How Much Would You Care...

[thegummy]

1 hour ago, Jonesy said:

 

I think everyone on the forum would say 2 P basses were essential, for your exact dilemma - one for rounds and one for flats. 

 

Prices have gone insane over the past few years, but there's still plenty of good basses you can get at the lower end. You'd be able to get a cheap 2nd hand Harley Benton (or even a new one, depending on the model) for not much more than the price of a P pickup. 

 

For new prices, the P pickup I fancy is 24 quid - I'd find it hard to believe even a bass costing 10 times that would be any good given that Yamaha's cheapest is nearly double that now (£450).

[Jonesy]

 

23 minutes ago, thegummy said:

 

For new prices, the P pickup I fancy is 24 quid - I'd find it hard to believe even a bass costing 10 times that would be any good given that Yamaha's cheapest is nearly double that now (£450).

 

 

You'd be surprised. 

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/386979719367?itmmeta=01HZ00EJ5N5F45VPWCKVBTDKZM&hash=item5a19c9e8c7:g:jLUAAOSwaVNmLfW4&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4FHbMdBWydeo99Xe8YghwMLhvLzN%2BSfCoLETO%2FmuTSGb5aebRu4h7a46n3NipbRuFD1i6sGvBwpl%2F8PGLFgY18o7hSmF0ELT%2FNDjfpeMtJyh7IxbNCzlXyTpCnIAx8Y9rUEopZdRYMPRCoIgPf6uysTxjPdItAnNJqLy5rP9kdMzojONiS8JQ8P3bZgE2bgmlZGUDZE3dyZrzEd0FdXaIU7nIUgzqy53QPZkrt5LChDN6XL7zVqnJnladsvuvwhRgMP1BRAqHXTznHC9eXJeU0JQf%2BORtwiCJe5QfYY3xE71|tkp%3ABk9SR4ijuoD4Yw

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326066167879?itmmeta=01HZ00K2VS2YDC15R30D4VFD0G&hash=item4beb0ee047:g:iV4AAOSwLHVmAVtm&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwA7%2FRlnJFle2G7qHPpJrJUBnqLH8LtzmdNj4VWGTetGu7c3FaaDLwsaawBDoN4oCDzSCbbEkgf0wvMWhkQu3jEOSuzQqpCNp8T1As00p%2Fpok2MdeNwwPdS5yW3DJzzxCPAwaNx2Gmlhi%2FvUfFs4EF73qaqO3vRN%2BrErK%2B48U0O6L86bAkSwEzHgkv5hIlxjUHMszI5XQN9J2%2F0y4wYkYsL2Tjy0bRgym2LVHh0vGK6ohS3JEdH0PdHvSBkKp3W3IIg%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR4yuzID4Yw

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204796133941?itmmeta=01HZ00EJ5JB3KWWRYX2HR35N0N&hash=item2faecd0235:g:1PYAAOSwm01mSZcC&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwChVMZVTmyfXLhFrJ%2Bus84LT4bdCAFD9Zxr8aRFyB5v%2F%2BCTQ5Fx5AlaoTijJGtZ7lQDYgBrlzLEARMJ7Gq5U1B30pTo%2BH67DhGMWCgNhImO42rL04R3stLPoiIf7gVKCBXzCom4wkQiKQ9JdrJ8%2FusWuNH%2BonT1i5QyBhYw2IiaVDPIsVgyu4LvudjtXVqz2fTyXuUMRRQ1ekqnYCrYSO9yfRscEbCcFVPp0c1LVq38Bj6eCxXqErsx432wHzG9vRQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR_6iuoD4Yw

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/166726704860?itmmeta=01HZ010TAJ43H9FPW1Q8C8GTMN&hash=item26d1af9edc%3Ag%3ANOQAAOSw6DtmJk1T&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4OuG1FspX6ofhKg34RKIxwfdY%2FoaXEnC%2Frbryw2gX6OOZF%2Bio2Q5IV4c70Oiu0e1zCVy3eU474JU%2FNGpPNpVJyhiPgHq9zinl1LLVeX5ON4phOAZlxe4mfvjapaxsgqp65rrtA0IG2X4DWHsh%2FgXF2PRCN7VhhGm%2FeMyVRBF1V8XZkjQz37Sp5DNYBb2uvh%2FzF7wVePepOdz1f3Q42yyEa5QDPkkt3v0ODTBoWRoeqk%2BY1ONnpeBuxUruf6KSK%2BqbIz7T5xWJzmluRJAfWgbCAo5eM2QFtpRfe1DVItoiGB%2F|tkp%3ABk9SR66lg4H4Yw&LH_ItemCondition=3000

