Looking for a bass guitar, anybody some advice?

[Semt-X]

Hello everybody,

Im looking for a bass guitar. Im not well know with basses so...
I wanna make my own songs and stuff, and i do need a bass for bass-feeling... Right now i use a bass on my MIDI controller but it doesn't have that feeling if you know what im talking about?

My budget is about 300 EURO, so any of you people know what i should get? Is it better to look for a passive or aktive bass? I wanna plug my bass right into my soundcard into my computer. My soundcard is a ESI WaveTerminal 192M. Im gonna buy a Behringer 1832 mixer these days, maybe thats usefull info for getting a bass???

Well, that's about it, thanks in advance for you help

 

[Garry Sharp]

Well you can certainly buy an OK (not brilliant, but OK) bass for €300. Look at the Yamaha brand in particular, or better still buy used. Try lots out before you choose. A Mexican built Fender would be in your budget but inspect carefully, don't be seduced by the brand.

I would avoid actives at that price level - you'll be paying for cheap circuitry. Go for a passive and buy a DI box.

 

[mshilarious]

I agree with the passive Yamaha recommendation. A friend has a Yamaha he got for $200 used; it's a great deal for that. I like it much better than the USA Fender Precision I used to have.

 

[EleKtriKaz]

I played a Danelectro bass that my friend got REALLY cheap, and I really liked the sound of it recorded direct. It needed some EQing, compression, etc...but I was really impressed with it for the price. It looks sweet too...all sparkly with vintage looking selector knobs.

 

[Purge]

Yamaha basses are a good call. Also check out the Ibanez soundgear stuff (coming from me, that shouldn't be much of a shock!) You'll get a decent bass in that price range, but just be aware that the cheap Ibanez SG basses have some pretty "fragile" one piece necks and they'll start bowing pretty quickly.

 

[Semt-X]

The Yamaha RBX270 seems to be a fine bass??
But when i plug the bass into a Behringer UB1832 mixer do i also need a DI??
And what kind of DI's are fine? And how much are these DI?

 

[Leeking]

A Yamaha RBX270 and a Sansamp Bass Driver DI (~US$180) will give you a good bass tone and sound.

The newer Yamaha BB404 has some nice review as well, but I have not had a chance to try it yet.... (same price range as the RBX270)

 

[pennylink]

Used Peavey T-40 on eBay... US $200-250. Great professional-grade bass made in the USA from the late 70's to the mid 80's.

These are a bargain for the quality of sound and workmanship that you get. Only negative: they're very heavy.

 

[mikeh]

I recently bought an Ibenez 270 for about $190 US - It has good tone and plays well. I like it much more than my Fender Jazz Bass (Mexi).

 

[Semt-X]

Allright, but i also wanna buy a Behringer UB1832 mixer, is this also like a DI, or do i need a special one?? Can you give me some brands??? Also in a reasonable price range? And to differences between those Di's??????

 

[Purge]

The Behringer DI's are supposed to be fairly decent for the price. Not too many complaints regarding those from what I've seen, and they're only about 35 bucks.

 

[Garry Sharp]

Semtx - mixers are not designed to accept inputs straight from guitars, which want to go into an input with high impedance (electrical resistance) whereas mixers offer low impedance inputs for microphones. What a basic passive DI box does is convert high to low impedance, so you put one between your bass and the mixer. Active ones, like the Sansamp which so many of us like, also shape the tone. The cheap Behri that Purge mentioned will certainly do the job. Some mixers (like the Yamahas) offer one high impedance input.