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Seeking advice on 4-string Bass for 14 yr old son?

#101
My Dad was good enough to let me save up for my first bass guitar in 1978 (I already played the piano a while before that point). When I'd got enough to money to buy it, he came to the store with me to get it. When we got home, he gave me the bass pad for his band and told me he needed a bass player for a gig the following month and I could do it if I could nail the charts. He also lent me £145 to get a bass amp to go with it, a loan that I paid back at £5 a week.

Boy, did I sweat on that gig! Never looked back since. Thanks, Dad.
 
#102
James Judson said:
1. Do not buy new.
2. Buy used. Someone else has taken the hit.
3. Buy short scale, 32". Not the best tone though.
4. Use a mega store like Guitar Center to figure out where you want to be.
5. Stay out of pawn shops...the odds are against you.
6. Find and use a luthier.
7. Do not buy site unseen.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the details.
1 & 2 - Never planned on buying new. Everything I stated in this thread was used only.
3. He's already been playing a 34" and is comfortable with it so it does not look like we would have to "back up" to a shorter scale.
4 & 6 - We've been to a Sam Ashe but there are almost too any choices there. My son takes lessons from a shop and the owner is a luthier who is pretty well known for classical-style nylon string guitars.
5 - Now that we have decided to let him buy his own, we need to find something "in-expensive" so we may still hit up the pawn shops looking for $100 to $200 basses but now that I have learned more about these, I think I can help guide him to viable options as well as identify those that aren't contenders.
 
#103
I found a Yamaha BB614 for $220 but it looks like it has had a long life (paint wearing off the body) but otherwise seems in decent shape. I've also found a G&L L2500 for $430 but I think I can probably get it for more like $390. I hear some rave about the L2500's and this one looks like new so it may be worth the $'s but the kid still have a long road of saving in front of him so $400 even for a L2500 may be a bit more than reasonable right now.
 
#105
ndabunka said:
I understand your comments but the size of men on one side of my family is between 6'2" and 6'4". He has those body and facial characteristics so the doctors have told us that he will likely grow to that size (the doctors were not aware of the family genetics until after they had projected his future height). At the time they projected it, he was only 5'2" and I was like, yea,,,sure he will but this past year has been amazing. I am only 5'10" and my wife is only 5'0" tall so his genetics come from my mothers side of the family and it is quite likely that he will reach those levels. If he doesn't, it should not affect the Bass choice as he can likely play pretty much ANY bass with his current height but at the time the forum did not know if he was 58" or 3'2" so that was the primary intent of my statement.
Click to expand...

My mom is 5' and her brothers are between 5'10" and 6', and my dad is 6' and his brothers are between 6' and 6'5", and both his sisters are both over 5'7" as well. I was over 5' when by the time I was 8, and doctors told me I was going to be taller than my dad. But for some reason I stopped growing at just under 5'9". And for the most part size don't matter on how good you play bass, or any instrument. He could be 5'5" and be great, or 6'5" and be terrible. Just get him a bass that fits his style, if you haven't already. i for one would get something under $500 and get a decent combo amp that has an ext. speaker jack for him as well, in case he wants an additional cab. Good Luck with everything, and may your son end up satisfied (with his bass and his height when he is done growing).
 
#106
ndabunka said:
I understand your comments but the size of men on one side of my family is between 6'2" and 6'4". He has those body and facial characteristics so the doctors have told us that he will likely grow to that size (the doctors were not aware of the family genetics until after they had projected his future height). At the time they projected it, he was only 5'2" and I was like, yea,,,sure he will but this past year has been amazing. I am only 5'10" and my wife is only 5'0" tall so his genetics come from my mothers side of the family and it is quite likely that he will reach those levels. If he doesn't, it should not affect the Bass choice as he can likely play pretty much ANY bass with his current height but at the time the forum did not know if he was 58" or 3'2" so that was the primary intent of my statement.
Click to expand...

My mom is 5' and her brothers are between 5'10" and 6', and my dad is 6' and his brothers are between 6' and 6'5", and both his sisters are both over 5'7" as well. I was over 5' when by the time I was 8, and doctors told me I was going to be taller than my dad. But for some reason I stopped growing at just under 5'9". And for the most part size don't matter on how good you play bass, or any instrument. He could be 5'5" and be great, or 6'5" and be terrible. Just get him a bass that fits his style, if you haven't already. i for one would get something under $500 and get a decent combo amp that has an ext. speaker jack for him as well, in case he wants an additional cab. Good Luck with everything, and may your son end up satisfied (with his bass and his height when he is done growing). And most basses you'll encounter will be 34" scale. Unless they say short scale, or long scale. So you should have no prob finding one.
 
#107
As some may have noticed, I've attempted to buy a number of basses. It seems that ANYTHING I am interested in, so it EVERYBODY else or at least ONE other has decided that they MUST have that particular bass...:rollno:

I've now narrowed this decision to about three guitars. The G&L Tribute L2000 ($350+shipping), the Yamaha BB614 ($230-Local) or an Ibby SR700 ($349+Shipping). At this point I have about given up on CL or eBay and have these options from some of the larger guitar stores from their used or scratch and dent sections. I've even got a line on a Tribute L2500 for $400 which seems like the best deal (as it is only $50 more than the L2000 and is local enough I can walk into the shop and walk back out) but he REALLY prefers a 4-string right now so I will see how this goes.

