"inexpensive" bass questions

[M.R. Ogle]

I would go with her to a music store. She is 12 years old. She know what she likes, and you can help ensuring it has a certain quality.
Eath something with her and make a fun day out of it!

At 200$ the basses are usually quite similar in terms of quality, so it wont matter if it a Squier, an Ibanez, a Yamaha or whatsover. Just buy what she likes

She's been playing a while, so she can certainly judge what feels and sounds good to her. I'll bet she'll be more excited about a bass she picks out. Teach her how to check out a used bass and bargain for the best price. Great life skills right there.

These two responses. Gently steer, advise, but let HER pick out her new bass. It's personal, and you WANT her emotional investment in the instrument. It ain't about resale value, it ain't about stageworthyness (at this point) it's about being excited to play. Trust me...I have two teenagers, and teach several others. They got to feel like it's THEIR purchase.

 

[PauFerro]

Go to www.rondomusic.com. They have a ton of basses under $200 and they are good construction, most of them, just like Fenders in most cases. I have gigged 150 times with my SX bass, and it has fallen off stands and taken a beating and is fine functionally. I pick it up and it keeps on working reliably. I would put new strings on it though, but you will still be under $200.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

What PauFerro and others have said, Rondo products are not just for beginners. For example, they have a Hadean double P style in black on sale for $125 right now, can't beat that with a stick.

 

[buldog5151bass]

When it comes to kids, the thing is to let them pick out what they are going to play. If you found a pre-CBS instrument for $200 and they don't play it, it is not a good instrument.

Most bolt on instruments can be made playable with a good set up.

 

[Shpigel]

+1 on Yamaha.
BTW for 300$ she can get a really nice second hand bass.

 

[Big Hoss]

Hello all.
Helping a friend locate a bass for her daughter (a tall 12 yo), a fairly avid bass student. As is usual in such cases, the budget is limited ($200 tops). Currently playing 3/4 scale (30 inch) but looking to move to 34".
Looking for best quality for the price point, as it should be something with which to grow. First thought is SX/Rondo... Any other suggestions?

Thanks

Give www.rondomusic.com a good look. I have several SXes, Ibanez, Fender, Yamaha etc... and really like the SXes.

Mind you, not sure if she prefers a Jazz or Precision neck, but if she likes a Precision neck, go for an Ursa 3, gets both the P and J pickups, a nice neck, good body, reasonably good hardware. Only issue you MIGHT have is sometimes the pickups while effective, can be on the less than impressive side of things, sometimes they are actually quite good. I've been lucky so far...

The best part is since it is such a low cost instrument, modding it with say upgraded pickups and electronics down the road won't hurt its resale value.

I gig with both my Ursa 1, and my Ursa 2 (4 string P only, and 5 string J bass), and have other, much more expensive instruments that just aren't as satisfying to play...

 

[phillybass101]

Ibanez GSR series. You could get a really nice bass for the money.

 

[phillybass101]

Spend the extra 99 for Christmas. I have the six string version. Great Little Bass.
Ibanez GSR205SM 5-String Electric Bass Guitar . I believe Sweetwater even has a 3 pay plan for this axe.

 

[MNAirHead]

peavey fury ... you can always cash it in if she quits

 

[iTzPrime]

These two responses. Gently steer, advise, but let HER pick out her new bass. It's personal, and you WANT her emotional investment in the instrument. It ain't about resale value, it ain't about stageworthyness (at this point) it's about being excited to play. Trust me...I have two teenagers, and teach several others. They got to feel like it's THEIR purchase.

This. It is not about resale value or anything. It is about her having fun.

 

[Fishheadjoe]

From my experience, SX is a crap shoot. You may get a pretty good instrument that needs a little tweaking or you could end up with a dog. That dog will cost money to get playable or you will have to return it for another. I'm guessing that it will be a gift ans as such, I can't imagine the disappointment the kid is going to have if it turns out to be a dog and the waiting begins.
Myself, I'd be looking at used Yammy's, preferably anything with "BB" in the model name. The RBX's are pretty good fro the coin as well.
Pawn shops would be my first stop!
Fishheadjoe

 

[40Hz]

I try to avoid buying pets or musical instruments for other people. There's just too much "personal" in the personal preference department for me to be comfortable making the final call when it comes to either of those.

