any ultra cheap bass recommendations

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heatmiser

heatmiser

mr. green christmas
Hey,

Sorry to bug you all with this...was guessing it was a common inquiry but I did some searches and found little.

I am essentially looking to buy the cheapest bass guitar I possibly can that will be playable and stay in tune reasonably well. That is all I require. I am operating a low-budget home recording set-up as a hobbyist and have never owned a bass. For more years than I care to mention I have been tracking bass lines with my sg and just eq'ing the heck out of it with varying results (mostly quite whimpy and/or rumbly sounding). Very little cash (maybe $200 tops), but not too particular.

Anyone have experience with a cheap bass guitar that was reasonably acceptable? I have been looking at musicians friend and amazon a lot off and on for years and always see brands I've never heard of in that range..."SX"..."Austin Bazaar (wtf?)" and the like.

Thanks in advance and sorry to distract from any serious gear discussion with my rudimentary question...:o
 
p.s. - I'm thinking Squire, Epiphone, Dean or Ibanez????
 
Check out the "used" market at a few pawn shops. For around $200 you should be able to find a fairly good bass. While finding an inexpensive bass that plays OK shouldnt be too hard, finding one that is not noisy is a little harder. A bit of noise isn't such a problem for gigging (where volumes are up and a little noise is expected) but noise and recording do not go together well.
 
I agree with the pawn, 2nd hand & used line.
Repair, Re use, Recycle & Reap the benefits (I do have a bass I bought new but that was in 1983).
 
I just picked up a Fender Jazz bass for $250 at a pawn shop...made in mexico but is in tip top shape.

I once bought a washburn Bantam bass for $50 new at Big Lots of all places.
 
I got a used Alvarez made-in-korea one at a pawn shop for $60 I think. I did wind up putting new pickups in it and getting professional setup later, but didn't really have to.
 
Chili said:
I was looking for the same thing last year, the cheapest bass possible. Looked at new and used. Picked up a Yamaha RBX-170 brand new.

http://www.guitarcenter.com/Yamaha-RBX170-Bass-101834489-i1146652.gc

I think it's great. Plays well and has versatile tones. I paid $130, might have been on sale.

Cheers,
Click to expand...

Absolutely! I did some research even played a few cheap basses and the Yamaha was the hands down winner. I would probably be pleased with it even if I had payed twice as much. It sounds great and is very easy to play. Nice and comfy. Plus it looks really nice, the GC pictures don't really do it justice.
 
The quick & dirty answer is to play a bunch of Squier basses and pick the one you like the best. Buy it new from a major distributor and you can probably return it if you change your mind. In my experience, the recent Squiers are decently built. If you find one that's set up properly, it'll serve you well. Easily one of the best ways to spend $200 on a new instrument.

With that out of the way...
I have a Peavey Patriot (MIA P-bass style) that I scored for $50 off craigslist.
Someone else's pic:
P9250181-300.jpg


I have a Peavey T-40 (MIA sorta Jazz like, 58 lbs) that I scored for $50 off craigslist. Someone else's pic:
t40_1.jpg


I had a Cort Curbow fretless that I also got for $50 off craigslist (traded this for the T-40). Someone else's pic:
curbow1.jpg


I have a Fender Standard Jazz bass that I stole for $100 off craigslist. Stock pic:
580776.jpg


I had a Yamaha Attitude Deluxe that I got for $100 and sold for $150 and wish I had it back. This has a six half-coil pickup and a 5 way selector switch that would mimic a P-bass, J-bass, and some other combinations. It never really sounded like a P-bass, etc., but it was really cool anyway. It also had one of the thinnest, widest necks I've ever seen on a bass guitar.
Someone else's pic:
attifront.jpg


I also scored a Fender Deluxe Active Jazz V for $125 that I ended up selling for $300. I do not miss this piece of junk. Maybe it was a lemon. Anyway, I felt like I was ripping the guy off by selling him a nearly new bass that retails for $699 at $300. In my opinion, Fender knows nothing about 5 strings and knows nothing about active bass preamps. Combine both of those features and you have a real dud.

I also rescued a Fender JP-90 (MIA allegedly according to the headstock, but with cheap parts and a basswood body) for $22.50 off craigslist. It was complete but in dire need of a complete refinish.

You can certainly find real winners for under $200. That Peavey Patriot might be put in my coffin with me when I die. If you don't consider yourself experienced enough to pick out a pawnshop gem, then pick out the best Squier you can find. My main 6 string guitar is a Squier - it has some limitations but it's easily one of the best guitars you will ever find for $200 new.
 
Id look at Fender, Peavey, and Ibanez from experience..

and from what i hear, Rondo is a great value..
 
actually, nothing "unacceptable" about SX basses - they are a fantastic value and a great quality.

Here's my review:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5778550#post5778550

that particular bass looks and feels like a MIA fender and sounds pretty good and would take on a Fender with upgraded pickups, no problem.

They currently have that model (but not in black) for $99.99 - that will outprice and outplay any Squier. Rondo Music is the place that sells them and he has a great return/exchange policy, so you're not risking ANYTHING.
 
