Cheap (<£200) basses

[killswitch2011]

As anyone who has read the "introductions" forum may know, I have recently restarted playing, after a 20+ (!) year break, during which time I mostly DJed and occasionally made electronic music :0

I tried out several basses in the £150-250 price range, including Squiers, and several Yamaha and Ibanez models. Absolutely hated the Yamahas, and nearly decided not to bother trying again after playing those! But I decided to persevere, and try a wider range of instruments.

Loved the Ibanez basses; Squier Jazz was OK, but not quite my style. I wasn't so keen on the P-Bass (despite the fact that my first "real" bass as a teenager was a Squier Precision lol), so that was out, too. But all of these would be good choices in this price range, if they suit your style.

Unfortunately, I find a lot of basses quite uncomfortable tom play, and i think that's because I have quite small hands/fingers for a bloke lol. Even so, this didn't stop me from being described as "one of the fastest bassists in town" when I was younger haha.

After doing a wider search online, I came across the Washburn XB-100:



To me, this was as close to perfection as I was likely to find in my (low-budget) price range.

Retails at around £210 new, but I got mine second-hand, in near-mint condition, for £80. I play it at least an hour a day, and I absolutely love it. Not as easy to find as the basses mentioned above, but well worth a try.

[Stag]

BassCat has an excellent Squier P that I heard at one of his gigs, great guitar and I think it cost him all of £140.

[tom1946]

I have a white Retrovibe that looks like an Aerodyne, obscene output for the money and very easy to play.

[ThomBassmonkey]

[quote name='killswitch2011' post='1283366' date='Jun 26 2011, 09:10 PM']After doing a wider search online, I came across the Washburn XB-100:



To me, this was as close to perfection as I was likely to find in my (low-budget) price range.

Retails at around £210 new, but I got mine second-hand, in near-mint condition, for £80. I play it at least an hour a day, and I absolutely love it. Not as easy to find as the basses mentioned above, but well worth a try.[/quote]

My first bass was an XB100, cost me about £150 10 years or so ago. It's not worked in a while though sadly, I need to get it up and running again really! Cool bass though.

[YehItsRyan]

Also try looking for a Jim Deacon/SX bass as they are well made and are great value basses for the money. I'm swapping the stock pickups in mine for Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounders

As Tait previously mentioned the Squier Jags are good. Small neck and is ideal for me as I have small hands as well. I'm not sure what variant I'd go for the P/J setup or the Humbucker one, can anyone tell me if there is any differences in sound and tonal quality between the two?

[Jerry_B]

[quote name='tom1946' post='1284417' date='Jun 27 2011, 05:59 PM']I have a white Retrovibe that looks like an Aerodyne, obscene output for the money and very easy to play.[/quote]

I don't think RV sells them any more tho'? They seemed like a nice bit of kit.

[thebrig]

[quote name='Ross' post='1280604' date='Jun 24 2011, 10:05 AM']Get him a sue ryder [/quote]
Sue Ryder on ebay now!

[url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ryder-Precision-bass-guitar-through-strung-blue-p-bass-/300569117600?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item45fb50c3a0#ht_500wt_1156"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ryder-Precision-bass...0#ht_500wt_1156[/url]