First Bass?

  • Thread starter Thread starter RezN8
  • Start date Start date
RezN8

RezN8

Blick-um, blick-um...
Hey crew, my nephew wants a bass. His parents don't want me to spend a lot, and they mentioned some bass "starter" packages. Are ANY of them any good?

My nephew is 11. Very musically inclined. I showed him a few riffs about six months ago, and when we got to the music store this weekend he played them all flawlessly. I was floored! He doesn't even have anything to practice on.

We checked out a Fender bass package and it was el crappola. I promised him I would do some research and find the right gear for him. So my research starts here.

He needs a bass and a practice amp. Thanks for your input.

-Rez
 
You didn't post a target price or a range, but I would recommend looking at Yamaha RBX variety. That was my first good bass and I should've kept it. Had 2 Fender Jazz basses, fretless and regular and didn't really like them.

Ibanez I think are pretty good, too.

I would suggest getting a P/J pickup configuration so he won't outgrow it for a long time.
 
I'm not much of a bass player, but I like the Ibanez basses, they're a lot nicer than the cheap fender ones.
 
I think looking used is always your best bet. I've been playing bass for about 15 years and have never owned a new instrument. For the $300 you might spend on a new beginner instrument, you should be able to get a used $500-$600 intermediate instrument.

Bonus here is that if he later decides drummer get way more chicks, you stand a better chance of selling the bass and getting your money back. Or if he's like me and convinces a hot girl to marry him despite being a bassist and he stick with it, he's got an instrument that he won't want to replace quite as soon.

And honestly, I can't help but think that anything that sells new for less than $200 - $300, he'll quickly outgrow/move beyond.

As for brands, the Ibanez SR series is pretty solid. I had an SR405 for a while that was a well built instrument. Also, I don't think you can really ever rule out a Japanese built Fender. As for Yamaha, the only one I've ever played was the Nathan East and obviously it was awesome and way out of a beginner's price range.
 
Do check out the Yamaha's and maybe a peavey too. My main bass (my only bass, hehe) is a Peavey C4 (only sold in europe) and I'm very, very happy with it. Bass is my main instrument. I wouldn't trade it for a Fender 5x the price.
 
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