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Which low cost basses cut the mustard?

#25
Squier CB and VM models, peavey grind, G&L Tribute and yamaha 414 come to mind. I actually own a 414 and a squier vintage mod jazz. I find both incredibly good for the money. But if I'd only have one bass, I'd probably choose a classic vibe squier over the vintage mod jazz, as it's pretty bright sounding. But that's exactly why I own it, to bring a contrast to the 414 which mostly acst as a make do P bass..
 
#29
Im almost shocked by the fact that we are on page 2 and NO ONE has mentioned SX. They run about 100-150 dollars and price to quality you cant beat em (sound as good or better then a MIM fender at 4 times the price.) Even with additional upgrades the bass sounds amazing and cost less then a squire vm
 
#30
again, the mail order thing is my only beef with SX. Still, like you said, you wont come close to spending the 400 dollar budget, which leads to my next point. You have to consider cables, a strap, a few sets of strings, maybe even some upgrades into your budget. That gives SX quite an edge. Even if you get a semi crappy one, at 100-150, you can slap some good pups and a BA bridge on it and have it pro set up with the extra money and still have a little change.
 
#31
I bought a Peavey AC Millenium BXP ($329 USD) from American Musical a couple of weeks ago. Other than tweeking the truss rod to add a little more bow to the neck (it was too flat) and new strings, the bass plays and sounds great. The passive model is even cheaper.

Buying online is not a problem if you go through a major company, because they offer 30-day (or even 45-day) returns if you're not happy with the bass.
 
#34
First, get your head around buying USED.

If you can do that, a whole world of possibilities opens up. For $400, you can get a used G&L Tribute, which is a *fine* instrument; I recently saw a *nice* Yamaha bass that was gorgeous for $300 used a local music store...

New is a rip - no two ways about it... and if all you have is credit, you're better off saving your bling.
 
#37
Talking strictly about new basses, I think you get a significant bump up in quality at somewhere around the $1000 and up level. The neck, fretwork, hardware and electronics are noticeably better. This is, of course, a broad generalization, and there are certainly exceptions. Still, I think it's a pretty good rule of thumb.

Meanwhile, there are plenty of very nice basses for A LOT less money. Yamaha, SX, Squier, and Peavey all make very gig worthy instruments for under $400.

The differences between these price points may be huge to some people, and meaningless to others.
 
#38
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#40
BigOldHarry said:
First, get your head around buying USED.

If you can do that, a whole world of possibilities opens up. For $400, you can get a used G&L Tribute, which is a *fine* instrument; I recently saw a *nice* Yamaha bass that was gorgeous for $300 used a local music store...

New is a rip - no two ways about it... and if all you have is credit, you're better off saving your bling.
Click to expand...

Buying a used bass on the mainland might work pretty well, but getting a decent used bass for cheap in Hawaii is tough, especially on the neighbor islands.
 

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