Lets have a cheap bass thread

[bartelby]

Here's an update on my cheapy bitsa...


I've added a battery box in the back as I think I might make it active. The body is just a temporary one for the moment. Once I've settled on what I'm actually doing with this bass I'll keep an eye out for a black Deko P or J bass...

Edited August 3, 2015 by bartelby

[paul_5]

Nice that.

[Freddy Le Cragg]

My 80 quid Washburn Taurus. Gigged and will probably be recording with it too

[kodiakblair]

Great seeing all these bases.

Keep em coming folks.

[synthaside]

White no-name Ebay china special ( 60 quid delivered )

[IMG]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v293/synthaside/IMG_20141014_1911101_zps3c08f259.jpg[/IMG][

Jazz pickups , pots and loom from a Squire Vintage modified Jazz , acquired from a bass gear trading
Facebook group , for 25 quid posted

Black Jazz bass knobs off amazon which sadly weren't fitted when i took the picture ,

it plays really nicely way out of its price league for a sub 100 quid bass , I think the set of flats on it must be half the value of the thing oddly its one of the few jazz necks i really really love. its fast and glossy without being sticky.

[Che]

My one and only Bass the Harley Benton JB-75NA sold as Deko (on Thomann) for 42 Euros and was in tip-top form out of the box (couple of frets needed slight leveling) Love this thing
[url="http://s59.photobucket.com/user/Duskob/media/24964211-4F84-4A2F-9204-363D91073508_zpsrn0ta6rm.jpg.html"][/url]

[url="http://s59.photobucket.com/user/Duskob/media/1A5E492D-B187-4B75-B878-72A278D08D65_zpso9txkk5b.jpg.html"][/url]

[thatgrantboy]

Picked this little guy up Tuesday, then set about fixing it all up and making it pretty again!
What I paid for it was a steal, however I'm not sure what it's worth now!

(Epiphone Thunderbird Limited Edition Metallic Red finish)

Edited June 2, 2016 by thatgrantboy

[zomnius]

[Paultrader]

I visited a friend in France a couple of years ago and he arranged for me to join him in a gig. I didn't have a bass so he lent me this, an early 60s Eko. I suppose it's not necessarily a cheap bass any more.

It had a finish rather like an accordion, and it had a dull thumping tone that was curiously satisfying.[attachment=220949:IMG_20140619_125144769.jpg]

[RickyV]

[quote name='zomnius' timestamp='1465250249' post='3066587']

[/quote]

Nice. But you cant just dump that here and not tell us anything about it....!!!

[addictedtobass]

Here mine £40 and it's really rather ok. Took me a while to set up but is now low and buzz free

[Jimothey]

Here's mine from left to right £70 P bass kit build (having a refinish at the mo and a 4 to 5 string conversion) £90 Jazz bass kit build £25 P Bass 

Started life as a £45 Ibanez GSR205 

Using some scrap timber from work I remade the body 

Edited July 22, 2018 by Jimothey

[Baxlin]

Until fairly recently I’ve not either been in the position to, or TBH wanted to spend a lot on my basses, (too many other hobbies!) so over the years I’ve had

Hondo P-bass (£70) to see if I could take to playing bass,

Short scale Encore (yes, I admit to it!)

Squier P bass, via eBay for £80-ish, sold for £145

While I had the Squier, I bought a ridiculously cheap 5 string Oldfield, and a Westfield 4 string, the latter which I de-fretted,  both to see if I could take to the different instruments.  Unfortunately not!  But sold both at a profit.....

Then I splashed out on a mint Epiphone EB3, again via eBay, for £150.

Best bargain though was earlier this year, an EB2 shaped semi acoustic from Gear4Music, supposedly damaged and sold as B-stock.  The only thing wrong, apart from needing a bit of setting up, was that the jack socket had lost its securing nut and had dropped into the body.  Ten minutes with a bit of stiff wire, a nut from my spares box, and it was fully functional.  Saved over £100 on the RRP.

I think maybe at 71 I’m a bit old to start spending bigger money on basses, but I really would love a sunburst Gibson EB2. 😛

Edited July 22, 2018 by Baxlin

[BrunoBass]

I love cheap basses: I can pick them up for next to nothing, modify them if I want to, not have to worry about them getting dinged... I also get a certain perverse pleasure from gigging something that cost £100 and yet sounds and plays great. 

Here’s my latest acquisition, a used Squier Affinity PJ which I picked up last week for £100 in immaculate condition. It sounds and plays (after a few tweaks) fantastic. I gigged it at the weekend and it performed admirably, although I will upgrade the tuners as they’re not great. 

[BrunoBass]

Here’s my modified Harley Benton PB50 bass, total cost £120 including mods.

Edited August 14, 2018 by BrunoBass

[BrunoBass]

...and finally for now my totally stock J&D ‘75 Jazz, which cost just over £100 new a year or so ago. I haven’t needed to upgrade anything, and the hardware is superior to that of ymy Squier above. This bass has become my defacto number one, and most frequently gigged bass. I have a Fender Jazz Deluxe but the cheap one tends to see more action, it’s a fantastic instrument. 

[paul_5]

New jazz body for my existing fretless neck and upgraded pickups from a Squier VM jazz. Plays beautifully and is lovely and punchy where it counts. 

[BrunoBass]

Here’s my whole family of cheapos. All get gigged, the white PJ and the black J regularly. Together they cost less than half of what my Fender Jazz Deluxe cost. 

[paul_5]

That Black and maple Jazz is lovely! 😍

[BrunoBass]

Just now, paul_5 said:

That Black and maple Jazz is lovely! 😍

Thanks, it’s a J&D ‘75 Jazz, it cost me a shade over £100 from DV247 about a year or so ago (they’re a little bit more now I think). It’s probably my favourite. For the price it’s unbelievably good.

[Marc S]

1 hour ago, paul_5 said:

That Black and maple Jazz is lovely! 😍

Another +1 for that Jazz here too. Looks great in Black, with Maple board, blocks & Binding
The Orange P bass looks pretty good too

[BrunoBass]

4 minutes ago, Marc S said:

Another +1 for that Jazz here too. Looks great in Black, with Maple board, blocks & Binding
The Orange P bass looks pretty good too

Thanks, I put the orange one together from parts.

 

[grumpyguts]

This OLP was £80 off Gumtree, added a Wilko pickup, shiny pickguard + a bit of woodwork and wiring. 

[NancyJohnson]

This is my old Epiphone Gothic.  Someone had it as a project and had painted it a very fetching yellow, which worked in a strange way.  I bought the body first, then a few days later the seller said he had the loaded neck as well, so I took that separately.  I just took the scratchplate off, put a Gibson three pointer on and covered it in stickers.  Owes me about £60.00.

Plays quite nicely.  It's strung BEAD.

[NancyJohnson]

My Aria Primary bass - Gumtree purchase; job lot of three guitars and a practice amp for £45  She's had a bit of swag spent on her; new bridge (Hipshot Supertone), a Delano P-Bass pickup, Dunlop Straploks.  I swapped over the white pick-guard to a black one.  In the upside, when I got this bass, someone had fitted Schaller machines.