The Song Fight Bulletin Board

I like my Samick fretless, but I'm not actually good enough at playing a fretless to want to use it very often. I'm sick of pitch-shifting my guitar down to get a bass sound (which people have called me on) or using a synth patch (nobody's called me on that but it's only a matter of time).

Musicians Friend's cheap basses are all Rogue or Dean Edge. Are either of those any good? Or should I spend twice as much for a Fender Squier or Ibanez? Or is there some other place I should look (besides Craigslist, where the sellers are flakier than their favorite breakfast cereal)? Spud used to have an awesome 8-string Rogue which I liked a lot but MF doesn't seem to carry it anymore.

fluff--- i went to the pawn shop,found a left handed squire,$80, leveled the neck, and if i could play one it would rock.Still working on that part. Have you checked out that 11string Godin, like a sitar but tuned in e

I have one of these that I am very pleased with:


http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/yam ... ass-guitar

Very comfortable and nice to play. And extremely light. It feels lighter than my stratocaster.


I got mine for about AUD$300 about 5 years ago - now they seem to be about AUD$500. But in USA you can get them for USD$299!!! (AUD$270)

It must be so wonderful living in your broken down third-world economy. So many bargains!

fluffy wrote:besides Craigslist, where the sellers are flakier than their favorite breakfast cereal

I just got a $1000 bass for $500 on Craigslist and it was the best decision I've ever made in my life. Maybe it's just that the people are flakier where you live.

I bought a guitar off eBay... you could look there.

what MG speaks of as Fender Active Deluxe V (Made in Mexico)

IMO made in mexico (MIM) fender basses sound nearly comparable to a MIA fender jazz... the price difference being that MIM cost ~$800 new and $3-500 used vs MIA which will run you closer to 1.5-2.5k

Other than that Schecter basses are the new goto "affordable" bass (where-as this used to be ibanez).

If you haven't already, go to your local music store and play one. They look nice, feel nice, and sound pretty good for what you'll pay for them.

Rogues are meh, Squires are actually ok, but people will laugh at you.


CL isn't flakey if you know what you're looking for and you have a good idea of what it should cost. Be careful, bass players know their stuff.... you can't BS them.

This isn't for live performance and I don't care about being laughed at. I just want something better for my bass tracks on my songs than what I have right now. $800 is definitely outside of my price range.

I'll give Craigslist another shot, I guess. I've just had lots of bad experiences with both buying and selling there.

A MexicanFender P-Bass is a great place to start if you can swing it. If not, even a Squire P Bass can be good. Just find one you like playing. I would watch Craigslist and look for a $300 or less Mexican Fender or if that is too much a $100-$150 Squire.

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/msg/2502403832.html

Also, I've suggest them before, and SX Basses are really nice for the price. Especially if you get it set up and upgrade the pickups.

http://www.rondomusic.com/bassguitars4.html

Ken

*looks around* Damn, I thought this was a thread about a new gerbil technique, except you use a fish. *leaves disappointed*

both of these will be capable of giving a good player a great sound.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/pea ... ass-guitar

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/iba ... ass-guitar

both peavey and ibanez make great stuff, although in the low end, you WILL have to put a bit of attention into initial setup.

Wait! Is this place still open? I wish I could still buy stuff (I need to get rid off things) as their philosophy is all about making/selling affordable instruments, as there's already enough stuff made. They ship, and are in California. http://www.fatdawg.com/

I'm always amazed at how good the Rondo guitars are for how inexpensive they are. I've never tried the basses but I have played one of their guitars.

I said it elsewhere, but you should look at the ubass
http://ukulelereview.com/2009/07/05/the ... d-low-end/
My friend has one and it is astonishingly easy to play, a rubbery string is easy in the fingers, when plugged in the sound is amazing. It's not as cheap as your looking for, but I really think it's along the line of something you would really love to play.

