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What's the best looking bass for £300 or under


Annoying Twit
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That sure is brawl. I think we're spoilt for choice
in the £300 price range. There's just that much
variety, £300 getting you 5 strings,fretless, etc.

I keep looking at those thru neck Bentons, since I got
that one last month I've no qualms about another Benton.

Same goes for the Retrovibes. Great basses on all
counts, looks,sound,build and playing. More than
happy with my Evo and Zygote.

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The Harley HB2005 bass looks OK, but I find the angled pickups look a bit odd. And, I think an earlier version of this one had even more impressive body wood grain. But, it's £177, and you can't expect everything for that much.

I'm not sure that I know of a bass with a spalted top (or even veneer) that goes for £300 or less. Are there any? The first I thought of was the LTD B204. But I couldn't find them new for less than £325.
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I agree with you on the angled pickups and squaring them off by routing and adding bigger pickups ain't an option,
volume knob is too close and defeats the purpose of Great Looks.

Can't help with Spalted tops but I just saw this on Gear4Music

http://images.gear4music.com/media/8574/600/preview.jpg

Maple,Mahogany thru neck
Ash body
24 frets
Active £178 oh and you get a Hard Case with it.

Can't vouch for the Bass but it sure is pretty

http://www.gear4music.com/Guitar-and-Bass/Oregon-Neck-Thru-Bass-Guitar-and-Case-by-Gear4music-Natural/8FM

What's your thoughts ? [attachment=161897:preview.jpg]

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No idea if they are any good, but the cheapo Gretsch looks lovely
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/gretsch-g2220-junior-jet-bass-ii-black/53156


Also the Bass Collection 'Lizzy' bass looks quite sexy with the mirror scratchplate:
http://www.gak.co.uk/en/bass-collection-lizzy-bass-jet-black/43317

Edited by Roland Rock
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Aria STB-GT:

[sharedmedia=core:attachments:71585] [sharedmedia=core:attachments:34467]

Basically a poor man's Ray with a Jazz-ish neck, P-shaped body & 2-band EQ.

These tend to go for around £120, think they were/are around £200 new. There was a blue one for sale here for ages, don't know if it's still up or not.

Jon.

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@kodiakblair I don't know what it is, but the Oregon basses from Gear4Music just look a bit ... 'wrong' to me. The six string, to me, looks even more wrong than the four string. This is just a personal opinion, and I'm not saying that others should agree with me.



It has an unusual body shape, similar to the Taurus T24. But somehow to me it looks right on the T24, while it doesn't on the Oregon.

IMHO the Vintage V1004SP is the best looking bass posted in this thread so far, but it is over the £300 so doesn't count in this superficial looks are everything thread.

In real life, I thought the Squier VMJ fretless looked really nice. Not so much in photos though.

Looking at the Antonio Tsai posted by Tauzero and the Aria posted by Bassassin, it's started me wondering if the decrease in number of internet brands selling a variety of weird and wonderful basses has reduced our choice. I'n not sure how much the HK instruments were before they were blown out. Reviews have said that some of the finishing (and hardware placement) left a little to be desired, but they absolutely looked wonderful. Who is filling that niche? Skylark guitars sell some interesting and original instruments, but I'm not sure I'd call them attractive. http://www.skylarkguitars.com/skylark-bass-guitars-746-0/Skylark-Guitar-Electric-Twin-Retro.html I'm sure that there used to be more internet brands, some from Germany, that sold cheap instruments which did look very attractive.

I'm surprised there aren't some el cheapo spalted instruments, or other fancy tops. How much can it cost to add a thin veneer or photoflame? And wouldn't it nowdays give a brand a bit of a slightly USP to have a fancy top.

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The Oregon is too wide in the middle I think and the 6'er neck doesn't help matters.

I've had a look at veneers and they're not cheap typically £65/75 so that probably
adds £100.

The Vintage are listed discontinued at some places, out of stock others and the price
blew it right out of the thread the one place I found it £400.

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Actually, no, I didn't. I like the look of it, it's got a lovely neck, and the sound is good, if not earth-shattering. I may put in new pickups and preamp at some point but it doesn't actually need them.

The Peavey Grind is another nice looker - IMNSHO the natural is the better look, though, and that's £329 for a 4-string, while the black version slides in at £299.



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[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1399060961' post='2440669']
Just been looking at pictures of a Washburn Taurus T24 natural. Looks really great to me. It got me thinking, are there other basses under, say, £300 new, that look really great.


[/quote]

When I started playing again about 5 years ago I was going to buy one of these....bought a Cort instead but wasn't impressed so it had to go. Nobody seems to comment on these on this forum - any idea why???

[quote name='waynepunkdude' timestamp='1399140129' post='2441481']

[/quote]

Wayne, I really like this (remember I'm not a Fender fan...)

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1399202528' post='2441979']
Sub Ray - white one looks great as does the walnut one. They sound superb.
[/quote]

Agree..The one I played at the LBGS was excellent...I couldn't believe the price..

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I've been eyeing this up on Ebay for a while now

[url="http://s927.photobucket.com/user/Delberthot/media/3_zps63ff61d8.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s927.photobucket.com/user/Delberthot/media/2_zps1c25fbb2.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s927.photobucket.com/user/Delberthot/media/6_zps11e3cbb7.jpg.html"][/url]

It's only about £130 delivered

Edited by Delberthot
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Interesting to see a p-bass with veneer for a low price. I'd guess that the makers get the veneer for much less than we would pay to buy them. Then again, Thomann sell a PJ for much less than even £70.

@TheGreek - it's not just Washburn Taurus T24 basses that don't get mentioned much. I've noted that ESP/LTD basses aren't discussed much here. Personally I believe that there are just too many brands (and models) of basses for all of them to get the attention they deserve.

If the Vintage V1004 (and similar basses are being discontinued) then it might be a symptom of a crowded marketplace in that price bracket. However, looking at the current Vintage range, there is the V10004. The V1004 and V10004 appear to be different models - as well as visual differences, the pickups are differen. http://www.jhs.co.uk/vintagebass.html I don't think these look as good as some of the V1004 models above. But perhaps market forces are making them cut a few corners, and it's better IMHO that they cut looks rather than playability/sound. On the other hand, it could be that middle aged me's tastes are getting out of date and that younger people prefer the looks of the newer models/finishes. But some of the newer (at least to me) models don't look all that wonderful, but they might of course play excellently. E.g.

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Delberthot at £130 I wouldnae hing aboot.

AT and TheGreek it seems like anything at good prices don't get mentioned Seems strange that with so many available below
£300, there must be loads sold, reviews are sparse. I mean the market must be huge.

I don't think the V10004 looks that good. Just the same as countless others. My Zygote looks different but whether it looks great
is down to opinion.



But it's £319 so doesn't count in the thread.

AT have you saw these Ibanez 5 stringers in Spalted Maple



Nice enough in the Charcoal Brown though they do it in Sunburst too. £229.
Fair bit of Bass at that money

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