• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

There's no such thing as a "beginner" bass.

Swerve

Swerve

Nov 22, 2002
2,473
5,868
Portland, OR
#1
I enjoy watching good bass review videos. But one thing that always irks me is when the reviewer refers to a budget bass as "suitable for beginners" or "aimed at beginners" or "for beginners". Manufacturers do it too in their ad copy. They'll say things like "it's affordable and lightweight with a comfy smooth satin neck and minimalist configuration which is great for beginners!". Hell all of that sounds great and desirable for ANY player.

Or "these features make it great for beginners or a great backup for more experienced players." As if more experienced players automatically want more bells and whistles. Maybe some of us want comfort and simplicity! I get it. They need "tiers" so you'll keep buying more basses to get to the next level. Like a video game where the final boss is a $10,000 premium deluxe boutique yacht of a bass. Sheesh.

Anyway, bit of a lighthearted rant. I don't knock what anyone likes. I just often prefer cheap "beginner" basses (but not always) and I've been at it 25 years. Sue me! Over! :laugh:
 
  • Like
  • Haha
Reactions: TrustRod, SteveC, Dr. Cheese and 34 others
#4
urkel3000 said:
What else are you supposed to call basses with cheap wood, cheap hardware and rough frets
Click to expand...

Never had a cheap bass spontaneously combust or fail any quicker than one that costs thousands. In fact its often been the opposite experience for me. The ones I've spent the most on had the most QC issues. Whether a bass costs $200 or $3000 has no bearing on whether I will like it or not. Unfortunately I had to learn that the hard way.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TrustRod, keyofnight, JRA and 6 others
#7
Swerve said:
Never had a cheap bass spontaneously combust or fail any quicker than one that costs thousands. In fact its often been the opposite experience for me. The ones I've spent the most on had the most QC issues. Whether a bass costs $200 or $3000 has no bearing on whether I will like it or not. Unfortunately I had to learn that the hard way.
Click to expand...
Times have definitely changed. Nowadays it's almost impossible to buy a bad instrument; that is to say an instrument that can't be set up well and played professionally. But that's all pretty recent - say, the last 20 years, since the advent of CNC machining.

Years ago, entry level instruments could easily range from somewhat disappointing to truly terrible so the connotation of "beginners'" instruments held a lot more stigma that it does now. Modern "beginners'" instruments still have to cut corners somewhere, though, in order to stay in that entry-level price range. Where the manufacturer chooses to make those cuts varies but it could be anywhere or everywhere on the instrument. Fret work? Electronics? Wood quality? Hardware? The cuts are being made somewhere.... Can you play gigs with a well set up, modern, entry-level bass? Sure! You might even really like it, and that's fine. To suggest that it's "just as good as" a much more expensive instrument is probably wild-eyed optimism, though. You might enjoy playing it as much as a much more expensive bass but that doesn't mean the quality necessarily compares.

It's not always true that you get what you pay for, and there are certainly things (not just basses) that are unreasonably marked up, but in most cases you do actually get what you pay for. What one chooses to pay for and what's important to someone comes down to the individual.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Stephen DeBoard, DCErik, fretter and 3 others
#8
Same is true for any instrument I can play a plastic trumpet and make it sound decent but it’s hard work For a beginner it’s even harder.

Now an instrument that will get beat up by getting dropped and mistreated by a 7 year old is a good use case for the cheap stuff.

At least in the case of solidbody basses, if you know how to fix stuff you can make most things playable as long as the neck isn’t a disaster.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fullmoon1971, Lo-E and Swerve
#9
Swerve said:
I enjoy watching good bass review videos. But one thing that always irks me is when the reviewer refers to a budget bass as "suitable for beginners" or "aimed at beginners" or "for beginners". Manufacturers do it too in their ad copy. They'll say things like "it's affordable and lightweight with a comfy smooth satin neck and minimalist configuration which is great for beginners!". Hell all of that sounds great and desirable for ANY player.

Or "these features make it great for beginners or a great backup for more experienced players." As if more experienced players automatically want more bells and whistles. Maybe some of us want comfort and simplicity! I get it. They need "tiers" so you'll keep buying more basses to get to the next level. Like a video game where the final boss is a $10,000 premium deluxe boutique yacht of a bass. Sheesh.

