Wanna buy a cheap bass, any recommendations on Yamaha, Epiphone, Squier & Ibanez?

fritsthegirl

fritsthegirl

Taste of home
Pretty soon I'm going to run out of questions. Not really. :D

I want to buy a bass. The bass is just going to be for filling in some bits that I can't cover with guitar and my voice. I'm not a bass player so I don't really need anything majorly good. I'm going to buy second hand so I guess I am going up one step from totally bottom of the range. My budget is only £120.

I missed out on a Yamaha RBX170 for £60 the other day, what a bummer. It retails new here for £175 so was a pretty good deal. The guy never even played it. They do come up fairly regularly in London, and Chilli said they're pretty good. Happy to wait around if this is the best I can get for my budget.

Still, I was wondering what are the Epiphone (Thunderbird & EBO) and Squier (Affinity) bass guitars like? And what's the deal on Ibanez, they have loads of cheap basses. They're all butt ugly, but I can probably live with it if they sound good.

If you know of any of those, or own one and can vouch for them, please let me know, Just means I could widen my search a little bit.

Thank you. :)
 
I've got a Squier J-bass (2-pickup style) that I got for $90, freight included, on fleabay. It serves my needs, which are about the same as yours. I can dial in some pretty acceptable sounds using PodFarm VST.
Best bet is to keep checking locally, find one that sounds half-decent and has good intonation.
 
Between now and xmas is a good time to look for used gear. Your price range should get you something decent and a set of strings.
 
mjbphotos said:
I've got a Squier J-bass (2-pickup style) that I got for $90, freight included, on fleabay. It serves my needs, which are about the same as yours. I can dial in some pretty acceptable sounds using PodFarm VST.
Best bet is to keep checking locally, find one that sounds half-decent and has good intonation.
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Oh yeh, they're nice, seem to be a bit pricier here, but I am watching a few on ebay to see what happens. The Squier Affinity is the Jazz bass right?

PodFarm VST, is that an amp modeller? Am I right to think that with this thing I don't need an actual amp? I've got that Behringer Vamp for my guitar, and I was wondering what route to go for for the bass. I didn't really want to buy another bit of kit, I haven't got the desk space.
 
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dervish riff said:
Between now and xmas is a good time to look for used gear. Your price range should get you something decent and a set of strings.
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Yeh true, they need to fund their family's xmas wishlists. LOL. It's amazing how many people put in the description that they've played it like 3 times and then 'didn't have the time' to play it any more. Mind you, I've got a banjo fitting that description...

Anyone wanna buy a banjo? :D
 
I always DI bass, via a channel strip I have - you have no real need of an amp, just something to add a bit of flavour really... start with your Behringer... or I'm sure the freebie amp sim packages have bass modelers as well. I wouldn't go too far with your stuff, simple is good...
 
FTG,
the Behringer BDI21 is simply excellent for bass DI & some tone tweaking. It's also very cheap even outside of the US.
I use it more often than not - when I don't it's because I've blended it with a mic'd bass amp so still using it though not exclusively.
The Epi EB looks good, I think it's short scale - that's an issue - are you after standard bass csale or short? It strikes me as a little expensive in Australia - cheaper in the US.
Have you looked at Danelectro - they're making a range of cheaper basses at present as well as reissuing the LongHorn (that was the bassed used by the chap in the Glitter Band for a few years).
I started out on a short scle EB copy - being that I'm short it was a good way to go. I moved on to standard scale when I started playing in a band more regularly (& just before a bloke in the band disappeared WITH my EB copy).
Haunt the 2nd hand shops, pawn shops & Ebay i suppose.
 
When you're looking at budget basses, they're literally all the same. Just get whatever you think will work for you and looks the best. None of the models you listed will be significantly better or worse than another in that price range. Thunderbirds are very big and sort of awkward, and EB-0s sometimes only have a neck pickup, so keep that in mind. I'd think you'd want something with two pickups just for tonal variety. Since you're a lady and probably have smallish hands and spindly arms I'd suggest a short-scale bass. A short-scale EB0 or SG bass with a bridge pickup would be killer.

And yeah, I use a Squier P-Bass. I think it was about $185 back in like 1999.
 
Yeah, I'll reaffirm the notion to get a Yamaha. However, my son has a Squier Bronco which is a short scale bass. I love playing that thing. What I heard about Squiers is they are inconsistent in quality. So, definitely play it before buying. I think we got lucky with his, it is a fun little bass to play and the short scale is comfortable for guitar players to acclimate to.
 
