New player (Hopefully!) looking for a bit of advice

[asingardenof]

If you're just beginning and have a really tight budget then you're unlikely to get anything particularly quality brand new, so start looking secondhand. I hate to sound opportunistic but I actually have a cracking secondhand practice amp for sale on here (click on "Trace Elliot Boxer 65" in my signature) which, as it appears you're in my area you're welcome to try, but it will good for home practice, coffee shop gigs, etc.

 

That would leave you £220 for a bass, cables, etc. This package from Thomann would give you what you'd need to complete a very basic setup: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb_20lh_sbk_bundle_set.htm

 

Your can buy clip-on tuners cheaply, and you can experiment with plectrums, strings, etc in due course.

Edited May 17, 2023 by asingardenof
Changed recommendation to LH bass

[tauzero]

Could I point out that two of the suggested basses have been right handers, despite the OP saying he's a left-hander?

[Baloney Balderdash]

On 13/05/2023 at 17:03, lownote said:

Your budget is very very tight for both bass and amp. Assuming you spend around £160 ish on the bass (HB) I really don't see how you're going to get any amp that will do more than bedroom practice.  Anything's possible but you're setting yourself quite a challenge. 

 

I have the fretless Harley Benton B550, which represents astonishing value for money but can't speak for the fretted versions.  The reason this makes a difference is because fretting is a fiddly process and it's easy for the finishing to be scimped (skimped?) on ultra low price instruments.

 

The general consensus is that starting off on 5 string is perfectly doable but 4s are just that bit easier to get your head round at first and most teaching material is 4 focused.

 

My personal experience and IMHO face to face teaching (proper lessons) is an expensive waste of time.  We live in a  golden age of online learning with loads of high quality free videos.  Yes, there's some awful rubbish out there too but you'll soon get a feel for what's good and what's not. The go-to source of quality teaching is SBL (Scotts Bass Lessons).  This costs money but you can take a 14 day free trial to see if you like the content and if you google there;'s a fair bit of quality free archive material from Scott too.

 

Hope that helps.  

 

 

The Harley Benton GuitarBass (take on the Fender Bass VI concept) that I own came with absolutely dead on perfect fretwork, even the nut slots were cut dead on perfect, and while that is not among the absolute cheapest basses/guitars that Harley Benton offers, it is not among their most expensive offerings either (which in any case are still in the budget/lower middle tier price range).

 

I realize this is pure luck, cause certainly buying budget instruments is a bit of a crap shoot, although these days with pretty high odds for getting a more than just decent instrument, and talking fretwork in specific it needs to be a considerably higher priced instrument before anything additionally is done in the fretting process before shipping from the factory anyway, also Harley Benton instruments are generally known as some of the best value budget instruments out there, and finally Thomann got 30 days full, no questions asked, return policy, with shipping expenses for the return covered, so really nothing to loose but the initial shipping cost (which actually even will be free as soon as the order is above a certain value that most instruments, even budget ones, would exceed anyway).

 

As for OP's question, yes, a proper setup should be considered needed for any bass or guitar when bought new, regardless of price, it's not exactly rocket science though, and there are plenty of great guides to be found either in written form with illustration or in form of video instructions on how to do this on the internet, just a YouTube or Google search away.

 

 

Edited May 17, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[evan47]

If using gumtree, eBay etc I would pick the item up in person (take a more knowledgable friend with you to check it out as I have been stung a couple of times with hidden problems on used gear for private sale).

Gumtree is usually good for local used gear.

[Platbass]

On 16/05/2023 at 15:08, Rexel Matador said:

It's already been said here but I would agree that humbuckers are not necessary for a good metal bass tone, despite most (modern) metal players using them - even at the more extreme end, though, Glen Benton of Deicide is now using a passive fender with P/J pickups - so maybe the tide is changing and you'd actually be putting yourself ahead of the curve!

Regarding 4 or 5 strings, I personally prefer to play the low tuned stuff on a four-string, with thicker strings to accommodate the B E A D tuning. Tuning regular strings down that low will make them too loose, but Ernie Ball actually makes a 4-string set (Beefy Slinky) that are perfect for this purpose.

Regarding how to learn, I would usually say go ahead with youtube and the huge amount of tabs available online - just start slow and it will come. I have found though, that metal bass tabs (and indeed youtube covers) can be inaccurate in a way that is specifically quite off-putting for the novice bassist: Because they can't hear any different, the tab author assumes the bass doubles the guitar part exactly.

Take a song like Raining Blood by Slayer for example: hard enough to play on guitar - and I have seen tabs online that claim the bass part is basically exactly the same but an octave lower. Bearing in mind that Tom Araya also had to sing while playing this was enough to make me want to give up for ever. BUT, you can find the isolated bass track on youtube and find that he is actually doing something a lot simpler, holding down the low end while the guitars do the fancy stuff. My point being, don't get disheartened thinking you have to be a superfast shredder, playing everything the guitarist plays with the added encumbrance of larger strings, string spacing, neck length. Metal bass is about playing in time, solidly and gluing the frenetic drums and guitars together. Just my thoughts - all totally subjective of course.

Oh wow, I might get a 4 string instead, the only reason i'm hesitant is that switching between tunings is a bit confusing to be honest (i should probably just watch a video explaining it). Thanks for the advice when it comes to learning too, are there any good places online for bass tabs specifically?  

 

On 16/05/2023 at 16:10, asingardenof said:

If you're just beginning and have a really tight budget then you're unlikely to get anything particularly quality brand new, so start looking secondhand. I hate to sound opportunistic but I actually have a cracking secondhand practice amp for sale on here (click on "Trace Elliot Boxer 65" in my signature) which, as it appears you're in my area you're welcome to try, but it will good for home practice, coffee shop gigs, etc.

 

That would leave you £220 for a bass, cables, etc. This package from Thomann would give you what you'd need to complete a very basic setup: https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_pb_20lh_sbk_bundle_set.htm

 

Your can buy clip-on tuners cheaply, and you can experiment with plectrums, strings, etc in due course.

Honestly if I were purchasing the stuff right now i'd be tempted to take you up on the offer for the amp, but it'll likely be a month or so before i actually place the order just due to other commitments not leaving me much time, if its still available then though I might be dropping you a message. 

 

23 hours ago, Baloney Balderdash said:

The Harley Benton GuitarBass (take on the Fender Bass VI concept) that I own came with absolutely dead on perfect fretwork, even the nut slots were cut dead on perfect, and while that is not among the absolute cheapest basses/guitars that Harley Benton offers, it is not among their most expensive offerings either (which in any case are still in the budget/lower middle tier price range).

 

I realize this is pure luck, cause certainly buying budget instruments is a bit of a crap shoot, although these days with pretty high odds for getting a more than just decent instrument, and talking fretwork in specific it needs to be a considerably higher priced instrument before anything additionally is done in the fretting process before shipping from the factory anyway, also Harley Benton instruments are generally known as some of the best value budget instruments out there, and finally Thomann got 30 days full, no questions asked, return policy, with shipping expenses for the return covered, so really nothing to loose but the initial shipping cost (which actually even will be free as soon as the order is above a certain value that most instruments, even budget ones, would exceed anyway).

 

As for OP's question, yes, a proper setup should be considered needed for any bass or guitar when bought new, regardless of price, it's not exactly rocket science though, and there are plenty of great guides to be found either in written form with illustration or in form of video instructions on how to do this on the internet, just a YouTube or Google search away.

Really good to know if i do end up going new, i'm also gonna start looking around for used basses in a similar price range.