[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1389784784' post='2337783']
I've had people asking me about buying their first instrument (in the land of the blind and all that). I usually advise them to take a bass playing friend with them to check out the instrument. Basschat might be a place to meet a bass playing friend if you don't already know one.
I'm not sure that all the Harley Benton's are rebranded Shines. Some of the 'modern' ones, and the McCartney bass look very much like Shines. But, the new models and the J, P, basses don't match any Shines that I've seen. (Which doesn't mean that they aren't Shines).
My policy too.
My theory is that beginners should get something that's playable, and not too expensive. Then, worry about getting the 'right' bass at some time in the future when they're more competent. It may be a chicken and the egg situation where you can't choose the right bass until you're more experienced, but you need a bass to get experienced on. What helped me a lot early on is that I was recommended to go to the Lakland site and listen to their bass demos. That showed me what basses of different types (p-bass, j-bass etc.) sounded like, which helped me narrow down the choice a bit. And I heard what good quality basses sounded like, so I could estimate how good sounding a cheaper version was in comparison. [url="http://www.lakland.com/audio.htm"]http://www.lakland.com/audio.htm[/url]
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Had a listen on that link, that's a great idea, thanks
John