Beginner Bass?

[Squidman]

Hey folks,

Still learning the ropes about bass guitars. I plan on purchasing one in a few weeks. I wanted to know what's best for a beginner, 4 or 5 strings?

Also, which brand would suit me best if my range is ~300-500 EU for the bass and the amp?

Thanks.

[Zenitram]

What type of music do you intend to play with it? As in, rock, metal, plinky plonky jazz, Motown, etc.

Will you be playing on your own or forming a band? Will you be moving the amp around from your bedroom to the rehearsal place, then back home, then back out to the car again, etc.?

Where in the world are you?

I'm very much still a beginner, but I would suggest four rather than five strings, and buying second hand from here. There are some absolutely crazy good bargains. And you get gear with a bit of soul.

[White Cloud]

Agree with previous poster...4 strings for a beginner every time.

Regarding the bass and amp I also suggest buying 2nd hand as there are some insane deals out there on ebay etc. Things have changed in a big way over the last 20-30 yrs regarding instruments. I just dont think you can buy a really "bad" bass these days. I recommend you have a look at Ibanez, Yamaha, Squier for your bass and buy a 15w practise amp to see if you are going to stick with the bass long term.

Good luck.

[BigRedX]

I would disagree about it having to be a 4-string bass for a beginner. If you know you are going to need the extra notes and versatility of a 5-string go for it straight away. What I would say though is that at your budget you'll very lucky to get a 5-string that is actually any good, whereas there a plenty of fine 4-string basses available for that kind of money.

[lowdowner]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1355662839' post='1901022']
... plinky plonky jazz ...
[/quote]

?? is that a new type of jazz?

[Zenitram]

You're thinking of nu-plinkyplonky polka party fusion jazz.

[Jellyfish]

My personal choice would be a Yamaha BB (because I like the sound and feel of them) or an Ibanez SR (a lot of choice even with a small budget and are extremely easy to play).

[mckendrick]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1355666316' post='1901079']
You're thinking of nu-plinkyplonky polka party fusion jazz.
[/quote]
You knew all the time.

Perceptive stuff, dude.

[lownote]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1355664396' post='1901044']
I would disagree about it having to be a 4-string bass for a beginner. If you know you are going to need the extra notes and versatility of a 5-string go for it straight away. What I would say though is that at your budget you'll very lucky to get a 5-string that is actually any good, whereas there a plenty of fine 4-string basses available for that kind of money.
[/quote]You can be lucky. The secret of a good 5 string lies in having the slightly longer 35" scale the low B string needs. Check out the Peavey Grind. Despite the awful name these are made of fantastic exotic wood (that would be better left in the forest holding up parrots, but that's another rant), through body neck and through body stringing and can be had for £200 (€250?) or less secondhand and only €400 new. I just had one and loved it to bits.

[drTStingray]

[quote name='lownote12' timestamp='1355672887' post='1901169']
The secret of a good 5 string lies in having the slightly longer 35" scale the low B string needs
[/quote]

I would respectfully disagree that you need a 35" scale for a good B string - both My Bongo 5 and Stingray 5s have killer B string sounds and are 34". There are others as well.

My take on this subject is you should get a 4 string to learn on. For your budget you may get a used Mexican Fender Precision and a used Ashdown 300 watt MAG combo. This will allow you to gig if you want to later - plus the resale if you find it's not for you will be OK.

Should you want more tone options (not usually something a beginner thinks a lot about) you could go for a used Mexican Jazz bass or a Sterling by Musicman Sub bass (you will probaly be able to learn Flea and early Tim Commerford RATM lines and get a passable rendition of their sound and certainly a good slap sound with the SBMM).

You could opt for a Squire or a SBMM Sub new if you didn't want to buy used but remember you will lose money on resale on anything you buy new - many people, however, prefer a shiny new bass if they can afford one.

On the amp front you could just go for a small combo to use at home and learn on, but as soon as you want to join a band you'll need something more powerful (probably 300 watts in my view).

You could go to a shop and get the salesman to demo the ones your interested, or if you know someone who can play reasonably well, take them and ask them to do it - try them yourself for feel etc, and pick what you like the best. Best of luck.

Edited December 16, 2012 by drTStingray

[Grangur]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1355663875' post='1901038']
Agree with previous poster...4 strings for a beginner every time.

Regarding the bass and amp I also suggest buying 2nd hand as there are some insane deals out there on ebay etc. Things have changed in a big way over the last 20-30 yrs regarding instruments. I just dont think you can buy a really "bad" bass these days. I recommend you have a look at Ibanez, Yamaha, Squier for your bass and buy a 15w practise amp to see if you are going to stick with the bass long term.

Good luck.
[/quote]
+1, but you may want to look at a slightly bigger amp than 15w.
I went for a Marshall MB30 but later found it limiting - not good for slap and not too happy on the over all sound.
I'm really pleased with my Roland Cube 100w, so look at a Roland. You may get a good secondhand one.

Good luck

[Looper]

There's something to be said for buying your first bass new, if you buy second hand you wont know if it has any issues or a good set up. If you do buy secondhand, especially from ebay you should budget for a trip to a luthier for a set up and once over. As to what to get it's mostly a question taste.