Paco Del Stinko wrote:Wait! Is this place still open? I wish I could still buy stuff (I need to get rid off things) as their philosophy is all about making/selling affordable instruments, as there's already enough stuff made. They ship, and are in California. http://www.fatdawg.com/

Yes. Subway guitars is still in business (I think). Come visit us and we'll take you there!

FYI Fat Dawg himself is a pretty crazy guy.

Ken

Ken wrote:Yes. Subway guitars is still in business (I think). Come visit us and we'll take you there!

Just don't let me bring my wallet!

Fluffy: Maybe they can make you a funky little custom job. Give'm a ring!

Here is a guy selling a Fat Dawg bass on CL:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/msg/2518300590.html

BBABM wrote:I said it elsewhere, but you should look at the ubass
http://ukulelereview.com/2009/07/05/the ... d-low-end/
My friend has one and it is astonishingly easy to play, a rubbery string is easy in the fingers, when plugged in the sound is amazing. It's not as cheap as your looking for, but I really think it's along the line of something you would really love to play.

Yep, that's what I ended up ordering, based on your suggestion over on G+. But of course this thread is still useful for others who might be looking for cheap basses.

fluffy wrote:

BBABM wrote:I said it elsewhere, but you should look at the ubass
http://ukulelereview.com/2009/07/05/the ... d-low-end/
My friend has one and it is astonishingly easy to play, a rubbery string is easy in the fingers, when plugged in the sound is amazing. It's not as cheap as your looking for, but I really think it's along the line of something you would really love to play.

Yep, that's what I ended up ordering, based on your suggestion over on G+. But of course this thread is still useful for others who might be looking for cheap basses.

Wow, that Kala Ubass is really a pretty instrument. And it's an acoustic electric which is really cool.

Reading the comments, this one made my face look like this..

"ellen on February 19th, 2011 at 3:38 pm

Hi. I just bought a ubass and was wondering, since I’m not a bass player, if there’s any sheet music for this (til I get my feet) or can I use regular bass music?"

fluffy wrote:But of course this thread is still useful for others who might be looking for cheap basses.

Like me.
I did some pre-shopping a few weeks ago and played a Rogue at my local music shop. Sounded and played pretty good to me - at least as good as other bass guitars they were selling for twice the price. Still, word of mouth leaves me a with a little trepidation.

This thread is very useful, thanks everyone. That Ibanez is tempting.

Billy's Little Trip wrote:

Reading the comments, this one made my face look like this..

"ellen on February 19th, 2011 at 3:38 pm

Hi. I just bought a ubass and was wondering, since I’m not a bass player, if there’s any sheet music for this (til I get my feet) or can I use regular bass music?"

I saw that same one and laughed.

Without reading much of the replies, the answer is - any of them. Cheap basses are going to mostly sound alike, so you should go for something you can play first to make sure it has a decent setup. I don't think anyone makes a bass without a truss rod, so as long as the neck isn't twisted or horribly off in some other way, it'll be a usable bass. Used Squiers are a good buy, especially if you can find a Korean one.

Bottom line: Pick the one that looks the coolest to you, because they're mostly all the same under $300.

Sober wrote:Without reading much of the replies, the answer is - any of them. Cheap basses are going to mostly sound alike, so you should go for something you can play first to make sure it has a decent setup. I don't think anyone makes a bass without a truss rod, so as long as the neck isn't twisted or horribly off in some other way, it'll be a usable bass. Used Squiers are a good buy, especially if you can find a Korean one.

Bottom line: Pick the one that looks the coolest to you, because they're mostly all the same under $300.

I bought a Laurel-branded bass online that had a truss rod, but the neck was so warped that the rod was useless.

Happy ending: I got a full refund without needing to send the bass back and sold it for scrap. Came out $30 ahead!

Good advice Sober... it's odd that no one's recommended the three sellers of inexpensive short-scale basses (odd to me, anyway). The Epiphone SG one, that li'l Gretsch thang (sp? fdrunk post! But a former bassist made that thing freakin' sing!), and the SX basses that I swear I remember Ken recommending somewhere. All in the ±$200 range.

And hey, gots to love the happy ending!