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My 7 year old wants his first bass

DwaynieAD

DwaynieAD

Nov 20, 2010
5,390
4,586
Mechanicsburg, PA
#1
Proud papa moment for sure.

He likes the Squier Jaguar short scale. I have held and played this instrument and it's great so it is what I'm leaning towards for him, but of course this is about him which brings us to option 2

I showed him some stuff on Rondo music and he was all about the sunburst Jazz short scale.

I have never played an SX and that gives me pause.

I know both Squier and SX get a lot of love, a lot of hate, and a lot of "if you get a good one they're great, if you get a bad one they suck" around here.

Price difference shipped is only 20 bucks (read: negligible)

at this point in time I'd be more comfortable buying him the Squier but he may be happier with the SX, although he's 7 so that opinion could change in minutes.

opinions?
 
#2
Hmmm. If you want to get a good first bass, try the Ibanez GSR200.

As for the SX, Iown one, and they are great basses. Most people like to buy them and modify them, but that isn't necessary. The SX and the Ibanez are great starter basses at a modest price.
 
#4
I just bought my soon-to-be-6-year-old daughter a pink Daisyrock Debutante due to the size and simplicity of the controls. They offer a blue one:

14-7740BlueMoonBurst.jpg


It arrived, I plugged it in for a while and I'm impressed by the feel and sound of it. It's a winner & I would recommend.
 
#5
Pay attention to necks, for they're (Vintage Modified series) not always on par with the overall bass offering

And eventually think about Squier Mustangs... My Chemical Romance's Mickey Way signature is catchy and solid at the very same time (keepin' an eye on necks and nuts, as always).

Cheers,
Wallace
 
#6
Either would do fine, but you may have to spend some money on the SX for fret dressing, etc. to get it playable. For the most part the Squier quality control is pretty good. They are both good choices, but I'd personally lean toward the Squier unless I liked tinkering with basses a bit. I did have a student with a SX P-bass that he replaced with a Hofner Icon and later a Schecter Elite and it was OK. For a 7 year old you probably don't want a massive investment.
 
#9
from a practical standpoint, I've toyed around with the idea of a short scale for myself as well as a P/J for myself. so if he decides to give it up the jaguar fulfills both of those needs, but I'm trying to make sure that factor has the smallest influence on my decision.

Ibanez: personally I hate them. Sorry to all the fans, but I've never played one that I didn't think would be better as kindling. I will show them to him and see what he thinks.

Daisy Rock: My ex wife, my 7 year old's mom, has a Daisy Rock guitar and that thing shreds. they are def very good instruments, I'll show him that bad boy as well.
 
#11
I hope I'm not breaking any forum rules, but I have a great G&L L2000 tribute blueburst over on the classifieds that I would give you a great deal on. It's not a short scale but you could get it cheap and it would be something that he could keep and be proud to play later after he starts doing the band thing and all that. I took it on a trade and just don't need it being a bluegrasser and all.
 
#12
I've heard (or read) a lot about SXs needing fretwork, shims, etc. but I've never heard of a short scale Jaguar that wasn't ready to play out of the box. I bought one on a whim and it's a fantastic bass for the $160 or so.

He said he likes it. That's half of it right there.
 
#14
There's a Mom&Pop around the corner from me that carries Fender/Squier stuff, and I was able to get them to order it (at the time, the SS Jag was a new model) and I had my choice to keep it or not when it came in. I think buying at GC also gives you the same flexibility; buying over the net makes it more difficult.

When my son was that age, he went through a handful of instruments before deciding on drums. Hopefully, your guy sticks with his first choice.;)
 
#15
I started playing bass when I was fully grown, but doesn't it kinda make sense for a kid to play a full scale bass? That way once he's man-sized he'll have grown into the bass and not have to make the transition from short scale to long, and he'll already have awesome muscle memory and reach.
 
#16
I think an SX or the Jaguar SS would both be wonderful. I have played many of the short scale Jags and I've always loved them. I also own two SX basses, and I would have to disagree with the previous posters here. Maybe I just got lucky, but my precision and jazz from them both came out of the box with perfect action, fit and finish. If I had to choose, I would say grab the Jaguar though, simply because your son said he likes it. Plus, you can't play the SX before buying.

Best of luck and, most importantly, do whatever it takes to keep him interested in music.
 
#17
3234718 said:
I started playing bass when I was fully grown, but doesn't it kinda make sense for a kid to play a full scale bass? That way once he's man-sized he'll have grown into the bass and not have to make the transition from short scale to long, and he'll already have awesome muscle memory and reach.
Click to expand...

well he's 7. can't make the reach to 1st position with a full sized instrument.
 
#18
3234718 said:
I started playing bass when I was fully grown, but doesn't it kinda make sense for a kid to play a full scale bass? That way once he's man-sized he'll have grown into the bass and not have to make the transition from short scale to long, and he'll already have awesome muscle memory and reach.
Click to expand...

I played nothing but shorties a good number of years before I finally got a long scale (Gibson EB3L) and I had absolutely NO problem changing over. Get him what feels comfortable to play, when and if he decides to change over later, it really won't be a big deal.
 

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