Starting Bass

[Progressive]

Hi everyone. I'm new to TalkBass, but I've read this site a lot. It looks like a good community, so I'm just gonna jump in right now.

Unfortunately, I made the horrible choice of ordering a bass over the internet, using "Musician's Friend", who are on the other side of the continent. It's been 22 days since I ordered it, but they said it'd arrive in 3-6 days?

Anyway, I got the cheapest kit I could find (considering I have less cash than German Potato Farmers in 1946), a Rogue Bass starter's bunch, including a strap, cable, amp and lovely-looking black bass. Eventually, I'll probably buy something "better", that is, if I even receive this one.

Nice to meet you all

 

[Figjam]

Id buy something better ASAP. Rogue is pretty much the worst you can get, but i guess thats reflected in the price.

 

[Progressive]

Lol, I gathered. . I'm not sure the amount of money I have reflects any current prices.

 

[BassChuck]

Hope that all works out. Yea, the Rogue is a cheapie. But then, if you spend some time reading all the posts here you see that many people started out on something less than perfect. (ya gotta start somewhere).

Read the thread "Bassists with Cheap Basses", I'm not sure I have the name right, but there are some good thoughts and points of view there.

Best of luck. This is a great forum for information. Don't be afraid to ask or post.

 

[Rick_no7]

They should have emailed you with a tracking number so you could see where it is in the US.

I'm in Atlanta, and I used their free shipping(ground) and still got mine in about 7 days.

As for Rogue, tons of us started on the equal of a rogue. I find its awesome to reward yourself with something better once you really get into the groove.

If you start out with a $1500 bass, its kind of hard to reward yourself

Besides, you probably have no clue what you like in a bass just yet. Use the rogue to figure out what you like and what you hate. Makes you more knowlegeable when you go lookin to sink some serious cash.

 

[Progressive]

Yes, basschuck, I had the idea that Rogue was a cheapie when I first saw it- it looks rather like a polished piece of plastic. Anyway, I only bought it to familiarize myself with the various sounds of the basic 4-string models.

 

[Indiana Mike]

Be easy on yourself! Don't discount it till you've played the hell out of it, you could end up with a really nice cheap bass. It cannot be any worse than the hondo POS I stared with. I played it for two+ years and it suited me just fine. Be patient with yourself and try to resist gas as a $1000 bass will not make you play better.Yes the playability can (or won't) be better on more expensive basses . I would say the thing you will probably want first is a better amp as the amps in the starter packs are usually 10 watts. Not very loud and they tend to break up bad if you try to push them, a better bass will not help this only a stronger amp will. On a budget? look at used gear like posted here. I just picked up a roland cube 30 for $125 as my other amp is to big to always be practical.

Good luck and enjoy yourself!

 

[Progressive]

Rick_No7 and Peter Griffin, thanks for the tips.

Actually, Rick, after I had ordered, I found that my email had suddenly died, with no hope of redemption. That must have screwed up the whole thing, because when I went to check my order status on "my account" at M.F., it has not even been processed yet. They never gave me confirmation that it even shipped until I called them. I have vowed to never use that horrible company anymore, as long as I live in Canada.

Anyway! The amplifier which comes with the start kit (if they haven't screwed it up ) is 20watts of power, only 8 inches high. I didn't want much. What really buggers me is the site listed the rig as 149.99, but due to freight, shipping, taxes, it has turned up to 300.00 Canadian. I would have been better off buying from a local store, but oh well. Can't see the future!

*Feels like venting more*: I just checked musician's friend again, and they still haven't updated the site to say it has been sent out. The entire kit is listed as "not processed yet", which means they never bothered to be *friend*ly and update the page, giving me the order number they promise to. The three times we called customer service, they lied to us about when it was being shipped, and where it actually was headed to. Now, it's sitting in the warehouse of a shipping company named Comerxia, in Florida, which is farther from us than Musician's Friend is from us. It's all very suspicious.

I really hope I like playing bass.. it looks so fun.