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/204689217347?itmmeta=01HZ010TAKW6AYPVVP3PWZ5CR4&hash=item2fa86d9743%3Ag%3A6pAAAOSwbhNl7u3~&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4OShDSveYJHzCcDm%2B%2F%2BJVyY8BPF0%2Bervgh0t%2Fp5XogoQ9dOEx%2B9Wk%2B9vARPYKlu76IIF--iqbprfVaDQtDIPKWlE3ORvEwkVVBFtHzYdbnvnBguWD6HOjSSP%2B7IEz4R1YUf5txry2WDrqNI7sxHRduBIXIn0%2BHGSXVvxBcbwpvnfIsZ5ZoIeEPCuv1TwlD5chs2gOcufvUppTXw4rcahWTnu0lFetJbz6TrTlX2i6L%2BJKi3S3fB%2BQ7KUMH7Cw%2BsPfaxXAblZRKk4RcX0oMVwfNlpDreoAM3eD%2Fv%2BOY%2Bcywop|tkp%3ABk9SR7Clg4H4Yw&LH_ItemCondition=3000

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/364915763191?epid=2255435440&itmmeta=01HZ01C3TDCRMPCNTEVH1Z3B0E&hash=item54f6aca7f7%3Ag%3Au9wAAOSwxv9mVNyR&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwOL7gYjVp5LLjsywWhBDv3zBo0v2fk9XVQIXuoDvHPPjIwvsPM3k2wcetmMeA%2FtegYIuchbpR4nz7NrHQ3Ght323mGjEBcp8awjEH1doQ9a07LYeL1GLN5pGsntQFZQeNH6rRn4Jv8ChGZ9UolrlnBuiZ3exwgkkLrfNiQv%2F2R4s1gQm%2Ff97jmW%2BQGhllY0I7CRFdua%2FCQpj6IOPJTUqcMvO%2FBHlNLeVE9jYvWc5W3abi3%2FRiU6bAfmxc5CzhPs3yw%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7K9sIH4Yw&LH_ItemCondition=3000

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404988051715?itmmeta=01HZ01C3TE5P1A2JBX58AAQYKJ&hash=item5e4b2b4103%3Ag%3AnC0AAOSwh9ZmS5Dy&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0Oeq1eIZfCrxTA0MlNQFDbCmUvxPRRVUBsYnkIdBEovnT24c2ZkyT1lhl%2F4Se7oFEBxse2Bq1bPofmhKukJeyW1Ry2G0iswiB8aVRtLDuF3yNDMMrYk3vF8RoDS58RAw3siC%2Fh%2FfXhGjsmkGzy53PtLx0pwP8%2BelNMlMJRoiE3kxRlZw5Y7CzH11OAEJ1460hdJ3AmoFDl30gER%2BUsYZb6VGygcvqJW9GoGBS2e7XSfKDD7R4L14npYymnd0UjU2M1GG%2BxcurWWBCNjkYvtrMjo%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7K9sIH4Yw&LH_ItemCondition=3000

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226152012045?itmmeta=01HZ01C3TE5RMX3ECVXN64E2EK&hash=item34a7b5d90d%3Ag%3AlYUAAOSwN7dmSOP-&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0ALJkc%2BUDQSTywAn2kHb8kJKITUfwoj9ApKpWAZB5FGSlXGwLCtgBFVHO6GCOXd9FYTuupQ7JR5cYRK5g6mDN%2FypPLvoaT8pNtZxOvo3HUeN3%2BU43Loe7vMSUxO7wIO%2Bft7zZYpYYsfO%2B7G8FTEN%2F%2BbWUal%2FTStJbXKNs3EfVD4UsWzJ%2Flkn%2FRGxv4JnsVprZ9nv6mzlrXLYIr%2FvPoU2ibyhU%2BWG30LGZ0uXAtO1KzlXYPdTra300ipfXyXtX3RVHO3aM7Oapq6vmegIn6omsjQ%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR7i9sIH4Yw&LH_ItemCondition=3000

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/276436821549?itmmeta=01HZ01C3TGBD9VFZ44XNPS1YDS&hash=item405ceb262d%3Ag%3ALgMAAOSwk7ZmJ9WL&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAsEJMvvtjya8nNgCaPQnPydBbHZsMQWRIWCs82pV8Wmo8kvi2oHd7dvRBoKCPzPRu2E9RNLbJufuBPUP7JAjbFwsvHdnla235MQcHI0tKVJVLzoVu7gqDyV7c9IsJvUVo9pfvQmrFRB4npcsXWCaHXnGDHCoMCHbCxJK%2Fhxub%2BUeXEMf47u%2BH8lIITmCS5Ir1%2FQ2qXuqbbcQrf2k474Xc7bwK9HMWjuRG9XFxR6uDQyh%2B|tkp%3ABk9SR8C9sIH4Yw&LH_ItemCondition=3000

