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Looking for a cheaper beater Precision $950 or under.

#41
sethlow3 said:
You can find a used G&L LB-100 or SB-2 easily at that price point if you look. American too.
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I gigged my "beater" G&L SB-2 Tribute (Indonesian made) this past weekend for an outside-threatening-rain event. It's amazing how good it is, especially at used prices.

To the OP, there are so many good instruments in the sub $1K range that it's hard to recommend. If it were me and I had to buy new, I'd be all over a Yamaha BB734. For $820 new, you get a stellar instrument.
 
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#42
CallMeAl said:
Thing is, we’re just gonna toss out names of our favorites, what works for us. Variables in QC and personal preferences make this impossible to answer what YOU will like.

So I say go to your local store(s) and play whatever’s in stock. You’ll find one that speaks to you, cause there’s plenty out there. Good luck!
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This! In my experience, Precisions in this price range (most of my basses) vary a LOT, both in quality and in feel/sound. So this question depends a lot on how many basses you are able to try out where you live.

It depends a lot on what SORT of Precision you want: vintagey/moderny ? wide/narrow neck? thick/thin neck? etc.

And I also find cheaper instruments vary a lot from bass to bass, with a given model. My favorites are Squier Classic Vibes, I think my 50s CVs are as good as any custom shop. But I have also played CVs that were pretty junky. And even my two 50s CVs sound utterly different (one is rock grindy, the other smooth vintage).

All that said, I like all the suggestions above, and will throw in Vintera, the best option I think if you want vintage.
 
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#43
DJ Bebop said:

☺️
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This is a great bass to test the claims of case and gig bag manufacturers' claims about how good their products are. I'll lend my F150 for these tests. We can start with MONO

It is a COSTOM design

1750088342866.png
 
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#47
joeLowB said:
I've giggled a ton with my $140-ish Squier Debut Series P via Amazon. Put your strings of preference on it and you have exactly what you are asking for.

Seriously.

It's a dandy P bass.
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How do they do that? How do they make a playable P-bass at that price point, and make money? It's not like they are selling you a printer cheap so they can rip you off on endless ink cartridges for the life of the thing! Is it designed to self-destruct after a year, so you have to buy another one? I just don't get it.

My first bass was a bottom of the line Epiphone 4 string back in 1972, that wouldn't even hold tuning, required tons of finger pressure to fret, and still cost more than that in 1972 dollars, I think it was $160 back then.
 
#48
BassicJazzy said:
How do they do that? How do they make a playable P-bass at that price point, and make money? It's not like they are selling you a printer cheap so they can rip you off on endless ink cartridges for the life of the thing! Is it designed to self-destruct after a year, so you have to buy another one? I just don't get it.

My first bass was a bottom of the line Epiphone 4 string back in 1972, that wouldn't even hold tuning, required tons of finger pressure to fret, and still cost more than that in 1972 dollars, I think it was $160 back then.
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Maybe at Fenders scale they could still turn a profit on a $140 bass. But the larger win for Fender is capturing a market they were not involved with. They want a piece of that Glarry pie. They want you in the Fender ecosystem. Why would I spent $100 on a no name Fender copy when I could buy a Squier for $40 more bucks and be able to more easily swap parts. You also get the Fender headstock shape, which the knock offs can't replicate.
 
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#50
When I was Fender curious about 4 years ago, I got a Squier CV 60s P for about $350 on sale from Sweetwater. I put a Lindy Fralin pickup in it and it sounded great. It played great. However, I convinced myself that I really wanted a "real" P bass and ended with a used 2012 custom Wilkins made with ancient woods that is a really nice bass. I sold the Squier to a student, but now, every time she comes in for a lesson, I think to myself, dang, that's a really nice bass! It does everything you'd want a P bass to do. Maybe I should have just stuck with that one.
 
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#51
edwinhurwitz said:
When I was Fender curious about 4 years ago, I got a Squier CV 60s P for about $350 on sale from Sweetwater. I put a Lindy Fralin pickup in it and it sounded great. It played great. However, I convinced myself that I really wanted a "real" P bass and ended with a used 2012 custom Wilkins made with ancient woods that is a really nice bass. I sold the Squier to a student, but now, every time she comes in for a lesson, I think to myself, dang, that's a really nice bass! It does everything you'd want a P bass to do. Maybe I should have just stuck with that one.
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There's a reason why the expression "Hindsight is 20/20" has been so well known for so long.

I have noticed that a lot of musicians who sell particular effect pedals in their pursuit of the newest shiny thing later regret ever having parted with the devices they jettisoned. Heck, I sometimes wish I still owned my very first bass, which was a Harmony H-22; not the most elegant instrument, and equipped with a bridge and tuning heads that I regard as sub-optimal, but somehow it retains a warm spot in my heart. Perhaps I just liked the white angelfish-silhouette pickguard.
 
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#53
I'm surprised there haven't been more recommendations for Squier Classic Vibes.

A few months ago I bought a CV Jazz which I liked way more than the Fenders. If you're looking for something you can beat up, you're hard pressed to do worse than a Squier Classic Vibe.
 
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#56
logdrum said:
This is a great bass to test the claims of case and gig bag manufacturers' claims about how good their products are. I'll lend my F150 for these tests. We can start with MONO

It is a COSTOM design

View attachment 7252721
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I picked one of these up a while back and can confirm there's a typo there, it's supposed to say "costume design" meaning the gig bag is just a costume you use when you want the bass to look like it's in a real gig bag.

PXL_20250617_195311301.jpg
 
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#58
SDC1-ClickClack said:
There's a reason why the expression "Hindsight is 20/20" has been so well known for so long.

I have noticed that a lot of musicians who sell particular effect pedals in their pursuit of the newest shiny thing later regret ever having parted with the devices they jettisoned. Heck, I sometimes wish I still owned my very first bass, which was a Harmony H-22; not the most elegant instrument, and equipped with a bridge and tuning heads that I regard as sub-optimal, but somehow it retains a warm spot in my heart. Perhaps I just liked the white angelfish-silhouette pickguard.
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I agree. I wish I had never sold my first bass. If anyone sees it, please let me know!

EB-2D.jpg
 
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