Recommendations for a young newbie

[FatherOf4]

I just joined and know (almost) nothing about bass guitars, but I’m looking for some advice for my 12 year old son (he’s not a big kid).

He is a fairly accomplished cellist (RCM Grade 6) but I think is starting to realize that girls may prefer guitar players . I mention this only because I’m not really worried about him losing interest in playing and he has a very good ear. So I don’t mind spending the money on a better instrument if it is worth it, while at the same time cellos aren’t exactly cheap so I don’t want to spend more than I have to get what's appropriate for him.

We’ve been to a couple of local stores (Toronto area) for him to try out some entry level instruments. He seams to like the Ibanez GSR200 with its thin neck, and thought it sounded pretty good – much better than some of the others he tried.

My questions are:
Should I be looking at a SR300 or SR400 or something completely different? Is there a difference in the GSR200 and GSR200FM models other than colour (he liked the look of the FM better, and for $50 what the hay)?

Are newer instruments in this price range significantly better quality than ones 2 years old, 5 years old, 10 years old?

What size amp should I be looking at? He won’t be playing bars anytime soon, but I expect he will be jamming with his brothers and friends, including a drummer. My thoughts were a Peavey MAX 112, Ibanez SWX35, Fender's Rumble 30 or Acoustic B20. I don’t know what to look for in a good amp.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[darkstorm]

The sr300 would be a very nice step up and is actually better sounding to me then some of the more expensive sr's. If you can afford it its a great choice for begginer thru pro imo. For combo amp the peavey max 112 or acoustic b20 would be great choice imo.

If however he likes the GSR200FM better soundwise then the sr300, get that instead.

 

[hrodbert696]

I haven't owned any but I've seen other people posting here comment that the electronics tend to fall apart on the Ibanez 200s after a few months. I'd say go with the SR300 if the extra cost isn't out of your budget. If he likes thin necks, he may also want to try a jazz bass - maybe a Squier Vintage Modified (not the Affinity), which would be around the same price point, or a used Fender standard. SX jazz basses at Rondomusic.com are serviceable for beginners and quite cheap. A little more expensive but around the upper end of that price range would be a Schecter Stilletto, I think they're selling new around $400 and again, quite thin neck. There's always someone on ebay selling factory seconds around $250.

The main variable with amps is the wattage and speaker size. The standard advice for someone who's going to go do major gigs is a minimum 400 watts through 4 10-inch speakers, but a teenager in a garage band doesn't need that kind of power -- I'd say a combo amp with 50 or 100 watts into a 12 or 15 inch speaker is plenty for keeping up with a garage band drummer and playing a school battle of the bands or what have you. Make sure it has a CD/mp3 player input jack and a headphone jack so that he can play along to his favorite tunes without giving you a headache.

I haven't played through lots of different amps, but of the ones you list, I'd guess they'd be fine to learn and practice on but he might have trouble making himself heard in a band setting. I'd vote for the Peavey Max115 rather than the 112, for instance, or the Fender Rumble 75 rather than the Rumble 30. It does depend on your budget, of course. Others with more experience with the particular amps can confirm or correct this.

Used gear is usually just fine and the best way to get good gear for the money. Just make sure you actually try it out, fiddle with everything and listen for static and scratchiness, make sure the neck of the bass is not obviously badly warped, things like that.

 

[Stilettoprefer]

OLP is a great beginner bass. Also squier basses are sgood first basses. Ibanez basses wont last very long. Mine went 2 months before the electronics were fried.

 

[phmike]

+1 for the SR300

 

[LaklandBass]

I agree on the SR300. I have a 5 string version that I use as a backup and for the price I couldnt ask for more. You mention that he's not a big kid so the soundgear neck will probably be great for him.
As far as amps Id say Peavey is great to start out with. Although I should mention that Hartke has been putting out some great sounding stuff lately and the prices are VERY fair.
As far as fender rumble I had one as a practice amp in my room and after about 30 hours of use the head just crapped out on me.

 

[fu22ba55]

Good on you for asking around for your kiddo. Cool dads are cool.

If you're kid is already an accomplished cellist, I'd entertain the idea of having him tune his bass to 5ths (like a cello) rather than 4ths (like a standard bass guitar, or double bass).

Everyone at the music store will roll their eyes, and you will need to get different (non-standard) gauge strings once he purchases a bass... but I think if he's already a monster on the cello, tuning the bass to 5ths would make the learning curve vanish, at least for his left hand.