Members BydoEmpire Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 I used to have a cheapo Ibanez SG bass, and it sucked. The batteries were constantly dying and the small neck didn't feel right. I traded it in for a used Fender Precision at Music Go Round and I've never looked back. You just can't go wrong with a P-bass. It's built to last, it sounds great, you can get a much bigger variety of tone than you'd think, it feels great and you can get them reasonably cheap (I think it was listed at $400 used, but that was 7-8 years ago). I used to do a lot of gigs and occasional studio work on bass and the Precision never let me down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sk8centilli Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 I am a bass player who pretends to play guitar. I whole heartedly recommend the Squier Modified Jazz 70's. There are some cheaper and there are some better, but there is not a single one that is this inexpensive and this awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted December 21, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 Thanks again for all the comments and advice. Yup, I was aware that 'active' meant a preamp with active tone controls, and from what I've read cheaper versions aren't especially good. On the SX bass side, they do come up used over here but they're relatively expensive, and seem to be Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 59humbucker Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 I've never quite made my mind up betweeen playing guitar and bass so have plenty of experience. Before I got my precision deluxe, I gigged a Hohner profesional series bass for more than 5 years. Neck through, active select by emg p'ups and a very guitar like profile neck. 4 strings,like a bass should be, and a device on the bridge to drop the tuning of needs be. Cost me around 350 new, if you do see em, they tend to be sub 200. Looks a little like this, but finished in a dark stain with gold hardware and the right amount of stringshttp://www.hohnerusa.com/index.php?1522 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 This design I love, and it's a real shame Rondo have stopped doing them in this style. Thomann do one in a similar (ish) style to the VM Jazz, for Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Ancient Mariner Posted December 21, 2009 Author Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 Thanks feller - looks great, but in their example pics you can see the top (G) tuner is out of line! Shipping is 10 euro. At this stage I'm going to try to contain costs, probably go with something in 50 quid or less used range, partly in case I don't take to it and partly because I've not had an income since December last year, and don't have much gear that I want to sell off to pay for it (how I've been funding other purchases this year). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 Thanks feller - looks great, but in their example pics you can see the top (G) tuner is out of line! Really? I can't see a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 Any comments on the budget active versus passive area? Active electronics on budget basses are usually very poor. Go for passive unless you're willing to spend more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metalheadUK Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 My Peavey Milestone 3 is really rather good for a budget bass.It plays fantastically...The Plagues bass player has played it live in preference to his Stingray and a Precision before because it plays so well.It's the 2 pickup one, with no switch, just knobs that you can use to blend the pickups, with both pickups together being humbucking.It sounds great too, from aggressive bass right down to smooth almost double bass like tones.As is usual on budget gear, the electrics feel a little flimsy, but have now held up for about 7 years without incident.I'm seriously debating wether to use this Bass with Crosstown Lightnin...last time out I use a Fender precision, but I suspect this cheapie may sound better.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members satannica Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 I just noticed the budget... hmmm. To be honest, I've never played a budget bass I liked enough to keep or buy, but I'd stick with yammy or squier... they seem to be consistently not too poor. That's the thing about basses. You really see a marked improvement the more you spend. Guitars can sometimes be blurred in that I've had guitars that cost me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members metalheadUK Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 But most basses in that kinda budget are, well... poor... They really take some fighting to play.Which is exactly why I love my Peavey Milestone...it's sooo easy to play! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Super Bass Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 A good setup can do a lot for a cheap bass, or any bass for that matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Annoying Twit Posted December 21, 2009 Members Share Posted December 21, 2009 Active electronics on budget basses are usually very poor. Go for passive unless you're willing to spend more. Hmmm..... The sound of my active cheap bass sounds better to me than the sound of my not as cheap passive bass. It's certainly got a LOT more flexibility in terms of EQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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