Budget basses, anyone else fallen in love with their's?

[Marvin]

The most expensive bass I've ever played was about £800 I think. The most expensive bass I've ever owned is the Yamaha I've just bought...I won't be buying anything more expensive than that, I don't see the need, great instrument.

[Dingus]

I don't know if this still qualifies as a budget bass , but back in the 1980's I bought a used JV Series Squier 62 - style Precision for £30 and it was an excellent bass , easily as good as a Fender , and , truth be told, probably shockingly close to a real pre -CBS example . Looking back , those JV Squiers were maybe the best budget basses ( because that's what they were) ever . I had a Jazz and then later the Precision , and with hindsight, they were both excellent. I wish I still had them now.

[Dingus]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1380990526' post='2233185']
I picked up a Yamaha BB714bs a few months ago for a steal and it is my go to bass. I echo the sentiments of the OP - it's not exactly lightweight but balances perfectly and the neck is just right. It also sits in the mix in a band situation like a dream (the neck woofer pup too!).

I will never sell it as they are like hens teeth these days..
[/quote]

I think Yamaha make some of the best basses out there at every price point. That 714BS looks like an intriguing design , and very useful for all sorts of musical situations , whilst being something a bit different and unusual at the same time .

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1381001666' post='2233328']
I think Yamaha make some of the best basses out there at every price point. That 714BS looks like an intriguing design , and very useful for all sorts of musical situations , whilst being something a bit different and unusual at the same time .
[/quote]
Many players shy away from it because of the woofer in the neck position. This avoidance is born of the unconventional appearance (in contradiction of the standard split + bridge position jazz pickup template that most players have been traditionally exposed to).

I am now of the opinion that the neck woofer is more useful than the traditional bridge position jazz on P type basses. Billy Sheehan knows what he is doing.

[Dingus]

I personally think that neck woofer pickup looks great on that bass. I suppose it would be a bit of a drawback if you were a slap player , but otherwise I can totally see the reasoning behind the whole design . Contrary to quite common miscoception , a regular Precision -style bass doesn't actually have a particulaly bottom-heavy tone ( unkess you go out of your way to E.Q it that way). Mixing in some deep bass with the midrange growl of the P pickup sounds like a pretty exciting idea to me. Combining a bridge position Jazz pickup with a Precison pickup can be quite problematic , I agree , due the the difficulty matching the perceived output volume of the respective types of pickup , and the amount of phase cancellation you usually get when both are on full. The neck pickup on your Yamaha expands the tonal optiond on a P-style bass whilst avoiding all those typical PJ pitfalls , so kudos to Yamaha and Billy Sheehan for that.

[White Cloud]

[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1381064465' post='2233872']
I personally think that neck woofer pickup looks great on that bass. I suppose it would be a bit of a drawback if you were a slap player , but otherwise I can totally see the reasoning behind the whole design . Contrary to quite common miscoception , a regular Precision -style bass doesn't actually have a particulaly bottom-heavy tone ( unkess you go out of your way to E.Q it that way). Mixing in some deep bass with the midrange growl of the P pickup sounds like a pretty exciting idea to me. Combining a bridge position Jazz pickup with a Precison pickup can be quite problematic , I agree , due the the difficulty matching the perceived output volume of the respective types of pickup , and the amount of phase cancellation you usually get when both are on full. The neck pickup on your Yamaha expands the tonal optiond on a P-style bass whilst avoiding all those typical PJ pitfalls , so kudos to Yamaha and Billy Sheehan for that.
[/quote]
Excellent post Dingus and bang on the money regarding the pickup dynamics! Incidentally slapping is actually relatively easy on the 714 despite the woofer. It is a wonderful bass for the gigging player...

[Dom in Dorset]

My Fender Jazz is blissfully unaware that for the last two months I've been having an affair with a Westfield P that I got for £38 on ebay.

[Thunderpaws]

[quote name='MoJo' timestamp='1324366720' post='1473361']


I'd say sub £250, although with the exchange rates as they are the 414's equivalent is a lot more today. I certainly wouldn't class my Stingray as a budget
instrument nor the Ric
[/quote]

My budget bass is my GnL L2000 tribute. Would have loved an American one but is it really worth the extra few hundred notes for the same guitar with nicer wood and some components?

[bassbiscuits]

About two years ago I picked up a passive SGC Nanyo fretless bass collection which a mate had left standing in the corner of his shed for two yesrs without even a case.

I gave him £100, took it home, and a few hours of dismantling, WD40 and cleaning later it was great, despite all the signs! I decided to stick a Wizard P/J pickup set in it and we've done a lot of gigs together since!

Not sure it even classes as budget when you take into account the p/ups too, but worth an honourable mention in the 'basses back from the dead' section!

[Painy]

After selling my Streamer Stage1 5 string to raise some cash I decided to make the move up to a 6 string and used a 3rd of the proceeds to buy my Cort A6 Artisan. Now it may be pretty much Cort's top of the range bass but I'd still class Cort as a budget brand and its certainly more of a budget bass than the Warwick. I have to admit that the workmanship on the Cort is a bit less refined than the Warwick but I've actually found that I now prefer it. I love the piano like tones from the Barts, feels really comfortable to play and it's a decent looking instrument too!

