tomb Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Hi there, Im new to bass, been playing for around a month that is when my friends and I decided to do a band and learn with each other. I got to be the Bass player mainly because I have big hands, but I ended up loving the sound. Ive been playing with a friends bass and amp but he needs them back so now I have to buy everything. I was going to buy a started kit but the salesman told me that if I was serious about Bass then I should get anything but that due to the Bass being short scale and the Amp lacking the power to be heard in any rehearsal I wanted to know whats the best gear I can get for 500 euros. I'll be needing a Bass, an Amp for rehearsals, strings (i think), a bag to transport the Bass, cables and a strap The bass sounds I like are Ken Casey from Dropkick Murphys, Flea from Red Hot Chilly Peppers, Les Claypool from Primus, Lemmy from Motorhead, Jeff Ament from Pearl Jamand a few other guys i cant remember the name like the black guy that plays with G3 in Barcelona I think and the skinny guy that played with Steve Vai. Thanks in advance for any and all help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 OLP stingray copy and a Peavey TNT combo would be a good combination to get the bass pumping within budget plus that amp although a bit heavy should do you for medium sized gigs for a good while too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted February 22, 2011 Share Posted February 22, 2011 And that €500 will go a lot further secondhand too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomb Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 is there an online store where i can find these, the one i know doesnt have one or the other. thank you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Those are both going to be eBay or similar only nowadays. If you must go for new certainly a Squier Jazz bass of some description but I'm not sure about a practice amp? a lot of people on here like behringer combos I personally have found them awful compared to similar priced ones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomb Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 would a Washburn XB400 for 300€ be a good deal? no case no nothing, just the bass [url="http://miau.pt/leiloes/leilao.jsp?offer_id=9513064"]http://miau.pt/leiloes/leilao.jsp?offer_id=9513064[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I'm not to clued up about Washburn prices but the ones I have seen have been ok. What others have you seen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomb Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 im just looking in the local auction sites and there arent many basses for sale there, ebay would eat my soul on customs when it arrives here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 There are plenty of good second hand bass guitars to be found on this very site under the 'For Sale' section, the new Squier basses are very good indeed for the price and really look the part. In terms of amps, there's also a lot to look at as well, like Pete mentioned there's a lot to be said for some of the old Peavy combos. The Washburns I also happen to think make good basses for the price range you're looking at! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1137931' date='Feb 22 2011, 11:33 PM']OLP stingray copy and a Peavey TNT combo would be a good combination to get the bass pumping within budget plus that amp although a bit heavy should do you for medium sized gigs for a good while too.[/quote] what he said. You can get a lot of mileage out of an OLP. And yes, definitely second hand. Chances are you'll be wanting to change bass/amp often while you're learning what type of bass you really like etc, and buying second hand makes the process much less painful in your pocket, as you can pretty much sell without losing money, if you're just a bit careful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceH Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 [quote name='tomb' post='1137995' date='Feb 23 2011, 12:49 AM']im just looking in the local auction sites and there arent many basses for sale there, ebay would eat my soul on customs when it arrives here[/quote] Problem with the budget end of the market is that while you'll find lots that play well they're really variable in quality control. You'll get a lot of different recommendations and they'll all have their merits, but for a beginner I reckon Yamaha are a very safe option. I'd have a look for a secondhand RBX374. It's not the same as any of the basses played by Flea, Claypool etc but it has IMO the best 'modern'-sounding pickups I've heard on a budget bass and is versatile enough to get you in the right ballpark. And, importantly, Yamaha build quality is usually pretty reliable so you're less likely to get a bad one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 [quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1137972' date='Feb 23 2011, 12:10 AM']Those are both going to be eBay or similar only nowadays. If you must go for new certainly a Squier Jazz bass of some description but I'm not sure about a practice amp? a lot of people on here like behringer combos I personally have found them awful compared to similar priced ones.[/quote] I have a Behringer BXL450A that I find *excellent* as a practice amp. It sounds great. Not "great for the money", no, simply "great". I really like it. I could play the Ashdown or TC Electronic, but at home it's the Behringer I go to. It cost me just over £100 new from Thomann (google for Thomann, it's a german shop that have reaosnable prices and delivery is cheap) several years ago. The problem is it will not do for rehearsal. It's just 45W and if there's a drummer, I'd have to crank it to the max and it will still not be enough. If you want something you can use also for rehearsal with a full band, you're going to need something more powerful. I'd look to see what's available second hand. You never know. My first bass rig was a 300W Behringer BX3000 head with a 2x10" speaker cabinet... both cost me just £100 and were like new. It was not fantastic, but it did the job and was only £100. Then as time passed and was able to afford better things I did