I also have an SX P bass. I don't recommend them for someone trying to get a 1st bass or One Good Bass for $200 because in my opinion this brand is better for customizing and experimenting. My SX is on its 3rd different neck and all sorts of other stuff swapped out.

Also, my SX P bass was my #1 bass when I was gigging 2 shows per week.

I really like it and I would buy another, but in my opinion they aren't that good for One Good Bass around $200.
 
I just picked up a Squier Sub Sonic for $65 locally on craigslist. What a hoot!, it's great. A baritone actually, but I'd look at Squier basses around that era (1999-2002)...pretty good quality.
 
The Squier Vintage Modified and Classic Vibe basses are excellent for the money. You might be able to find one used for a steal.

Although I haven't played any myself, the SX basses get a lot of props as being very playable for very cheap. A guy I know from a bass player's forum has an original '64 Fender P bass, an '08 Fender P, and an SX P. The SX gets picked for gigs as much as any of his others.
 
the only things that can possibly need upgrading on SX instruments are hardware and pickups. Hardware, such as tuning keys and bridge, is very easy to replace on fender-type basses. Pickups are easy too. The resulting instrument beats current production stock MIM Fenders (pricewise and tonewise).

I went into the store and picked up a MIA jazz bass after ordering the SX SPJ-62 - I prefer the SX.

I wouldn't compare them to vintage instruments, but since we're talking about "super cheap" basses - SX is hard to beat.

reportedly Squiers have been improving in quality, but they're still twice the price of similar SX models (half the price money goes to Fender "just because"). SX are made of better wood, have cooler neck finish (for my taste) and it's not like "squier" logo is somehow cooler than "sx" ;)
 
Gear_Junky said:
the only things that can possibly need upgrading on SX instruments are hardware and pickups. Hardware, such as tuning keys and bridge, is very easy to replace on fender-type basses. Pickups are easy too. The resulting instrument beats current production stock MIM Fenders (pricewise and tonewise).
[...]
reportedly Squiers have been improving in quality, but they're still twice the price of similar SX models (half the price money goes to Fender "just because"). SX are made of better wood, have cooler neck finish (for my taste) and it's not like "squier" logo is somehow cooler than "sx" ;)
Click to expand...

There is nothing to admire in the body wood of an SX. It's glued together from a hundred pieces. Squiers are also made of many pieces, but that just makes them similar. Tinker with your SX bass as much as I have and you'll see it's all flakey, dusty, crumbly glued together pieces.

Not sure if you mean the lacquer-dipped necks from SX, but they are kinda cool. I used 0000 steel wool on the back and frets to take off the gloss and love it. (Then the frets came off and mirror finish epoxy went on :)

Also - heads up about swapping out parts on the SX - very little "standard" equipment will fit on the SX without modifications. It can be done but it's not a straight swap. In fact, of the parts I swapped, the bridge, tuners, neck, pickguard, pickups were all non-standard sizes.

I must admit that their pickups are decent for the price point.

I'm a fan of SX and especially the do-it-yourself modifications. If I had to buy JUST ONE $200 bass, though, I'd skip them.

FWIW I have/had a photo-flame 57 P replica with a lacquered maple fretboard.
 
Ninja, how old is your SX? I mean, your points are well-taken, but according to everything I read there's been a recent improvement in consistency and quality. It also seems that getting a sunburst will dispel suspicions of many different pieces glued together. all of their transparent guitars look to be made of just several pieces, like fender.

parts-wise, yes, you need "import", not USA parts. GFS (guitar fetish) is one such source. among others.

www.agileguitarforum.com - this is where most owners of SX, Agile and Douglas, among other Rondo brands post reviews, share mod advice, etc.
 
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 much straighter neck with smooth fret edges, so that's the one I took. I'd suggest doing the same for whatever model you choose.
 
Wow...awesome! Thanks guys :D. Rep all around! (until they shut me off...sorry). More input than I imagined...I am so confused. Being very impressionable, I am being swayed by every other post...new - used - squire - yamaha - sx - etc.

I think part of my problem may be the ordering online thing. I have some money tied up in amazon gift cards so that led me there, but really pretty risky ordering a guitar sight unseen...I probably should check pawn shops and local music stores first and see if anything jumps out at me. When I bought the guitar I have now, I went to 3 or 4 different music stores and played 5 or 6 SGs...the one I bought played and sounded much better than all the others...had I gone online, I might never have noticed the difference.

But then I look at something like this:

http://www.amazon.com/SJB-Ron-Jazz-Bass-Guitar/dp/B000KFZZZA/ref=sr_1_57?ie=UTF8&s=musical-instruments&qid=1231374883&sr=1-57

And just think it looks pretty nice for the money...but looks can be deceiving. At least some of you have some positive things to say about this brand which I had never heard of. I don't expect I'd be prepared to modify it much at least for the time being.

As for Squire, I bought a Japanese Squire strat in 1985 for $250 and loved that thing (sold it to my bro-in-law 7 yrs later for $100 :(). Pick ups were kinda weak, but everything else about it was top notch. Now I see new Squires for $99?...makes me nervous. They (the strats anyway) look like crap in person. I guess their basses could be a whole different story.

I check craigs list every day, but prices are ridiculous here in Maine. I often see average used gear offered at retail or even higher prices...still looking for a steal.
 
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