Bass on a budget

[MetalLemon]

I'm a beginner looking to buy a bass and i've got a budget of around £300

I was looking at either the ESP LTD B104/154DX (which I managed to find pretty cheap at £330) or the Ibanez SR300

I'm probably gonna play a whole range of styles but mainly fairly heavy stuff (possibly drop tuned) as well as more funky/bluesy stuff.

Any information on either of these or any other bass you'd recommend for around the same price would be a huge help.

Thanks

[bh2]

I would look around for a used Fender J or P... other than that a Squier CV J or P.

[mcnach]

I'd recommend you go second hand.

You get access to better basses, and as a beginner you probably don't have a clear idea what type of bass is *your* bass, so buying used allows you to change basses quite painlessly (from a monetary point of view) if/when you find your current bass is not IT.

You mentioned the SR300. I bought an SR400 a couple of years ago used, with a hard case, for £140...

Have a look at the Warwick Rockbass series too, they're pretty good basses. An active Corvette will be quite versatile.

[BASainty]

You can get so much more for your money second hand,
very often if you pick up a nice bass second hand that your very happy with and sounds great you wont want to get rid of it and saves money in the long run (if you wana buy more basses for your collection that's different) but you will be pleasantly surprised by what you can get.

I picked up my Yamaha BB414 with hard case off here for £140 and its a pretty special bass.

[greyparrot]

[quote name='MetalLemon' post='987265' date='Oct 13 2010, 06:42 PM']I'm a beginner looking to buy a bass and i've got a budget of around £300

I was looking at either the ESP LTD B104/154DX (which I managed to find pretty cheap at £330) or the Ibanez SR300

I'm probably gonna play a whole range of styles but mainly fairly heavy stuff (possibly drop tuned) as well as more funky/bluesy stuff.

Any information on either of these or any other bass you'd recommend for around the same price would be a huge help.

Thanks [/quote]


i have an esp 6 string 206, and i can tell you it is amazing for the money. Way better than a squire in tone and build. I also now have a bongo, so im guessing the esp will now go, but i recomend highley.

[Lozz196]

Yamaha make some quality basses - def worth adding them to a check-out list.

[MoonBassAlpha]

Hi
I got a Spector Classic 5 string for £220 (s/h) and was really surprised how authoritative it sounds, has amazing sustain and a versatile 3 band eq. I could quite easily use it as my sole bass, despite having several more expensive basses.
It even looks pretty too (not sure how important that is for the kind of music you like though!)

[BASainty]

[quote name='Lozz196' post='987681' date='Oct 14 2010, 08:44 AM']Yamaha make some quality basses - def worth adding them to a check-out list.[/quote]

BB414, BB514, RBX374, RBX375

All Yamaha basses above within your price range brand new and second hand.

Also someone is selling a Yamaha RBXA2 on here for £200 which is a complete steal!

Check it out [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=80382&hl=A2&st=0"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=...;hl=A2&st=0[/url]

[BedroomBassist]

Try to find a second hand MusicMan SUB (Stingray or Sterling, doesn't matter, they're both brilliant) or Squier/Fender Jazz.
You might be able to find those on that budget.

[Delberthot]

I'll always argue that if the action can be properly adjusted then any bass can be used to learn and gig with.

I've gigged with one of these £40 basses before, albeit not in pink:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.com/PINK-Metallic-Electric-BASS-JAZZ-style-gigbag-Strap-NEW-/270646834263?pt=Guitar&hash=item3f03cef457"]http://cgi.ebay.com/PINK-Metallic-Electric...=item3f03cef457[/url]

I've laid the gauntlet down many times but no one has ever tried to call my bluff


23 years playing and I'm using a bass that cost me £95 to gig with every weekend.

Edited October 14, 2010 by Delberthot

[Netballman]

My biggest piece of advice would be - try before you buy. You can get a cracker of a budget bass or a duff "good'un". You need something which is set up and comfortable for you and makes the sounds you want, never mind what it is.

That said I'd echo two things from above - buy secondhand (especially at this price band) and definitely check out the Spector Classic. Cracking bass and you should be able to get a beaut well within budget.

[MetalLemon]

Thanks to everyone for the advice.

I'm definitely going to shop round and try some guitars out before I buy anything.

I'll especially look to try out the ones that you guys have recommended.

Thanks again

[johnny_frog]

As most everyone above I'd suggest you go round the shops and try everything you can get your hands on.
Draw up a shortlist of what works best for you then sit in the for sale section in here until what you are looking for comes up.

Have bought most all my gear from basschatters and have found them to be a most excellent group of people to deal with, maybe not as cheap as going through ebay et al, but in my humble opinion much less risky to deal with.

[mcnach]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='988698' date='Oct 15 2010, 12:39 AM']I'll always argue that if the action can be properly adjusted then any bass can be used to learn and gig with.

I've gigged with one of these £40 basses before, albeit not in pink:

[url="http://cgi.ebay.com/PINK-Metallic-Electric-BASS-JAZZ-style-gigbag-Strap-NEW-/270646834263?pt=Guitar&hash=item3f03cef457"]http://cgi.ebay.com/PINK-Metallic-Electric...=item3f03cef457[/url]

I've laid the gauntlet down many times but no one has ever tried to call my bluff


23 years playing and I'm using a bass that cost me £95 to gig with every weekend.[/quote]


I love it. But you didn't get the pink one...

I agree with what you say above. It may not be the best bass with the best sound or feel, but a cheap bass can be perfectly adequate. I bought a s/h Westfield B4000 (Jazz bass copy) in some ugly translucent green for £40 on eBay, plus £10 delivery. Just because it was so cheap that I figured it was worth a shot (Westfield does have some pretty decent stuff, in my experience).
It turned out to be a great bass. I had to adjust the action and intonation, and it would benefit from some mild fret levelling which I haven't done yet, but it only affects the very high registers and I rarely venture there. The pickups were surprisingly nice too. I've gigged this bass a couple of times and if it were my only bass I would not feel that that I was at a disadvantage.

I wish my first guitar/bass had been this good. And it mostly came down to my now knowing what to do with an instrument. When I was a newbie I'd try an instrument and find it hard to play and decide that model/brand wasn't for me, when it was simply that the particular instrument I had tried was not set up nicely. In most cases.

Having said that... I still prefer my Stingray, of course.