Hey hope you guys don't mind a beginner's post here documenting some experiences with budget bass testing. Been goofing around with my friends' gears all this while, Epiphone EB-0 and some Cort basses... So I decided it was time to get my own stuff!
Just thought of setting up a budget bass rig and this seems to fit the bill.
1. PJ configuration
2. Not too heavy (many sub-$300 basses seem to have this covered)
3. Fairly well-made (no major flaws, nice fit and finish)
4. Budget below $200 (unless I wait and save up more)
5. Decent pick-ups for its price range
6. Will be used for small gigs and occasional demo recordings
Tried the Yamaha RBX170 and Ibanez GSR200, the two most popular starter basses according to forums but never truly connected with either. The Yamaha was a near buy, plenty of tonal variety but not enough "boom" whereby the P pickup doesn't seem to deliver as this bass has an overall trebly sound going for it. Out of the 2 Yamaha RBX170s I played, one had solid built quality while the other had sharp fret ends throughout the neck (not sure why since Yamaha has a pretty solid reputation for build quality).
The Ibanez GSR200's active electronics, once you've played higher end stuff, just doesn't quite cut itfeels like I'm paying for the sake of owning active electronics but not exactly the quality I want.
Was gonna save up more for a Cort A4 (nearly triple the price where I live + pretty heavy bass), then I stumbled upon these guys in a local store. The Squier Affinity and Vintage Modified Precision PJ were placed side by side, much to my luck. I tried them out with the new Fender Rumbles and couldn't really tell the difference. Maybe just a tad more polished sound with the VM PJ, but I was trying hard to justify paying an additional $120-150 for the VM PJ. Other notable differences are the neck (super glossy on the VM PJ - sweat's best friend! vs. some kinda satin finish for the Affinity) and the weight, which is lighter for the VM but causes slight neck dive as a result. Earlier folks have mentioned about similar tuning pegs (open style) being used but slight differences in hardware (bridge or something).
Body wood was much debated in some forums, VM - Agathis vs. Affinity - Alder. But a consensus was reached saying that the Alder could made from multiple pieces and of a much lower grade vs. decent grade Agathis with less pieces put together. While Alder could be a "more interesting" sounding tone wood, I'm not sure how much this will go in favour of the Affinity if other factors are considered.
So yeah, here I am torn between these two. My gear snob friend and one of the sales assistant strictly recommended that I get the Vintage Modified line if I'm going the Squier route, but apart from the opinions of a few seasoned bassists I kinda wanna trust my ears as well. One thing of note, however, is that the black Affinity PJ I tried seemed to differ in quality vs. the red one that was next to it. Can't exactly tell you how different due to my limited knowledge, but the moment I played it thru the amp I knew it sounded more bland for some reasons. So my theory as of now is:
8-9 out of 10 vintage modified guitars are well set-up and sound awesome
vs.
5-6 out of 10 of Affinity guitars
QC issue perhaps with the Chinese vs. Indonesian factories. But if I'm to change my current plan, save up more for the VM PJ model, I could actually up my budget a tad bit more to get active electronic models like Cort B4 (which seems to resemble the Ibanez SR600 in terms of swamp ash body and Bartolini pick-ups). So my point here is for my budget of $200, the Affinity PJ seems to be great simple fun and decent quality (if you test a few and find the right one!).
End of rambling, sorry for the length. I would love to hear someone from each party try to convince me to get the Affinity or the VM PJ though. What exactly justifies the additional $120?
have you looked into the cort action basses? they seem to.be able to fit a lot of your specs
@gabrielvv7 