 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/326125514395?itmmeta=01HZ01C3TH5NGZJC0PYJJRJ4K1&hash=item4bee986e9b%3Ag%3Aa5wAAOSw4j5mQiu8&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwBaaA1vqyr8KXRwxGwAWqQjitUZ6ghzdsR01p2PEJxi4cCqEvWZl6JMGvnE1joVBPXtxaDtvOLBNMmMocKGvqBPqHHN%2FHNxkpjfVSdLKFVd24COUjc2%2FVt%2Bb26QP9VufFt0QDW6NE%2BQ8IjSMoU777KA1%2BIlKMG7Iw16H1Z1lvOjq0tqwPPF%2Fhwzoi79At%2FVWMGv4eSDTJYX7Eu6JX64rvrYD8CVIR%2BgSIikOgE1RGta8UIJab%2FZGdvuD5VKdvra4IQ%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR8S9sIH4Yw&LH_ItemCondition=3000

 

Are they as good as a Yammy? No. Are they good enough to gig? Yes. Are they good enough to decide whether you prefer flats or rounds on a P? Definitely. 

 

You could flip it once you're finished playing around for a net spend of close to £0. Even if you kept it, by the time you take into account the spend on the pup and the drop in value on your Schecter, you're still spending about the same amount

[thegummy]

50 minutes ago, Jonesy said:

 

 

 

You'd be surprised. 

 

Are they as good as a Yammy? No. Are they good enough to gig? Yes. Are they good enough to decide whether you prefer flats or rounds on a P? Definitely. 

 

You could flip it once you're finished playing around for a net spend of close to £0. Even if you kept it, by the time you take into account the spend on the pup and the drop in value on your Schecter, you're still spending about the same amount

 

Appreciate you taking the time to list all those links.

 

At the moment I literally can't even afford to buy a 100 quid bass (still talking more than 5 times the price of a pickup for even the most bottom of the range bass).

 

Have to admit I'm very sceptical that a bass that's £111 brand new could be at all decent. I'm open to the idea that I'm completely wrong but with even budget basses costing 4 times that, it seems strange one with such a low price would be any good. Given that a £111 Harley Benton and £2000+ Fender are essentially identical in the grand scheme of things, if the quality differences between the two are so small that the incredibly cheap one would still be decent then that's one hell of a markup for what would have to be a small difference.

 

But maybe that's the case, I'm definitely intrigued. Would be interested in getting one in the future purely to find out just how close it is to my Fender.

[Jonesy]

You could probably pick up a 2nd hand Harley Benton for £60-£80 - appreciate that it's still a lot more than £25 to buy now, but it's cheaper than the drop in value on your Schecter imo. They're really decent basses, not just decent for the money, but they're all nice players and easily on par with Squier (maybe not the CVs). Some might be a little on the heavy side or have cheaper bridges/tuners/pots etc, but I've never had one with tuning or intonation issues, so the hardware does its job. The pups in them are decent and will be up to the task.

 

This is a pretty good video to compare the difference in sound between a lower end Squier and top end Fender.....

 

 

There is a difference, and most of it will be in what you feel, but from the sounds they're all fairly close. My assumption is those Fender stickers on the headstock must be really expensive to make compared to the Squier ones, and the Harley Benton ones must be dirt cheap....

[neepheid]

Sidebar, but what's the rush?  If you can't afford £100 now, put what you can aside a month until you can.  I know that's an unfashionable way of looking at things in today's world of fast, easy credit, but if you set that aside and call it your "bass fund", then there's no guilt when it gets spent on a bass.

[thegummy]

1 hour ago, Jonesy said:

You could probably pick up a 2nd hand Harley Benton for £60-£80 - appreciate that it's still a lot more than £25 to buy now, but it's cheaper than the drop in value on your Schecter imo. They're really decent basses, not just decent for the money, but they're all nice players and easily on par with Squier (maybe not the CVs). Some might be a little on the heavy side or have cheaper bridges/tuners/pots etc, but I've never had one with tuning or intonation issues, so the hardware does its job. The pups in them are decent and will be up to the task.

 

This is a pretty good video to compare the difference in sound between a lower end Squier and top end Fender.....

 

 

There is a difference, and most of it will be in what you feel, but from the sounds they're all fairly close. My assumption is those Fender stickers on the headstock must be really expensive to make compared to the Squier ones, and the Harley Benton ones must be dirt cheap....

 

For sound I'm 100% in the "only the pickup and strings matter" camp so I'm not concerned about the sound of a very low priced instrument, it's the feel, how much it stays in tune etc. 

