I have tried but the typical response from the Hooters girls is that he's a bit to young for them. However, it looks like I will shortly have a new line to add....
...he's young but he plays a mean bass
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Seeking advice on 4-string Bass for 14 yr old son?
- Thread starter ndabunka
- Start date
I have tried but the typical response from the Hooters girls is that he's a bit to young for them. However, it looks like I will shortly have a new line to add....
...he's young but he plays a mean bass
If he likes a Fender style some of the Squiers are pretty good basses for a starter. With a setup it will play nicely.
If he likes modern the Ibanez or Yamaha is hard to beat. Also get a good setup.
Personally I would be looking for something that old Dad doesn't lose his A$$ on when junior starts getting girl fever and never picks it up again. If junior keeps it nice and you buy used you might make $50 bucks or so.
Buy him a high end one and he doesn't take care of it like you think or worse one of his freeloading band buddies takes it for a spin and dings the headstock, crease the neck, and knocks off chips of paint, then you will lose your A$$.
This advice and $6.50 might get you some Starbucks fufu coffee.
If he likes modern the Ibanez or Yamaha is hard to beat. Also get a good setup.
Personally I would be looking for something that old Dad doesn't lose his A$$ on when junior starts getting girl fever and never picks it up again. If junior keeps it nice and you buy used you might make $50 bucks or so.
Buy him a high end one and he doesn't take care of it like you think or worse one of his freeloading band buddies takes it for a spin and dings the headstock, crease the neck, and knocks off chips of paint, then you will lose your A$$.
This advice and $6.50 might get you some Starbucks fufu coffee.
Sir, unless youc an do it yourself, please spend the $$$ with a local luthier to setup whatever bass you might be buying, this usually includes a new set of strings. Bad setups hinder beginner and experienced players alike. OR, alternatively, you can set the strings >1/2" off the fretbaord and build some hand strength ala James Jamerson.
Speaking of James, your son might enjoy the Jamerson/Motown tribute book with the CD's in it. I hear the Berklee(sp?) school makes their 1st year bass students go through it. Makes sense.
BTW, I bought a $200 used Fender Vintage J bass at GC. Setup a bit tricky as I think it needs some fret dressing ( beyond me), but one helluva beginner bass with a good sound ( SD pickups). I'm stripping it to shoot it in a deep purple pearl. Just for kicks. Oher Squiers and specifically MIM's I've played, sucked. Not all the same, very unique.
Speaking of James, your son might enjoy the Jamerson/Motown tribute book with the CD's in it. I hear the Berklee(sp?) school makes their 1st year bass students go through it. Makes sense.
BTW, I bought a $200 used Fender Vintage J bass at GC. Setup a bit tricky as I think it needs some fret dressing ( beyond me), but one helluva beginner bass with a good sound ( SD pickups). I'm stripping it to shoot it in a deep purple pearl. Just for kicks. Oher Squiers and specifically MIM's I've played, sucked. Not all the same, very unique.
Best advice that ive heard here?
One weekend, just drive him to all the guitar stores in the area. Let him experiment, let him play, let him explore. It sounds like you already know what you want for him, and thats the direction your taking. You need to take a step back, and let him choose the bass HE wants to play.
One weekend, just drive him to all the guitar stores in the area. Let him experiment, let him play, let him explore. It sounds like you already know what you want for him, and thats the direction your taking. You need to take a step back, and let him choose the bass HE wants to play.
The problem is that he does not have the developed "tastes" that 90% of this board has so he likes ...all of them equally well with only a few exceptions and those are all related to the way the strings themselves feel and the ones he did not like were not set up properly. The only thing we know FOR CERTAIN is that he wants a 34" setup.
