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What's a good $1,000 starter pack?

G

Greenman72

May 16, 2023
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859
#1
A friend has a teenage son who wants to start on the bass. He's already a fairly accomplished pianist, so he feels like this will "stick". He wants to buy his son a "starter pack" on the bass, but he'll be starting from scratch.

I told him that in order to buy "good but not great" gear, he'll need to plan to spend about a grand.
I recommended:
- A Yamaha BB434. Turn the J volume all the way off, only use the P-pickup, and this bass will take you very far.
- A Fender Rumble LT-25 combo amp (comes with effects and a built-in tuner)
- A gig bag (your choice)
- A KLOS silent cable (I have one and love it. It eliminates all the contact noise.)

What would you recommend in a "starter pack"?

(Note - if it was a kid, or somebody who might abandon it after a month, I'd recommend one of those "Squier Affinity Starter Packs" for $99 or something. But for somebody who's already a fairly good musician, I feel like they need something that's not totally entry-level.)
 
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#2
I don't believe in "starter packs". I would buy a used Mexican Fender P or J, or a Squier VM of the same model. They often are sold with cases or bags. Spend the rest of your budget on a Rumble amp, and any name brand 10 foot cable. Save $20 for a Snark (or any equivalent) tuner.
 
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#4
buldog5151bass said:
I don't believe in "starter packs". I would buy a used Mexican Fender P or J, or a Squier VM of the same model. They often are sold with cases or bags. Spend the rest of your budget on a Rumble amp, and any name brand 10 foot cable. Save $20 for a Snark (or any equivalent) tuner.
Click to expand...
This is exactly what I came to write. Buy the bass and amp used and he'd have no trouble getting his money back if it doesn't pan out.
 
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#5
Just about any Squier J or P will do I love the Sonic, Affinity and Classic Vibe series, you might even find a MIM P of Jay for 400-500. For a amp either the Fender Rumble 200 or 500, I would get the 500 he won't out grow the amp anytime soon. There is nothing worse when you are starting out than not having a big enough amp. New or used this is all in your budget.
 
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#6
Greenman72 said:
A friend has a teenage son who wants to start on the bass. He's already a fairly accomplished pianist, so he feels like this will "stick". He wants to buy his son a "starter pack" on the bass, but he'll be starting from scratch.

I told him that in order to buy "good but not great" gear, he'll need to plan to spend about a grand.
I recommended:
- A Yamaha BB434. Turn the J volume all the way off, only use the P-pickup, and this bass will take you very far.
- A Fender Rumble LT-25 combo amp (comes with effects and a built-in tuner)
- A gig bag (your choice)
- A KLOS silent cable (I have one and love it. It eliminates all the contact noise.)

What would you recommend in a "starter pack"?

(Note - if it was a kid, or somebody who might abandon it after a month, I'd recommend one of those "Squier Affinity Starter Packs" for $99 or something. But for somebody who's already a fairly good musician, I feel like they need something that's not totally entry-level.)
Click to expand...
When my son started out playing bass we bought gently used mostly pro level gear. My thought process was one or two things were going to to happen . The most common thing for a 13 years old is ton lose interest leaving me with gear I’d never use and a hard time selling. The other outcome is he’d get really good and he’s want pro level gear, again leaving me with a bunch of gear I’d be forced to liquidate for pennies on the dollar.

Turns out the it was the second scenario, He was a natural and ended up becoming a profession bassist in the Marine Corps Fleet band program He just retired last year after 21 years, He still has his first bass I bought him 30 years ago, a Fender JB. It looks like it’s been through a war, well it was actually through a war.

Congrats on your picking up the bass. Sounds like he’s turning into a well,rounded musician.
 
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#7
The new Squier Telecaster bass, to keep it simple.
These things are special...I have it in my cart at AMS and Zzounds, but I'm trying my best 𝘯𝘰𝘵 to buy it.
ac87a9ae7cUBIPrbKizltnDkwI6uj1bSLjlLgjJ5.wm-dh-1.jpg

Peavey Max 100...sounds better than the Ampeg Rocket and Fender Rumble, IMO.
569f0580bdUJ60wataAjhsBvLTOwX8dkRAQMdbRk-2.jpg

You'll have money left over if you buy these two, maybe enough for a nice gig bag or case.
 
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#12
Don't sleep on the used market! In my 20+ years of playing I don't think I've bought any bass gear new.

