A Good Beginner's Bass

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='gmtx725' timestamp='1326325429' post='1495656']
I'm still torn between a Music Man SUB and the Squier CV Precision if anyone can give me a gentle nudge towards either one of those...
[/quote]

For me the Squier fits the criteria of the title of the thread perfectly so maybe you should go for that. On the other hand I personally wouldn't have one precisely for that reason - I would however have another SUB despite having "grown out" of them so to speak. If you want something you could fall in love with and keep, go for the SUB.

I still don't think you need worry about an amp straight away unless you will be playing with mates. A headphone trainer is perfect for practice night and day. I think you lock into what you are playing a lot better with headphones, you can mix in an mp3 player or whatever to jam along to, you can experiment with the built in effects (most come with at least some basic ones) and importantly you don't annoy anyone else.

When we talk about wide necks and thin necks on here we are only speaking of 1 or 2 mm in difference - don't get put off by such things. The 1st bass I spent any great amount of time on was an Ibanez SGR job with an extra thin neck but I find myself playing more P or Musicman size necks now - however I'm equally happy playing fat 5 old strings, skinny Ibbys, guitars, mandolins etc.

[FrederikVanDuuren]

I would go for the Music Man SUB!
I would never buy a Squier:[list]
[*]what you see as price is what you get
[*]build in china
[*]the net is full of Squier for sale, so forget it to resell afterwards, huge price competition
[*]lousy electronics
[/list]
The problem as being a beginner is that your technique will be bad...
So if you combine your technique with a cheap/bad instrument from starters, it will obviously sound bad
Not very motivating...

I also started with cheap basses build in china... not worth it...

Go for basses build in the USA, UK, HOLLAND

Hope this helps...

Edited January 12, 2012 by FrederikVanDuuren

[LawrenceH]

The CV Squiers are well built, don't worry about where they're made. Though the pickup is a weak spot you can change this at a later date.

Personally, if I were a general in charge of an army of bassists, standard issue for new recruits would be a Yamaha, either BB414 or RBX374, and a Roland Cube of some description. The Yamahas are not only fantastic value for money, they are good basses full stop. The Cube amp is more versatile than anything else in that price range. A lot of cheap amps I've played through just destroy the timbre of the bass - worst was an Ashdown Perfect 10, sounded like playing through a duvet. The EB range are miles better - but the Cube has been the best I've tried so far.

As per above, secondhand is the smart way.

Edited January 12, 2012 by LawrenceH

[Conan]

[quote name='FrederikVanDuuren' timestamp='1326365377' post='1495967']
I would never buy a Squier:So if you combine your technique with a cheap/bad instrument from starters, it will obviously sound bad
Hope this helps...
[/quote]

Sorry, but I disagree! Most of us would agree that Squiers are variable in quality but if you get a good one they can be very good. I've been playing for thirty years and have had a few good basses. My current favourite to play is a Squier Affinity P bass - which also happens to be the cheapest bass I have ever bought!! Shop around and try individual basses out is the only way to guarantee that you get a decent instrument.

I do agree though that it is much harded learning on a poor quality bass - especially if the neck is poor. That said, I think that the general quality of cheap basses now is far better than it was when I started playing.

[Nibody]

Alternative to the squires is the Westfield P bass copies. You can pick them up for peanuts - about £100 new. I just got one from Crackconverters 2nd hand for £40!! They are good basses, Precision shaped and sounding (Monsieur Burnell used Precisions) and would leave you more of a budget for an amp. A cruddy amp can make a decent bass sound pants.

[Nibody]

[quote name='FrederikVanDuuren' timestamp='1326365377' post='1495967']
I would go for the Music Man SUB!
I would never buy a Squier:[list]
[*]what you see as price is what you get
[*]build in china
[*]the net is full of Squier for sale, so forget it to resell afterwards, huge price competition
[*]lousy electronics
[/list]
The problem as being a beginner is that your technique will be bad...
So if you combine your technique with a cheap/bad instrument from starters, it will obviously sound bad
Not very motivating...

I also started with cheap basses build in china... not worth it...

Go for basses build in the USA, UK, HOLLAND

Hope this helps...
[/quote]
[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1326368026' post='1496035']

Sorry, but I disagree! Most of us would agree that Squiers are variable in quality but if you get a good one they can be very good. I've been playing for thirty years and have had a few good basses. My current favourite to play is a Squier Affinity P bass - which also happens to be the cheapest bass I have ever bought!! Shop around and try individual basses out is the only way to guarantee that you get a decent instrument.

I do agree though that it is much harded learning on a poor quality bass - especially if the neck is poor. That said, I think that the general quality of cheap basses now is far better than it was when I started playing.
[/quote]


+1 to the reply. I have a VM Squier Jazz, its a rather good bass.

