Cheap bass

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Dopps

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I play guitar but I want a cheap bass to record with. My question is this. Is Ebay ok to buy guitars and shit from or am I taking a big risk?
 
I buy gear all the time off eBay and save tons of money. However, you've got to familiarize yourself with the system so you can tell who is straight up, who is incompetent, and who is a scammer. Unfortunately there are all three in relatively equal amounts. There are also dealers, who, while generally honest, don't have great prices but put up tons of listings. So you have to learn to slog through those to find the really good deals.

As for guitars, many people here won't buy an instrument without playing it first. That's pretty good advice, but for consistent instruments it's not that hard to buy online. I wouldn't buy an expensive instrument online without being really familiar with the brand and model. Cheap instruments it doesn't matter so much; they're only going to get so good so you might as well save the money.
 
i bought a bass off of ebay for $137 it was a peavey mark something or other. it wasnt too bad but i ended up selling it and getting a fender squire affinity p-bass for 167 at the music loft here in town and after playing it i was sold on it. i still use it and dont plan on giving that one up.......that is unless i can get it in a 5 string. try looking at www.americanmusical.com you might feel a little better buying a new one and the prices are still pretty cheap.
 
I bought a very nice bass on eBay for a good price. Make use of the "Ask Seller a Question" link, and get to know the seller. I bought my bass from a guy who was building his own basses now and selling off his collection to finance that. He impressed me with his knowledge of guitars, and seemed like the kind of person who would take good care of his instruments. After several emails back and forth, I felt reasonably confident that the bass would be in the condition he described. I took the chance, and was not disappointed.

For the same price as a low-end starter bass, I got a late 90s USA custom shop Washburn.
 
Mf

You can certainly take your chances on ebay

you might want to try www.musiciansfrinend.com and look at the rogue and squire bass series. seem to be a good deal. i have a epi, also a pretty good deal and not a lot of $$$$.

shop around before you totally decide.... :D
 
That's good advice about asking the seller. For an expensive item, even if you don't have any questions, make up a question. The response you receive will tell you a lot about the seller.

I recommend Yamaha for cheap basses.
 
Dopps said:
I play guitar but I want a cheap bass to record with. My question is this. Is Ebay ok to buy guitars and shit from or am I taking a big risk?
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Go to some guitar shops and try them out. Look through your local want-ad books and go to see and try out the bass. eBay is a gamble always. It does not matter if you have made many deals, the one time you get sacammed, the lost money wipes out any money you saved from previos deals. You are looking for 1 bass. You have 100% of your $$$ to lose. Why not play it smart? There must be tons of used/new basses you can look at/play and buy. Then you go home not having to worry about if you are getting ripped off. That is my take. I have never been ripped off, but I avoid eBay.
 
mshilarious said:
That's good advice about asking the seller. For an expensive item, even if you don't have any questions, make up a question. The response you receive will tell you a lot about the seller.

I recommend Yamaha for cheap basses.
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A good con artist WANTS you to open communications. That is his/her tool to get you to trust. The term "con artist" comes from the word "confidence" IE: to gain your trust. Then, they snatch your $$$ and you actually feel real good until you realize................
 
I have bought 3 guitars from EBay

Including my favorite, 61 SG re-issue and never had any problems. Understand that you will no doubt need to clean, change strings and adjust the setup on almost any used guitar. In the case of my SG the guy had the guitar pro-setup so there was no issue there.

Then again I have bought new guitars off the rack at Guitar Center that needed strings changed and pro-setups...
 
acorec said:
A good con artist WANTS you to open communications.
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Sure, but then they try to get you to do an off-eBay transaction, use Western Union, etc. Plus they know very little about the item, so a specific question will go unanswered. They show their colors pretty fast.

The other problem children are the sellers of crap. They will try to avoid mentioning whether or not the item works in the listing, and if you ask them, they'll evade you. Only the stupidest sellers are willing to commit blatant fraud in the inducement, and create an electronic record of it.
 
acorec said:
It does not matter if you have made many deals, the one time you get sacammed, the lost money wipes out any money you saved from previos deals.
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I've got about 200 transactions on eBay for about $15K total. Total ripoff money = $140; total savings is probably at least $7K from new retail. For example I just bought a DVI cable for $8 with shipping; Best Buy wanted $50; cablesamerica wanted $18 and was backordered . . . silliest of all was the Monster version at CompUSA at an incredible $110.

It's safe to say that without eBay I'd have a small fraction of the gear I have; probably 1/3 of the mics and none of the rack gear.
 
I think I'll probably just go to a shop or to A pawn shop and get one. I don't want ripped off. I could always just use Reason to make bass sounds but the bass patch is utter bollocks.
 
I've been a seller and a buyer on ebay, and in my 300+ transactions, I've only had one real problem, and in the end we finally got it resolved. The fact is, most people aren't looking to rip you off. Buy from somebody with good feedback, ask lots of questions, get lots of pictures, and tell them if you have a problem when you receive it. I think most people are a bit too paranoid about the whole thing. Most sellers want good transactions and positive feedback, and are happy when you are.

That said, if you're just looking for a cheap bass, I'd probably check out pawn shops first, only because they're easy to find and shipping is a pain to pay on a guitar or bass, not to mention having to worry about it and wait for it to arrive. Still though, I wouldn't be afraid of Ebay.
 
I will happily buy on Ebay but, as you addressed, it's the whole being conned and the whole shipping thing. It'll be the pawn shops for me. I might also just do the "pay for it weekly" thing.
 
A bigger issue is the instrument you are buying. I would never buy a bass or a guitar that I intended to play sight unseen. What if it has a gawdoffal neck, or rough frets, or a big crack in the fingerboard? It's much more sensible to go to a store or a pawn shop and check it out in person. That said, you can indeed get a decent Squier or Yamaha for not very much. A friend & I recorded & gigged with his $150 Squier Jazz Bass for probably 10 years.
 
lpdeluxe said:
A bigger issue is the instrument you are buying. I would never buy a bass or a guitar that I intended to play sight unseen. What if it has a gawdoffal neck, or rough frets, or a big crack in the fingerboard?
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We are talking about taking a reasonable chance a $100-$200 instrument. In that price range, you can get a lot better bass on eBay than I've ever seen in a pawn shop. Maybe I haven't been to the right pawn shops, but the instruments I've seen in shops around here aren't even worth taking off the rack to play. They are utter junk, good for nothing but hanging on the wall in the Elvis display at Chili's or Fudruckers.
 
Let me rephrase my statement: anyone who buys an instrument without playing it first is an idiot. Instruments are for producing music. If you find you can't produce music it doesn't matter if that bass cost $150 or $15000. Ebay is the wrong venue to obtain something that important. Buy a toaster there instead.
 
lpdeluxe said:
Let me rephrase my statement: anyone who buys an instrument without playing it first is an idiot.
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Look, if you don't like eBay, don't use it. Nobody is holding a gun to your head. Don't call me an idiot just because I have instruments bought online. Come over and play my harp, uilleann pipes, lute, piccolo snare, cymbals, or two violins. That should disabuse you of your biased notions regarding online commerce.

And you're better off buying toasters at Target--the shipping on eBay will kill you.
 
Sorry. I got carried away. I am surrounded by persons who buy musical instruments with their eyes, not their ears, and I overreacted. And I already have a toaster.
cheers
 
lpdeluxe said:
Sorry. I got carried away. I am surrounded by persons who buy musical instruments with their eyes, not their ears
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Some of us feel comfortable buying based upon other peoples' ears. Judging by the Microphone and Rack forums, I'd venture that most of us here do.
 
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