My first real combo amp was an Ampeg BA210 v2. Crazy good, bulletproof combo. Add a ext cab for 500w, or the 350w is plenty. Has a DI for shows or recording and a dirt channel. Played hundreds of shows over a decade with it and I second the above commentors to just buy something that is known and works. Can always sell it; can't do that with crappy "starter packs". I'm sure they're fine for ukuleles haha. (no offense to uke players)

Bass wise, the fender classic vibes are great. I'd get a P, they're good for almost any situation and sit well in the mix when playing with others.
 
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#13
Buy used. Look at it as part of the kid’s bass education program. Go shopping, with him, and prowl the TB classifieds together.

Let him play your well set up, quality gear. Then the mid tier stuff. $400 buys a pretty darn nice Sterling, new. So used at this level should be much less.

Teach him to haggle respectfully. Teach him to be willing to walk away from a deal he doesn’t like. If he’s going to play music for cash, these are solid skills.

I’ll bet you could get him set up for $500, spend the rest on SBL or private instruction.
 
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#14
Another vote to buy used.
And to buy a used amp that is just big enough to play with other people, a 1x12 is probably minimum.
Any ‘ol bass will do, as long as the neck is straight, frets level and set up properly.

Edited to add… a cheap used beat to hell old bass that takes a good setup can sound and play better than a brand new $1500 instrument that has too much relief and a bad neck angle.
 
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#15
jd56hawk said:
The new Squier Telecaster bass, to keep it simple.
These things are special...I have it in my cart at AMS and Zzounds, but I'm trying my best 𝘯𝘰𝘵 to buy it.
View attachment 7314921
Peavey Max 100...sounds better than the Ampeg Rocket and Fender Rumble, IMO.
View attachment 7314922
You'll have money left over if you buy these two, maybe enough for a nice gig bag or case.
Click to expand...

That Tele bass is so badass. I've been so close to pulling the trigger on one. Lol. I just cant put this Yamaha down lol. but yeah man. That's a cool bass. I dig the white one. It looks like buttercream in all the pics I've seen.
 
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#17
Greenman72 said:
A friend has a teenage son who wants to start on the bass. He's already a fairly accomplished pianist, so he feels like this will "stick". He wants to buy his son a "starter pack" on the bass, but he'll be starting from scratch.

I told him that in order to buy "good but not great" gear, he'll need to plan to spend about a grand.
I recommended:
- A Yamaha BB434. Turn the J volume all the way off, only use the P-pickup, and this bass will take you very far.
- A Fender Rumble LT-25 combo amp (comes with effects and a built-in tuner)
- A gig bag (your choice)
- A KLOS silent cable (I have one and love it. It eliminates all the contact noise.)

What would you recommend in a "starter pack"?

(Note - if it was a kid, or somebody who might abandon it after a month, I'd recommend one of those "Squier Affinity Starter Packs" for $99 or something. But for somebody who's already a fairly good musician, I feel like they need something that's not totally entry-level.)shshsh
Click to expand...

Used bass for $2-300 plus a $100 used practice amp. No need to spend a stack until they start gigging seriously. Even then….deals to be found. Have them go to musicgoround.com - hopefully there’s a store nearby but if not, they ship and have a huge selection of used stuff.
 
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#19
Greenman72 said:
A friend has a teenage son who wants to start on the bass. He's already a fairly accomplished pianist, so he feels like this will "stick". He wants to buy his son a "starter pack" on the bass, but he'll be starting from scratch.

I told him that in order to buy "good but not great" gear, he'll need to plan to spend about a grand.
I recommended:
- A Yamaha BB434. Turn the J volume all the way off, only use the P-pickup, and this bass will take you very far.
- A Fender Rumble LT-25 combo amp (comes with effects and a built-in tuner)
- A gig bag (your choice)
- A KLOS silent cable (I have one and love it. It eliminates all the contact noise.)

What would you recommend in a "starter pack"?
Click to expand...

As someone who is new to bass this year, coming over from synths and drums, I ended up with a BB434 and an Ampeg RB-110 and replacement strings (all new, with 15% discount for both through my GC rep - PM me if you want his name), and in the TB Classifieds I got a used gig bag and a Zoom MS-60B+. Got a deal on an extra-wide Levy's strap through Make-An-Offer on Reverb, and at Amazon I got $15 guitar stand and a Lekato tuner/looper for ~ $45 on sale. And two inexpensive 10' cables.

If I were buying for a teenager I'd probably downgrade the choice for bass to a BB234 and downgrade my amp to a 25w from Fender/Ampeg/Hartke/Orange. If I weren't considering a multi-fx pedal for the teen then there's only a need for one cable, and I'd buy a clip-on tuner from TC, Korg or Snark.

Definitely also budget for a repair tech/luthier to do a setup with new strings. (Not needed with the BB434 actually, but the BB234 uses generic Chinese strings.)
 
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