low-budget electric bass for ignorant guitarist

bubbleboy

bubbleboy

New member
I finally need to get a bass for adding depth to my song demos that I record at home. I've played guitar for 15 yrs but have conveniently ignored all things bass so I don't know jack. My limit is $300. I love the fender basses (that leaves me with MIM standards, bought used), but I wonder if the ibanez cheap basses are good. i read their necks bow...
 
I think Rondo is probably the king of cheap, but I know some folks on here have had issues getting a quality instrument from them. I have an old Peavey that has served me very well for many years, and I'm sure you could find a good used one like it well within your price range. See also this discussion.

I think the Ibanez-Fender difference would be a feel difference more than anything. As I recall, Ibanez is known for making thin, flat necks. Some people love them, some hate them. I would expect any relief issue in the neck to be correctable by a trussrod adjustment, though. Maybe somebody else will chime in on that one.
 
Everyone's taste and opinions are a little different, but here's what I did. I was in the same position as you not long ago. I opted for a short scale bass. The spacing between frets is much shorter than on a traditional bass, and therefor much easier to transition between guitar and bass. After trying as many models as I could find locally, I opted for an Ibanez micro. (about $180) And it's a little hot rod. Sounds fine too.
 
I don't know if you have an amp, or not, so I'll throw out a couple of links for Musician's Friend pages...the first being my own suggestion.

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/product/Epiphone-EB3-SG-Bass?sku=518243

I bought one, once the price finally reached its current level. Sure it's not a Gibson, and it's got a 34" scale neck (30" for the Gibson), but it's still got EB-3 thump. With a 3 position switch for the pickups, and each pickup having a volume and tone control you've got a fairly good tone pallet to work with.

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com/electric-bass/value-package-electric-bass

That's the first of two pages of their listings for bass guitar starter packages. If you don't mind saving a tad longer, they even have the Epiphone EB-3 SG Bass as part of a starter pack. Otherwise, the price range goes to $500.00 with 22 choices.

That's just my $0.02 worth. Happy hunting, and I hope ya find something that works for what you want to do!

Matt
 
If he wants 'depth', a short scale bass ain't gonna do it. I tried the Jay Turser, and they're relatively inexpensive. But trying to pop in better pickups will show right away that you have to route the wood and the string spacing is different. So, use a Jay Turser if you must, but realize you are 'stuck' with what it is.
Here's what $225 gets you;
Jay%20Turser%20P%20Bass%20001.jpg

The Rondo SX Jazz is $130, and full scale. But as mentioned, watch out for QC. What I did eventually was spend a lot more, but then prostituted myself to take a handful of bass gigs. The bass is now paid for. Check eBay, as there are guys who build kits and sell them. Some end up pretty cheap if you time the auction right.
 
thanks a lot for all your comments - i'm pretty intrigued by the yamaha rbx-170. i find that at low price points, yamaha does good things in other instruments - off to GC to try this and the Rondos out. gracias.
 
Chili said:
Did the same thing two years ago. Found the Yamaha RBX-170 for about $150. Love it, plays nice, versatile sound.
Click to expand...

Im going with this one also..

the RBX line from Yamaha is kick ass in value..

the cheapie Fenders are actually pretty good...
 
I'll add another vote for Yamaha. They're cheap, solid and sound good for what you pay. I'm a proponent of the BB series, but I'm not sure if they're still making them. I've had one for over 15 years and would buy it again if I had to go back in time and had more choices.
 
the fenders are great if you want a bass that feels like a BASS...even better, you can snag the squire vintage modified jazz for cheap as hell

if you want a bass that feels like a beefed up guitar, ibanez(along with schecter) are great
 
I wanted a bass for recording. I just spent several months looking at used squier jazz basses, because they were under $200. I figure if I could find one with a decent neck, I could put new pickups in it. I ended up getting a MIM fender p-bass for $200 from sam ash. This thing was like brand new. Not a mark on it. Plus it matched my strat. I almost had bought a squire jazz from music go round a couple weeks before, but I called my wife first and she told me that a couple checks were about ready to clear and to hold off. Glad it worked out, to be honest. Although i was totally pissed at the time.

For me, I wanted an instrument that was standardized. You could buy a neck or pickups or a pickguard off the shelf. If you get a yamaha or ibanez, they are their own breed even if they have j-bass or p-bass pickups.

The other factor is that if I need to unload it, I know that fender is going to be worth at least what I paid for it.
 
Yamaha here, too. Needed a cheap bass for recording a few years back and headed over to GC to play everything in the under-$250 range... Yamaha, Ibanez, and a couple of others. For me, the Ibanez played the easiest, but the Yam (rbx-170) sounded and felt the best. I took the Yam home for a measly $160. By the way, the craftsmanship varies a lot in this price range, so I had the guy bring out 3 still in boxes. One of those had a straighter neck, smoother fret edges, and less background noise, so that's the one I took. I'd suggest doing the same for whatever model you choose. Take your time, enjoy the ride.
 
It's nice to see so many people speak up about the Yamahas. I bought mine striclty on price point. I didn't know anything about quality or playability, but it seems I got lucky with my selection. I feel like I finally did something right!!! :D
 
I'd start looking through Craigslist. Try them out.

I bought a 70's El Degas Precision Bass copy, that close to the real deal.
I paid $100 for it in '81 and it's worth at least $400 now, maybe more, due to it's rarity and quality
A friend bought one, too and swears it's a real Fender
 
Same story for me - I got an Alvarez bass at a pawn shop for $70 (with a di-hirrrr-ty clothbound case - yuck)

I spent another $75 or so getting it professionally set up - this was *key*!!! It went from being difficult to play and uneven to fairly easy to play and consistent. Provided you've got a good shop nearby, I'd highly recommend doing this for any cheap bass you pick up - really whether its new or used.

I also replaced the pickups with some Bass Lines, but I'm not sure I really needed to do that.
 
Another vote for the Yamaha. I have one and love it. I've played some more expensive basses and still prefer my Yamaha. It's still stock except for new strings. For under $200 you can't go wrong.
 
Cheap Bass

I bought my daughter a used Yamaha BB300 for $99......not a bad deal,plays great. Also got her a Gretsch bass,think I paid around $79 for it....she plays guitar and wanted to give the bass a try...THE DEALS ARE OUT THERE !!!
 

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