7 lbs. 13 oz. is light compared to most basses out there, mine included.
I agree with the Yamaha option, BTW. Great and under-rated basses.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
What Precision clone up to $300(used) could you recommend?
- Thread starter Oleg BassPlayer
- Start date
-
- Tags
- clone precision bass recommend
7 lbs. 13 oz. is light compared to most basses out there, mine included.
I agree with the Yamaha option, BTW. Great and under-rated basses.
Lachlan Legge
Guest
Used Yamaha BB or an older Ibanez P; really any of the older Japanese clones. Squier is a safe choice. Not sure what the bass market is like in Ukraine. Can you buy from Thomann? They have the Squier Affinity PJ for about that much. Hear they're decent basses.
I'm assuming your goal is $300 US dollars, which is roughly $7900 Ukranian hyrvnia.
It's too bad this Aria is not available: Aria STB-PB-DX 3TS
This Yamaha is a solid bass: Бас-гитара yamaha trbx174 rm
SX are pretty solid, and this one is really cool looking: Invalid Link Removed
You
More Yamahas:
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Invalid Link Removed
Seriously...I wonder if Rondo could get that SX here in America.
edit: looking into it some more, it's the "Pirate" series.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
And it appears that Rondo DOES sell it!
Link Removed
$129.95 and it comes with a scarf. I think I'm about to get a new bass.
I actually went to buy it after seeing this post - it says out of stock. It's such a goofy looking bass and yes, a scarf is included. Even if I only play it once a year (on talk like a Pirate Day) it's worth it.
wintremute
mediocrity at its finest
- Oct 16, 2014
- 6,942
- 29,552
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Langstrom Carrot Farms
I sent an email to Rondo yesterday, and received this today: "Thank you for your message. Unfortunately, the SX PBG2 Pirate Bass is a discontinued model. We have not had these for several years."
Since it's still on the SX web page ( [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] ), I'm going to contact them and ask where in the US I can purchase it.
I wouldn't hold out much hope for that. AFAIK, Rondo is the exclusive dealer for all TEAM international (SX, Agile, Brice, etc) guitars in the USA.
There's a slim chance you may be able to find them in europe and I think a few of the models are also sold under the Harley Benton name.
Pbassmanca
In the pocket n' thumpy. So woody, so greasy...
I've always wanted to try some Carvins but they are rare in Canada. I've actually never even seen one either new or used....
To explain. I know a few players that have vintage ( US ) P-Jazz basses . The pups are fine ( 1960-65 ) but pots are scratchy, caps are tone taste ) But as mentioned referring to the E Series Japan ( that in many cases are selling on parity or more $€£¥ etc. than US Fender ) many of the 82-84 pups are great, it's the pots . I've even seen gray bottoms from Japan . Pots/caps = tone/volume , if pups sound good etc. Can I post pix on here ? I'll post what I'm referring to. By the bye. Good luck bringing it in at $300. I'm sure it can be done, just depends on player,sound and how the stars are aligned . By the way. I put a caveat on that MIM ( They're just not for me ) ...
Some pots are scratchy on used instruments. Yes. Do they need to be replaced when scratchy? Not necessarily. They may just need to be cleaned. If they need to be replaced, do they have to be replaced with CTS pots? Nope. Are CTS pots going to significantly improve your tone vs Bournes or even dare I say Alpha pots? Nope. Does a paper and oil cap improve your tone vs a 25 cent film cap? Nope. It's a passive circuit. The capacitor bleeds tone, it doesn't pass through it. Different caps sound different in a passive circuit because of differences in actual capacitance and differences in the overall resistance in the circuit, not because the materials. I would even go so far as to say that you can safely use "microphonic" ceramic caps with no ill effect.
While the Japanese basses are very good, and I own more Japanese basses and Japanese brands than anything else, it's absolutely ridiculous to tell someone that Mexican Fenders are junk, even if it includes a caveat. Neither are the current Chinese Squiers junk. Do the Japanese pickups sound better? Maybe, maybe not, that would depend on both the individual bass and the individual player. If the bass is otherwise well-built, pickups are neither complicated nor expensive to replace. If you can get a Mexican bass setup as well as a Japanese bass, what would make one junk and the other a coveted prize?
I'm going to put in a vote for a used Mexican Fender P bass. I've owned a couple. They are totally boring basses really. One metric unit of P bass. A 'cooking' bass (as in 'cooking' wine). However they are a good way of working out if you get on with P basses, hold their resale value very well (I've seen a 2001 MIM P bass sell for the same as a 2o14 MIM P bass), and they aren't precious basses that need preserved. If you want to drag it into your garden and spray it with rattle cans then you aren't ruining a treasured instrument. The pickups are good enough, the frets are good enough, the electronics are good enough... You will find better examples of all three in more expensive instruments. However if you want to replace the bridge/pickguard/pickups/neck (!)/body (!!!) then everything is a standard Fender fit. Beyond that it has the magic 7ender on the headstock, which keeps ignorant bandmates and soundmen off your back.
Guessing you are a Kool-Aid fan?
I have owned and played quite a few MIJs...good basses for the most part, nice necks...but those basswood MIJs STDs are nothing special...I had a recent Classic Vibe that was easily as good..
New MIMs are quite solid..and the Classic Series MIMs are on par with my MIJ Sting and Geddy...
A lot of folks go though a 'MIJ rulez' phase...
Shockingly, Japanese are people...just like Americans, Mexicans and Chinese....each are capable of making basses that range from outstanding to poor...
OP is in Ukraine...Reverb could help...but for $300 after shipping and import? Might be easier to find a P pickup than an actual bass at that $ via Reverb.
+ 1 to Squier VM or CV....heck even the current Affinities are decent...
Is Thoman an option in Ukraine?
+1 for AcridSaint......