Chili said:
Yeah, I'll reaffirm the notion to get a Yamaha. However, my son has a Squier Bronco which is a short scale bass. I love playing that thing. What I heard about Squiers is they are inconsistent in quality. So, definitely play it before buying. I think we got lucky with his, it is a fun little bass to play and the short scale is comfortable for guitar players to acclimate to.
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I like the Yamaha quite a lot. I haven't played it or anything but someone recommended it to me as an electric, saying they're a lot better than people expect. It's got two pickups I believe, AND it's super cheap 2nd hand. By comparison the price drops a lot more on these things than most of the other brands. I'll add the Bronco to my search list too though.
 
rayc said:
FTG,
the Behringer BDI21 is simply excellent for bass DI & some tone tweaking. It's also very cheap even outside of the US.
I use it more often than not - when I don't it's because I've blended it with a mic'd bass amp so still using it though not exclusively.
The Epi EB looks good, I think it's short scale - that's an issue - are you after standard bass csale or short? It strikes me as a little expensive in Australia - cheaper in the US.
Have you looked at Danelectro - they're making a range of cheaper basses at present as well as reissuing the LongHorn (that was the bassed used by the chap in the Glitter Band for a few years).
I started out on a short scle EB copy - being that I'm short it was a good way to go. I moved on to standard scale when I started playing in a band more regularly (& just before a bloke in the band disappeared WITH my EB copy).
Haunt the 2nd hand shops, pawn shops & Ebay i suppose.
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Thanks Ray, that BD121 looks like the thing I need. I hadn't seen that before. So why is short scale an issue? I read a bit, it's the range of that changes, and the tone too I think. But then some say they prefer the short scale sound? I read this: However, many studios pros have long known a secret about the sound of short scale basses. The shorter strings demand lower string tension to be properly tuned. This gives the strings a kind of soft and floppy feeling but it also creates fatter, “blooming” low notes and what musicians perceive as sweet upper notes. I never played bass, so don't really know what, if any, difference it will make to me.

Danelectro are very nice, but not many around second hand here and a bit pricey, £180. :(
 
Greg_L said:
A short-scale EB0 or SG bass with a bridge pickup would be killer.
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Yeh killer, like this thing?

$(KGrHqNHJCUFI8y3upbrBSPrSjEYuQ~~60_58 (1).JPG

It means a trip to Bournemouth, which adds another £20 just for the train fare. But that's alright, I can visit the beach. :D It's still got a day to go on Ebay and is already on £82, but I'll keep a close eye on this I think. The guy says this: I have added a black pearl scratch plate and the bass has been modded to take a tune o matic bridge with strings through the body (allowing the use of standard length strings) or the standard 3 point bridge.
Currently I have the standard bridge fitted loaded with La Bella flats (new a few weeks back)and I use nylon flats with the strung through mod. (I will include spare strings)

Does that sound good? Free strings is always good, but the rest? :)
 
Armistice said:
I always DI bass, via a channel strip I have - you have no real need of an amp, just something to add a bit of flavour really... start with your Behringer... or I'm sure the freebie amp sim packages have bass modelers as well. I wouldn't go too far with your stuff, simple is good...
Click to expand...

What's a channel strip? You think I can plug the bass into my guitar vamp? I was going to try that anyway of course...simple is not only good, it's the best.
 
fritsthegirl said:
Yeh killer, like this thing?

View attachment 82501

It means a trip to Bournemouth, which adds another £20 just for the train fare. But that's alright, I can visit the beach. :D It's still got a day to go on Ebay and is already on £82, but I'll keep a close eye on this I think. The guy says this: I have added a black pearl scratch plate and the bass has been modded to take a tune o matic bridge with strings through the body (allowing the use of standard length strings) or the standard 3 point bridge.
Currently I have the standard bridge fitted loaded with La Bella flats (new a few weeks back)and I use nylon flats with the strung through mod. (I will include spare strings)

Does that sound good? Free strings is always good, but the rest? :)
Click to expand...

Sounds good to me, and it looks cool too. I'd be all over that like stink on shit.
 
Greg_L said:
Sounds good to me, and it looks cool too. I'd be all over that like stink on shit.
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LOL. I put a snipe on it for £126, doubt I'll get it, but ya never know. Since it ends tomorrow it's no hardship. There's plenty more fish in the sea. This one sure is nice though...
 
JCH said:
Don't forget Peavey. Great deals are out there.
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Really, Peavey are rated? I like the underdog, don't get me wrong. I just never realised they were good. I'll check them out though, thanks. I've been watching a Tanglewood Warrior, no one really seems to go on about Tanglewood but I've got a semi acoustic of theirs and it sounds great to me. This bass looks well nice, it's got a natural wood finish. Not to everyone's taste I know, but I like that sort of thing because I'm a tree hugging hippy. Except when it comes to chopping down trees to make me a bass. :D I know you can't go on looks alone...but how nice is this?

$(KGrHqR,!q!FI0GccWFSBSPcLS4lv!~~60_58.JPG
 
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