There is a $350 Conklin on eBay but it appears to come with the Conklin PUPs instead of the Barts that the 5-string we had demo'd had come with and therefore I think that particular Conklin may not be worth it since after shipping and the inevitable additional bidding it will get closer to the $500 mark so I don't even have it in my watch list anymore
 
#109
Thanks for all the quality guidance provided here I was able to help my son find his "perfect" Bass.

  • I lost all the eBay bids: ATK700, TRB5 II, BTB???, Charvel-Jackson Vintage, G&L L2000 (et. al.) that I was trying to obtain under $350 shipped.
  • The 4-string L-2000 I had a $350 price tag on was sold before we got back to that one.
  • The "great priced" closeouts on GC turn out not to be what they had listed (we could see things in the pictures that didn't look right on some and it turned out that they were models that did not match the descriptions).

Although he initially wanted a 4-string, in the end the two he ended up liking the best turned out to both be 5-strings (Conklin & the L-2500).

We did take the groups advice to have him play a few to decide what he liked the best at a few local shops and tonight we picked up his .....final answer, a mint G&L L-2500 Tribute we picked up for only $50 more than the 4-string options.......$400!!! :p This is one of the first 100 units produced in July of 2003.

And yes, he IS paying for this out of his own pocket..eventually (He paid 25% down tonight). I hope you enjoy the pic as much as he will be enjoying the pic'ing...:bassist:

Please excuse me now, I need to go find the DONATE button for this forum as a way to show our appreciation...
FOUND IT! Now I actually "belong"...:hyper:

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#111
Here's the last option we were considering and still bidding on when we made this decision. It is a Ibanez SR700. I am posting it here so that if others are seeking something similar they can bid on it. Current bid is only $256 (day and a half left before auction close) but I figure this one too will go between $350 and $525 like all the others we were considering went for. Then again, without me there to bid it up, maybe someone else could get a deal. Good luck! ... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230541688717&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT
 
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#112
USA made Fender P. You will be starting him with a quality, well-known bass. If in the future he decides he wants to trade or sell for any reason, you will at least get back your initial investment. More than likely, you will get back more than you paid.
 
#113
baileyboy said:
USA made Fender P. You will be starting him with a quality, well-known bass. If in the future he decides he wants to trade or sell for any reason, you will at least get back your initial investment. More than likely, you will get back more than you paid.
Click to expand...

Thanks but I think you missed a few posts. We had acquired a G&L so in a way, we applied a bit of your recommendation (The fender part) before you even made it... :D
 
#115
Congrats on getting his bass....I just read through the whole thread and was gonna suggest a used Geddy Lee Jazz bass (although you did say he'd prefer active) or a Spector Legend Deluxe.

I have both - and it's interesting swapping between active and passive basses - for a passive ,the Geddy Lee performs!

The five stringers I have are both Spector as well and I love 'em.

However ,he has his G&L (a brand I've never had the chance to try) - hope he enjoys it!:bassist:
 
#120
ndabunka said:
Thanks for all the quality guidance provided here I was able to help my son find his "perfect" Bass.


Although he initially wanted a 4-string, in the end the two he ended up liking the best turned out to both be 5-strings (Conklin & the L-2500).

We did take the groups advice to have him play a few to decide what he liked the best at a few local shops and tonight we picked up his .....final answer, a mint G&L L-2500 Tribute we picked up for only $50 more than the 4-string options.......$400!!! :p This is one of the first 100 units produced in July of 2003.

And yes, he IS paying for this out of his own pocket..eventually (He paid 25% down tonight). I hope you enjoy the pic as much as he will be enjoying the pic'ing...:bassist:
Click to expand...


YOU DID GOOD!

Yes I own an L-2500 Trib just like that one! It looks like you've got the Ash body which is the one with the best tone IMHO. Mine is Ash. This bass can do just about anything! You'd be hard put to do better than this bass at this price range! If I'd seen that I'd have snapped it up in an instant just out of pure greed given I already own two G&L L-2500s (fretted trib and fretless MiA)

See, we TOLD you that a mint-used bass was the way to save cash! Also tell your son that G&L trib factory strings are uber-bright SIT strings. They do turn the bass into a great slap machine, but just be aware that other name-brand strings of various types from flatwound all the way to bright rounds each can dramatically change the tone of the bass and usually for the better too. Such experiments are educational.

Another unique feature of the L-2500 is that it is both a passive and active bass! You can switch back and forth (although the battery continues to run in passive mode so long as the cord is plugged into the bass) and totally unique in a bass the, tone controls are passive and work in both active and passive modes (usually tone controls quit in active basses when switched into emergency passive mode). The downside is the controls only cut and do not boost.

Go check the price of MIA L-2500s! And note that the electronics in the Trib are identical to the MIA. The main difference is that the MIA versions have "to die for" wood grain. I tell you true, there is just about no way your son could find a better quality, more versatile bass at the price point you found. He is a very lucky kid!

And good luck to him from all of us here at TB. And as he develops bass questions of all kinds, TB is fer sure a great resource to tap into. None of us here 'know it all" which is why we hang here too! But there are a LOT of amazing people here with some major experience and knowledge.
 

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