Bass on a budget

J

JohnnyAngel77

New member
Hello all. I'm pretty new here but I have been lurking the forums for a while and have read alot of great posts and advice (along with alot of sarcasm, heh).

I have been playing guitar for about 12 years now and bass for about 8. I've never owned my own bass though, I had always used friends. A few years ago, I decided to buy my own just to practice on and play some shows here and there. I ended up buying an Ibanez Soundgear. I must say for the price (was on sale for $249 I believe?), it has been a wonderful bass. It plays easy, sounds great, isn't too heavy.

I was just curious how many others own one of these and how it compares to a more mid-high end bass overall.

Thanks in advance.
 
Johnny

Best bang for the buck hands down is the Yamaha RBX 170 for 179.95 it has precesion neck pickup and Jazz bridge Pickup configuration, 2 volume pots with one tone pot controling both the bridge P-up and neck P-up 24 fret neck and lightweight Agathis body. you will not find a better sounding bass even at a $400.00 price range and plays like buttah!:cool:

then again any of the Yamaha equipment is very good gear IMO.
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Roguetitan

I'm really glad you posted that. I bought myself one for christmas because it was the absolute cheapest I could find without buying used. I think the tone is great and it's versatile, I was very surprised. It plays nicely too. I'm not a bass player by nature (which is why I wanted the cheapest - I guess), and I wasn't expecting much when I got it.

I just thought the great tone was my own lack of All-Things-Bass knowledge. Nice to hear someone else found the same sentiment.

Cheers,
 
i never liked the necks on the soundgears at all. some of them sound ok but i couldn't get by that tiny little noodle of a neck that they tend to have.

as far as i'm concerned you can't go wrong with a standard fender p or j. you should be able to find one in the 300 or so range if you look used. it will last a long time and sounds good.
 
wbcsound said:
We reviewed a Rogue 5 string on FrugalGuitarist.com and it was surprisingly good.
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Rogue LX500 Pro undoubtedly.
I own the 4, 5 and 6 string versions of the LX Pro series and am probably going to buy the 8 string version as well. these models come off the same Korean production line as the Peavey Milleniun bass guitars, the only difference between the 2 brands is the neck and headstock config and the peavey uses passive single coil pickups where the Rogue uses MusicMan style humbucker bridge pickup and a single coil neck pup active or passive and the Rogue LX Pro series Bass guitars have a better bridge which is a Hip Shot style bridge... Between the Rogue and Millineum I would choose the Rogue.

the craftamanship is good, good electronics but the setup sucks balls big time. The Nut slot depth is not cut deep enough and does not contour the fretboard and the frets are high and low all the way down the fret board however with a little nut and fret work they are excellent bass guitars.
and while you are at it you will want to change that crappy graphite nut with a good bone nut.

Still out of all the brands suggested thus far Yammy RBX 170 is the best buy hands down.
 
RondoMusic.com

those basses are better price and better tonewood (and better looking, too).

I just recently ordered a P-Bass Special SX copy - it feels like a MIA instrument, excellent fretwork, good sounding pickups, beautiful.
 
something else to consider, would be a used carvin.

i have a LB70 that is just awesome.

neck thru construction, solid build, really good electronics, great fast neck, good finish, nice balance and weight..
it's all good.

i paid around $370 for mine...

new, it'd be close to $900.
 
Roguetitan said:
SX are decent Bass guitars still don't beat the RBX 170 though.
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i will have to disagree (respectfully). i had a yamaha rbx. i think mine was a 160 (only a p-bass pickup). the rbx-170 has P/J. I'll agree that rbx are very fine basses, nice fretwork, less than typical look/shape (but i got tired of it).

the SX SPJ-62 BK that I recently ordered is made of solid alder (rbx is basswood or agathis or some such). the SX was immaculate, better feeling and sounding equal to MIA fenders (that I went to the store to compare on purpose). The SX has the timeless shape, upgradeability, vintage-tinted neck (if you're into that sort of thing) and cost $60 less. The difference purchased a VERY nice case, which assured safe shipping.

so this isn't a stab at the yamahas, there's just a new kid on the block and it's SX and they're a better deal.
 
Gear_Junky said:
i will have to disagree (respectfully). i had a yamaha rbx. i think mine was a 160 (only a p-bass pickup). the rbx-170 has P/J. I'll agree that rbx are very fine basses, nice fretwork, less than typical look/shape (but i got tired of it).

the SX SPJ-62 BK that I recently ordered is made of solid alder (rbx is basswood or agathis or some such). the SX was immaculate, better feeling and sounding equal to MIA fenders (that I went to the store to compare on purpose). The SX has the timeless shape, upgradeability, vintage-tinted neck (if you're into that sort of thing) and cost $60 less. The difference purchased a VERY nice case, which assured safe shipping.

so this isn't a stab at the yamahas, there's just a new kid on the block and it's SX and they're a better deal.
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I Have a SX P and a J and have also done a side by side comparison and the SX electronics lack in tone compaired to the RBX 170 and I don't particularly go ga ga over the over-copied timeless shape of the original Fender P and J or PJ for that fact If I were to buy another fender style P Or J body style I will go ahead and buy a less expensive Squier which is owned by Fender

I hate to break it to you but SX is not the new kid on the block they have been around a while and the major reason that people buy them is because the the craftsmanship is very, good good selections of raw materials however the electronics are not that great and get a electronics upgrade waiting on it upon delivery. so by the time you spend the money on electronics to match what is already in the RBX you are going to spend at the minimum $100.00

nevertheless I am happy that you like your SX, fact remains I am just not as impressed with mine as you are with yours:)

IMO still the BBFTB right out of the box is the Yammy RBX170 sorry but I guess we will have to agree that we disagree:cool:

if you want a good P or J copy PM Me I will build you one nicer than anything you can get from Rondo but it is going to cost you a bit more than an SX;)
 
You depraved perverts!

