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My toddler asked for a bass

#23
ItsmeSantiago said:
My son has been drumming since he could grab stuff and he asked to play my bass. He held it and said, “This is too big I need a smaller one.”

A uke bass seems to be the logical way to go with the super short scale, but my son likes to destroy everything he touches. I saw Harley Benton makes a solid body, which would probably be the most durable choice. The super short scale electric basses are in the 26” scale length whereas the uke is around 20”.

Has anyone been in my situation before? Any suggestions are appreciated.
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That is cool he has an interest. If it were me (and it was me 40 years ago) a regular Uke will work wonders with a lot less of an investment.
 
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#25
Kids have a short attention span. Might dork with it for a week and that's it or, go on to play? In any case, I would second to take a look at Glarry. If it's short lived expedition you aren't out much. If it's a learning bass then upgrade to something better down the road. Either way, good luck.
 
#27
ItsmeSantiago said:
My son has been drumming since he could grab stuff and he asked to play my bass. He held it and said, “This is too big I need a smaller one.”

A uke bass seems to be the logical way to go with the super short scale, but my son likes to destroy everything he touches. I saw Harley Benton makes a solid body, which would probably be the most durable choice. The super short scale electric basses are in the 26” scale length whereas the uke is around 20”.

Has anyone been in my situation before? Any suggestions are appreciated.
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The Pete Townsend signature edition.
 
#28
Five or Six said:
Kids have a short attention span. Might dork with it for a week and that's it or, go on to play? In any case, I would second to take a look at Glarry. If it's short lived expedition you aren't out much. If it's a learning bass then upgrade to something better down the road. Either way, good luck.
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My worry is he tells me he wants one then sees a dinosaur and now he wants ten new ones to add to his collection. Someone suggested getting a double use bass in case he decides against it and a uke would have fit the bill a few years ago. He’s in no hurry. He likes excavators as much as he likes drums and I’m not taking him to Komatsu to get a dump truck.
 
#30
wiscoaster said:
Kids grow fast and they have incredibly flexible and nimble fingers. Get a regular short-scale, like an Ibanez MiKro (28 1/2 in.) or Squier Bronco (30 in.). The uke will get outgrown real soon. There's plenty of YouTube videos of sub-teen kids playing short-scale instruments with no problem.
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Ellen from Ellen Plays Bass came to mind! She's just 10 years old, but she plays both 30" and 34" scale basses.
 
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#31
dougjwray said:
Tell him to forget about music and start taking classes in computer programming, biotech or business administration. :(

Sorry, just kidding!

I like the Ibanez Mikro and Squier Mini-P-Bass suggestions.
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I took classes in both bass and business administration when I was 16! I now have a business degree, my own business, and a love for playing bass and making music. So it can be done!

In all seriousness, I would get your toddler a quality short scale bass that they can grow into. And if they don't want to continue, you can keep it and play it. A bass uke might be a little extreme because kids grow quickly in their minds and bodies.
 
#34
My youngest son was slightly older than "toddler" (he was four years old), but he had been walking up and strumming my guitar for years.

I got him a half-size "practice" guitar (they need to be tuned up 1½ steps to stay in tune and be intonated correctly).

The warning I always give to parents in this situation: do not teach them yourself. Get an instructor.
 
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#36
hbarcat said:
I like this idea.

My granddaughter is 4 and she loves to come into my home studio and jam on my keyboard and e-drums - sometimes playing along with me on bass or guitar, and sometimes just by herself.

I even have a microphone set up for her with a little bit of delay and reverb and a few FX and she just loves singing.

I've let her dabble a bit on guitar and bass, but frankly, it's expecting too much from her to be able to coordinate her hands enough make progress on stringed instruments like that without getting frustrated.
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I *dislike* this idea, largely due to my personal history... hard to say without knowing the child's character, but in my case: I wanted to play an instrument that *wasn't* piano (it was drums/bass), but my parents thought that they should *make me* play piano *first* instead. It didn't work out, and soured both my early motivation for music in general, as well as my desire to learn any music theory (yes, i'm obstinate and stubborn). I thought I was 'doing my best' by going to all music classes, but practrice was joyless, and none of it 'stuck'.

Of course, my parents were *right* from the point of view that if i'd wanted to learn piano, that would have helped me learn other instruments later. But - as a kid I (and I expect I'm not alone here) could just not find the same passion for an instrument that didn't 'inspire' me.

Without turning TalkBass too much into TalkPedagogy, I'd be fully onboard with getting the kid to play whichever instrument they're most likely to feel passionate towards.

In terms of basses: the Ibanez Mikro's have a great reputation. And if you want to go shorter than that - the Hosco/Gotoh made 'TinyBoy' basses are even smaller, and actually sound pretty great (I have one, in 5 string). May be hard to find in the US, but a fun 'travel instrument' for Dad too - in case the son graduates to a larger instrument, and/or decides to return to drums over bass :)
 
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