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What does "beginner's bass" mean?

Aras

Aras

Jun 19, 2015
337
184
43
Russia, Moscow
#1
Hey, guys!
Many times i've heard those words. But what does it mean? If my bass is made from alder (i mean it is a solid wood, not a 5-6 pieces of something), resonating good, has straight neck, strong tuners and decent pickups (trying EMG PJ, but didnt like. Now there is a costom set from luthier, with vintage specs and solid wire with a rag insulation)bilded with care to little things and detaills... What makes it "beginer's"? It is passive low cost Yamaha trbx174, but what is major difference with " big boys"?
 
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#3
High end instruments generally have more expensive, more exotic and/or denser woods, better/heavier/more expensive hardware, better more expensive pickups, are more handbuilt and are paid more attention to fine detail etc. Like the difference between a Mercedes and a Chevrolet. Both will get you there comfortably, how much additional features/luxury etc do you need, can afford, and are willing to pay for?

If it plays well and gets a sound that suits your usage don't sweat it. I've come around to the mind set that a lot of the inexpensive, "beginners" level instruments are just fine and I'm not afraid/ashamed to get on stage with them. I own expensive basses and I now have a couple of cheap beginners level basses (Steinberger Spirit and just rediscovered in the closet an Ibanez SGR200 that used to belong to my son when he was 12 years old) that play well and get the sounds I'm looking for and can work with. Beginners level instruments these days are likely better built than a lot of what now sell as classic collectors instruments. Case in point - back in the '70's when I played on the road full time I had a couple of early '70's Fender Precisions that today would sell for at least $2000 USD or more (wish I'd kept them...). My Spirit is probably a better built instrument than those Fenders were and I paid $400 USD for it. A lot of folks here will probably agree that their inexpensive beginners level Squirer basses are as well built, or close to it, as the older "classic" Fenders and are a fraction of the price. Beginners level these days does not mean they're junk, most are actually pretty well made and sound good.
 
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#7
I'm pretty literal-minded when it comes to the term beginners. IMO if a vendor advertises it as such, then that is what it is. I don't automatically classify all basses at affordable price points as beginners instruments. Perhaps from $199 on down it might be safe(r) to assume. Also beginner may denote shorter than 34" scale length and be offered paired up with an inexpensive practice amp.

Having said that, there are many fine basses at very affordable price points that could be suitable for beginners, but are also equally compatible with any other level of player.
 
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#10
DigitalMan said:
I'm pretty literal-minded when it comes to the term beginners. IMO if a vendor advertises it as such, then that is what it is. I don't automatically classify all basses at affordable price points as beginners instruments. Perhaps from $199 on down it might be safe(r) to assume. Also beginner may denote shorter than 34" scale length and be offered paired up with an inexpensive practice amp.

Having said that, there are many fine basses at very affordable price points that could be suitable for beginners, but are also equally compatible with any other level of player.
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yeah, thats what i'm talking about - ligth weight, short scale and other that type of things - this is what i can understand as "beginner's" stuff. Thing that made to just show the point for those who just whant to see. Like you know - plastic swords
 
#13
CatSquare said:
I'd say it's just a price class thing more than anything else. A beginner will typically get something cheap in case bass playing isn't in the cards. You probably wouldn't buy a Ric or something as your very first bass, but you might buy a Squier.
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Yep. I think it's silly to talk about "beginner basses." A beginner can learn on a $5000 Sadowsky just as easily as on a $100 SX - probably easier. We just call cheap basses "beginner" basses because that's what people usually buy first.
 
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#15
Experienced and seasoned players can get a workable sound out of nearly anything handed to them.

Less experienced or student level players - and especially beginners- need all the help they can get. And having to fight a poorly made or poorly set up instrument isn't helping their musical development.

So I consider the term "beginner," when used in context of a musical instrument, largely to be an oxymoron.

If anything, a beginning bass player needs the best instrument available ten times more than a professional who, more accurately, prefers to play one.
 
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#16
40Hz said:
Experienced and seasoned players can get a workable sound out of nearly anything handed to them.

Less experienced or student level players - and especially beginners- need all the help they can get. And having to fight a poorly made or poorly set up instrument isn't helping their musical development.

So I consider the term "beginner," when used in context of a musical instrument, largely to be an oxymoron.

If anything, a beginning bass player needs the best instrument available ten times more than a professional who, more accurately, prefers to play one.
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agree. We have one big instruments selling company, they make video reviews of their stuff. And there is a guy on bass line - he push sound from anything. As an example this vid i will attach
 
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#18
Aras said:
Hey, guys!
Many times i've heard those words. But what does it mean? If my bass is made from alder (i mean it is a solid wood, not a 5-6 pieces of something), resonating good, has straight neck, strong tuners and decent pickups (trying EMG PJ, but didnt like. Now there is a costom set from luthier, with vintage specs and solid wire with a rag insulation)bilded with care to little things and detaills... What makes it "beginer's"? It is passive low cost Yamaha trbx174, but what is major difference with " big boys"?
Click to expand...

Price tag, bragging rights, and resale value.
 
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#19
A beginner bass is any bass a beginner gets his hands on. :)

It's not like there's a difficulty setting or anything, but it's usually price based. It's assumed that the beginner would want to buy an inexpensive bass first to see if they'd like to learn the instrument. My "beginner" bass was an Ibanez MC924- I played borrowed basses and had a very specific kind I wanted back in the 80s. Saved up for it.

These days, beginner priced basses are so much better in quality, in fact my beater bass I use regularly is one. Great sound and playability, my expensive ones I don't use as much.
 
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#20
Gorn said:
A bass inexepensive enough so that if the player decides he doesn't wanna play it, it's not that much of a waste of money. What's considered to be inexpensive is up to the person paying for the bass.
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This is pretty much it.

These days "beginner" doesn't have to mean crap though. Competition and production advancement means that $200 can get you a new, gig-worthy instrument of sufficient quality that it will not hinder your advancement. If you spend $3-400, your options are quite numerous! As others have said, more than a few pro's and semi-pros use instruments that might be considered beginners.

Beginner instruments are more numerous, varied, better constructed and -adjusted for inflation- far cheaper than ever before.
 
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