What is the best bass for under £100

[AMD8806]

I have decided it is time to replace my old Ibanez Talman Bass and wondering what is the cheapest and best value for money bass i can get i tried to get a Harley Benton PB-20 SBK to discover that it will not arrive until late February what should i get?

[jrixn1]

What don't you like about the Ibanez Talman? 

[yorks5stringer]

Your're setting the bar pretty low at sub £100 for anything decent but here's a few under a £100, but you may have to pay postage too..

https://www.dv247.com/en_GB/GBP/brands/jack-danny

[AMD8806]

The talman is all right but just is uncomfortable for me as the cutout is the wrong place for my leg, although about the J&D basses would you say that are they are good for the price?

[jrixn1]

The normal (not SBK) PB-20 seems to be in stock.  I had one for a while and it's good.

I also still have a J&D, although mine's the mini jazz , not the precision (this or perhaps this).

I play my J&D every now and then at gigs and it's good.  In fact I got a really nice compliment on my tone recently from the singer, whereas with my Sandberg no one's ever said a thing!
 

Edited December 16, 2019 by jrixn1

[yorks5stringer]

47 minutes ago, AMD8806 said:

The talman is all right but just is uncomfortable for me as the cutout is the wrong place for my leg, although about the J&D basses would you say that are they are good for the price?

Play standing up?

[binky_bass]

For under £100, go second hand. You'll pretty much only get trash for £100 brand new that will be worth £50 at best the second you've bought it.

If you buy pre-owned, and buy smart, you can get something half decent, and if you don't like it after a week or two you can sell it on and break even or maybe make a few pennies which can be reinvested in another second hand bass where the cycle can continue!

I did this with amps for about a year until I finally settled on something I really liked. Gives you a great chance to try what's out there without really spending anything other that your initial outlay.

[Lfalex v1.1]

Second hand? Who knows what might turn up?

(Edit- beat me to it, Russ!)

Edited December 16, 2019 by Lfalex v1.1

[lownote]

Spend twice that much on a brand new Revelation (Bass Gallery).  One of the best basses I've had. 

[Bassassin]

J&D are very, very good, if my £113 Thinline Tele copy is any indication. What's very interesting is that it's possibly to buy the exact same guitar, obviously from the same production line, with a slightly more Fender-shaped headstock bearing a "Tokai" logo. Costs about 3 times the price of mine.

I'd have no hesitation in picking up a J&D Precision or Jazz copy for around the £100 mark, same goes for Harley Benton, from everything I've heard.

The idea of cheap instruments inevitably being junk really is a thing of the past. Hail China!

[therealting]

Revelations are as good as anything I’ve tried new in that sort of price range (well, slightly higher, but worth it).

Secondhand, you could do worse than a Yamaha. Pretty much any one  

 

[Owen]

I must admit I have never picked up a Yamaha and thought anything but "yep, that will do the job nicely".

[miles'tone]

1 hour ago, owen said:

I must admit I have never picked up a Yamaha and thought anything but "yep, that will do the job nicely".

Yep, for a ton used nothing would beat a Yammy RBX170. Saw one go for 67 quid on ebay last week actually. 

[hooky_lowdown]

If you want the best sub £100 bass, send me a message - I have a Yamaha rbx170 in black, with MIJ Fender P pickup, and Roswell jba vintage jazz pickup (both alnico), in excellent condition. Can post.

[Dan Dare]

Anything under a ton is likely to be a sideways move, really. The Yamaha referred to above is good for the money, but if you could save up a bit more - say another £100 - you could make a more worthwhile improvement.

[Owen]

I personally believe that we are living in the golden age of lutherie. It is very difficult to buy a poor instrument now. Pickups generally are the weak spot, but even then they are not rubbish. I just got 2 J&D Jazz basses for work for £125 and they are fine and dandy. I could happily gig them. They are slightly heavy and the Poly on them is nice and thick, but I think that is the norm until you spend quite a bit more. I think you have to climb much higher than another £100 to get anything that is appreciably better.

Dan, on reading it this again, my post could seem as if I am disagreeing with you in a forum/troll stylee and that was not my intention.

Edited December 18, 2019 by owen

[lownote]

13 hours ago, owen said:

I personally believe that we are living in the golden age of lutherie. It is very difficult to buy a poor instrument now. Pickups generally are the weak spot, but even then they are not rubbish. I just got 2 J&D Jazz basses for work for £125 and they are fine and dandy. I could happily gig them. They are slightly heavy and the Poly on them is nice and thick, but I think that is the norm until you spend quite a bit more. I think you have to climb much higher than another £100 to get anything that is appreciably better.

I usually buy the best I can but at the moment I have three basses, all worth no more than £250, and furnished with pickups costing no more than £30. They all do a great job. Most remarkable is the Entwhistle p bass pup on my Revelation (£199 new). which punches way way above its £12 weight.  

Edited December 18, 2019 by lownote12

[rushbo]

1 hour ago, lownote12 said:

I usually buy the best I can but at the moment I have three basses, all worth no more than £250, and furnished with pickups costing no more than £30. They all do a great job. Most remarkable ia the Entwhistle p bass pup on my Revelation (£199 new). which punches way way above its £12 weight.  

Entwistle pickups are ace - they can make an OK bass sound great for a pocket-money price. 

As long as the neck is decent, with an action you can cope with and fret ends that don't lacerate your hands if you dare to do a glissando, £100 will buy you something more than adequate. Your options are wider if you're handy with a soldering iron, too. Westfield basses are worth a look - they crop up fairly regularly second hand for well under £100 and I think they're every bit as good as a Chinese Squier. With the money you save, you might consider upgrading the tuners and the pick-up, but they're good basses, straight from the factory. failing that, here's another vote for a Yamaha - their "entry level" instruments are really good. 

[Grahambythesea]

If you fancy a Squier Precision Special, Jazz neck, P & J pickups, made in Indonesia and CAR for around a ton, PM me.

[Newfoundfreedom]

In that price range i'd look for a second hand Vintage (the brand).

They're stupidly good for the money, and you can pick a second hand one up for next to nothing. 

[paul_5]

SX are another brand when you’re on the lookout for a really playable instrument on a budget.

[stewblack]

Harley Benton 

[Newfoundfreedom]

15 minutes ago, stewblack said:

Harley Benton 

I've got my eye on the HBZ-5000 NT.

Above the price range of the OP, coming it at about £270. But they look ridiculously good for the money. 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_bz_5000_nt.htm

Just need to get some funds together now. 😞

[stewblack]

26 minutes ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

I've got my eye on the HBZ-5000 NT.

Above the price range of the OP, coming it at about £270. But they look ridiculously good for the money. 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_bz_5000_nt.htm

Just need to get some funds together now. 😞

I have to steer clear of Thomann! So many great looking basses

[stewblack]

Needed to reach for the tissues earlier