In a new (and unusual) twist for this kid, he's recently gotten some bad grades (poor test and zeros from not turning homework or make up exams into his teacher). This means he has gone from an A in a few classes to a D in at least one of them. This means that dad is NOT buying him a Bass anytime soon. Instead, we have given him objectives (An A gets him $5. A C or worse costs him $2.50). He already mows the lawn and a few other household chores so he gets funds there. He also has an investment account with stocks he thinks can increase in value between now and Christmas. So, in the end 100% of the funds will come out of money he has earned. So, if his investments do well, maybe he will be on here asking you guys how to invest the proceeds. At least part of the intent here is for him to see that he can make about 4 times the profits from stocks as he can from mowing lawns. We will see if that premise fulfills itself or fails miserably.
I gave the Conklin back to the store he takes instruction from with a brief explanation that it may be a few months before he will be able to buy his own Bass.
Hammer down. Absolutely. Priorities. IMHO, I wouldn't link the investment account to a bass, ONLY the effort in school.
Why? A $300 bass today has a NPV of well into the thousands if kept properly invested.
He works for the bass. He buys himself a nice one later on, with the $2500 the stocks gave him back. If he's a serious player then.
Why? A $300 bass today has a NPV of well into the thousands if kept properly invested.
He works for the bass. He buys himself a nice one later on, with the $2500 the stocks gave him back. If he's a serious player then.
I have decent Ibanez Soungear Bass in black. Single pickup.34" scale. Looks,plays,and sounds good. Comes with a well worn SKB Freedom case,that's been around the country. $125.00 shipped conus.
Yep, it was an interesting few days investigating. Will likely end up with what we end up without the analysis. Mods are welcome to close this thread
Ibanez experts.. Are there Ibanez fakes? Would that be a reason that this SR505 is only $200 whereas most others appear to be around $400 or $500? The pics are hard to make out but the headstock does say "Made in Korea" and the guy selling it does appear to know his guitars as he has others for sale and the pic of the drums he is selling at the same time show a whole bunch of guitars in the background. Just trying to get edumacated here.
http://cgi.ebay.com/USED-IBANEZ-SR-505-BASS-/150505215044?pt=Guitar&hash=item230acf5444
http://cgi.ebay.com/USED-IBANEZ-SR-505-BASS-/150505215044?pt=Guitar&hash=item230acf5444
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nobody would bother to fake ibanez stuff because very little of their stuff has collector's value. but if i'm not mistaken, they have a japanese and korean factory that make their stuff, so that could explain the price differences.
Apparently there are a number of fake JEMs but haven't found much on potential fake Basses. These have been made in Japan, Korea and Indonesia and apparently the Korean ones are superior (heavier weight, sound better) than the Indonesian ones. Perhaps they use a different wood. I guess the $500 ones are "retail" sales whereas the $200-$300 ones are people trying to liquidate what they have. Main difference I see in this one is that it is black so maybe it was painted or they come that way?
I'd say the reason for the low price is in the photo of the tuners on the headstock. Whoever put that d-tuner in there wasn't thinking straight - he had to move the other tuners to make room for that horrible d-tuner, and it really looks like crap, nobody is going to want that. Also... hello it's a FIVE string!!! It already has a low D!!! (to the experienced guys, i know he was probably playing drop d songs... but drop D is for 4-strings!!)
On a side note - I don't really think starting on a five-string is a good idea. For one, there is no relationship between the number of strings and how well the student will learn the bass. Second, most contemporary material that he will probably be studying is not going to require a note lower than E anyway. My first bass was a 4 string, my second had five (was an ibanez, actually), and I've since gone back to four. I barely used that fifth string, plus those notes are so low you can barely identify them most of the time. Plus, if I ever need to get low... I have a special effect pedal to do that, which in my opinion is a lot more fun!
A sunburst Fender Jazz bass with a nice dark rosewood fingerboard would be my choice for a first bass if it had to be a 34" scale.
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Its a used bass. As reason for the price. Serioiusly, if the seller got it for very low price then they can afford to sell it for low price and still make their desired profit. Does look like a nice Ibanez fiver. All black to, yummmy. Lol.