[charic]

Get a second hand bass on here, I'd recommend around about the £200 mark, I doubt there'll be anything even close new which would be as good.

A fairly decent second hand amp (with DI out) would mean you don't need to worry about volume. For value for money I would recommend ashdown or hartke. There's also some pretty insane deals going around the TC electronics deal.

[Conan]

[quote name='Looper' timestamp='1355733419' post='1901817']
There's something to be said for buying your first bass new, if you buy second hand you wont know if it has any issues or a good set up.[/quote]

Sadly that can also apply to new basses - especially in this price bracket.

Buying from here is what I'd recommend. Go for a seller with lots of positive feedback and a good reputation. Ask them lots of questions. You'll end up with far better quality and less chance of a lemon that you would if you bought new.

An example of the type of thing I mean... [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/192363-encore-p-bass-l40/"]http://basschat.co.u...ore-p-bass-l40/[/url] although the lack of a postage option may make this particular bass unsuitable. You don't state your location, but the fact that you quote a price range in Euros implies that you are not in mainland UK!

Edited December 17, 2012 by Conan

[stingrayPete1977]

If you fancy a 5 I would go straight in TBH, I wish i had started on one. Sure it might not be up to some of the standards people here are after but for a beginner the Yamaha or Ibbys are plenty good enough IMO, should be able to get a good used 5er and an amp for 500 euros IMO

[BassTractor]

Hey Squidman,


First, as a noob, I've tried 5-string without big drawbacks, but you must be aware it's one more string to mute - which can be somewhat demanding. Wouldn't let that keep me from buying one though. Price is a more serious stumbling block.


Therefore:
Get used stuff from eBay
or
Get used stuff from BassChat. I know that asking everyone if they will send to Germany will be a pain in the behind, but the feedback system makes you can go to this with a certain amount of confidence.


If you want to buy new, then have a look at http://www.thomann.de/
Be aware that If you choose English as a language at the top, you get the prices for the UK, with a somewhat lower VAT. Though the differences are tiny. I think it's one percent only.


If you look at
http://www.thomann.de/gb/cat.html?gf=misc_4_string_basses&oa=pra
you'll get the 4-string basses that are not Ps and not Js.

I'd go for the Yamaha RBX170 before the Ibanez GSR180. Don't know the Cort, but they tend to be OK. The Epipone is said to be lacking in quality. There is no need to buy a more expensive bass at the moment, but if you want to, an Ibanez SR300, a Squier Vintage Modified <something> or a Yamaha RBX270 are good basses.


Amp: we need more about your stuation. Is it for practising at home only?
In case, I like this one better than the 30-35W Roland cube:
http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_hbw35.htm
Has the inputs and outputs you need to play silently and along to music from a CD or MP3-player.
That said, there are lots of OK combos.


Tell us more!


best,
bert

[Bill-R]

I also agree that the RBX170 is a great starter bass. i have one and over the 5 years i'f had it it the most played bass i have, and still like its just out the shop.
you can also set the strings very low if that what you like.

[bassmachine2112]

Don,t forget Vintage,I got a V4 for a beater bass and gig it quiet a lot and everyone says how good it sounds.
I did get it S/H for a song and have modded it quiet a bit but even as standard it was a good bass.Now it is killer P-bass,it,s got a wizard thumper in it now.
Ampwise an older roland like a 210 or a db700 will do the trick,they kick out a healthy amount of loud with a good tone and have a good compresser on board.
Had mine for 10 years now and never missed a beat,Add the 115x extension cab and just enjoy yourself.
A decent pedal tuner is a good thing to have as well as a bdi21 which will double as a DI box-ready to go.

[charic]

Peavey are a good brand too but go 2nd hand as they lose value pretty quick

[BASainty]

I can highly recommend Yamaha basses as your first bass, they smash way above their price and they have legendary built quality and a great tone, The RBX series or the BB series are really great, if you want a more chunky neck the BB series is what you will want, if you feel a thinner neck with a few extra frets the RBX series are great, I've been playing for years and I still use all of my Yamahas.

You can pick them up dirt cheap second hand on here and even the lower models in the range will last you ages and probably will never feel the need to get rid of it.

Both series also do 5 strings, if you want any more info feel free to pm me and I can go more in depth

[Black Coffee]

Yamaha, Peavey and MIM Fender are excellent value basses for your budget , bought secondhand from here on basschat is likely a safer bet than ebay. As for amps, buy as big as you can afford and then you wont need to buy again in 3 months time when you discover your gleaming 15 watt marshall has less power than a sparrow fart when someone else is playing with you. I wish someone had told me that when I started.
Various opinions on 4 or 5 string; none are totally right or wrong. It'll depend on lots of things, if you have smaller hands you will struggle somewhat early on to get over a 35 inch scale and 5 strings. I had a Peavey Grind 5 string and they are a fantastic bass. I'd buy another no problem.
Most people probably started on 4 then the GAS starts and its all downhill from there. 5 strings, 6 strings, fretless, double neck and on and on.
Either way it should be fun and not a drag, enjoy it.