[gmtx725]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1326356718' post='1495769']
I think you are still slightly missing the point. Both are decent basses, but you won't know which one YOU prefer until you try both. And even then, there will be some examples that are better than others. This "problem" is as simple or as difficult as you want to make it!
[/quote]

That's the problem though, I won't be able to try out both. Maybe the Squier at my local music shop but not the SUB. So I'm trying to substitute trying them out with some advice from you guys on here.[quote name='Paul S' timestamp='1326359562' post='1495814']
+1 for trying before you make a commitment. Both the MM SUB and P-Bass will have a reasonably wide neck and it could be that you don't get on with a wider neck, in which case you would be looking towards a Jazz style bass or an Ibanez Soundgear/Yamaha (there is an RBX800A for sale in the classifieds that is a huge amount of bass for the money). But unless you try both wide and skinny necks, you won't know. It has nothing to do with hand size, incidentally - I have big hands but prefer skinny necks. Some people find both comfortable.
[/quote]

I've got big hands and long fingers, so a wide neck shouldn't be a problem. Plus a wide neck means the strings are placed further apart, which is good for me as a newbie- having messed around with a friend's bass before I was fine fretting individual strings, but doing the same with his acoustic guitar, my big fingers kept nudging two strings at once.


[quote name='Ou7shined' timestamp='1326362761' post='1495907']
I still don't think you need worry about an amp straight away unless you will be playing with mates. A headphone trainer is perfect for practice night and day. I think you lock into what you are playing a lot better with headphones, you can mix in an mp3 player or whatever to jam along to, you can experiment with the built in effects (most come with at least some basic ones) and importantly you don't annoy anyone else.
[/quote]

I don't need a gig-worthy amp obviously, but I do have a friend who plays acoustic guitar so it would be nice to play with them sometimes- nothing serious, just some casual jamming. Other than that getting a headphone practice amp would also necessitate getting a decent pair of headphones, which is more added cost.

[FrederikVanDuuren]

Yamaha BB are great basses... start with a second hand...

and build in Japan

[tm486]

[quote name='gmtx725' timestamp='1326372404' post='1496155']
That's the problem though, I won't be able to try out both. Maybe the Squier at my local music shop but not the SUB. So I'm trying to substitute trying them out with some advice from you guys on here.

I've got big hands and long fingers, so a wide neck shouldn't be a problem.
[/quote]

Hi,

Unfortunately, I think that no amount of advice from anyone, even some of the most experienced bassists on here, will guarantee that you end up with a bass that suits you perfectly. I spent a good few weeks looking for my first bass guitar and amp and i knew nothing about the bass at this point, i could play the riff to one song and one song only so i just repeated that in the shops feeling stupid. I tried new basses, second hand ones, precisions, jazzes, ibanez, everything within my price range. I ended up with an old bass collection sb310 (which i would definitely recommend trying if you get the chance). My point is that even though i couldn't really play anything and I didn't really know what to look for, i could still tell that this bass felt really comfortable. Over 5 years later and it's still my favourite bass, I love playing on my other basses but I still feel at home on this one. If you spend the time to find one which you instantly feel comfortable with, it'll last longer than a better bass which doesn't suit you quite as well.

I also have long fingers and i currently own a precision which i do like, however whilst it's not a problem to play, i still feel more comfortable on the thinner neck of my bass collection.

Another recommendation for the Marshall MB15, it's a really good sounding amp and i wish i had bought another one when i was looking for a second practice amp.

One thing i would also say is very important is a decent set up. It gets said a lot on here, but i hated playing my precision and was going to sell it until i tried giving it a set up, even someone as inexperienced as me (and i really am) was able to get the bass to feel much nicer to the point where i really enjoyed playing it, just by following the instructions from threads on this site.

Don't hesitate to buy a cheaper bass if you like the way it feels.

Anyway, good luck with buying your first bass whatever it turns out to be.


Tom

[ThomBassmonkey]

The question is are you looking to get into a band and gig quickly (something I'd recommend once you have the basics sorted)? If so, it'd be better to get a slightly cheaper bass and pick up an amp too.

If you like the feel and sound of a 'ray, a SUB would be a good choice. You should look at OLPs too though, they did a stingray style bass that's very good for the money and can be picked up cheap as chips if you can find one, that'll leave you money over for a decent sized starter amp to get you into the practice room and gigging.

[Conan]

Some great advice here. Isn't BassChat wonderful?!

