Best secondhand basses under 300

[CDLT]

Hi, I've been building up to getting a bass for a little while and want to get something that is usable for a beginner  but nice and that will hopefully stay with me for several years. I'm thinking a jazz bass, my budget is around £250, seems to make more sense to get something second hand - are there any models around that price s/h that are worth keeping an eye out for on ebay etc? I'm not in a rush so willing to wait and see what comes up, though I know with this budget it shouldn't be hard to find something solid. 

Apologies if this is a common thread, I did try searching before posting but couldn't find anything recent. Also, this forum seems refreshingly nice, helpful and lacking pretentious-ness, glad to have found it!
 

Edited April 24, 2021 by CDLT

[lownote]

Sire... or possibly a Sire... or, if not, a Sire.  Punch way way above their weight for the money, which bobs around the upper reaches of what you've got to spend for the older and/or cheaper models.

Squier.. used to be the mutt's go-to, but IMHO not a patch on the Sire since the latter made its debut. 

Other ideas include the Revelations, great basses for less than your budget new.

A lot of people swear by the Yamaha BB series.  I've personally never liked or had any joy of them but I think I'm in a minority of one.

For a tad more than your budget you might be able to get a Made in Mehico Fender.  I bought a MiM P bass for £300 and it was a quantum leap away from all my other basses.  Well boss.  

 

Edited April 25, 2021 by lownote12

[Lozz196]

Get a Squier Affinity bass that has been set up well and you’ll be pretty amazed. Similarly with Vintage, their instruments are very good quality and play/sound really good.

[tegs07]

Squire Classic Vibe

[TheGreek]

There are lots of "solid" basses in your budget. Very few bad basses about now.

Squier Standard - you get the benefit of PJ pick ups, nice neck and traditional design.

Mine is currently with @Lozz196, I'm sure that he'll confirm they're VFM.

If you want something a bit different a Bass Collection SGC Nanyo - 301 is passive, 310 is active. Great necks and beautifully weighted/balanced.

Edited April 24, 2021 by TheGreek

[Marvin]

Second hand, Squier Classic Vibe, and if it's a Jazz then the Vintage Modified from about 2010 seem to sell for your budget (considering they were about £230 new they've maintained their value)

SX come sometimes

A second hand Sire V7, but they don't come up very often it seems.

New, Sire V3 is £260ish from Andertons. Squier Affinity or VM maybe ?

There's hardly a badly made instrument out there anymore...not like my Westone Spectrum II I bought in 1990 which was utter rubbish  

[Lfalex v1.1]

Welcome to the forum. 

If I may be so bold, have a look at the basses for sale on here. Ebay can be a bit hit-and-miss.

If I were selling to you as someone (presumably) new to playing bass, I'd make sure you were getting a tidy, well set-up bass that'd hopefully be all you'd need for at least a couple of years. 

I'd second any suggestions of Squier Vintage Modified or Classic Vibes. Something more contemporary? Keep an eye out for Cort or Ibanez basses.

Edited April 24, 2021 by Lfalex v1.1

[Baloney Balderdash]

If you can find an old Aria Pro II bass produced in 1986 or before that, which means produced in Japan at the legendary Matsumoku factory, before they moved their production to Korea, you will get a huge amount of high quality for your money, and you should be able to find one within your price limit.

Edited April 24, 2021 by Baloney Balderdash

[BassBunny]

Bass Collection or maybe a Bass Collection. You will not get s better "bang for your buck" than a second hand BC.

Crated in Japan, Gotoh Hardwear and light as a feather.

[PaulThePlug]

Quite biased...

Ibanez SR? A new SR300 or possibly a secondhand SR500

Or if ya after Jazz, and not a lot second hand, check out the Harley Benton's - a few models to choose from although factor the vat n import bollox....

Couple of Squier Jazz on Gumtree... depending on ya location

Edited April 24, 2021 by PaulThePlug

[CDLT]

2 hours ago, TheGreek said:

There are lots of "solid" basses in your budget. Very few bad basses about now.

Squier Standard - you get the benefit of PJ pick ups, nice neck and traditional design.

Mine is currently with @Lozz196, I'm sure that he'll confirm they're VFM.

If you want something a bit different a Bass Collection SGC Nanyo - 301 is passive, 310 is active. Great necks and beautifully weighted/balanced.

Ooh, interestingly I'm hoping to go and look at an SGC Nanyo in the next couple of days (if the seller will respond). Thanks for the recommendation!

[Munurmunuh]

This thread made me think of this advert.... sadly the bass is now sold. But, still, a nice indication of what's available. 

Jazz style Peavey

[CDLT]

55 minutes ago, Lfalex v1.1 said:

Welcome to the forum. 

If I may be so bold, have a look at the basses for sale on here. Ebay can be a bit hit-and-miss.

If I were selling to you as someone (presumably) new to playing bass, I'd make sure you were getting a tidy, well set-up bass that'd hopefully be all you'd need for at least a couple of years. 

