What Is Your "Beater" Bass?

[El_Charro]

Hi Everybody,

Just curious, but for those of you that have multiple basses or that have played the H- out of one particular make & model of bass, what is that make/model?

Also- What do you like/dislike about your "go to"/most dependable bass?

As I've been searching for my first bass I've looked at a lot of options, but I'm wondering if I should just go for something reliable and durable.

While I am pretty confident a few brands and models have emerged I'm curious to see how my own perception stacks up against what others have as their "go to"/old-reliable bass that has the most amount of mileage and play on it.

This may or may not sway me on what I'm thinking on buying so definitely no "wrong" answers here, just curious what brand & model you have played the most.

Thanks! \m/

 

[eliascalles]

there are a million good basses out there, so I can only speak to my own "go to" heavily gigged basses. if a 30" scale appeals, I say check out the gretsch junior jets. I've had one of the earlier single pickup models for about 10 years and it's been a very solid instrument. I gigged it 4-6 gigs a week for about 6 years. great pickup, very playable bass. very nice neck. I'v seen used ones going for under $200usd. cons are that the tuning machines aren't the best (though I never bothered to change them out). pick guard is flimsy, but so what.

Prior to that I was playing a 90's MIM fender jazz. I got that one for a shockingly low price at a garage sale and it needed some fixing up but nothing major. You can get them used for a few hundred I"m sure. good all around classic bass can't go wrong. pros- they sound like a jazz bass, lots of tonal variation with the pickups, classic look. cons - I've had a half a dozen j-basses and all of them had at least one dead spot on the neck. price- I've never had a squire one, but the fender ones always seems maybe a little over priced to me.

 

[abarson]

Your first bass absolutely must be an instrument that you are comfortable with. Otherwise, it might very well become your last bass and we don't want to see that happen.
Scale length is one part of the equation, as is neck profile and overall balance. If the instrument feels good but you find after a time that the tone isn't quite there, swapping pickups or EQ can be a cost effective upgrade.

 

[Lesfunk]

Any Good electric bass is going to be reliable and durable as long as you take care of it.

 

[BassmanM]

=1&c[node]=8"]Search Results for Query: Beater | TalkBass.com

 

[El_Charro]

=1&c[node]=8']Search Results for Query: Beater | TalkBass.com

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Thank you for the link to that thread.

I will check it out...

 

[jd56hawk]

Well, if i ever had to play at club where the crowd threw beer bottles at the band, I guess I'd use this.

 

[ZedLepp]

Just about every bass I own is a "beater". I buy the cheap listings that have things wrong with them and I fix them up. These are the basses I use for shows, that way if something happens to it I'm not out a lot of money and it's more luthier practice.

 

[bigjames]

I played a Warmoth fretless 6 string j-bass exclusively for 19 years...then was itching for frets and picked up a Warwick Corvette 5. If I had to pick a "beater" from my current collection it would be those two...so if I knew my gear might be unprotected or, as someone earlier mentioned, there would be beer bottles thrown at the stage, I would use one of those two basses.

I think playability is key. Reading a couple of the previous posts makes me want to find a used P or J or MM that needs some TLC and fix it up.

 

[sawzalot]

I don't have a "beater" bass per se. I have a set of basses that are my #1 in different situations--fretless, five string, "I need a fender Jazz tone for this", and the last category of "everything else", which is quite large. I have a bass that is my #1 in each situation. After a few decades I've got a set of basses that I really like and I frankly don't have any second choices.

 

[Levin Hannaford]

1954 Kay - affectionately known as Jolene the War Horse

 

[Rum Ham]

I’m personally a one bass guy. I have an 04 ‘62 American Vintage Reissue, Fender of course. Stacked knob. I’d never played the 7.25? radius until it. For me it was a whole different beast as compared to the modern radius. It was hard for me to switch back and forth so I said screw it and stuck with my vintage radius for keeps.

 

[Jefenator]

Generally, any bass with not too much monetary and/or sentimental investment should do.
If I need to leave a bass unattended in a hot car, play an extra sketchy venue or loan it to the bass player in the band I play drums in, my go-to is my “parts” J (Allparts neck, Warmoth body).
The only trouble is, I like the way it plays and sounds so much, it often beats out my more expensive axes. (Especially since I upgraded the pickups with Lollar.)
I think my Yamaha BBG5 may become the new designated “beater”.

 

[Helix]

I’m personally a one bass guy

 

[bucephylus]

The BoC (Bass of Clubs)

1988 Warmoth ash body (Bought new), Highway One v2 neck, Sadowsky preamp, Delano JMVC pickups, Fender hardware. Been in too many clubs to count.

 

[WillyW]

I guess if gigging is a thing again, and I’d take either one of my fretted or fretless players, neither are beaters but if I had to clock a drunk with one I’d be ok with that.

 

[ThePez]

the bass i’ve gigged the most and have had the longest is my Musicman Sterling 5. before i switched to 5’s, it was a G&L L2000. recently acquired a Sire P7 5 and now that’s getting a lot of attention.

 

[Maluku]

This might sound odd, but mine is a Music Man Bongo 5... I got it for a very very cheap price. It was customized by a luthier, neck was had the finish removed, frets were replaced with telecaster frets, and it was painted flat black. This seriously dropped the resale value. However, it plays and sounds wonderful.

 

[DirtDog]

Since my long term beater has become my No. 1, that makes my current beater a Sterling by MM StingRay 5. But not so much a beater than an alternate.

 

[Bass V]

I don't have a beater bass, or gigs to beat them up, they're all pretty clean but my venerable Samick LB11 P might be considered if I put tons more time on it after dumping in a vintage mudbucker at the neck. chances of even that are slim tho since getting an awesome and mint Epiphone Thunderbird IV which checks all my boxes except I want more frets cos it sounds so good all the way up. hopefully this beauty will never get a scratch.