender, (or Gibson, whatever) doesn't mean it's gonna be as nice as the other Fender you picked up.
Good Luck,
Dan

Ps. I also suggest setting aside enough $ for a set-up and strings after you buy the bass. To me, there is little in the world that is more upsetting than buying a new instrument and having it be a chore or impossible to play. If you go ahead and spring for a set-up, you probably won't have that problem.

 

[japhy4529]

I wouldn't buy a bass from Amazon. Go for somewhere that specializes in musical instruments.

I've never dealt with them personally, but reviews on Musicians Friend are spotty.

I purchased an acoustic guitar from Guitar Center and it was packaged nicely, and arrived promptly. My last bass was purchased from Sweetwater, which I'd recommend because 1) They inspect/set up basses before shipping 2) No sales tax (unless you're in Indiana) and free shipping, and 3) THEY PUT CANDY IN THE BOX!

Edit: Check your local CL and even local music stores for used gear. It'll stretch your dollars, and you'll be able to try before you buy.

I've ordered several basses from Amazon and I've never had any issues.

 

[japhy4529]

TBC

Great basses made in the USA and available for practically nothing. You can get a 4-string for under $250 shipped.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/thebasscompany/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686

I bought a TBC bass for my son a couple of years ago. Excellent build quality and sound. It really looked and sounded like a boutique bass. I've heard that the guy who makes these retired, so whatever is on eBay might be the last of the remaining stock (not certain about this though - maybe the dude came out of retirement!).