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Need Help, Bass for Son

J

jamplified

Guest
May 16, 2011
4
0
#1
So since I got my G&L, my 3 year old is wanting to play it as much as I do. He's driving me crazy to get his own for Christmas so I have been looking and so far I have came down to these 2. Let me know if any of you have better ideas but so far I'm thinking either the..

Ibanez GSRM20 Mikro Short-Scale Bass Guitar: Shop Bass & Other Musical Instruments | Musician's Friend
Ibanez GSRM20 Mikro


or Squier Vintage Modified Jag SS
Squier Vintage Modified Jaguar Bass Special SS (Short Scale): Shop Bass & Other Musical Instruments | Musician's Friend

Any other ideas will be greatly appreciated and welcomed. So what do you guys think.
 
#5
Check out the Squier Bronco bass, it's lighter than the Jag, has fewer control options to fiddle with, plays great and is dirt cheap. You can get them used in mint condition for $50 or new at Guitar Center for $125. The Squire short scale line up is the way to go for a 3 year old (actually I have several myself and play them all the time, great basses for the price).
 
#7
GBassNorth said:
Check out the Squier Bronco bass, it's lighter than the Jag, has fewer control options to fiddle with, plays great and is dirt cheap. You can get them used in mint condition for $50 or new at Guitar Center for $125. The Squire short scale line up is the way to go for a 3 year old (actually I have several myself and play them all the time, great basses for the price).
Click to expand...

I lean this way. The Bronco is a great little guitar. That particular Ibanez is not so great. The SS Jag is very nice; not to say 'to good' for yer little bass man, but I think Dad will want to play it often as well. With the Bronco, it can be his. :) Merry Christmas!
 
#8
Haha, the Ibanez Mikro is was my first bass as well!! Getting my ESP LTD F-155 DX sooner than later. Excellent bass, never had any issues with it. The only problem I had was my insane action, it's so bad I can't even tap it.
 
#11
I guess I'm the only one who feels any of these is overkill for a three year old. When my son was five I bought him a plastic Kiss guitar! I did go all the way later though. When he was in his twenties he expressed interest in having a bass guitar. I bought him a $79 Rogue :)
 
#12
Mikro all the way. Every short-scale Fender/Squier I've picked up was WAY too heavy for a 3 year old. I know because I bought my then-2.5 yo a Mikro and it was too much for him size-wise. He'll be 5 in a few weeks and still has a hard time holding it for extended periods. For him, "extended" is about half an hour... He has a very good attention span when it comes to music.

Also, the Mikro is a 28" scale, or thereabout. My little guy can finally reach the first couple of frets, but it took him several years to get there. I'm not sure what the Fenders are.

As to the construction, I have 2 Mikros (one for each kid) and they are nothing to complain about. Solid neck joints, decent fretwork (no fret-ends hanging off the fingerboard), straight necks, solid hardware... They stay in tune, and they maintain their action. No, they are not up to the standards of even my lowest gigging basses, but they serve their purpose. Maybe others have had a different experience with them, but so far, the 2 I bought several years ago are holding up great with minimal adjustment. More than I can say for some of the expensive gear I've owned over the years.
 
#15
Darko74 said:
Kala Ubass! If he don't like it you will!
Click to expand...

Wrote this on similar thread:

U-Bass is cool, but so different. Don't get me wrong I dig it and think its interesting now, but the 8 year old me would discard it cause it doesn't look like dad's, and the 14 year old me would berate me for holding such a thing. If you didn't know how to play bass and someone handed it to you what would you think of it (you'd probably think it was awesome too, but that wow factor disappears pretty quick when you're new, then you'd just want an electric). And it really only sounds like it should plugged in, IMO. It would make for a strange first bass, and I just wouldn't recommend for a beginner, again, only my opinion. any 30" scale will fit a kid well enough. Be regular, for now.

Same topic:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/mini-small-bass-guitar-kids-1-2-size-basses-out-there-831834/

Also, I have personally used Squier Bronco, great bass if you can find a well made one. Great for my tiny hands. Size wise he'd be a scaled down image of dad. Good and Luck.
 
#16
One more thought:

lowfreqgeek said:
Mikro all the way. Every short-scale Fender/Squier I've picked up was WAY too heavy for a 3 year old. I know because I bought my then-2.5 yo a Mikro and it was 2 much for him size-wise. He'll be 5 in a few weeks and still has a hard time holding it for extended periods. For him, "extended" is about half an hour... He has a very good attention span when it comes to music.

Also, the Mikro is a 28" scale, or thereabout. My little guy can finally reach the first couple of frets, but it took him several years to get there. I'm not sure what the Fenders are.

As to the construction, I have 2 Mikros (one for each kid) and they are nothing to complain about. Solid neck joints, decent fretwork (no fret-ends hanging off the fingerboard), straight necks, solid hardware... They stay in tune, and they maintain their action. No, they are not up to the standards of even my lowest gigging basses, but they serve their purpose. Maybe others have had a different experience with them, but so far, the 2 I bought several years ago are holding up great with minimal adjustment. More than I can say for some of the expensive gear I've owned over the years.
Click to expand...

Great honest opinion of the mikros. An excellent bass. Certainly on par with the squiers.
 
#17
Thanks for all of the replies, I will check into the Bronco. My son is way ahead of his game at 3 (well he's really closer to 4 now), so much more than I was even at that age. He is extremely careful and can sit and handle my G&L. So I think a short scale would be just about right for him. I got him a small acoustic guitar for his birthday last year and i have been able to teach him 3 chords on it. He is super smart, he blows my mind almost every day. But since I have gotten off the drums and into the Bass that's all that he's been studying, he won't even hardly pick up his guitar anymore. He never was really into the drums, whic surprised me. I had an 8-piece Tama set with 6 cymbals not including my hi-hats and ride set up regularly. I always assumed he would wanna be in there banging on those, but it's just something about him and stringed instruments I guess. Here he is last year at his 2nd birthday.
tucker2.jpg
 
#20
Here's my post from a similar thread (today):

When my son was about 7 1/2, I got him a Link Removed. I think it was about $150. Although he's moved on to a 3/4 scale, he has kept this bass (I'll never get rid of it).

This bass is 25" bridge-to-nut. 3/4 scale is 30", the Fender P-Bass Jr. is 28.5".

Here he is (just before his 8th birthday) playing "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)" - he's also steppin' on a wah-wah pedal. :eek:

Ethan_Bass.jpg


* * *

A 3 year-old child is quite small. I would venture to say that this MCR-1 -- even with a 25" scale length -- will be too large. Perhaps by 5, 6 or 7 (depending on the size of the child) it would begin to be a better fit.

Keep in mind, at age 4-5, when kids 'usually' start violin with the Suzuki Method, they are playing on 1/16th scale instruments - tiny instruments, about 8" nut-to-bridge.

Anything bigger than a 1/2 size electric bass will be TOO large for at least another 4-6 years. Do the math, a 72" adult with a 34" bass is relative to a 38" 3 year-old with a 18" bass, or a 53" 9 year-old with a 25" bass.
 

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