I need a bass guitar - suggestions?

Steffo

Just got myself a Squier Classic Vibe 50's P-Bass to mess around with, it is awesome. Best bit is that it was b stock from Thomann, nothing wrong with it and cheap.

5redlights

Squiers aren't that cheap anymore if you're looking for a cheap bass to have a go on now and then. 

Two best super cheap options are Harley Benton or J&D. 

J&D 

http://www.dv247.com/guitars/jandd-jb-vintage-1975-bass-guitar-black--200784

These jazzers have had some good reviews over at basschat. Alder bodies too, and decent sounding pickups (there's a soundclip on youtube). 

These 75 jazz basses are the most expensive, they've got some standard Jazz and P basses under £100. 

Harley Benton 

On Thomann. The really cheap standards are probably a bit too cheap, but some of the 'higher' spec ones like the 75 jazz basses with ash bodies are worth looking at, all for under £100, and come with wilkinson pickups. The PJ bass (think it's called the hotrod) is pretty decent apparently. 

Also, keep an eye out on the decorative 2nds page. They had some of the 75 jazz basses at £30 the other day, and had the 50's P bass up yesterday at around £20, or something equally insane. 

stimpsonslostson

That 50s p-bass is actually rather good- there's a thread about them in the modding challenge section. They're really thumpy sounding.

strtdv

If you're playing downtuned metal you'll want at least a 34" scale and ideally a 5 string (a .135 low B is always going to sound tighter than a downtuned E string).

Don't go new, you can get a real bargain used, especially on stuff that's out of fashion. Bassists are fickle creatures, and previous "flavour of the month" basses can be had for much less than new price.

I paid £500 for my Warwick Thumb 5 (yes, that's a proper German made Warwick that was north of £2k new)

jellybelly

I bought a Squier Bass VI for this very reason - not being a bassist, I find I actually pick it up and play just as much as any guitar I have rather then when I 'need to' and I can make it sound like a proper bass with the right gear - neck pickup, tone rolled off and and sansamp pedal recording direct and I've got a great bass tone.

If you intend to play 'like a guitarist' it's a great option. If you want to play 'like a bassist' with slaps, finger-style etc, or 'traditional bass tones' which I don't know anything about (j, p and thunderbird basses all sound a bit different to me, but I've never taken notice) then it won't cut it I guess!

pintspiller

i used to play a harley benton shortscale. it wasn't bad - especially considering the money i spent. but it needed a serious set-up. i eventually replaced it with a squier vm jazz after trying almost every bass under £300 in my local dawsons (the original plan was to get an epiphone bass but they just seemed poor quality).

thomasross20

I regret buying hat Squier new - I could have got something similar for cheaper, or better for the same price. It's good but I do find it goes out of tune a bit. You live and learn!

chrispy108

chrispy108 said:

I wouldn't get a short-scale bass as my only bass, especially if you want to be recording heavy rock/metal stuff.

You get so much bass for your money second hand at the moment, I'd really advise that over new.

Or live and listen.

thomasross20

Yep

guitarfishbay

Yep and also the recommendation made for s/h Ibanez is a good one because they don't seem to hold value well but they're decent instruments.  I'm pretty sure I got less than £200 for my previous Ibanez bass (and I got it in a trade).  It was actually a good bass but it turns out I prefer single coils for bass over humbuckers.  It was an SRX 500 I think, the neck on it was very comfortable.  The SR models are good too (and in hindsight one of those would have fit me better).

pintspiller

if it doesn't matter, just get the cheapest you can. 

i would suggest going to a shop and trying as many different ones as you can. scale length and neck profile affect playability. i play standing up, so i like something with good balance. everybody has different things they "score" when evaluating instruments. you will find that "any will do", will not actually suffice as you will have a preconceived idea of what a bass sounds like.