[gjones]

I found an old, Silver painted, Squier Precision body up in the loft, that was chucked there by a friend years ago. It was covered in gunk and stickers. Put a mighty mite neck on it, fitted an old mighty mite pickup from the eighties into it, strung it up and plugged it in and it sounded great. I cleaned it up and painted it a classy shade of cream and am awaiting a tortoiseshell scratchplate which will make it look the part. Slowly but surely it's becoming my favourite bass as it's just so no nonsense and sounds good in every situation.

[Mornats]

[quote name='bassbiscuits' timestamp='1381349545' post='2238075']
About two years ago I picked up a passive SGC Nanyo fretless bass collection which a mate had left standing in the corner of his shed for two yesrs without even a case.

I gave him £100, took it home, and a few hours of dismantling, WD40 and cleaning later it was great, despite all the signs! I decided to stick a Wizard P/J pickup set in it and we've done a lot of gigs together since!

Not sure it even classes as budget when you take into account the p/ups too, but worth an honourable mention in the 'basses back from the dead' section!
[/quote]

They're always worth far more than they sell for. Great if you're buying one

Edited October 10, 2013 by Mornats

[merlin]

great topic this yes I have owned a lot of high end basses,and sold them all,only because I had to,being skint,also the same with amps ect,I brought a Epiphone EB3 on a whim,just to see what it was like,its now my go to bass,its not that great but not at all bad,it does the job,sits in the mix,and I think it looks good.

[RandomBass]

My trusty Vintage V4 is coming back home to papa after a stint elsewhere. Can't wait.

[Westie9]

I've just recently purchased a Status 'The Groove' 5 string. I got it to go to and fro to rehearsals and for the occasional pub gig.

The neck is superb on it, even to the extent that for the exception of a band photo shoot, my Sadowsky's haven't even been taken out the case!

I'm so impressed with it that I'm thinking of ordering a Status soon...

[Samashton12]

A £75 P copy i bought a few weeks back, excellent!

Worth at least £200.

[steve-bbb]

Here is my blue affinity series J bought a couple of years ago from [url="https://www.facebook.com/mannysmusicshop"]Manny's Music[/url] when i saw it in the shop i loved the colour so i picked it up and even with knackered and extremely dead strings it sounded and felt great so for 150 squid it was mine have looked at a few others in shops of same make model and colour and it appears that mine has a slightly better factory finish and detail attention than some of the brand spanking new ones ive seen - sound is great, passive stock squier pups with a relatively hot output , was planning on dropping a set of wizards in there but alas they are now even harder to come by - the only mod ive done to this is placing a heavy bridge on which imho did make a difference - not sure if the scratchplate was from factory it is a sort of dirty off white which has the appearance of once being clean but has been hung up in a room with somebody smoking 200 cigs a day - it is regularly gigged!

[Nick Riffed]

I have a little Hohner B2A that was my first bass. I've recorded with it , gigged with it.
Funny little thing that still makes people look twice, It's all neck really, but what a delightful neck.
I do wish people would make up their minds about what they are worth used though.
Take a peek on eBay or Gumtree, there was a choice of a SH one complete with it's original case for £240 or and equally SH one without a case for £500.
I didn't pay close to either of those prices.
Where can you get an accurate valuation for used gear? Not that I want to sell any of my stuff, just be interested to know.

[mcnach]

My currently most used bass... a £75 Korean Squier Jazz.
(Ok, I did replace pickups and installed a J-Retro... because it was just so nice to play).

[uncle psychosis]

I've fallen slightly out of love with my BB414 recently. The truss rod is stuck so I can't adjust the neck relief. Thankfully it is still playable, but I can't get it to sound how I want. Problem is I'm not quite sure what I actually do want it to sound like...

[mcnach]

[quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1382509861' post='2252914']
I've fallen slightly out of love with my BB414 recently. The truss rod is stuck so I can't adjust the neck relief. Thankfully it is still playable, but I can't get it to sound how I want. Problem is I'm not quite sure what I actually do want it to sound like...
[/quote]


if you have your wits about you, you'd want it to sound like a Stingray, obviously...
Fortunately, there's a solution for that.

Edited October 23, 2013 by mcnach

[uncle psychosis]

[quote name='mcnach' timestamp='1382520019' post='2253030']
if you have your wits about you, you'd want it to sound like a Stingray, obviously...
Fortunately, there's a solution for that.
[/quote]

haha, well if you're giving a stingray away...

I actually think my BB is going to get retired to purely backup purposes and I'm going to almost exclusively play my TRB. Need my new strings to make it home from the US though. I got them sent to a relative who is working over there because it saved me a fortune but he doesn't come back for another month

[bonzodog]

Just bought a Vintage V4 Precision off ebay for £70 and my intention was just to have it as a spare to practise in the house and may be put some chrome covers on it to pimp it up. I have to say I am really impressed with it and the build quality. Its lovely to play

Really looking forward to band rehearsal tonight