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Got my first bass! Yeehaw!

ninjaaron

ninjaaron

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Sep 26, 2014
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#1
It's just some cheap bass from Rondo, but I like it!

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I know when you start, your supposed to get something like a P bass with passive single coils and four strings, and I was going to (honest!), but then I was seduced by this dual HB, active preamp, five string, neck-thru monstrosity, and I suppose I'll never learn to play properly now. :( ;)

(I really did want to stick with four-string for now, but we do all these songs at church in D and Eb, and it seems like everyone on the recordings is playing a 5-string, so I went with it).

I've actually been playing bass for some years now, filling in at church, and even playing on a weekly basis for a year in college, but I've never owned my own (on the other hand, I've never lived anywhere where I didn't have easy access to a bass). Been mostly a guitar player, but sort of having this romance with bass on the side. I'm, like, the one guy who wants to play bass but always gets stuck on lead guitar (hardy har).

Anyway, the bass itself is pretty decent. It sounds great and plays great (didn't need much setup either. Weird). I think the tuners and bridge could stand to be upgraded. The wiring is horrific. Masking tape all over the place. There were shorts too, but I got them sorted. May need to replace the balance pot eventually.

Anyway, if you get a fully loaded, neck-thru 5-string for $190, something was bound to be crap. Glad it was the wiring and not the instrument.

Any thoughts on what amp I should get? I want something small with great definition. Only needs to be loud enough for my personal monitor. Doesn't need to shake the foundations of the earth. House system will take care of that.
 
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#2
Nice bass. Congrats! The best basses are the ones that you're most comfortable with - I didn't start off with a Fender-ish bass 30 years ago, I had an active bass with six knobs (an Ibanez Musician MC924). One of my favorite current basses that sounds amazing and is most comfortable to me is something I bought for $89- it puts some of my more expensive basses to shame so price does not necessarily equate to the best bass, besides Rondo does sell some really good basses for an inexpensive price, a lot of people on TB have and use basses purchased from there. I got a five string fretless bass from Rondo a few years ago and was astonished at how good the bass was, I really wasn't expecting that.
In terms of an amp, how small of an amp are you thinking of?
 
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#6
Awesome bass!

I didn't have a Fender until a few years ago...probably 3 by now. I've been playing (currently) for 17 years, so do the math. At any rate, I started out with an active/passive Samick 5-string P/J. Loved that bass, and I really don't think it hurt me all that much!

As far as amps go, any idea for a budget?
 
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#7
Wouldn't want to spend much more than $400 for now, but think "bang for the buck." The cheaper the better, so long as it doesn't sound like a fart.

It's not urgent though. I can always wait and save if I need to.
 
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#9
ninjaaron said:
Wouldn't want to spend much more than $400 for now, but think "bang for the buck." The cheaper the better, so long as it doesn't sound like a fart.
Click to expand...
I would look at local Craigslist postings for used amps. I bought a 150w Fender Bassman for $80 -pretty good clear sound and still somewhat portable.
I think you'd probably want to go with a 100-150w amp with a 12-15" speaker to do small venues.
I would look at some of the GK amps at around that wattage. A GK Backline 115 for example. Buy used and it should fit well under your budget.
 
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#10
There are no rules and no suppose-tas. Play what you want as long as it makes you want to play. The rondo stuff is nice. Great value/bang-for-the-buck. My stable ranges in styles and price ranges and I play them all without prejudice. My $179 Squier hangs on the wall next to my four figure Alembic and they get along just fine.

+1 on GK amps. Great a sounding, not very expensive and are louder than any other amp with the same wattage rating. Maybe a first gen MB115?
 
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#12
Fender has a line of amps out called Rumble i think, they basically cost a dollar per watt. the 500 is nice. the 80(or whatever the little practice one is) is nice too. As far as cheap they are good.

Oh and "I know when you start, your supposed to get something like a P bass with passive single coils and four strings, and I was going to (honest!),"

NO, my dad bought me and my brothers professional gear right off the jump, it makes a world of difference.

I have 2 pieces of advice,
1 space your fingers one per fret, (f,f#,g,e flat) and go up all 4 strings like that, go up a fret and do it again, with a metronome.

Play until your fingers bleed, then tape them up, and keep playing.

Great bass for the money, the wood would cost almost that much, replace tuners first, then the preamp. I would get used stuff from our classifieds.
 
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