Anyway, bit of a lighthearted rant. I don't knock what anyone likes. I just often prefer cheap "beginner" basses (but not always) and I've been at it 25 years. Sue me! Over!:laugh:
Click to expand...
Well, it depends... I'm more than old enough to remember when yes, there were basses - but mostly guitars - that were primarily... intended, for want of a better word, for "beginners" that were primarily kids 10 y/o and up, who had a birthday or something coming up. And whose parents weren't able - or more likely, willing... to spend a lot of money on something that Junior would most likely ignore after a few months. Something like a very small (by today's standards,) Sears Silvertone 1440 guitar. Which could be had - with a 3W amp built into the guitar's case - for under $100. Yeah, some professional players have played them on stage in today's era, and they do have their own sound. But, I restored one of those things for a friend a few years ago, and; well, I'll just say that it was a miracle it "lived" as long as it did, before I got hold of it. Every thing about it, screamed "DISPOSABLE!!" And that 3W amp in the case? I've no idea how many people got the shock of their lives from that thing... :rollno:
And, the few "beginner" basses that were around then, were no better. They were not expected to live long enough to be played by a "real" bass player; and except for some players who played them live - just to look "Cool" - they've all mostly died a well deserved death. It's pretty hard to find an inexpensive-for-the-time "beginner" bass that's even still playable - much less worth having, as something other than a novel curiosity or a wall-hangar. However...
Today? IMO, there really isn't a modern equivalent to a classic "beginner" bass - or guitar. CNC machines and modern materials have made even the least expensive basses playable by any body; on stage or in your kid's bedroom. Which, AFAIC, is a very good thing... :whistle:
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: DCErik, Pdaddy1978, FRoss6788 and 5 others
#11
urkel3000 said:
What else are you supposed to call basses with cheap wood, cheap hardware and rough frets
Click to expand...
A “budget” instrument. Which is what everyone advises beginners to buy rather than spending thousands on higher end gear right out of the gate. Thus, these are beginner instruments. But as others have pointed out, budget instruments these days are generally better playing and sounding than they used to be, and will serve you well beyond the beginner phase.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DCErik, FRoss6788, Lo-E and 4 others
#13
Wasnex said:
IMHO (😏) Yes there is and the primary qualifying factor is low cost.
Click to expand...

I still think the term is a misnomer. There is nothing inherit to a $250 Ibanez that isn't suitable for a professional if they like it. Same as a new player with plenty of disposable income choosing a EBMM Stingray as their first bass. Both basses can do the same thing regardless of what level the player is at.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fullmoon1971, Stephen DeBoard, RobD_BritBass and 4 others
#14
I have always said there are no beginner instruments, just beginner players.
You can start learning to play on a $100 Harley Benton or $3000 Stingray. It just depends on what you have available to you.
The benefits of modern manufacturing has sure put out some really playable and functional instruments for cheap. Even a $200 Squier can be reasonably set up. 40 years ago a $200 instrument (even in 1984 dollars) was pretty average at very best.
 
  • Like
Reactions: DCErik, Deleted member 409773, HowieD72 and 1 other person
#16
Swerve said:
I still think the term is a misnomer. There is nothing inherit to a $250 Ibanez that isn't suitable for a professional if they like it. Same as a new player with plenty of disposable income choosing a EBMM Stingray as their first bass. Both basses can do the same thing regardless of what level the player is at.
Click to expand...

People are free to spend their money as they like and play whatever bass they want and can afford. That doesn't necessarily mean the term is a misnomer.

This word usage seems to qualify as one of your pet peeves, which I find simultaneously amusing and irritating, so I'll attempt go away now :bag:.

Please feel free to continue without me :thumbsup:.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 96tbird, DCErik, FRoss6788 and 1 other person
#17
I have known beginners who started out with super nice gear. So yeah, the "Beginner Bass" is just a term for less than ideal cheap crap. But that might not sound good for marketing purposes. Myself I like some of the less than ideal Basses. I enjoy doing work to them to make them work for me. To a point. I also have had a few good laughs as I tossed something in the dumpster. Or actually one time in a lake.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Wasnex and Swerve
#20
Yes, there are inexpensive basses and there are really expensive basses. Inexpensive basses are usually bought for beginners because, if it doesn't work out, the person buying doesn't have all that much invested. Inexpensive basses as well as band instruments play and sound amazing compared to what they were like when I started playing back in the late 60's. .
 
  • Like
Reactions: JRA, Skeezix, dougjwray and 1 other person

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back