What Is Your "Beater" Bass?

[marchone]

My two cents.

Get a passive factory Fender first. When you’ve learned to play it comfortably then go wild with any number of great instruments.

 

[JPaulGeddy]

Currently an early 90s Peavey Fury. Sounds like a P, plays like a J, and I'm not crying if it falls over, gets beer spilled on it, etc.

 

[HardNHeavy]

my 83 p bass would be my beater, not because it doesn't sound great. It's been reliable and had its fair share of sweat, blood, dried beer, ashes, and grease over the course of 37yrs

 

[Killing Floor]

I guess my beater is a Kramer Ferrington acoustic. The top looks like a links course because they were pretty poorly built and the a couple trusses came unglued, repaired. The bridge pulled out, took the washers with it. Just in case you didn't think acoustic bridges could be attached with bolts and nuts. The neck is actually the same profile that was on the old Focus basses so it is actually pretty fast and has stayed straight. If I took it to a campfire and a cinder lit it up like kindling I'd be cool with that. If the man-sized case came open and it fell on the driveway I'd be cool with that. I'd be really sad if it got stolen, though. It's a total POS but I still like it.

My every day, not the lightest or most valuable, the one I wouldn't hesitate to gig or record in any situation is a '88 EBMM Sabre with 3 band EQ. Birdseye hypnotizes you so it's not really my decision. The one I'd grab if I was escaping is a '73 fretless P.

 

[Lardass5000]

Maybe some of you have read my "Truck Bass" comments before. Anyway 99.9% of the time I'm a member of the Warwick Horde. But under the seat of my truck I keep the crappiest bass of all time. It is there specifically for when I have to wait in my truck for any given length of time and I want to play bass. Anyway it's an old Steinberger four string from the 80s. It has had the same strings on it for at least 20 years. I don't think I've plugged it into an amplifier in over a decade. It has no case and spends the majority of its time riding on top of a toolbox. It has endured every kind of weather . The advantage of using a Steinberger for a truck bass is that it is headless therefore I don't have to roll down my window if I don't want to when I'm playing it .Anyway I love the concept of a "truck bass" . It feels a very specific need in my life.

 

[PWRL]

Any one of them, I guess. All of mine are great but none are particularly valuable. The only possible exception is my 89 62 reissue P, but it's just an 89, not a real 62, so ultimately it's just another old bass. Even the Warwick is a road worn relic in its own right and unrecognizable as anything that was once expensive. I've played it in biker bars and not worried.

 

[stonetone7]

This is my first, a 2000 Standard Jazz Bass. It’s been dropped, knocked into basement ceiling beams, kicked over, spilled upon, slid off of tailgates, glided down stairs and gigged more times than I can remember.

I put the bridge and EMGs on it about 2002. About 10 years ago I thought about replacing the control plate, but decided to wait and see just how pitted it could get.

There are cheaper options, for sure. But you can’t go wrong with a Player for a bass that’ll be in it for the long haul.

 

[tgriley62]

One man's "beater bass" is another man's "treasure". Here are both my main & only bass's I take out. Never had a problem out of either one

 

[Matty Koff]

I'm going to recommend get yourself an Ibanez TMB500 if you think you want a 4 string, and a TMB505 if you think you want a 5 string.

I just got the TMB505, and the thing is a beast. Roasted maple neck, Nordstrand CNJ P/J setup, 2 band active EQ with an EQ bypass switch and a passive tone knob. It sounds good passive, it sounds great active, the knobs are metal.. frankly.. a lot of bang for your buck with a $550 price tag, cost less than my swamp ash bodied Sire P7 (which I still love).. I've owned a couple passive Fenders, and while they're nice, ever since getting my Sire, and now my new Ibby, I prefer the EQ bypass switch, and the versatility of the preamps themselves for on the fly EQ settings.

