Best quality beginner bass

[NeilMorrell]

If you start to learn on a poor quality/badly set up instrument, then you probably not stick with it. After Christmas the second hand shops are full of unwanted plywood. I've heard that the Westfield stuff is excellent, but generally I would steer clear of the really cheap stuff.

The Ibanez Soundgears are great basses (I have 2, plus a Ibanez CT which is not dissimilar) - GOOD second hand stuff has the advantage that it holds it's value. However, the Overwater by Tanglewood J Bass starts around £399 and they are excellent. Probably starting to hit second hand now too if you're lucky.

As for a decent Amp - compared with some of the crap some of us probably had when we started, there is no such thing as a bad amp these days. If you want to gig with it, at least 65w (for a combo) and a decent eq (and if you can, a horn) should see you right. Good news is that these days you can buy giggable amps that only need one person to carry. Again, second hand is good - buy one and if it's a flunker, sell it on (but not to me).

And good luck!

[charic]

Here's a thought, what about going and having lessons BEFORE picking a bass? Pick a teacher with a good selection of basses and make the teacher clear that you want help picking a bass that sounds and suits you best.

Listen to the teacher play it, then you try. The teacher should be able to pickup technique faults as you go along and point out which one your are playing with the best technique naturally. This should be the best bass for you

Then go out and find a similar bass in a shop.

Everyone's different, for example I don't get on with skinny necks so that rules out a fair few basses for me:
-Fender Jazz Basses
-Almost anything Ibanez
-A lot of peaveys

BUT! A lot of people swear by all of those brands! It's all down to you but you need personal guidance through the selection process first time around if your going to be spending significant money. FWIW my first bass cost me £170 (Peavey Millennium BXP) but I outgrew it very quick as the skinny neck was giving me quite serious forearm ache. Moved to a MIM Pbass and loved it Now playing the MIM and an ACG in my 4 string range.

[muttley]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1323345126' post='1462185']
Here's a thought, what about going and having lessons BEFORE picking a bass? Pick a teacher with a good selection of basses and make the teacher clear that you want help picking a bass that sounds and suits you best.
[/quote]

That's very good advice. Most people wouldn't go and buy a premium-level car without ever having driven.

I borrowed a Squire P initially. Nice bass but I decided it wasn't for me so I bought something totally different.

[Jack]

There really is no substitute for having someone help you chose. My dad (guitarist) played every Squier in 3 cities to find the best when I decided I wanted a Black P-Bass for my first bass. I have been with both a friend and my younger brother when they were looking for theirs. Pay a local tutor (who isn't linked with a shop) to go with you or maybe offer to buy one of our Essex-based Basschatters a pint and pack of strings if they'll go with you?

As you are clearly looking for basses to google, then I'll add my +1 to both the Ibanez's mentioned above and the idea that you should get a better second-hand instrument over a worse new one for the same money. That way the inevitable resale won't hit you as hard.

[NeilMorrell]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1323345126' post='1462185']
Everyone's different, for example I don't get on with skinny necks so that rules out a fair few basses for me:
-Fender Jazz Basses
-Almost anything Ibanez
-A lot of peaveys

[/quote]

Not all skinny!

Edited December 10, 2011 by NeilMorrell

[charic]

[quote name='NeilMorrell' timestamp='1323362493' post='1462528']
Not all skinny!


[/quote]

Image link is broken but the examples that I've given are what I've found for me. I know there are some exceptions but most are skinnier than I find comfortable.

[deanbean502]

I still have my first bass, my Warwick rockbass. I didn't even play it i saw it, liked it and bought it. I had played guitar on and off for years but was never really anygood so i switched to bass which i felt right at home with.

After about 12 months i bought a Status S2 simply because i loved the shape and colour plus im a massive muse fan. It cost me £1300 and after the initial excitment i soon realised i didnt need it, so it got sold.

Now i have my Kubicki which is absolutley stunning and im now in a band so I feel i can now justify an expensive bass.

There is some good advice on here so take heed but If your interested i might sell the rock bass just send me a pm if you want

[gareth1982]

Just my 2 penneth as we say in Yorkshire.....

