Tips on finding a good quality 2nd hand bass

[yorks5stringer]

I think there is some confusion here...the seller says it has £400-500 worth of improvements (which may be debatable) but is only selling it for £220, which does not sound unreasonable. However the picture showing the string action may be just a badly angled photo but the E looks a lot lower than the A and D....

[Paolo85]

1 hour ago, pete.young said:

Well I guess everything has increased in value during the current cost of living crisis, including firewood. But  a SquiER like this is still not a 400-500 quid bass. And this guy is not a salesman of any description , especially not amazing.

 

..

 

The bass sells for 220 though. But yes

"It's the smoothest pro neck and fretboard you'll ever touch, and the lowest Bass guitar action you will find anywhere: super-fast and smooth" is delirious and makesnit smell fishy

[kodiakblair]

2 hours ago, Paolo85 said:

I would disagree

OK

[TheGreek]

Take a trip down to The Bass Gallery in Camden and try a few basses. Pop along to Bass Direct and try a few more.  You might want to see if there are any local events or open mike nights you can pop along to and try some gear - most bassists won't have an issue. If I had anything which I thought you might like I'd make an open invitation for you to come and try mine - unfortunately I've only got one mass produced 4 string in my collection. See if other local BCers are open to an afternoon of you trying their gear.

 

DON'T hand over any money for experimenting with something you have no knowledge of. There are many here who have done this only to move the bass on weeks/months later - learning nothing other than "that wasn't what I'm after".

 

 

[itu]

If some fenderesque bass is what you are after, a minute ago there were 16 basses out of 23 (which is 2/3) in the first page of the Sales section closely related to Fender: F of course, Squier, Sire, Lakland, Sadowsky... Just pick the price range.

[lemmywinks]

On 04/11/2022 at 21:37, polvo said:

 

Yeah I still don't really have a feel for this, cos I've only ever had my Tanglewood and playing on guitar shop basses for a few minutes at a time doesn't give me much sense of what's what. I'm kind of wondering if I should start picking up a few random cheap basses to try out and then resell.

 

 

I went through a stage of doing this, set up a search for BiN newly listed basses under £70 on eBay and keep updating it when you have a spare few minutes, all the BiN bargains are usually snapped up within the first few minutes. Just had a constant revolving door of surprisingly good backup basses and lots of fun along the way. Can snag some local bargains on Gumtree/Facebook as well.

[polvo]

4 minutes ago, lemmywinks said:

 

I went through a stage of doing this, set up a search for BiN newly listed basses under £70 on eBay and keep updating it when you have a spare few minutes, all the BiN bargains are usually snapped up within the first few minutes. Just had a constant revolving door of surprisingly good backup basses and lots of fun along the way. 

 

Yeah that's pretty much my plan I think.

 

What's 'BiN' though?

[ezbass]

12 minutes ago, polvo said:

 

Yeah that's pretty much my plan I think.

 

What's 'BiN' though?

Buy it now.

[PaulThePlug]

Nice bass, I'd say nicer cept the tort... perhaps he has a plain guard... similar price, No Bòllőx...

[lemmywinks]

2 hours ago, polvo said:

 

Yeah that's pretty much my plan I think.

 

What's 'BiN' though?

 

Basically any bargain that is at a fixed buy it now price will be snapped up pretty quickly so save a search and when you have a few spare minutes refresh it for a bit.

 

I had one search set at £70 and one at £300 (only for certain brands though), highlights of the cheapies were a Vintage V950 for £50, an Aria STJ for £45 and an Aria IGB55 also for £50. Best overall was a German Warwick Fortress One for £250. Gigged all of them and never lost any money selling them on.

[Minininjarob]

I am a beginner. I am also a huge 2nd buyer of bargains. 
However I don’t know much about basses so I did some homework to help me buy a 2nd hand instrument as my first bass. 
The problem is that my lack of experience means no matter how much I read up I could never be too sure as I couldn’t even play a tune to figure out how well it played. I would have no idea if something has been messed with or is beyond repair. 
I went round a few shops and decided what I really wanted was a P-bass and ended up buying a brand new Fender Standard PB in the colour I loved and it makes me want to play it every day. The only adjustment I made was a slight tweak to the truss rod to reduce the fret buzz but otherwise it’s fantastic. 
If I were you I’d go a get a brand new Squier P Bass if that’s what you’ve decided you want OR have a think about the music you would like to play or the bassists you want to sound like and try out what they use. Buy an instrument that gets you excited about picking it up - not just because it’s a good deal. I couldn’t care less if a PB is harder to play than a modern Yamaha or whatever, as when I picked one up and played it I suddenly felt like I was Mike Dirnt and that was everything. 
There’s so many amazing new budget basses nowadays - go and try a few out! 

[Ricky 4000]

Good thread... 👍

 

[Ralf1e]

On 04/11/2022 at 22:05, polvo said:

 

Might be a stupid question... but can't I just switch strings around between different basses instead of buying a new set for each bass? So if I find strings I like, test them out on different basses and then put the original strings back on if I want to sell it on?

Not all strings are made to fit all basses depending on scale length, thickness of the strings etc. A bass usually needs to be set up for different types and makes of strings. Mind you if you tried your idea out you would certainly learn alot about doing your own setups, assuming you have the time.

I recently bought an unplayed Squier 70's classic vibe jazz for £220 including a gig bag. It certainly does not/did not need any new pickups or other changes other than a light fret dress and truss rod adjustment and even then only 3 fret needed doing up near the neck joint. Fabulous bass no money. I suspect the one in the advert is not like that. It's fretboard finish looks wrong for a start although I couldn't find the advert as Gumtree opened my Gumtree app and carted me off to the wrong page bless em

[lownote]

If you are having trouble navigating BassChat marketplace it could be because the BassChat sale forum assumes a fair knowledge of basses and knowing what you want. If you have that, it's perfectly easy and straightforward. If you're a noob then I would suggest that the sale forum, while generally safe and reliable, is not the best place to look if you don't really know what you're looking for and are hoping someone/something will tell you what you want. Plus, as you observe, most items are quite pricey. You already have a bass. Work out what you like and don't like about that. Think about the sorts of music you want to play, or players you want to imitate, then look for a related type/brand that olffers you the widest possible range of applications, then go to Andertons, Bass Direct or Bass Gallery to buy. You can get a life time of enjoyment from a quality Squier P bass or Sire jazz bass, or a Revelation fretless.  If you want to get sucked into purchase addiction, like we all have, then buy and sell indiscrimately until you finally work out what you're doing and want/need. 

Edited November 8, 2022 by lownote

[SumOne]

I'd probably check out what players I am into play, check online for review videos of those Basses, spend a day going to a few Bass guitar shops to see what feels and sounds best (ideally with a small headphone amp so you are comparing like-for-like and don't fee self-concious playing to a shop audience!).

 

Perhaps I'd buy from the shop as it has certain guarentees and is easy but you'll save some ££ buying 2nd hand from Basschat, you won't go far wrong with something like a Squier Jazz or Precision to start with.

 

I wouldn't plan on my first Bass being my 'bass for life' (I haven't found 'the one' yet!). It takes time to realise if you want 4 or 5 strings, or a more specific look or sound, fretted/fretless, active or passive, if weight is a big issue, what string spacing, neck shape, scale length etc. I see it a bit like owning cars - different ones are better for different times of your life/different uses, apart from nostalgia I wouldn't still want my 1st car.