 

There's definitely a markup for some brand names like Fender but I don't think the other extreme - i.e. a 1 grand Fender is the same quality as a 150 quid bass except the logo - is that realistic. The more expensive the instrument, the more extra you're paying for smaller and smaller differences and I believe there's many basses in the 400-500 that are really great quality but the bottom of the range Harley Bentons are really pushing the price low. Even other HB P clones are nearly 3 times the price.

 

This reminds me a time I was in GuitarGuitar and wanted to play an American Fender and Mexican Fender at the same time to compare and the girl in the shop reacted like I was trying to compare a push bike to a BMW when in reality they're virtually identical other than some subtle differences (incidentally, at that time I decided it was worth paying a lot extra for a small improvement and went for the American). But it was funny the way she acted like it was crazy to even compare the two. Always wondered if she was genuinely buying in to the marketing herself and innocently passing on the naivety or if she knew they were far closer than the price suggests and was just trying to con me.

[thegummy]

43 minutes ago, neepheid said:

Sidebar, but what's the rush?  If you can't afford £100 now, put what you can aside a month until you can.  I know that's an unfashionable way of looking at things in today's world of fast, easy credit, but if you set that aside and call it your "bass fund", then there's no guilt when it gets spent on a bass.

 

There's no real rush but at the moment I can't even afford all the normal things I need to live, never mind put any money aside. 

 

It's either a one-off 25 quid purchase of a pickup or wait a long long time til I'm likely to be able to afford another bass.

 

Sadly I don't have any available credit either or it would be a moot point cause I'd have already blown it on a limited edition Japanese blue precision I fell in love with but has now stopped being made

[tegs07]

3 minutes ago, thegummy said:

 

There's no real rush but at the moment I can't even afford all the normal things I need to live, never mind put any money aside. 

 

It's either a one-off 25 quid purchase of a pickup or wait a long long time til I'm likely to be able to afford another bass.

 

Sadly I don't have any available credit either or it would be a moot point cause I'd have already blown it on a limited edition Japanese blue precision I fell in love with but has now stopped being made

If I understand correctly you have a P bass and a Jazz bass already?

TBH that covers just about everything?

[sprocketflup]

I have butchered a cheap bass in a similar way myself, (Cruiser Crafter) but its staying with me anyway so I'm not bovvered

[thegummy]

24 minutes ago, sprocketflup said:

I have butchered a cheap bass in a similar way myself, (Cruiser Crafter) but its staying with me anyway so I'm not bovvered

 

Do you have any pics of the cavity you enlarged by any chance?

[thegummy]

36 minutes ago, tegs07 said:

If I understand correctly you have a P bass and a Jazz bass already?

TBH that covers just about everything?

 

Either one on its own covers everything, it's just about having sound options. Obviously if both have roundwounds then neither will get the flatwound sound

[tegs07]

1 minute ago, thegummy said:

 

Either one on its own covers everything, it's just about having sound options. Obviously if both have roundwounds then neither will get the flatwound sound

Personally I would leave things as they are if you have both a P bass and a J bass.

 

[thegummy]

1 minute ago, tegs07 said:

Personally I would leave things as they are if you have both a P bass and a J bass.

 

 

Fair enough.

 

I suppose if we're getting in to all the other things I'm considering apart from potential resale, I do strongly prefer the sound of P basses over Js so that likely comes in to my possible willingness to do this.

[tegs07]

2 minutes ago, thegummy said:

 

Fair enough.

 

I suppose if we're getting in to all the other things I'm considering apart from potential resale, I do strongly prefer the sound of P basses over Js so that likely comes in to my possible willingness to do this.

Me too generally, but have to say for some styles of music eg Reggae and Ska I think a J can sound great..

[peteb]

4 hours ago, thegummy said:

Have to admit I'm very sceptical that a bass that's £111 brand new could be at all decent. I'm open to the idea that I'm completely wrong but with even budget basses costing 4 times that, it seems strange one with such a low price would be any good.

 

I played a Harley Benton at a party on holiday a couple of years ago. No, it wasn't as good as a US Fender, it was rather heavy and a few things on it were a bit rough & ready, but it sounded OK and played great! It was owned by a rather bizarre Belgium chap with an even stranger wife, who also owns a WAL 5 string and seems to gig them pretty much in turn! 

 

I'm not looking to get one myself right now, but if I needed a cheap bass for some reason then I could do worse. It certainly wasn't bad at all... 

 

[tauzero]

On 28/05/2024 at 15:58, Jonesy said:

I think everyone on the forum would say 2 P basses were essential, for your exact dilemma - one for rounds and one for flats. 

 

Except for those of us who think that the ideal number of P basses for us to own is zero.

[PaulThePlug]

Do it...