[daz]

[quote name='Nibody' timestamp='1326368616' post='1496057']
Alternative to the squires is the Westfield P bass copies. You can pick them up for peanuts - about £100 new. I just got one from Crackconverters 2nd hand for £40!! They are good basses, Precision shaped and sounding (Monsieur Burnell used Precisions) and would leave you more of a budget for an amp. A cruddy amp can make a decent bass sound pants.
[/quote]

Westfield P bass was the first bass i owned, I fell on my feet there. Only £80 inluding postage from ebay. Good bass not just for the money. For the money you will not do better thats for sure.

PS: the fact that Squire bass are made in China is irrelevant. The [i]Grand Reward[/i] factory make basses for all sorts of big name bass 'manufactures' they know what they are doing. These days 'Made in China' means not cheap tat, it means that if you want a handmade £3000 bass you get one just as good as anywhere else, or if you want a £300 bass you get a very good bass indeed. If you want a $50 plank then you can get one of those as well. I would put my Chinese CV Squier up against any north American Fender. Along with my Chinese made [b]Farida[/b] P bass and Jazz bases.

Edited January 13, 2012 by daz

[4-string-thing]

You could consider one of these:

[url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/ibanez_gsr190ju_bk_jumpstart_2009.htm?sid=5e0c820db437424add1c6fed9906730b"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/ibanez_gsr190ju_bk_jumpstart_2009.htm?sid=5e0c820db437424add1c6fed9906730b[/url]

I don't suppose the amp is brilliant, but I can tell the bass is very good!

[Cygnus x-1]

IMO lots of good advice and some not so good advice:) when I bought my Squier CV precision (Matt Freeman model), I tried it against an American Fender P at £800 and a Mexican one at about £500.

The Squier CV at £345 was a lot better than the Mexican one and very close to the USA one, the shop owner who is a semi pro bass player also tried the 3 into the same amp and he said something like this '' obviously i'd love to sell you the USA P (I had enough money at the time) but the Squier CV is an absolute steal at the price'' saved £450 and got a really good P bass.

That Peavey combo for £20 is a bargain, you could use it for 12 months and still get your money back

[gmtx725]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1326468429' post='1497668']
The question is are you looking to get into a band and gig quickly (something I'd recommend once you have the basics sorted)? If so, it'd be better to get a slightly cheaper bass and pick up an amp too.
[/quote]

I dunno, that might be thinking a bit too far ahead! Any particular reason why you'd recommend it? At most I can see myself casually jamming with a friend who plays guitar, who knows a year or 18 months down the line though? At the moment though, it's primarily just a bit of fun, nothing too serious.

As for the amp, I'm not sure what I want really. On the one hand a little practice amp like the MB15 might be better whilst I"m learning to play, but then once I've reached a decent level of proficiency I might want a proper amp, in which case maybe I should buy one now instead of the MB15?


[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1326472750' post='1497747']
Some great advice here. Isn't BassChat wonderful?!
[/quote]

Indeed! I can't stress enough how helpful this site has been so far. I'm just a bit paralysed by indecision at the moment though. Will be getting down to my local music shop next week though and trying a few basses out, even if I can't try out all the ones I've been considering.

[ThomBassmonkey]

Being in a band is without a doubt one of the best ways to learn an instrument. It's jamming and having to think quickly that'll improve you the most in the shortest period of time. Obviously you have to be at a certain stage before you can join a band, but that's fairly easy to get to on bass (plonking away at root notes doesn't take long to learn).

I think spending your £400 budget on [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/154702-olp-mm2-stingray-copy/page__hl__olp+ray__fromsearch__1"] an OLP ray[/url] and an [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/164731-ashdown-mag-210t/"]Ashdown 210 combo[/url] would sort you out with a decent bass and usable amp (I'm not a fan of Ashdown personally, but they do the trick to get started with and you'll be able to do practices and gigs with it) to start out gigging with and if you got them for the prices in those threads (I've just used those threads as an example), you'd be well under budget (£250 for those two) to buy leads and the like and still have money left over that you could put towards lessons to help get you started.

Edited January 14, 2012 by ThomBassmonkey

[Paul S]

[quote name='Cygnus x-1' timestamp='1326498117' post='1498233']
That Peavey combo for £20 is a bargain, you could use it for 12 months and still get your money back
[/quote]

I just dropped the price by a fiver to £15 or £25 posted, too!!
[/plug]

[HADGE]

[b]hi if you want a good secondhand bass go for a yamaha or ibenez iv got a musicmans 2 warwicks a usa fender loads of basses and would say ibenez or yamaha are best value for money as far as amps go for a secondhand combo a ashdown or ampeg .Most of the bass players on this forum would also give you some good advice so just go on reading there comments and soon you will get fixed up.I only learn about basschat a few months ago but since then have been given some great advice by these really clever people on here and have learn a lot from them.Good luck with the gear your looking for and keep on rockin.[/b]

[Panamonte]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1326535069' post='1498437']
I think spending your £400 budget on [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/154702-olp-mm2-stingray-copy/page__hl__olp+ray__fromsearch__1"]an OLP ray[/url] and an [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/164731-ashdown-mag-210t/"]Ashdown 210 combo[/url] would sort you out with a decent bass and usable amp [/quote]

Just wanted to point out that it's an Ashdown MAG 210 [u]cab[/u] for sale there, not a [u]combo[/u] - no use to you unless you buy a head to go with it.

