What Are The Best Beginner Basses?

[prowla]

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

I tried out a bass the other day, It was almost unplayable. The action was so high I thought the bridge needed dropping (one piece acoustic), the shop assistant spent five minutes on the truss rod and gave it back to me a transformed instrument.

 

I don’t know if it’s good that they did the setup when pointed out or bad that they waited until someone asked. 

[OliverBlackman]

6 hours ago, prowla said:

How many £1000 basses did you compare it against?

Honestly I’ve played more than I can remember.

[OliverBlackman]

7 hours ago, greghagger said:

The idea of the list is to give options for beginners to try out, if they can. They can see how the instrument feels to them, and if they are drawn to a particular one.  

Good idea to make a video explaining about the different options, for those that would find it difficult to try a few different basses  👍

Trouble is as a beginner you don’t really know what to look for. My second bass was an Epiphone Thunderbird bought purely because of looks. Once I played more basses and became more informed I ditched it and couldn’t believe what a bad decision I had made.

Maybe instead (or as well as) of listing manufacturers and models (which as pointed out can vary plenty due to setups or just poor quality control) point out what attributes makes a good first bass. 

[Stub Mandrel]

1 hour ago, prowla said:

I don’t know if it’s good that they did the setup when pointed out or bad that they waited until someone asked. 

Not sure if know either!

[prowla]

2 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

Honestly I’ve played more than I can remember.

Uh-huh...

[greghagger]

2 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

Trouble is as a beginner you don’t really know what to look for. My second bass was an Epiphone Thunderbird bought purely because of looks. Once I played more basses and became more informed I ditched it and couldn’t believe what a bad decision I had made.

Maybe instead (or as well as) of listing manufacturers and models (which as pointed out can vary plenty due to setups or just poor quality control) point out what attributes makes a good first bass. 

That’s where the list comes in handy. If all the basses in the list are reasonable choices, then it’s just a matter of trying a few, and then picking the one that feels (and looks!) the best. 

Remember that because new players don’t have the experience initially, many of the subtleties of an instrument that might bother an experienced player, just won’t be an issue. 

Good idea to give some information about what to look for in an instrument. That’s a great video to make for my channel! Cheers. 

[kodiakblair]

8 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

The action was so high I thought the bridge needed dropping (one piece acoustic), the shop assistant spent five minutes on the truss rod and gave it back to me a transformed instrument.

You're not a beginner so I'm inclined to believe your thoughts regarding the bridge.

The magic tweaking of the truss rod is most times a temp fix. Impresses the hell out of  beginners and often they think it's all that's needed for a proper set up. Once they tell a couple of pals you can bet there'll be plenty basses with knackered necks in the future.

[OliverBlackman]

22 hours ago, prowla said:

Uh-huh...

Irrelevant to the topic but...

For around £1k new i’ve owned a Musicman Stingray and an American deluxe V jazz bass.

basses I’ve played in that ballpark that I can remember: Rickenbacker, Spector Euro, Warwick corvettes, Warwick Thumb, American standard fenders, 1970’s American vintage jazz bass reissue, Fender Marcus Miller jazz bass, Lakland skyline 55-02, Lakland Skyline Jo Osborne, Musicman Sterling, Musicman Bongo.

Then I’ve been lucky to own and play basses both cheaper and more expensive. 

I think that’s a fair amount to compare to just in one price bracket.

[greghagger]

9 minutes ago, OliverBlackman said:

Irrelevant to the topic but...

For around £1k new i’ve owned a Musicman Stingray and an American deluxe V jazz bass.

basses I’ve played in that ballpark that I can remember: Rickenbacker, Spector Euro, Warwick corvettes, Warwick Thumb, American standard fenders, 1970’s American vintage jazz bass reissue, Fender Marcus Miller jazz bass, Lakland skyline 55-02, Lakland Skyline Jo Osborne, Musicman Sterling, Musicman Bongo.

Then I’ve been lucky to own and play basses both cheaper and more expensive. 

I think that’s a fair amount to compare to just in one price bracket.

That’s a fair amount of basses.

Got to say that I love my Joe Osborn Lakland J. I have replaced the electronics with Bartolini pickups and a John East PreAmp, which is an excellent combo. The neck feels awesome, which is the real sell for me. 

[prowla]

2 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

Irrelevant to the topic but...

For around £1k new i’ve owned a Musicman Stingray and an American deluxe V jazz bass.

basses I’ve played in that ballpark that I can remember: Rickenbacker, Spector Euro, Warwick corvettes, Warwick Thumb, American standard fenders, 1970’s American vintage jazz bass reissue, Fender Marcus Miller jazz bass, Lakland skyline 55-02, Lakland Skyline Jo Osborne, Musicman Sterling, Musicman Bongo.

Then I’ve been lucky to own and play basses both cheaper and more expensive. 

I think that’s a fair amount to compare to just in one price bracket.

Ok, so the Sire beats them all. 

[OliverBlackman]

44 minutes ago, prowla said:

Ok, so the Sire beats them all. 

I preferred it yes

[prowla]

7 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

I preferred it yes

Cool - everybody is entitled to express their preference.

[greghagger]

9 hours ago, OliverBlackman said:

I preferred it yes

I spent a few hours trying most basses in the Sire range and was very impressed with what they were offering for the price range. 

But something has to give for that price, and in my opinion, the components are a bit cheaper and not as good quality as in the Laklands, or Spectors, for example. 

The Sire basses are definitely a good choice for that price range though.

[OliverBlackman]

9 hours ago, greghagger said:

I spent a few hours trying most basses in the Sire range and was very impressed with what they were offering for the price range. 

But something has to give for that price, and in my opinion, the components are a bit cheaper and not as good quality as in the Laklands, or Spectors, for example. 

The Sire basses are definitely a good choice for that price range though.

I didn’t find any of the components hampered the playability or tone in anyway. 

The original point I was making though, is that a beginner doesn’t know what their preference should be and I think unfortunately were in a state of play where music shops aren’t as available as they once were and a lot of purchases are made online. 

I’ve had some experience teaching young kids bass (6-10) and they used Sqiuer Bronco basses because that’s what the school provided. Terrible little things but the kids didn’t know any better.

[greghagger]

1 hour ago, OliverBlackman said:

I didn’t find any of the components hampered the playability or tone in anyway. 

The original point I was making though, is that a beginner doesn’t know what their preference should be and I think unfortunately were in a state of play where music shops aren’t as available as they once were and a lot of purchases are made online. 

I’ve had some experience teaching young kids bass (6-10) and they used Sqiuer Bronco basses because that’s what the school provided. Terrible little things but the kids didn’t know any better.

I agree with your original point and think that we more experienced players can complicate things if we aren’t careful! As I said previously, lots of subtleties are just not an issue for beginners.