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Help with first bass??

#21
Squire Vintage Mod jazz or P is a great choice. I ran into a pretty famous local player in LA at guitar center, they tour quite a bit, and he was playing one when I saw him. He recognized me as we have some of the same friends, and remarked at how nice it was. He's an awesome player and ended up buying one, even though he has an original 60's P.

That or, a SoundGear might not be bad either...the thin neck was great to learn on, but I have HUGE hands - if your hands are medium or smaller, I think that is a good choice too.
 
#22
You can do all the research, watch the vids, drool over websites and the like. But nothing will be the same experience as going in to the brick and mortar and playing everything they have.

I just got my first bass about a month ago. I spent two months here researching, looking etc. I checked the web site of the store I was going to. I was sure of the bass I wanted. Then I got in the store and played it. The neck didnt fit my hand right and it didnt "sound" like the sound I had in my head for my bass. I spend the next hour playing a ton of different bases until I narrowed it down to three. The bass I walked out with was not even on my radar, but it fit, it had the sound, and I would say that the bass chose me. I know it was the right one for this point in my bass learning life.
 
#23
WackoStu said:
You can do all the research, watch the vids, drool over websites and the like. But nothing will be the same experience as going in to the brick and mortar and playing everything they have.

I just got my first bass about a month ago. I spent two months here researching, looking etc. I checked the web site of the store I was going to. I was sure of the bass I wanted. Then I got in the store and played it. The neck didnt fit my hand right and it didnt "sound" like the sound I had in my head for my bass. I spend the next hour playing a ton of different bases until I narrowed it down to three. The bass I walked out with was not even on my radar, but it fit, it had the sound, and I would say that the bass chose me. I know it was the right one for this point in my bass learning life.
Click to expand...

I didn't know anything about my playing or playing in general at one month, let alone not even having played like Raze....Choosing your sound is one thing, but I guess the point is, that you don't really know what you are looking for...because you don't know what you are doing. It takes time to develop that. People can advise you all you want, but it's sort of like have to touch the stove yourself...IMO
 
#24
Wow, thats deep...
But seriously I see where you are coming from, I will have to just go to a store and just atleast hold everything they have... In my prics range... and if not just for the sound, for the feel of it... and then go from there...
Thanks again everyone!!
This HAS helped alot!!
 
#25
Maybe it's late to chime in, but just for the .02; of the three brands you mentioned at first, Raze, I have never heard anyone on TB post "I love my Stagg!" or "I love my Epiphone!" They just don't. I DO hear people post "I love my Squier!" all the time, and (for what we've set you on to recently), "I love my SX."

SX is cheaper and generally they are of good quality, much more so than anything else you'll see for $110-150 new. I have one and have always been perfectly pleased with it. The pain about buying one is that you have to order them online, and ship it back if there's a problem with it. Rondo is said to be very good about returns but it is a pain to deal with the shipping. Any decent music store will probably have Squiers by the dozen, you can try before you buy and return is just a visit back to the store, not waiting for UPS.

The other thing I'm surprised no one has mentioned is to watch your local craigslist and the TB classifieds for used gear. You can usually find better stuff, in your budget, if you go used.

Oh, and you asked about the Ibanez SR200. I haven't played one, but I've seen others post that the electronics tend to die over time. Most people recommend a 300 or up.
 
#26
Oh yeaa, I didn't think about returning it...
Ill have to go into a store and try a squier, and you never know, in the furute, save up ad get an SX to... it won't really break the bank... BUt I'll take all this info away anyway... thanks!!
 

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