[ThomBassmonkey]

[quote name='Panamonte' timestamp='1326556879' post='1498826']
Just wanted to point out that it's an Ashdown MAG 210 [u]cab[/u] for sale there, not a [u]combo[/u] - no use to you unless you buy a head to go with it.
[/quote]

Ah quite right, sorry, I thought it seemed cheap.

An OLP Ray and Ashdowm MAG210 combo would be within the OP's budget though and be a good starting set up.

[Panamonte]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1326567035' post='1499023']
An OLP Ray and Ashdowm MAG210 combo would be within the OP's budget though and be a good starting set up.
[/quote]

Can't argue with that

[rOB]

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' timestamp='1326567035' post='1499023']
An OLP Ray and Ashdowm MAG210 combo would be within the OP's budget though and be a good starting set up.
[/quote]

Agreed. This would be good

[gmtx725]

Hi Guys

So I've decided on the amp I'm going for; considering it was strongly recommended here, and I tried it out for myself, I went for the Marshall MB15, so that's ordered and on it's way in the post! Still deliberating about the bass, but I'm close to reaching a decision.

Just a few quick questions about accessories. These are probably really obvious beginner's questions but they have to be asked!

1. Can I buy just any old guitar lead, or are there specialist ones just for basses? Any particular ones you would recommend?

2. I'm probably going to be playing with a plectrum a bit, so I was just going to order some heavy-gauge picks online. Will these do the trick or again, do you have to get specialist ones for bass? Any recommendations for any particular brands?

Cheers

[daz]

[quote name='gmtx725' timestamp='1327077915' post='1506151']
Hi Guys

So I've decided on the amp I'm going for; considering it was strongly recommended here, and I tried it out for myself, I went for the Marshall MB15, so that's ordered and on it's way in the post! Still deliberating about the bass, but I'm close to reaching a decision.

Just a few quick questions about accessories. These are probably really obvious beginner's questions but they have to be asked!

1. Can I buy just any old guitar lead, or are there specialist ones just for basses? Any particular ones you would recommend?

2. I'm probably going to be playing with a plectrum a bit, so I was just going to order some heavy-gauge picks online. Will these do the trick or again, do you have to get specialist ones for bass? Any recommendations for any particular brands?

Cheers
[/quote]

[url="http://www.bassic-bits.co.uk/"]This guy [/url] is from this Forum , using the nickname [url="http://basschat.co.uk/user/12-obbm/"]obbm[/url] he has made many of us here high quality hand soldered cables for a good price. The main thing is he can make you whatever type of jack and whatever type of lead, at whatever length you specify. ([i]whatever[/i]!) I have bought a few cables from him and both are still going strong. I dont know him to speak to, however usually when he is mentioned he gets dozens of people saying how good his stuff is, so he must be pretty ok at what he does.

As far as plectrums are concerned. Whatever floats your boat.!? Try them all There are a few supposedly made for just bass like the [i]Gibson Heavy[/i], which is a bit bigger than yer average guitard pick. but really just buy[b][size=5]*[/size][/b] a handfull and try them all. ( I usually use a pick myself, but sometimes only fingers can give me the tone i feel i need)

[size=5][b]*[/b][/size]PS: If you buy a bass from a shop. Make sure that a hand full of [b]free[/b] plectrums to take home, is mentioned [i]before[/i] you part with any money.

Edited January 20, 2012 by daz

[slazman]

[quote name='daz' timestamp='1327079690' post='1506173']
[url="http://www.bassic-bits.co.uk/"]This guy [/url] is from this Forum , using the nickname [url="http://basschat.co.uk/user/12-obbm/"]obbm[/url] he has made many of us here high quality hand soldered cables for a good price. The main thing is he can make you whatever type of jack and whatever type of lead, at whatever length you specify. ([i]whatever[/i]!) I have bought a few cables from him and both are still going strong. I dont know him to speak to, however usually when he is mentioned he gets dozens of people saying how good his stuff is, so he must be pretty ok at what he does.
[/quote]

+1 for obbm ... although I guess this would run to +100+ very quickly if he received the number of endorsements he is due from this forum.

I just wish I had found this forum before I got my first bass ... advice like this is like golddust. For my part, buy used kit from the marketplace - it just gives great value for money.