Silenced Fred Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Okay, so I am looking to get a bass rig together on the cheap. This would be for gigging small shows, nothing over 50 people probably. Good cheap bass, and a reliable amplifier that is at a usable wattage range (Not 10 watts, not 1000) Whatever recommendations, and please give approximated cost. I would buy used, and like to keep it under 500. Thanks guys, and sorry if I ask too many questions. I have no knowledge of basses such as good models, etc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 I'd recommend a used Mexican Fender bass. I'm sure you could find one for $250 -$400 easily on craigslist. I'd also recommend a used Fender solid state bass amp. IMO solid state is just fine for bass and you could find a nice big amp that will be loud enough and sound good for like $100 -$200. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 I'd recommend a used Mexican Fender bass. I'm sure you could find one for $250 -$400 easily on craigslist. I'd also recommend a used Fender solid state bass amp. IMO solid state is just fine for bass and you could find a nice big amp that will be loud enough and sound good for like $100 -$200. I was gonna get solid state, but not sure of manufacturer... But the question is: which bass? j or p? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Personally I prefer the Jazz bass. The Mexican ones are good. Very solid. Just make sure the frets are in good shape and all that good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 Personally I prefer the Jazz bass. The Mexican ones are good. Very solid. Just make sure the frets are in good shape and all that good stuff. I haven't really played on basses that much, I played a Schecter I liked, but it was around 700... I'll check em out. Thanks man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Try some epi ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Yeah I really like the Epi Jack Cassidy bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WahKeen Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 This is the only bass I own, and OLP (officially licenced product by Ernie Ball) I think I paid $350 for it brand new 5 years ago. I use it mainly for recording basslines on my pc and it does me good. Believe it's discontinued, but u could get one real cheap on Craig's or Ebay. I let a kid from the youth church band use it and it sounded good. I believe the reviews are pretty decent on it too. Amp, I don't have one so can't help u there, bro. Hope you get what you need. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 I've heard very good things about the Squier Vintage Modified series... you could easily buy a new one and a new amp within that price range. If I were told to buy a bass and amp for $500, I'd get these two: Acoustic AB50 Squier Vintage Modified TB Precision If you could squeeze out another $100, though (or got a used/cheaper bass), I'd go with this: Acoustic 260 Mini Stack When I buy a bass and amp (which I should do soon), I'll probably be getting that one. I'll be getting a Hofner bass, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Acoustic bass amps are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiamondJig Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 I've heard very good things about the Squier Vintage Modified series... you could easily buy a new one and a new amp within that price range. If I were told to buy a bass and amp for $500' date=' I'd get these two: Acoustic AB50 Squier Vintage Modified TB Precision If you could squeeze out another $100, though (or got a used/cheaper bass), I'd go with this: Acoustic 260 Mini Stack When I buy a bass and amp (which I should do soon), I'll probably be getting that one. I'll be getting a Hofner bass, though. That Acoustic mini stack rocks! I played on one before, and it sounded amazing. I think I'm gonna go and try out some basses today. Thanks, I will have to check out Squiers if they sound good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 The thing to watch out for with cheap Fender basses are the pickups. Worst bass pickups ever. Low notes will disappear while the high ones will be too loud. Amp wise, I might have a 1x15 Acoustic combo you can have for free. A coworker is cleaning out his basement and he offered it to me for free. I just got a Peavey 1x15 combo so I don't need another bass amp, especially when I don't own a bass yet. Let me know if you are interested and I will inquire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 The thing to watch out for with cheap Fender basses are the pickups. Worst bass pickups ever. Low notes will disappear while the high ones will be too loud. Amp wise' date=' I might have a 1x15 Acoustic combo you can have for free. A coworker is cleaning out his basement and he offered it to me for free. I just got a Peavey 1x15 combo so I don't need another bass amp, especially when I don't own a bass yet. Let me know if you are interested and I will inquire. [/quote'] Oh hell yeah! If you can get it, let me know. I'll pick it up whenever I get a free chance to jam, and will probably end up buying you coffee or something Gotta love forum members that are helpful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 Went to guitar center for an hour and a half today to play basses. Completely different beast, I have to find a good place to rest my thumb... For some the pickup works well, others, not sure yet. Surprisingly, the Squier (high end series) Played and sounded much better than the MIM Fenders. I played on a couple of Epiphone TBirds, one was used for 200 with a case, but they all sounded very muddy to me. For the Squier, I preferred the Jazz Bass. In case anyone wanted to know Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichCI Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Don't rule out Ibanez, they make very good instruments at all price points. As for amps, I asked about this in alt.guitar.bass a few years ago when I wanted to buy an amp for a friend of mine. The players there were very helpful and I ended up getting a great deal on an SWR combo. Here's the thread in Google Groups: Looking for suggestions for a combo amp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 Don't rule out Ibanez' date=' they make very good instruments at all price points. As for amps, I asked about this in alt.guitar.bass a few years ago when I wanted to buy an amp for a friend of mine. The players there were very helpful and I ended up getting a great deal on an SWR combo. Here's the thread in Google Groups: Looking for suggestions for a combo amp They didn't have any affordable Ibanez basses... all were over 600 bucks... too much for me right now. I think I might seriously get a Squier Jazz Bass. Sounded good, and very affordable. As for the amp, I am really hoping Evol can get that amp for free, because that would be very appreciated. If not, I will probably still look for Acoustic amps, I love the sound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 My bandmate has a squier jazz bass. It just a regular one. It's not very good. There are dead spots and the pickups sound like crap. I'll have to check out that vintage modified series or whatever they're called. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silenced Fred Posted July 28, 2010 Author Share Posted July 28, 2010 My bandmate has a squier jazz bass. It just a regular one. It's not very good. There are dead spots and the pickups sound like crap. I'll have to check out that vintage modified series or whatever they're called. Yeah, I played the Classic Vibe I believe it is called, sounded better than MIM basses for double the money, and felt better... Go figure. Not sure what I'm gonna get though, I still have time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted July 28, 2010 Share Posted July 28, 2010 Yeah' date=' I played the Classic Vibe I believe it is called, sounded better than MIM basses for double the money, and felt better... Go figure. Not sure what I'm gonna get though, I still have time[/quote']The Classic Vibe series I hear about more when talking about guitars... to the point where I didn't realize there were basses in that series. The Classic Vibe, I assume, would be a bit more traditional Fender design. The Vintage Modified is, as the name descibes, old basses with newer features - like the Telecaster/Precision Bass I posted with a humbucker. I do agree about Fender pickups... I was using my friends Deluxe Jazz Bass (the top-end Mexican model), and had an awful time getting a balanced sound. By the time I got the lowest notes to be crisp, the high notes (and I only had to play up to an open D string...) were incredibly loud. No amount of adjustment on the amp could make up for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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