buy better things. Those heads (and the 450W version) tend to be quite cheap. Usually undr £100 used. They sound good. I have recently bought a 300W rated 4x10" Peavey VT cab for £75. I'd look around to see what's available in the used market, and buy something that does the job. Buying used, you will not lose money when you start realising what it is that you really need/want and decide to sell it to buy something else. That woudl be my recommendation. It worked pretty well for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomb Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 hummm Yamaha is what the guy that played with Vai used. i see lots of those for sale on alot of sites, never seen one for sale 2nd hand Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcnach Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 You could also check out SX basses. Find out if there's a distributor in Portugal. If not, there is one in Spain (google SX musicasa). The delivery prices are not much within Spain, and I suspect it'll be similar with Portugal. They have some really cool Stingray style and jazz type basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Welcome to basschat, and bass in general! You picked a great place to come, I've been playing for 8 years, but the 3 months I've been here I've learnt more about the equipment side of it than the lot of it Other decent budget suggestions would be Peavey bass guitars. My first bass was one, and as far as I can tell I'll never stop playing them! As far as amps go, Ashdown, Hartke, and Laney are all fantastic brands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Does ebay not have a Portugal website? So you dont have to pay import tax. Is Portugal not in the EC? I thought that tax was not paid if goods were bought in another EC country? If not or if you cannot find anything on there, your best bet might be to go to the nearest big city and see what the music shops there sell. Where are you based in Portugal? Maybe you can find out online where the nearest big music shop is and use a little of the 500 euros to travel there. Edited February 23, 2011 by daz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomb Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 [quote name='daz' post='1138061' date='Feb 23 2011, 02:39 AM']Your best bet might be to go to the nearest big city and see what the music shops there sell. Where are you based in Portugal? Maybe you can find out online where the nearest big music shop is and use a little of the 500 euros to travel there.[/quote] Madeira Island, any trip out of here costs 100+ :\ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 The OLPs get good words about them but they're a bit hard to come by. Have a look at some of the budget Ibanez basses. Very good for the money. Line 6, Hartke & many others make decent wee combos to get you started. Get to the "For Sale" sections on here. Oh, & welcome to BC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomb Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 thanks for the welcome guys, about the sale section, most of the things that fit into my budget that are in there are amps that would cost me an arm and a leg for transportation... About Bass, Ive seen some I like but again, I like the way they look, have no idea about their sound... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 If it's too difficult to get somewhere to try a few out, there are usually demonstrations of some instruments on youtube to give you an idea of the sound. some are good thorough demos, nome not so great but it's better than nothing Also, what was the bass you did use for a while? and how did it feel to play? What did you like about it, and was there anything you thought could be improved? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomb Posted February 23, 2011 Author Share Posted February 23, 2011 a very old Aria. it didnt sound all that great and i really didnt like anything about it except that i was playing... i was happy to be playing, not happy to be playing that bass the one i saw and liked was a bc rich warlock and an epiphone thunderbird gothic btw, do i get Flea's sound with the Fleabass or is it just another one of those "oh yeah, this is just like mine" deals but when you but it its totally different? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismuzz Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 It's good that you still enjoyed playing even though you had to use a bass you really didn't like. That's a great sign! BC Rich basses arent quite the look I go for in a bass but they play quite nicely, not tried the thunderbirds. From what I've seen, the Fleabass is just a famous name slapped on a sub-standard plank of wood, you could defimately do a lot better than that. He's mostly known for playing a Musicman Stingray, and to a lesser extent Fender Jazz basses. You could pick up a decent Squier Jazz, or maybe a second hand Fender one if that's the tone you're going for. They play really nice too! I'd still recommend Peavey as well, also very playable and you get a lot for your money with them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stingrayPete1977 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Epiphone Thunderbirds can be had cheap but tone wise they are the opposite to the players in your OP. Great sound and if money was no object I would have one but from what you have told us so far I would steer clear of them for now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silky 2010 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 I have just bought a Squier VM Jazz Bass FSR and a line 6 lowdown studio 75W amp. I am so impressed with both of these and the guy at the shop said that the line 6 amp should be loud enough for small gigs and practice. These both come in brand new in your price range... Ben Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Câmara de Lobos, Funchal and Santa cruz are good sized towns. (Câmara is bigger than my town and we have 3 music shops) Surely there must be music shops there ? Can you look them up on the interweb? Edited February 23, 2011 by daz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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