The brand of potentiometer will have zero effect on your tone (for all practical purposes, on stage). The brand of capacitor will have zero effect on your tone (for all practical purposes, on stage). There is a ton of hype about this stuff in musical circles and it's all just nonsense, rubbish and bullsh*t! You can even find folk claiming that textile covered hook-up wire sounds different to PVC covered. Or that the famous "orange drop" capacitors (made by the company, Sprague) sound different to another brand.
Potentiometers can be cleaned when they become 'scratchy'. What happens is that dirt and dust, etc, gets onto the electrical parts inside the pot and a proprietary electronic cleaner should sort that out. My view on CTS pots is that they're probably made to a higher standard than some of the other brands ... that includes both the mechanical and electrical components of the pot. IOW, you get what you pay for.
Just my $0.02
Best.
J
When I was writing about the Japanese Fenders, I was only referring to the JV or E series up to around 86, I don’t know a thing about the Japanese Fenders after that time. As everyone knows, this was the transition period for Fender prior to and possibly a year or so after Fender had their corona manufacturing up and running . I tried to say a couple of different ways that MIM Fenders are just not for me, I also said many players love them, I’m just not one of those. Fender as well as every other major player in the American Guitar manufacturers are a joke. I couldn’t begin to fathom the day people ( not musicians ) pay for “ distressed “ instruments ( Fender ) that for all intents are supposed to make you appear to have put in your 10,000 hours. Then all the endorsement deals. God knows I love the Beatles, but when Martin came out with a George MARTIN signature model ... John Mayer just pulled his endorsement deal with Fender, I have much respect for him doing so. He went with PRS ...
I'd echo the suggestion that any country can put out great instruments or crap.
Generally Japan from the 80's on (and earlier in many cases) does put out pretty good, even great instruments. That is as much a function of the experience of the factories as much as the price of labor beginning to go up to the point where it wasn't feasible to build cheap guitars there. The 80's Squire's fit in that window where the experience and build quality was high but economics still made it worthwhile to make cheap instruments.
That said, there are alot of MIJ instruments that are just good, not great and alot of early stuff that is simply crap. I had an 80's Silver series Squire P-bass that sounded pretty good, but the opaque sunburst was not great looing and I'm not convinced it sounded or looked better than some of the CV series squire's of today. Had the MIJ label though so when I sold it I got as much (maybe more?) as a new CV.
The same issue comes up with Korea. Folks rave about MIK instruments and often they're right, but I've played alot of absolute DOGS that came from Korea.
As a final asside, neither my MIJ Squire or any of the CV series squire's I played have felt or sounded as good to me as my Vietnamese ESP/LTD Vintage 214 P-clone which retailed for about the same as the Squire's but beat it in just about every way.
I mostly agree. FOr example I'm not sure that CTS vs Alpha for example is much different in terms of quality or durability. However, I wouldn't want to completely downplay the value of the caps and pots in your instrument as they are what the signal passes through and can have far more impact on your tone than the woods in your instrument. You could have the best wood, pickups and hardware but if it's passing through a crappy pot, it's going to sound crappy.
What's important is:
-Quality/type of pot: A well made full size pot is going to sound better than the crappy minis that come in so many low end instruments.
-Taper. Audio or Linear pots work best in different applications. A pot that drops off in tone or volume can be very problematic on stage especially if you bump it at the wrong time.
-Value: Getting the right value pots is especially important simply for functionality the wrong value of pot will not give you the control you need over your volume or town.
As for caps, they're probably way over-hyped, but each cap is going to draw off slightly different frequencies and sound a bit different so there's no harm in trying out different ones, especially when they're so cheap. If anyone thinks they don't sound different, try tone-styler or similar multi-cap selector and hear the difference. It's there.
Generally Japan from the 80's on (and earlier in many cases) does put out pretty good, even great instruments. That is as much a function of the experience of the factories as much as the price of labor beginning to go up to the point where it wasn't feasible to build cheap guitars there. The 80's Squire's fit in that window where the experience and build quality was high but economics still made it worthwhile to make cheap instruments.
That said, there are alot of MIJ instruments that are just good, not great and alot of early stuff that is simply crap. I had an 80's Silver series Squire P-bass that sounded pretty good, but the opaque sunburst was not great looing and I'm not convinced it sounded or looked better than some of the CV series squire's of today. Had the MIJ label though so when I sold it I got as much (maybe more?) as a new CV.
The same issue comes up with Korea. Folks rave about MIK instruments and often they're right, but I've played alot of absolute DOGS that came from Korea.
As a final asside, neither my MIJ Squire or any of the CV series squire's I played have felt or sounded as good to me as my Vietnamese ESP/LTD Vintage 214 P-clone which retailed for about the same as the Squire's but beat it in just about every way.
I mostly agree. FOr example I'm not sure that CTS vs Alpha for example is much different in terms of quality or durability. However, I wouldn't want to completely downplay the value of the caps and pots in your instrument as they are what the signal passes through and can have far more impact on your tone than the woods in your instrument. You could have the best wood, pickups and hardware but if it's passing through a crappy pot, it's going to sound crappy.
What's important is:
-Quality/type of pot: A well made full size pot is going to sound better than the crappy minis that come in so many low end instruments.
-Taper. Audio or Linear pots work best in different applications. A pot that drops off in tone or volume can be very problematic on stage especially if you bump it at the wrong time.
-Value: Getting the right value pots is especially important simply for functionality the wrong value of pot will not give you the control you need over your volume or town.
As for caps, they're probably way over-hyped, but each cap is going to draw off slightly different frequencies and sound a bit different so there's no harm in trying out different ones, especially when they're so cheap. If anyone thinks they don't sound different, try tone-styler or similar multi-cap selector and hear the difference. It's there.
Last edited:
