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needing advice

garry0
Posts: 1
Recently, I just begin to play the bass. First of all, I need buy a new bass.
Any brand is good for a beginner?
Thanks a lot
Marko1960
Posts: 3143
It depends on your budget, but the best advice is to buy the best you can afford, this doesent necessarily mean buying a new one, a good quality used bass is better than a low budget new one and it's difficult to learn on an instrument that isn't up to scratch. As for brands, Squier do some real high quality basses but they've also done some donkeys! avoid the Affinity Series and the Bronco's, the Vintage Modified series are good and the Classic Vibe series are very good, if you've got around £700 to spare a 1982-84 JV series is a cracking bass that won't lose value. Yamaha and Ibanez have a large range that start in the low hundreds and go into the thousands and second hand bargains can be picked up fairly easily. Epiphone is another popular brand to look out for. Most important though is to try before you buy, if it feels good and the electrics work smoothly with no crackles or hisses then it should suit your needs. As soon as you start to get good with your playing its time to shell out ten grand on a 1959-65 L-series Fender Precision or Jazz bass lol!
MotorMog
Posts: 809
Used Mexican Fender Precision / Jazz or as Marko suggest one of the Squier VM or CV series would be ideal.( depending on funds)

The Jazz is more playable due to its thin neck but the pick ups are a tad weak ,but these can be upgraded at a later date so not really an issue.

The Precisions neck is chunky and can be a struggle if you've got small hands but the pick ups on this give you that classic thump n growl.

If your really on a budget a Squier Affinity P/J would actually be ok as a starter, but buy it in-store and negotiate a full set up as part of purchase price

A cheap well set up bass will play better than a high end model that's not had the necessary adjustments

Smaller local stores tend to be a lot friendlier and open to a bit of cash discount so I would start you search there

Good luck


mr zee
Posts: 577
The cheaper makes are usually a bit iffy but can be retro-fitted to your own taste at a later date as I have done, but you'll be better off with a known brand like Epiphone or squire. What ever you choose try it out first as neck profiles differ from model to model and pups also differ in there sounds and out put. Go to your local music store and try a few out to see how they feel.
2nick3
Posts: 533
My (newer) approach to testing out a bass is to play scales on it rather than riffs/songs. Scales will give you a much better idea of how the bass will play across anything you may end up playing, where a riff/song only tells you how it sounds for that selection. How the bass plays on the main riffs in “Another One Bites The Dust” or “Owner Of a Lonely Heart” (the first two riffs I learned) will not tell you how it will play on something more complex. You won't look as “cool” but you'll get a much better idea of how the bass will work for you over time.
blue
Posts: 25
Tbh don't feel pressured to buy a brand name guitar if you're only playing casually I'm not in a band - I'm learning, playing in my room, sometimes playing with a friend, and writing tabs, so I don't need a super expensive bass. I walked into my local music shop, asked at the desk and spent about £100. If you go to a reputable shop, they won't sell you something that'll break in 5 minutes. What I got still sounds good 3 years later despite my fairly uncareful treatment of it, and I've bought a more expensive bass since then, but I really didn't need it.

Why would it be difficult to learn on a cheap bass? As long as the strings are all in tune, you're getting the right idea. I guess it's an issue if you're playing with other people and want a very specific sound, but if you're not in a band, who cares?
mr zee
Posts: 577
I first learn't to play in the late 1970's on a loaned Hofner Verithin bass and bought my own first bass soon after which was a ricky 4003. I then owned various others until mid 2000's whence I promptly quit and sold up. About three or so years ago I started playing again and my then first bass was a Harley Benton p-bass, £100 new, which considering the basses I had previously owned, was quite good. I now own nine different basses all copies one way or another and have re-fitted most of them to some degree, from pup changes to neck changes. If you look on the thread rescued another one I think they are all on there. The cheapest was a used and bruised Epiphone EB3 £65 and the dearest was my American made rick 4003 copy which at the time was £375-$600. I have recently replaced just about everything with rick parts and it now stands me at about £700. Any way have a good look round and buy what YOU ARE comfortable with, enjoy it and progress to what ever you want to do.
Marko1960
Posts: 3143
I've owned Fenders and I've owned Squiers and I've come to the conclusion that, as long as it's one of the better Squiers as quality can be erratic, with the Fender you're just paying extra for the logo. I've always lusted after a 76-78 MusicMan Stingray, Fender built them up to 78 then had a falling out with MusicMan's Tom Walker and various other firms made them until Ernie Ball bought the company in 84. I bought an OLP Stingray which was licensed by MusicMan and it's a really great bass, when the license ran out MusicMan dropped it and started building the SUB bass in its place. I've heavily modified mine including fitting original string mutes to the bridge, they're like rocking horse crap, I challenge you to find a set.
IamMark
Posts: 1103
The only thing I could add to this is to make sure what you buy feels good. If you're just starting out and learning, I know from experience that if the instrument feels awkward or is physically difficult to play (high action, bowed neck, heavy as an anvil) then you won't enjoy playing it.

So find something in your price point that sounds and feels good.
LoudLon [moderator]
Posts: 1938
^^^ What he said. My two biggest factors when choosing a new bass or guitar are, 1) Is it affordable, and 2) Is it comfortable. Brand name means nothing to me. If I can afford it, if it has good action and doesn't feel like a slab of cold concrete hanging around my neck, that's all I need.

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