What is with this inanimate lovefest?

Best bang for the buck, bar none is Sally the one-eyed prostitute;
 

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I've owned both a Yamaha RBX 160fl (Factory Fretless) and an SX P. The SX completely killed the Yamaha. Woods and pickups are just better in the SX. Yamaha had better fit and finish, and probably better pots and wires. But the wood, frets and pups make the sound, and The SX wins.

I got the SX... aka essex on talkbass.com fof searchability... for $75 used. They're still a bargain at $99-140 on rondomusic.net.

I did replace the tone pot. Everything else is stock. Otherwise, go used Ibanez. The SR necks are pretty much just like Jazz bass necks--- you might really just need to get used to one, as I did with my Marcus Miller.

I mean, look at this:

http://www.rondomusic.com/sjb62ct.html

:eek:
 
Obi-Wan zenabI said:
I've owned both a Yamaha RBX 160fl (Factory Fretless) and an SX P. The SX completely killed the Yamaha. Woods and pickups are just better in the SX. Yamaha had better fit and finish, and probably better pots and wires. But the wood, frets and pups make the sound, and The SX wins.

I got the SX... aka essex on talkbass.com fof searchability... for $75 used. They're still a bargain at $99-140 on rondomusic.net.

I did replace the tone pot. Everything else is stock. Otherwise, go used Ibanez. The SR necks are pretty much just like Jazz bass necks--- you might really just need to get used to one, as I did with my Marcus Miller.

I mean, look at this:

http://www.rondomusic.com/sjb62ct.html

:eek:
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I am not talking about the RBX 160FL I am talking about the RBX 170 Big difference:mad:

anyway I have been wanting this little SX short scale.
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Roguetitan said:
I am not talking about the RBX 160FL I am talking about the RBX 170 Big difference:mad:
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Same axe, just an added J pup, my friend. No need to be mad. :p Here's a zzounds review... I bought mine used and the pickups were bland bland bland. One of those sounded ok in the store/ bought for playability experiences. But no beef in a bass is a bad thing. The guy below probably had a tone pot go and blamed the pickups.

At any rate, it's the same bass with a J pickup.

Zzounds dude said:
2 out of 10

"THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU WANT TO WASTE YOUR MONEY ON!"
Feature:
the sound was the only real problem I had with it. it has great features, 24 frets, easy action, & perfect for speed.

Quality:
After a while you will probably notice that your sound is deminishing but really it is just the pickups going out, also the wireing falls apart really easily so i recomend a sodering iron if you own this bass. On my RBX170 one of the tuning machines fell apart, so the quality kinda sucks.

Value:
its relatively ok, but I recomend Ibanez basses

Desirability:
Its a beutifull body shape I own the metallic blue (personaly my favorite color for this bass)one. I really like te way the neck feels when im playing it.

Sound:
It sounds terrible, the pickups that came with it went dead after only 3 years all it got was a muddy midrange and about half of the volume somehow was being cut, now i got a First Act (for free;) that sounds better, imagine that.

Ease of Use:
Very good for beginning musicians, the fact that you can control each pickup's volume seperately also separete from tone just makes it simple to get whatever tone you are looking for. That is until the cheap pickups go out.

Support:
when the tuning machine fell apart I had to contact the company to order a new one, the company isnt bad to deal with it just took forever to ship from Japan.

Overall:
Ive already replaced it. thiking about ressurecting it and putting some Di'Marzio Pickups on it.
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You can find better Yamahas used that will do nicely, however.
 
Obi-Wan zenabI said:
Same axe, just an added J pup, my friend.You can find better Yamahas used that will do nicely, however.
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exactly. Yamaha does have a rep for good fretwork, quality control, etc., but it doesn't mean that it's always a better choice.

SX has improved their quality consistency recently (per many reports from buyers).

let's keep in mind that either way (SX or Yammy) stock pickups are cheap ceramics. If we even talk about "nice", they all bear replacing with some sweet alnicos :D

however, again, my particular SX has immaculate frets, VERY decent pickups (for stock) and really nice tone and playability. And it looks GREAT. I used to like the rbx's, but now they also look bland to me.

btw, the rbx I used to have was upgraded with a Seymour Duncan basslines pickup (quarter pounder P?, can't remember, but it had those fat magnet poles) and it really improved it.

SX may have an occasional "lemon" and one must be decisive about sending it back and not thinking that it's representative of all SX basses.
 
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