What should my first bass be?

Hi, welcome.

Well, the obvious answer is a Precision type bass.
Typical bass sound and it's used on all genres successfully.

You could try a short scale bass, if you think the usual 34" scale is too big.


And finally, buy something that you like, visually speaking. It's more important than you might think at first.

 

There are lots of choices! The good news is that these days there are great choices at every price point. A general idea of what you want to spend would be helpful. You can't go wrong with a Fender Precision or Fender Jazz bass both are used in all genres of rock and metal.
Do you have any bassists whose sound and style you admire? That is alway a good place to start. Good luck with your search!

 

I see you just joined TB yesterday. Welcome to Talk Bass!
Give us some ideas of what genres you like and what basses you might be interested in and who your bass playing heroes are. Solid Body, Hollow Body, Semi-hollow Body, Chambered, 4 string, 5 string, 6 string, double course and triple course, Acoustic Bass Guitars, Fretless, Fanned Frets, short scale, medium scale, long scale.... There's a bunch to consider.

 

paid $250 for this used but minty Epi Thunderbird IV, hard to beat such boom for the bux

 

Hi! Welcome to TB. I can't really recommend a bass, other than get something that makes you want to pick it up, and don't get locked into labels.

How I see your future:

(dunno the artist/source to credit)

 

That is a good choice, also.

The reason almost all of us say Precision of Jazz is because they have standard tones and are used for decades with success.

It doesn't need to be a Fender. Almost all brands have J or P basses.


Check out JuliaPlaysGroove on a SUB, if you don't already know her. She's an awesome player.

 

It's not that important, you know? Nowadays even low budget basses are good quality.


When I started playing bass, I just went to all the stores in my city and picked a bass that looked similar to what Tim Commerford was playing at the time with RATM.

At the time I knew nothing about basses and the internet ran at 54kb so I chose what I felt attracted to and seemed good quality.

 

This:

Classic Vibe '60s Precision Bass® | Squier Electric Basses

. . . . and often our lady bass players (as well as some of our guys) aren't real big people, so for someone a little smaller in stature, any of the Ibanez Soundgear basses in your price range. A size smaller overall and a slimmer neck than a Fender bass.

Best of Luck,

JW

 

The SUB Stingray is a great bass for the money!

 

Buy as much as you can afford.

try a P
Try a jazz
decide which fits you.

start there.

then wait for GAS

 

Precision Bass
,

 

Welcome to TB. Get the best you can afford.

 

I had a few of these come in for setups and I was very impressed with the build quality, playability and sound.

 

I'd go with a fender (or squire over $300) PJ (split pickup in the middle, single coil bar near the bridge). That'd be a great start. The $200 affinity series Squires really aren't bad either, there's just much better for a couple hundred more (much less than you'd spend to get it to that level).