Best Bass for under £300

[Daveox]

hi,

So if you’re budget was a maximum of £300 and you’re looking for versatile good all round work horse bass what would you buy?

[adamg67]

Just have a look at all the brands that people rave about on here, and then ignore those - they’re the ones people pay a premium for.

[Newfoundfreedom]

I must admit I'm sorely tempted with a Squier Jaguar. 

P/J configuration. Looks cool as F, and can be found new under £200. 

Edited September 6, 2018 by Newfoundfreedom

[Skybone]

Any P/J under £300, especially a second hand P/J under £300.

[Dad3353]

11 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I must admit I'm sorely tempted with a Squier Jaguar. 

Doesn't count; he wants a work horse, not a wild cat. Maybe a Mustang..? Or a Rickie; many folks say it's a one-trick pony, which is close. 

[Johnny Wishbone]

30 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I must admit I'm sorely tempted with a Squier Jaguar. 

P/J configuration. Looks cool as F, and can be found new under £200. 

Pretty much this. I have the Squier Troy Sanders Jaguar (not a fan of his band, incidentally) and it looks great, sounds great and feels great. I tried both the Fender and Squier versions and bought the Squier - it was easily the better bass for me, regardless of the price difference. If you want versatility then you can’t really go wrong with a P/J IMO.

[lemmywinks]

If I had £300 max to spend on a bass then this would be my first choice:

https://www.thomann.de/gb/marcus_miller_v3_5_ts.htm

4 String for £237

https://www.thomann.de/gb/marcus_miller_v3_ts.htm

 

[adamg67]

For someone on a budget, don’t ever buy a new bass when the same thing can be had for half the price second hand. If the budget is £300, that’s a £600 bass, and that’s enough for something pretty decent.

[itsmedunc]

Bought a Squier VM Precision body and neck from here for cheap. Had tuners and guard too. Put some unknown pickups and a loom in it and it's superb. Become number one bass in one band. Altogether cost around £100. If you are capable of putting one together, it's worth thinking about.

Think I was very lucky with that one but on your budget I'd definitely look at second hand. Squier Classic Vibe and Vintage Modified series both are great value for the money. Secondhand bass, pro setup and you are away with money to spare!

If you need any advice on building / buying you have definitely found the right place! Maybe try putting an ad in the wanted section on here before buying new and see what happens?

Good luck with the search.

[bassbiscuits]

Definitely agree with going secondhand. 

I picked up a used Yamaha BB604 for £200 which has become a main bass. Jazz pickups, active electronics and 24-fret neck make it very versatile and usual great Yamaha build quality. 

Edited September 7, 2018 by bassbiscuits

[foxyFuze]

Been discussed ad nauseam on these pages, but Vintage (the brand) basses punch way above their price point, with decent hardware and electronics. Do a search and you'll see how well they're regarded by seasoned Fender owners.

I'm only looking to move my Vintage PJ on for reasons of space, otherwise it's a no-brainer having one!

[Bluewine]

What about those Harley Benton PS & J's? They're like $169.00 including shipping.

Blue

Edited September 7, 2018 by Bluewine

[mrtcat]

Anything by yamaha. For £300 you could get something 2nd hand that would still beat many £1000+ basses.

[thepurpleblob]

There was a series 2 Yamaha TRB advertised on Gumtree for 300 quid the other day. Probably should have bought it but SWMBO was growling at the very mention. 

Point being, if you stay away from the 'trendy' makes and do a bit of digging  you can get serious, pro instruments for 300 quid used. 

[songofthewind]

I just procured a Yamaha BBG 4A II fretless for £160. 

Photoflame top is nice! (I have no taste).

Lovely and light, active electronics sound pretty good, plays nice.

[Aidan63]

if you are looking for used value then how about this...https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/326172-cheap-vintage-vj74-jazz-bass/

 

and change to spend on strings, amp, effects, lessons, SBL or food : )

[casapete]

46 minutes ago, Aidan63 said:

if you are looking for used value then how about this...https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/326172-cheap-vintage-vj74-jazz-bass/

 

and change to spend on strings, amp, effects, lessons, SBL or food : )

Absolute bargain, great basses.

[Hobbayne]

I recently picked this upon here for £249. Its bloody brilliant!

 

[Les]

I bought an excellent condition Squier VM Jazz about 18 months ago for £180 with an ally flight case. It became my gigging bass. 

Just scored a second showroom condition one with a ritter gig bag for a hundred quid 2 days ago.

I can't believe the quality of these things, they're about 300 quid new I think.

Les

[Barking Spiders]

I got my excellent SUB Ray 4 for £289 but nowadays most dealers are selling them for £320 -300 though I see Andertons, Thomann and PMT Online are offering just under £300. All reviews I've read have been positive  and I concur. I'd say considering the quality of build and playability Sterling are robbing themselves

[PaulWarning]

1 hour ago, Aidan63 said:

if you are looking for used value then how about this...https://www.basschat.co.uk/topic/326172-cheap-vintage-vj74-jazz-bass/

 

and change to spend on strings, amp, effects, lessons, SBL or food : )

yep I've just bought a Vintage V4 (new lefty) for £200 and more then happy, the finish is not as good as my USA P obviously, didn't really have a set up, but that was from new, but it's got a nice P bass bark to it and now it's set up plays just as well as my Fender Precision, a great back up bass for me

Edited September 7, 2018 by PaulWarning

[CameronJ]

As has been mentioned already - Yamaha.

Preferably something like a used BB424 or, if you can find one, a newer used BB434. There’s very little out there that can touch Yamaha’s lower-midrange basses for the money. Fantastic build quality and fantastic sound. 

[leschirons]

Also worth looking at a secondhand G&L Tribute.

[jrixn1]

1 hour ago, CameronJ said:

As has been mentioned already - Yamaha.

Preferably something like a used BB424 or, if you can find one, a newer used BB434. There’s very little out there that can touch Yamaha’s lower-midrange basses for the money. Fantastic build quality and fantastic sound. 

+1

I've never used this shop before, but https://www.kennysmusic.co.uk/yamaha-bb-434-4-string-bass-guitar-black seem to have them new for £299 which is about £150 less than normal!

[TheGreek]

There's a lot of choice for £300 - many of the basses listed above represent great VFM. 

If you're trying to avoid Fender copies you might also want to consider the Bass Collection Nanyo range - a couple of years ago you could have bought two with your budget, now the market has got wise and the prices are starting to represent their value.

You could also pick up a half decent Westone 11 or 111 within your budget. They are a bit weighty but they are active and punchy.

I'm a fairly recent Spector convert - huge range of instruments with a huge price range. I was told that you can't go wrong with any of the NT models - and I haven't. 

Probably the best place to check out what's available is your local bass Bash.