That being said I still have a Fender P-bass I love, but it's a 4 string, and 5 strings just seems to be my sweet spot. Both of my 5 stringers offering both a passive setting and an active EQ.. hard to beat them for their cost imo, especially the TMB500/505..sick bass.. purdy metallic finish.. beefy preamp.

 

[CallMeAl]

It seems like the waters are muddied by the terminology. (IMHO) “Beater” is a bass you couldn’t care less about. A bass you leave in the truck, a bass that doesn’t have a case. “Go to” may be a bass that’s beat up because it’s played so much (which is what I think OP was going for) but not necessarily the same thing. But I digress....

I only have 2 Basses. My “go to” is a Fender MIM Jazz neck on a Squier P body. I love everything about this instrument. The neck is a dream. It balances perfectly. I get compliments on the sound all the time (and of course I love the sound too.)

My “beater” is not really a beat-up bass, just my back up. I’ve searched a while for a bass that’s as comfortable to play as my #1, but with a different sound. I found this Peavey milestone. Jazz pickups in a P-style body. It’s a blast to play. And for $75, you can’t go wrong:

 

[LadyLoveStingRay5]

The all black Sire V3-5

 

[mr80htz]

Ibanez Talman 300. Awesome instrument that would not suck if it was stolen as it would mean I get to buy another bass . Seriously, Talman 300+ line of basses are great instruments for $300. The most versatile instrument I have.

 

[LeFunk Machine]

My beater bass is my fender precision bass MIM Year 2001.

 

[noeinstein]

I have others, but this one gets all the work, when there is work:

 

[Iristone]

If a beater means a cheap bass that I take out when I want to keep my good bass at home, I don't have one. I'm far too poor to buy a good bass I don't play.
Most commonly used - mostly it'd be my newest (to me) bass. I don't have the disposable income to buy a bass I don't prefer (in some ways at least) to those I already own.
Currently it's a Gibson Thunderbird with Chinabuckers. Great neck and balance, very woody tone. I concur with Bass V that it sounds great at upper registers (The Real Me anyone?). I just wish it had a little more upper fret access, it's neck-through anyway so please!

 

[Manticore]

Not really a "beater," but it's been to thousands if gigs (almost all of my gigs) since I bought it new in '92. It's worn, and certainly well-traveled, but also well loved. This replaced a Ric 4001 that I used almost exclusively for 20 years; I still own the Ric.

 

[stonetone7]

Not really a "beater," but it's been to thousands if gigs (almost all of my gigs) since I bought it new in '92. It's worn, and certainly well-traveled, but also well loved. This replaced a Ric 4001 that I used almost exclusively for 20 years; I still own the Ric.

I get what you’re saying, but ‘Alembic’ + ‘beater’ is causing some serious cognitive dissonance.

I guess in this case (and certainly this is how I approached the question) ‘beater’ means the No. 1, or your go-to bass for all times of uncertainty.

Either way, that thing Fing sweet.

 

[Joybass]

This: my Vintage VJ74. Heavy, big sounding, and recently refinished and equipped with a blend pot.

 

[Rib 13]

Thats not my definition of "Beater Bass"....my definition of Beater Bass is somethomg you have laying around the house to use as a grab-n-go practice instrument and if it falls on the floor or dog knocks it over, no bigee

The instruments I gig with the most are not beater basses to me

 

[hamiltonb]

I got this from FB marketplace, was listed for 100 bucks. It’s an Ibanez RD727, the neck is stamped RD828 at the bottom. Probably same neck for both models, or they ran out of the 727 necks that day.
It’s beat to crap, it’s a 30 year old rock/hair metal machine so I’d expect that.
Nice thing is that since it’s black it can hide the dings well, someone used high gloss fingernail polish on them I think and you can’t see from even a few feet away.
I’ll edit later to show some close ups.
The end of the fretboard has a slight “ski slope” according to the tech that set it up after I got it, and I spent twice as much for the setup and a case than what I paid for the bass haha.