What’s the cheapest bass you’ve been/are amazed with?

[Terje Hongset]

I'm not a fan of Ibanez sdgr (blame it on the KoRn era ads) but when I found my atk300 it was love at first sight NOK2500

 

[twc1313]

Affinity P/J and Affinity Jazz - $199 new. The recent models are extremely well built and use alder. The Jazz especially is quite aggressive and sounds great in a full band mix.

Ibanez Talman 100 - $179 when on sale at GC. Monster bass, no mods needed.

 

[mike costelow]

I recently bought a $300 peavey g-bass. I’m not a big fan of active electronics but it is a fantastic bass!

 

[picker1974]

My Epiphone Accubass that I bought on Craigslist for $125. Probably paid too much but I just love maple necks and it sounds so darned good.

 

[JZWHISKEYREVOLV]

I have what I originally called a "Beater Bass" …...it's a cheap Ibanez 100, black with a rosewood neck. I gutted and replaced all of the electronics and switched out the cheap P Bass pickup with a 2008 Fender American P Bass pick I had and a 1980 USA Jazz pick up I had and switched those out...…. this poopy little bass sounds AMAZING and plays so well I now call it my "Sleeper" bass !!!!

 

[Joshbazz]

walked into a Long and Mcquade last year and saw a vintage modified jazz bass in sunburst. It was so playable and had that classic jazz bass sound. It was $250 Canadian (maybe 200 US) so I bought it on the spot. Threw on some chrome flats and it gets me to funk and soul classic jazz lines all day... I even put a Fender ashtray (bridge pickup cover) to complete the classic look

 

[JeremyHumboldt]

Some a-hole broke into my girlfriend's apartment and stole my Peavy T-40 about 30 years ago and I'm still wishing them ill. The Peavy T-40 had some of the best sound that ever came out of Alabama. Thanks Hartley Peavy. Karma plus to the thief.

 

[duke of earl]

Just curious!

For me, it’s a 6 month used Squier Affinity PJ which I bought strung with flat wounds !

It plays great and sounds better then what I could imagine.

Any other nice finds you feel like sharing?

Define cheap , for some players cheap means anything under $500 bucks for me cheap means under $200 I had a 2001 squier p bass special put some flatwounds and alnico pups and it sounded and played great. I wish I did not sell it but I replaced it with a SX ursa 3 put alnico 5 pups that I had from the squier the SX was $ 109 + 46 shipping now thats cheap but a good cheap.ha ha.

 

[Ron Berenato]

I recently paid $40 bucks for a Rogue precision copy at a yard sale. It plays awesome and the neck is rock solid. I gutted the electronics and am going to put some EMG Geezer Butlers on it.

 

[SXema]

Its nice to finally see some love for Dean and the older ibanez gsr 200.

 

[GonePlaid]

My SS Squier Jaguar.....

+1 <addendum> I bought it as a 'backup' and for situations where I needed a ss bass. It sounds better than I thought it would, esp. after putting on flats. And I'm a Gibson man.

 

[ericope]

An early '70's Epiphone ET-280 bought used in '73 that I used in bands and pit orchestras and had around almost 15 years; $95. Matched my ET-250 guitar. Lost the bass in a desperation pawn so as to not have a 90 day default on a charge card.

 

[Bander]

Austin and S101. After a decent setup, they both proved to have nice wood, good electronics, good tuners, adjustability, and good fit and finish.

 

[drummer5359]

I bought an older used American made Peavey Fury (P-bass) for $125 a few years back. That truly was a great bass for the money. I gave it to my great nephew when he took up the bass. He is still playing it.

As far as a current basse that you can buy new, the Ibanez TMB 100 Talman impresses me for what it costs. Sweetwater and Guitar Center currently have them listed at $199.99, GC has some colors available for $179.99. That is tough to beat.

 

[ranbunctious]

An $89 Rogue 5 string. Sounds just like steinway piano strings. Love it...

 

[AveryHorton]

I bought a Charvel by Jackson bass for $120 off some guy living in a trailer who needed the money. It was covered in dust. Took it home, took it apart, cleaned it up, boiled and baked the Rotosound strings and put it all back together. LOVED IT! It became my "rock band" bass.

 

[Henry Hohn]

I have a Squier modified jazz fretless. It sounds and plays great. $160 lightly used.

 

[Dave Neal]

Here's another cheap but awesome bass.. 1978 Yamaha BB1000. $350.00CAD with original case and the toolkit including the hard to come by machinehead spanner... This Bass is mint with ebony board and reverse pickups. I played her out tonight, great build quality and tone a favorite in my collection.

 

[58kites]

I've bought all my basses used and most on the cheap...
Currently six USA Peaveys ..including a G Bass with a really good graphite neck.
I also lucked into a very clean Guild Pilot P bass, and a great USA made Musicman SUB.
But the real amazing bass for the money is my Yamaha Attitude Custom.

It's a 1990 model which I think was the first year of production for the Billy Sheehan Attitude basses ..they were made in Taiwan the first year or two and went to Japan after that.
This bass is as well built as any production bass I've seen.
I feel like I stole this bass...
Guitar Center has a used Yamaha Attitude LTD II for sale right now at $1699.99 and new Attitude LTD's are $2599....I paid what a used VM Squier Jazz would cost me.
The Attitude Custom has the split P pickup that you can see in the pic, but there is also a Dimarzio X2N-B humbucker pickup hidden under the pickguard up at the heel of the neck, and also four piezo pickups in the bridge saddles to boot.
The body is alder, the neck is a meaty beast that can accommodate very low action, and it has a unique super strong neck attachment design that allows access to the last frets easily.
It's also got two output jacks...one for mono and one for stereo output mode to split the pickups to two amps if you choose.
I think it's pretty amazing ..and I got it cheeeeeeap.

 

[Salmiak]

1. My Squier Standard J-bass. Got it new and cheap for my son >10yrs ago. Kept it. Thought about selling but I’ve compared it to $1000 Fenders, and it holds up. So it stays. All stock. Sounds great, great neck and it’s reliable to gig and record.

2. Harley Benton PB50. What a surprise. Put La Bella flats on it and this thing amazes me every time I pick it up. Great for recording and works live too