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Show me your unmodded cheapie.
- Thread starter Swerve
- Start date
A highway 1 for less than 400? That’s not a good deal that’s a steal.
Back then they were discontinued and getting blown out. I got a red one as a gift, then bought a black one, but I couldn't find a transparent white one. Considering they were retailing for $500~$600 right before they were discontinued, the blowout prices make more sense.
I bought this Rogue VB100 as a wall hanger but, with some flats, it was surprisingly good...
A better pic of the Pro-tone. These always reminded me of a red Ferrari with a gold chain license plate holder. lol
My 300$ ''Tone" light as a feather ,and sounds great..
I’ve owned 12 basses in total and not one of them cost more than $300.00 USD plus tax. My current stable consists of:
Schecter Raiden Special-4
SBMM Ray5
Ibanez AEB5E
I’ve played some expensive instruments and haven’t really found anything that I HAD to have beyond these three (the Ray5 has fallen out of favor lately; its fate is unknown).
Schecter Raiden Special-4
SBMM Ray5
Ibanez AEB5E
I’ve played some expensive instruments and haven’t really found anything that I HAD to have beyond these three (the Ray5 has fallen out of favor lately; its fate is unknown).
My 2022 Sire V5 five string sees a lot of use and is unmodified besides setting saddle heights, intonation and a couple string changes. If I had to tweak the truss rod it was once and just barely.
My 5-string is my cheap bass. Was looking for one back in 2009 and one of the guys on the Eden Forum (now defunct) suggested I get a Rogue 5-string. He went on about how well they were made and he had 3 different ones, a 4-string, a 5-string, and a violin body. So at $219 I ordered it.
I was amazed how nice it was when I received it. Body is basswood so it is lighter than my '82 Jazz. The fit and finish is amazingly good. Way better than it should be on a $200 bass. The neck was wide as I expected but it wasn't fat. It is a slim neck and even though it has a 12" radius (very flat fretboard) it was still pretty comfortable to play. Not as comfortable as my 4-string Jazz with its 7.25" radius, but hey, there's a whole other string that goes there.
I did put some different strings on it but nothing really special. It is an active bass that can also be played in passive mode. In active mode it has volume, pickup blend, bass, and treble controls. In passive mode only the volume and the pickup blend controls work. I actually use it in passive mode because I can get a good sound out of it by just turnng the blend about 1-click towards the double humbucker bridge pickup (no clicks really, just the space of one), AND I don't have to change the gain setting on my amp like I need to in active mode. I typically only use it for songs that need a low B string because my 4-string still sounds better. But it's served me well for the last 15-years and I probably won't replace it unless I can afford a Dingwall 5-string down the road.
It's a Rogue LX405 Pro (not Pro II or Pro III). It's from back when they were made in Korea and craftsmanship was top notch. The Pro II was I think made in Malaysia and the Pro III is made in China. Neither of them met the fit and finish quality of the original. Actually it is possible to find one done as well as mine but you have to inspect numerous ones to find one that is close. So I wouldn't order it blind online like I did, I'd check out the stock they have on hand at GC, Sweetwater, or wherever Rogue is sold.
BB414
€125 Matsumoku goodness.
Both bought used, though.
I just got one of these on Reverb, $188. I put on new strings and did a full setup, including shimming the neck, and it plays really well, the neck is comfortable (rolled edges!), and the pickups actually sound really good, basically J pickups in soap bar cases. I wanted to try a headless to see if the lighter weight and good balance would help my aching back (it does). Best $200 I ever spent. I don’t like the lame logo, so I put a sticker over it. The ad said the body is aspen.
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1984 Ibanez MC888-BK "Bean Bass". I picked it up from at least the second owner for $500.
I originally went looking for a Roadstar II, which is what I played back in high school... but I happily found this instead.
Upon playing this beauty, I abandoned my search for the Roadstar. This has such a great growl.
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Wow! I’ve only seen one of these before; a friend’s punk rock band had a bassist who used one. I thought it was really cool then but didn’t know what it was.
He used to play it through a pretty much dimed Crate B60 combo, which might seem like a bad idea, but it actually sounded pretty cool in that context.
Later on he bought a Hartke head and 4.5XL rig and it sounded much bigger and more hi-fi but some of that punk trash magic was lost.
The Ibanez Musician line of basses is killer. The company made a variety of Musicians and most were thru-bodies.
I highly recommend.
I highly recommend.
Modded my cheaper and 1st love eb0 so it's out.
Somehow an eastwood airline jetson jr showed up locally near mint w gig bag for 1/2 price ($250). Ooof post covid adding another $100 to new that was once $500. Like shorties and was aware of their univox clone so rushed to nab this after some playing.
Did add ashtray cover (felt naked without it ajd needed some more chrome bling). Just cosmetic. Rest stock. Constantly resist the pickup upgrade pickups as that's what my eb0 is for. And sounds great to me anyway with low tension flats, even if initial idea was to try different strings while keeping ltfs on my eb0. But it helped justify the purchase. Heh. Only have 2 basses but still had to justify it. Love its quirk shape. And gives me pbass sound.
Somehow an eastwood airline jetson jr showed up locally near mint w gig bag for 1/2 price ($250). Ooof post covid adding another $100 to new that was once $500. Like shorties and was aware of their univox clone so rushed to nab this after some playing.
Did add ashtray cover (felt naked without it ajd needed some more chrome bling). Just cosmetic. Rest stock. Constantly resist the pickup upgrade pickups as that's what my eb0 is for. And sounds great to me anyway with low tension flats, even if initial idea was to try different strings while keeping ltfs on my eb0. But it helped justify the purchase. Heh. Only have 2 basses but still had to justify it. Love its quirk shape. And gives me pbass sound.
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I bought this bass as a stupid deal of the day a few years ago for $299 . The regular price is higher by a couple hundred but this bass is really a killer Jazz . I put a Audere pre in it and some Nordys but put it back to stock because it sounded great that way and the pre and pickups just made it different , not better . Still great but G&L did the pickups right so I like it that way best .
Is it one of the older crafted in China ones, or a modern Indonesian? They changed pickups with the switch. Also what strings are you using?
If it was in front of me I could tell you. I bought it used in like new condition in about 2010(?)
And it has a Duncan design pickup and whatever rounds strings it came with, probably Fender. I’ve thought of swapping the strings for some flats but I really don’t play it that much so I’ll leave it for now
Do you still have the tort pickguard? I'm looking for a replacement for damaged one on my son's TMB100... PM me if you still have it?