A gift card or cash and take her around to pick something out is the way I'd go. She's old enough by now to make that decision on her own - with a little guidance.

Good choices would be the Talman, lower priced Ibanez models, and Squiers with that amount of money to spend.

And who knows? Maybe she'll see something she wants that costs more and she'll decide to temporarily bank what she has until she can make up the difference. That alone is a valuable skill and discipline to develop if you're a musician.

Wish her a Merry from all of us. There can never be too many bass players in the world. And there's far too few women bass players as it is. So every newcomer helps.

 

[Gravedigger Dav]

Some good suggestions here, but for future resale, upgrade, the Squire Affinity line will hold its value best.

 

[morgansterne]

I've got three basses and two of them are squier vintage modified series. I paid $220 for one of them by buying the body and neck separately and waiting till people were offering really good deals.
I like them much better than the affinity series bass my drummer has, even after I set his up to the best of my ability.

I would be less concerned with the size of the bass and more concerned about the weight. A tall 12 year old should be able to handle a 34" scale, but I wouldn't want to saddle her with a ten pound bass.

 

[Alivefor5]

Amazon has a boatload of basses at and under your price point. The advantage would be returning any junk that came your way.
The customer comments are helpful even though most are from beginners that don't know much about the quality of the instrument
they just received.

 

[wintremute]

I agree with many of the others on here, that it would be best to take her shopping and let her pick it out.

However, if that's not an option...

A friend of mine just got a left handed one of these for his 14 year old son. Being lefty i have not picked it up, but junior is in love and southpaw dad says it plays as good as any of his high end basses. It's active P/J and sounds nice through the smallish Peavey combo the kid uses. Comes painted or an oiled walnut for a bump in price. A black righty is going fof $199.99, the same in oiled walnut brings $249.99

Ibanez GSR200BK GIO - Black

Every time I visit GC and start picking up basses, I always come away impressed by the Ibanez GSR200. In many ways, it impresses me more than their higher-line models. More than once I've almost walked out with one just because it was fun and rewarding to play. For someone just starting out, I think it would be rewarding to play and practice on.

Downsides: You're not getting high-end pickups and hardware, but that's not unexpected; set-up is hit or miss - of the three on display, two needed a setup (fret buzz/action issues) and one played perfectly as-is.

Upsides: Nice sound, versatile tonal options, light weight, thin neck, easy to play, great value for money.

My two cents

Jim

The Ibanez Mikro basses are short scale, so probably not those. Have her test drive Squiers and Ibanez SR basses in-store, find out which feels best in her hands, and then buy the best used one the $200 budget allows. For low budget, used always gets you more. Period. The Ibanez GSR range is a good option too. The old PJ configured Soundgears are great quality and can easily be upgraded later to improve the sound.

Edit: Be mindful of the setup and action, of course, since they are pretty much always garbage in-store.

...I'm going to also put a vote in for the Gio 200. Very nice bass. I love it in Grey Burst.

And Rondo's SX have to be at the top of the consideration, too.

 

[tgriley62]

Peavey Millennium BXP or a used MIA Peavey Fury. Also check out the Xavier bass's from Guitar Fetish, though I do not have any experience with those

 

[Nephilymbass]

Hello all.
Helping a friend locate a bass for her daughter (a tall 12 yo), a fairly avid bass student. As is usual in such cases, the budget is limited ($200 tops). Currently playing 3/4 scale (30 inch) but looking to move to 34".
Looking for best quality for the price point, as it should be something with which to grow. First thought is SX/Rondo... Any other suggestions?

Thanks

There's a bunch of ESP basses on reverb.com for $200. Everything from p bass and j bass clones to ESPs more original designs.

 

[wraub]

Taking her shopping may not be possible, sounds like it'll be under the tree.

 

[ComesATime]

I think trying out as much as possible to make sure she is comfortable playing on it is the key here. No point in getting something that might come highly recommended but is not a good fit for her.

We can all definitely recommend brands. I'm personally in the Ibanez camp. My uncle had a cheap-as-dirt Ibanez bass, and both the feel and electronics were solid. Granted, I'm also a proponent of Squier. Like another user mentioned, almost anything can be adjusted to be 'playable.'