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...On a side note - I don't really think starting on a five-string is a good idea. For one, there is no relationship between the number of strings and how well the student will learn the bass. Second, most contemporary material that he will probably be studying is not going to require a note lower than E anyway.
Thanks for the details. As you could tell from the title, our original intent was to get a 4-string but then a good deal came up on a very nice 5-string. We had also heard that if he was going to eventually play a 5-string that we may want to simply start out with one but we really don't know if he would ever move to a 5-string so will probably just move back to 4-string considerations anyway.
it really doesn't matter what bass you start on. most people start on a 4 but there's no reason not to start on a 5 if that's what he wants.
I grew up poor, in a rich neighborhood. My rich friends all were "given" really nice instruments at the time and with few exceptions treated their gifts with disrespect and commited down right atrocities. Most do not play music now. If a kid is commited to playing he will do so no matter what you do.
My advice:
1. Do not buy new. Musical instruments lose half their value once you leave the store. Weather wreaks havoc on wood. You do not know what kinds of breaks, cracks, twists etc will happen over the next several years.
2. Buy used. Someone else has taken the hit. The weather has had plenty of chances to destroy a ten year old instrument, so it will probably last many years.
3. Buy short scale, 32". Easiest to play and learn. Not the best tone though.
4. Use a mega store like Guitar Center to figure out where you want to be. Lots of choices so play them all. Use their prices as a starting point. You may also notice everything in the store needs a set up.
5. Stay out of pawn shops. The good deals are very few and far between. If you are an expert pretending you aren't you may be able to swindle a deal but the odds are against you.
6. Find and use a luthier. Most musicians don't know what a luthier is. They judge an ax by how it plays not knowing that a luthier can make the worst player finger like butter.
7. Do not buy site unseen. Buy only after inspectioning, handling, playing, listening etc. Better yet get a 2nd opinion (teacher, luthier, appraiser etc.).
I once bought my dad a $75 POS fender bass. A luthier make it play like butter for $50. When my dad was done with it he advertised it for $100 in the Sunday paper. Friday night (2 days before the ad came out) a guy called him "I'll buy it sight unseen". My dad didn't understand the bass was worth $500 to $600 cuz we had a little more than $100 in it.
My grandson plays bass (6yo). He plays my "beatle bass wanna be" that I paid $20 at a garage sale for. $30 worth of parts and a good set up and he's on a player.
Good luck on your quest.
My advice:
1. Do not buy new. Musical instruments lose half their value once you leave the store. Weather wreaks havoc on wood. You do not know what kinds of breaks, cracks, twists etc will happen over the next several years.
2. Buy used. Someone else has taken the hit. The weather has had plenty of chances to destroy a ten year old instrument, so it will probably last many years.
3. Buy short scale, 32". Easiest to play and learn. Not the best tone though.
4. Use a mega store like Guitar Center to figure out where you want to be. Lots of choices so play them all. Use their prices as a starting point. You may also notice everything in the store needs a set up.
5. Stay out of pawn shops. The good deals are very few and far between. If you are an expert pretending you aren't you may be able to swindle a deal but the odds are against you.
6. Find and use a luthier. Most musicians don't know what a luthier is. They judge an ax by how it plays not knowing that a luthier can make the worst player finger like butter.
7. Do not buy site unseen. Buy only after inspectioning, handling, playing, listening etc. Better yet get a 2nd opinion (teacher, luthier, appraiser etc.).
I once bought my dad a $75 POS fender bass. A luthier make it play like butter for $50. When my dad was done with it he advertised it for $100 in the Sunday paper. Friday night (2 days before the ad came out) a guy called him "I'll buy it sight unseen". My dad didn't understand the bass was worth $500 to $600 cuz we had a little more than $100 in it.
My grandson plays bass (6yo). He plays my "beatle bass wanna be" that I paid $20 at a garage sale for. $30 worth of parts and a good set up and he's on a player.
Good luck on your quest.
