What bass should I get? Please help.

I'm very curious about what songs you would like to learn that would require 24 frets. Since you have not yet started playing the bass, we should start by clarifying that a 22 fret bass vs a 24 fret bass will lose the two VERY HIGHEST notes. These are not used very often at all in most songs, especially songs that a beginner would be learning.

As to the Hofner, or any hollow-body bass, their light weight might be why some have told you that they feel like toys. OTOH, Paul McCartney has stated that the light weight of the Hofner inspired him to play busier lines. That's according to this book:

http://www.amazon.com/Paul-McCartne...8&qid=1373752999&sr=8-3&keywords=beatles+bass

I have no experience with the Hofner Ignition, so I won't comment on whether or not they're any good.

 

Do you specifically want a short-scale bass?

 

I have never held a Hofner in my hands, but I am a new player on the bass...actually one week now. I bought a used Greco Beatle Bass guitar made in Japan, and from what I have discovered here on this forum that it was likely made around 1968 per the unique logo on the head of it.
Anyway, this one also has a 22 fret. I know that I am extremely blessed to have this bass, as it was one that I took a chance on not knowing at all how it played because it was a right handed bass and someone had placed the strings in reverse to make it a lefty. In the store it really looked like an unplayable thing appearing that the action was way, way too high, and I did not know at all how it would play actually.
What gravitated me toward it was the lighter weight of it, and the narrow strings on it. It just felt right for me in the main construction of it. After the strings were reversed and stuff adjusted, I now have a playable bass. Really happy!!!
I do see from the things I read here is that a bass can weigh from four pounds something, to nine pounds something and probably more or less. Obviously, a hollow Beatles bass will be of the lighter weights. I find this all to be great for playing.
Regarding the frets. Obviously, it does require 24 frets to make two octaves on each string. So it stands to reason that depending on the string and where it ends at the "22" fret one would have to go to the next string to find it.
I would not worry about that too much. I just can't imagine that this factor will come into play too often. The only thing of course is the G string, the last two higher notes will not be found.
But perhaps that is important to you? It could be, I do not know.
If you were solo playing, perhaps it is an issue.
Blessings to you.

 

He's good, hadn't heard of him.

For solo playing a lot of people might consider an extended range bass - a 6 string or something.

 

first , if you're interested in Hofner ... here's a place to start.

http://www.hofner-guitars.com//about-hofner/hofner-history.html


if you're just started playing ... you should have a little while to get to fret # 24 .. ??!!?

new Hofner basses look to vary in price from $400 to $4,000

you get what you pay for ..!

a slightly Used bass would probably end up being " more value for the money " ..!!

most mid-range priced Ibanez basses have 24 frets ...

if you only have 22 frets ... transpose the song down a couple notes ..

on a lot of basses , those last couple frets are a bit hard to use ..! make sure the body cut away gives you enough room to get all the up there easily .. it's never totally impossible .. but some basses are just easier to play up real high than others .. from my experience ... craploads of basses over the last 4 decades ..

try it out " in person " ... if you find something you like , then you can shop for the best price or something similar yet used ..

most importantly .... have fun ..!

 

Good to hear you want to start playing bass, but I wouldn't worry about the number of frets just now, get used to playing and develop your technique. You're not going to be playing Arams songs any time soon, so just enjoy playing for a while.

 

The thing being, are you really into short scale (30") basses? A bass with a fingerboard ending with an F (22nd fret) instead of a G (24th fret) makes no real difference, a scale worth 760mm instead of 860mm, definitely yes

The Ignition is the Hofner entry level, still a very good bass for its price

If its scale (and sound) are what you're craving for, go for it

Cheers,
Wallace

 

Look up Shecter Raiden Deluxe 4. Its got p/j pickups good stock strings

 

If you have a teacher or a friend who has been playing bass for a while, have that person come with you to look at basses. They should be able to identify any problems with the bass, and whether it's a good value for the money.

 

I like shorties but I wouldn't imagine they're necessarily the best sounding kind of bass for that kind of solo stuff, though they should be easy to play on.

 

play them a string up, 5 frets down.

 

you can bend to the 23.

24 could be a stretch on a bass.

 

Okay, I'm gonna toss in a suggestion that's probably somewhere between "slightly" and "INCREDIBLY" impractical, but here it goes anyway;

You could get yourself a five-stringer. Instead of stringing/tuning it to 'B-E-A-D-G', restring it to 'E-A-D-G-C'. In other words, buy a standard set of strings you prefer, then purchase a single 'C' string that would normally go on a six-stringer.

PROS

• It shouldn't seriously affect your early explorations of the instrument since the top four strings will be exactly like a standard four-stringer.
• Not only will you have all the notes available on a two-octave bass, but you'll have a whole mess of even-higher notes to play with.

CONS

• Compared to a short-scale hollow-body bass, even a relatively lightweight fiver will feel like a freakin' boat anchor.

On that note, are there any short-scale fivers anyone knows about? Y'know…in the extremely unlikely event this advice is taken.

 

There's an Ibanez mikro short scale 5.