Raw Newbie checking in...

[Beefyeggo]

Hi... as the heading says... raw newbie. So raw, in fact, that I haven't yet bought my first bass. A few words of explanation might do well here....

I'm in my mid-50's and always loved music. I've played guitar for years (reasonable standard rhythm - I've never wanted to make it cry or sing, if you get my drift). I've also played keyboards to a certain standard although a lot better when I was a teenager and got as far as Level 6 before I changed to the guitar. I stopped knocking about with local bands in my twenties and for many years was happy just to occasionally play the guitar at home, then decided I would learn to play the saxophone... Big Mistake! - I simply can't make the embrochure so I'm never going to be Clarence Clemons (except, perhaps, in body weight.... ) And to compound things, I made the classic newbie mistake of not realising my limitations early enough... I managed to persuade myself that the Alto I had bought to learn on was no good and it was the instrument that was holding me back, so I got a better Tenor sax...... You will not be surprised to learn that I've now got two saxophones at home that I can't play.

The other instrument I always fancied learning was the bass. Now I'm warming to the idea of getting a bass and a little practice amp but the saxophone debacle has made me wary of spending too much cash. I was thinking of getting one of the el-cheapo beginners kits you see on ebay for a ton or so and if it doesn't pan out for me I'll donate it all to the local school. Does anyone think this would be a good way to start? I don't want to play like John Entwhistle or Mark King - I just want to get to the level where I can play along with a few country, rock& roll and blues tracks so my aspirations are reasonably modest. One thing, though, I learned with the guitar is that a beginner will find a decent quality instrument much easier to learn on than a poor quality instrument with a high action. Is this equally true of the bass, please?

Grateful for any thoughts/advice.

[seashell]

Welcome!
Well I started as a total beginner 6 months ago. Like you, am over 50. Unlike you, could not play any other instruments at all.
Started with an old Marlin Sidewinder which my ex had bought for about £90 (I think). Knowing nothing about basses I was completely happy with it. Since frequenting Basschat I find that the general opinion is that they are somewhat crap.
However, it was fine for me. After a few lessons I could pick it up and get something out of it that sounded approximately like music, and this made me hugely thrilled.

A couple of months ago I traded up to a second hand Fender Precision (Mexican) which I got for £325. It definitely sounds better than the Marlin and is somewhat lighter. However I don't think its that that much easier to play than the Marlin, it just sounds nicer (or maybe my playng's improved!)

So in my experience, it's fine to start on something cheap. On the other hand you may want to trade up pretty quickly if you want to be seen out in public with it. One of the reasons I changed was that I had a little gig coming up and didn't want people to mock my instrument as well as my playing,

I'm semi obessessed with the bass playing now. Partially because I am surprised and delighted that I could learn something new at my time of life! I'm sure you'll get on really well with it because you already have that musical experience. But I'd definitely recommend lessons if you can afford them. In fact I'd rather spend money on a good teacher than an expensive instrument. The knowldege and experience a good teacher can pass on is invaluable!

Good luck with it all.

[skankdelvar]

First off - welcome Beefyeggo

Next up - try re-posting your query in the 'General Bass Discussion' section - there's more traffic there and you'll get a wider range of replies. Before you do, try searching some terms like newbie or beginner - you'll find some previously posted threads which could be useful.

To answer your q. briefly - yes, you could buy a beginner kit, set it up and play along to some tunes. It's how many of us started. And these days there are some quite reasonable basses to be had for very little money. TBH, you'll soon discover the limitations - the bass will probably need a set-up tweak, though there's lots of info on here on how to do that. And cheap, tiny amps have a tendency to fart out at more than TV volume, but that's all you need to annoy the missus anyway.

If the bug bites, you can chop your beginning stuff out in the Basschat for sale sections for probably not much less than you paid for it. Then go shopping for something a bit nicer. The cost to step up isn't too drastic either. TBH, from £200 up, you could get a s/h bass that would keep you happy for a long time.

Enjoy the forum.

[fatboyslimfast]

Welcome Beefyeggo!

With basses, I would advise caution on the ultra-budget offerings on ebay (£80 all in for a bass, stand and amp - there have to be corners cut somewhere), but there are some bargains out there.

At the moment there's a few Yamaha RBX basses new for £130ish - these are a bargain, but also keep an eye on the basses for sale thread here - there's a Peavey Jazz for £30, Cort Action P/J for £80ish and a Squier P-bass for the same. All of which will play miles better than the ones included in the £80 kits.

You can normally pick up a practise amp for £20-30 from either here or Gumtree/ebay - so not much more overall.

The guys here in general keep their basses in excellent nick, so well worth a look.

I'm a Squier fan, as they just seem "right" to me, but was also impressed when I tried a RBX170. Best way would be to pop down to a local shop and have a play with a few to see what "fits" best.

I paid £175 for my VM Jazz '77, and £75 for my Affinity P-Bass. There is a difference in build quality, but I'd still happily settle for the Affinity if cash were tight - it still plays lovely.

Incidentally, I originally thought a Jazz neck would fit my small hands better, but am having no issues with my Precision and that's after only 3 months or so of playing.

One point about buying 2nd hand from here - if you find bass isn't for you, or you want to upgrade, you will pretty much get what you paid when it comes to sale time...whereas the £80 kit may only raise £25-30 come sale time.

Edited July 29, 2011 by fatboyslimfast

[alanbass1]

Welcome aboard

[ellie]

Hiyas, good luck. There's a lot of good advice here. One thing I would say is, go find a shop with a good selection of basses if you can. It's much better to actually get the "feel" of the instrument if you can. Some shops do have good deals too.

[LemonCello]

Welcome to Basschat!

+1 to the comments on Squier above. I have 1 with another on its way and have discovered that Precisions are my thing. I prefer the wider neck profile as compared with a Jazz. Both the Vintage Modified series and the Classic Vibe have a great rep on here and you would be hard pressed to find a better bass for the money.

My advice would be to try a few and see which feel right in the hands. It's a very personal thing and I wish you good luck with it.

You sound like a 'reader' to me. If not, a really quick way to get playing is to use TAB (this will be frowned upon by the traditionalists) but as I say, it gets you playing really quickly.

You'll find all the support you need on here, it's a great forum.

LC