I've been playing for 10 years+ and have bought and sold and own expensive stuff (see signature below for my current collection), but recently off here I picked up a westfield p copy for 65 quid, albeit with upgraded pickups and a highmass bridge, to use as a 'knockabout' house bass and it sounds and plays lovely. I mostly play soul/motown/northern soul, so my usa precision is usually my gigging bass, but i did a spot with the westfield on saturday and i couldn't tell the difference in sound, neither could the audience/soundman/rest of band......it was 65 quid, so there you go.

[BASainty]

Anything made by Ibanez or Yamaha are always going to be a good option to start with. You can pickup a great condition Yamaha BB414 for under the £200 mark. They are great basses, I use mine all the time as my "go to" bass. Best thing with Yamaha or Ibanez is they are really great quality items for a great price and built like tanks. Sound wise they are easily good enough through beginner onwards. True workhorses.

[JPAC]

As a beginner still, the Ibanez SR500 would be a good choice and if you decide you don't like it it's easy to sell on. I didn't have much luck with the low end Yamaha and an even worse dealer.

[TobyB]

(Pissed off that this is my 4th attempt at replying - as long replies seem to get dropped/lost whilst being written ... but going for one more try, backing up text as a Word document meanwhile ...)

I came to this thread looking for specific advice ... but interesting ideas raised ...

Seriously high-end kit might not be good to start learning on ... a world-competition-spec race car is not something to lean to drive in, any more than a factory-kitted race-bike is a something to learn to ride on ... positively NOT!

But crap kit is no way to start with either ... my first "beginners" acoustic 6-string was an Eastern European plywood box with a neck so thick and wide you could land aircraft on it, and an action so high it was probably akin to suspension bridge engineering ... I struggled and almost gave up as 3-finger open chords were a massive struggle and bar chords where impossible ... but wondered if a lesson or three might help ... a teacher showed and then lent me a reasonably decent guitar ... I ditched the box and spent a moderate amount on a decent Takamine ... and carried on playing!

An impulse buy of a £10 mandolin hanging in the window of a pawn shop (I was a New Model Army fan who'd just heard the Levellers!) raised my enthusiasm ... but I went and bought a hand-made instrument more than 10x what I'd paid for the first ... it was beautiful to look at, felt wonderful in my hands, sounded fantastic, and was encouragingly playable ... so I did play, and practice, a lot ... really stimulating!

In the DIY/hobbyist/craftsmen world, when buying tools, there's an axiom that says "buy cheap, buy twice". Cheap hand tools from DIY sheds are rubbish and don't work. Similarly cheap "Chaiwanese" power tools don't work well, and don't last. So you are back looking for more. Buy quality hand-tools and they'll last longer than your lifetime. Similar quality well-engineered power tools last a long time too. And they have re-sale value ... if they are too big/small/powerful/delicate/whatever ... you can sell/trade them for something more appropriate to your skills or demands. The cheap tools have no value now ... so you are buying twice ...

So - lots of good advice offered in this thread I'm sure ... but a lot focused on the idea that big-budget-beginner-kit is ridiculous ... there may be some sense in this ... "amazing-in-the-right-pair-of-skilled-hands-but-bloody-difficult-to-get-the-best-out-of" instruments are not for beginners ... but "looks-beautiful-feels-wonderful-sounds-brilliant-so-easy-to-play-I-don't-want-to-put-it-down-and-I'm-going-to-sleep-with-it" certainly is (OK, the latter point is pushing it a bit!) ... and a lot of "low-end", "beginners" instruments are OK for what they are, but don't sit in the second category.

"Good quality" kit, that has a decent re-sale option, might be a bit more expensive initially ... but much better value in the long-term?

Cheers

Toby

PS: The whole reason I looked at this thread was that I'm looking for a decent, but moderately priced 5-string ... I used to lust after Warwick through-neck natural bits of lovely wood ... skimming net pages things like the Ibanez BTB675, the Washburn T25 or the Peavey Grind Bass NTB 5 look as if they could be what I'm after ... but that's just pictures ... what's a sensible, well-made, playable instrument to consider (I have a Toby Pro currently, used to have a Yamaha TRX 4-string)?

[jimmyb625]

Great post!

Some really valid points there, especially about learning on the old plywood acoustics. Those were the days!