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How To Spend $500 At Guitar Center?
- Thread starter OldStrummer
- Start date
I would buy any young family member a guitar or some other portable instrument, if you get them hooked they might want to go and jam with grandpa and his bass. It's what i call a good return on the money.
Buy whatever you can find there that's truly a smokin deal (and something that will be easy to flip and ship) - then resell it to at least break even - or even make a little profit - and then use the spendable club cash for whatever you really want/need...
As someone who plays guitar as much as I do bass, I bought (so far) a couple of used guitars (both Yamaha) in order that I have alternate tunings that are ready to go. I have a DAEGAD and the other has the low E string removed and the rest of the strings tuned to a G chord like Ry Cooder or Keith Richards. (This last one I barely use actually cos it needs IMO to be electric or a slide gtr). It beats retuning a gtr back and forth. I need more for other tunings! This could apply to bass of course. Get your self a bass and tune it in 5ths like a cello - CGDA or just a Drop D maybe. Just one thought among many.
Of course you could just a buy a used acoustic/electric gtr to expand your horizons if you haven't already.
Or how about a Gold Tone 25" acoustic bass guitar with the "rubber" strings. I got mine for about $500, but I have hardly used it since I got it (planning to record with it and simulate acoustic bass, ha ha).
That’s a fun little headphone amp. For similar money, there are also the Boss Pocket GT and the Positive Grid Spark Go. The Fender is a better choice if you don’t want to use a phone/tablet app to edit sounds, but with the apps, the Boss Pocket GT and the Positive Grid Spark Go are both vastly more capable and sound really good through headphones.
The Spark has a tiny speaker and a passive radiator, so you can use it as an amp. I use it as my bass practice amp. While it doesn’t exactly lower the boom on the low B, it’s quite punchy in the mid-bass and harmonics.
BOSS Pocket GT Amp & Effects Processor Black | Guitar Center
Positive Grid Spark GO 5W Battery-Powered Combo Amplifier Black | Guitar Center
Does guitar centre still sell instrument merchandise? Does Fender still sell branded socks and shirts?
If you don't already have a pair of high-end headphones these make a huge difference for learning songs, recording, and other things.
Maybe get some recording gear so that you can make music with all the free time you will have in retirement?
Buy a Fender Rumble 100 and a multi-effects pedal and go to Burger King .
There is a Master class with Bob Babbitt on YouTube. It is about an hour long and what he has to say is very informitive.
In this video he talks about learning keyboards made him a better bass player.
I find this amazing for he made it sound like he has not been playing piano that long, compared to his playing bass.
I will see if I can post the video here so you can see for yourself.
So this is why I would suggest purchasing a keyboard. Also the reason I received one earlier this year.
Enjoy your retirement and have a good New Year!
Clayton
In this video he talks about learning keyboards made him a better bass player.
I find this amazing for he made it sound like he has not been playing piano that long, compared to his playing bass.
I will see if I can post the video here so you can see for yourself.
So this is why I would suggest purchasing a keyboard. Also the reason I received one earlier this year.
Enjoy your retirement and have a good New Year!
Clayton
I'd suggest a nice $500 electric drum kit. Super fun, and will help improve your rhythm and timing. Great for when friends come over and a spontaneous jam breaks out. I run the drums, bass and everything else through a simple 4 channel mixer and we all jam through headphones.
Definitely explore it further. As we get older (you and me both, btw) it's a good idea to keep your brain active and explore new concepts. Going down the same old trail every day is probably not the best idea. You can learn one step at a time with this recording software - learn a task or a concept, get familiar with it, move on from there. Garage band will work for now as you get the concepts down, although you might eventually want to move to a more comprehensive, professional type of software like Studio One or Logic. But Garage Band is great for getting the concepts down and you can make fine, quality recordings with it despite some limitations. Just thinking out loud, one old strummer to another, lol.
My first bass was a $99 used Dean Edge 09 I bought to scratch the itch. I added a $35 amp I bought off eBay.
Feeling I wanted something a little "handier" (sorry, pun intended - I have small hands) I then bought an Ibanez MiKro, which I think is the perfect size for me! I added a Jack Casady 20th Anniversary Epiphone just because I think Casady is the shizz. I don't play it, but it's a lovely bass. Lastly, I recently purchased a Spector Timbre 4 Jr. Short Scale acoustic-electric, which is my main practice bass (since I don't have to plug in a power up; I'm kind of an impulsive guy and just pick up a guitar when the mood strikes. I need to learn some discipline).
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Software drums recommendation for practice Latin, Cumbia styles preferred
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