I'd second any suggestions of Squier Vintage Modified or Classic Vibes. Something more contemporary? Keep an eye out for Cort or Ibanez basses.

Thank you! I am indeed new to it, and tidy and well set-up is pretty much my aim. Listings on here seem to have a lot of high-end/niche pieces (understandably) but also a lot of turnover in general so will definitely keep my eyes on them :). 

[CDLT]

Appreciate everyone's advice! It seems there are plenty of good options (which allows me to be a bit selective with the aesthetics, as embarrassing as it is to admit they're a factor). Looking forward to getting started and hopefully learning and being active on here too. 

[nilebodgers]

I'd also advise finding one of the forum members nearby to you that will help with doing a basic setup (there is a thread with a list somwewhere). If you are a beginner it's hard to know what is normal/acceptable for playing action and getting that right from the start is going to make things much easier.

[CDLT]

3 minutes ago, nilebodgers said:

I'd also advise finding one of the forum members nearby to you that will help with doing a basic setup (there is a thread with a list somwewhere). If you are a beginner it's hard to know what is normal/acceptable for playing action and getting that right from the start is going to make things much easier.

Wow, what a great concept. I didn't know that was a thing but I'll search out the thread. Thank you!

[jezzaboy]

You can get a nice Sire V3 for £261 from Andertons.

https://www.andertons.co.uk/brands/sire/sire-v-series-basses/v3-basses?#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&facetLimit:&orderBy:&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&

For the price they can`t be beat as they have the same pre amp as the more expensive models.

Edit: just checked, sod all stock!

Edited April 24, 2021 by jezzaboy

[OliverBlackman]

4 hours ago, lownote12 said:

Sire... or possibly a Sire... or, if not, a Sire.  Punch way way above their weight for the money, which bobs around the upper reaches of what you've got to spend for older models.

Squier.. used to be the mutt's go-to, but IMHO not a patch on the Sire since the latter made its debut. 

Other ideas include the Revelations, great basses for less than your budget new.

A lot of people swear by the Yamaha BB series.  I've personally never liked or had any joy of them but I think I'm in a minority of one.

For a tad more than your budget you might be able to get a Made in Mehico Fender.  I bought a MiM P bass for £300 and it was a quantum leap away from all my other basses.  Well boss.  

 

Depends. You can either buy a Sire and enjoy it for years or buy another bass and over time trade/ sell/ buy your way up to a Sire.

[CDLT]

3 minutes ago, jezzaboy said:

You can get a nice Sire V3 for £261 from Andertons.

https://www.andertons.co.uk/brands/sire/sire-v-series-basses/v3-basses?#facet:&productBeginIndex:0&facetLimit:&orderBy:&pageView:grid&minPrice:&maxPrice:&pageSize:&

For the price they can`t be beat as they have the same pre amp as the more expensive models.

Edit: just checked, sod all stock!

Yep... after reading so much about them almost went ahead and bought one new, then saw they were sold out...

[Davebassics]

Sire is the new squier.

+1 on anything sire or squier CV/VM

[silentbob]

Just saw this on Facebook Marketplace. Looks to be getting a lot of love and is in your price range.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/BassPlayersMarketUK/permalink/4216569018354694/?sale_post_id=4216569018354694

[Al Krow]

Time the Yamaha fanboys jumped in and made our presence felt 😊

A used Yamaha BB 424 or the slightly older BB 414 should be available in your price range and are very well made basses. Feel free to pop over to Yamaha BB thread - there are plenty of very happy owners on there who will be able to provide you with advice and often spot bargains available on the net and which occasionally get snapped up by fellow BCers. 

Having said that if you decide on a Sire, I suspect you won't be disappointed either! 

[kodiakblair]

9 hours ago, Ricky Rioli said:

. sadly the bass is now sold

Went on eBay, fetched the princely sum of £88 😮

 

Not the thing an owner of 4 Peavey Foundations wants to see 😀

[Munurmunuh]

13 hours ago, CDLT said:

I'm thinking a jazz bass

 

6 hours ago, Al Krow said:

A used Yamaha BB 424 or the slightly older BB 414 should be available in your price range and are very well made basses.

My 424 sounds and feels like a Jazz?! 😜

[lownote]

11 hours ago, CDLT said:

Appreciate everyone's advice! It seems there are plenty of good options (which allows me to be a bit selective with the aesthetics, as embarrassing as it is to admit they're a factor). Looking forward to getting started and hopefully learning and being active on here too. 

Then you can start a new info avalanche by asking for advice on amp/cab buying lol. To save you asking, probably the same money again, ish, but prices can vary easily from £150 to 10x as much. You need 100w absolute minimum and if you end up gigging at some stage, ideally 2-300w +.  If you're no longer young and fit lightweight kit is available but generally costs more.There's no Sire of the amp world; there are many brands, each with their supporters. Ashdown heads and cabs have much love on here and are cheap 2nd hand and easy to fix if they go wrong, but are on the (manageably) large and heavy side. Sorry, I know this is the Basses not Amps n Cabs thread but just thought I'd say like.

Edited April 25, 2021 by lownote12