How much do Basses cost?

[reize]

Hi, i'm new to this scene, its always been something i wanted to try; playing a Bass guitar that is. Now that im old enough and saved enough to buy one, i'd like to buy a reasonably priced and decent guitar enough for training purposes or the occasional gig.

This would probably include the price for other stuff like the amplifier, (wires?),accessories,bags,battery operated tuner and stuff like that to get me started.

If you can help me name a couple of models and their associated costs, i'd be really grateful. (The electric version.)

And frankly speaking, i kinda prefer the deep solid sound of a bass guitar compared to regular ones.

 

[exin]

there's a regular and deep solid ones? ... wow .. okay ... i didn't know that ...

ANYWAY ...

here are some brands to keep an eye on for a beginner

Ibanez GIO series

SX basses

Squier basses by Fender

Yamaha RBX series



The Ibanez GIO series can range between 200 - 400 i think .. just the bass alone .. if not you can try getting the bass pak which is around 440 after discount at Swee Lee ...

SX basses cost cheaper .. found at Davis .. i think you can get a beginners pack with an amp for 250 .. not sure if they still have the pack though. Very solid bass for it's price .. plays very well after a good setup

Squier basses are the lower range of fender .. basically a sub-brand churning out mass produced p-basses and j-basses for a much lower price range ... they are quite costly though.. i'm not sure how much the bass pack is .. but i know one squier can range between 400 - 600.

Lastly ... you can check out Yamaha's RBX series ..the low range ones .. i think the RBX 170 costs around 400 ... can't go wrong with yamaha ... even their low range series are really nice to play and sound good ... but you pay for the quality ... and a little bit of the brand ...

 

[reyrey]

very much...

 

[Black_Death]

im using a rbx374..heh..works fine for me.

 

[reize]

Thanks for the replies, i'll probably look into the SX and Yamaha ones.

Oh and when i meant by regular ones, i meant those kind of 6 stringed "normal" guitars...you get what i mean.

 

[subversion]

i'm recommending the following, very affordable basses not because they are beginner grade but because they are good instruments per se- in terms of tone & reliability:

Samick Fairlane (Davis)

OLP MM2 (Davis)

Ibanez GSR180 (Swee Lee)

Squier Affinity P-Bass (Swee Lee)

if your budget permits, Fender's 60th Anniversary Standard P-Bass is highly recommended (NETT: $900)

 

[shadow_z3r0]

warning if you plan to get the OLP mm2..

the OLP amp that comes with the pakage, if you're gonna get the package, sucks to the core..

don't let the amp fool you.. it's a solid bass..

it sounds soooo much different on the OLP amp and on the marshall amp.. i almost got fooled on how bad the quality was until i requested to try it on another amp.. because hey, musicman pickups can't sound THAT horrible..

just my 2 cents.. i think the musicman has to be one of the top leading budget guitars

 

[reize]

This is quite an eye opener, frankly speaking, i know nuts about guitars, and the only instrument i ever played was when my parents forced me to play the piano for a year or so when i was a kid.

I'm not sure, but apart from the over-eagerness to learn, is it recommended that i learn a regular 6 stringed guitar or can i just jump in and learn to play the bass?

 

[Black_Death]

where does ur interest lie?

 

[reize]

I wanna play bass, but my dad keeps telling me "oh son, real bass players all start out with the 6-string and specialize in the bass or rhythm when they get better."

frankly i think its a load of bull, but then,im not an expert in this field so i prefer to ask around first.

 

[Black_Death]

u can start in 4,5,6 string bass..doesnt matter la..the more strings..the wider spectrum of sound.IMO..

 

[Guest]

s it recommended that i learn a regular 6 stringed guitar or can i just jump in and learn to play the bass?

guitar and bass is 2 totally different things bro

 

[reyrey]

but most bass player need to learn 2nd instrument,either drum piano guitar trumpet etc. imo...somehow you can apply diff musical approach when you learn many inst

 

[Guest]

i only know how to play bass lol. tao ghey too. can slap and pop moderately well. buttt i can play like a few power chords on guitar nia

how to apply the diff musical approaches with the knowledge of 2 musical instruments anyway?

 

[reyrey]

like playing saxophone on bass....if you get what i mean...try to play some sax solo on bass....i think you'll get my meaning :wink:

 

[Ken]

interesting points of views here.... but how about encouraging newbies to learn the basics first... i.e. keeping time etc. Don't lose sight of the big picture of bass in a music setup first before progressing.

Many players don't understand the idea of a rhythmic backbone. Without that, a bass player is useless no matter how many soloes he pulls.

Different instruments? Well, I played a few things like clarinets etc myself, but important thing? The basics, be it your chords, scales etc and of cos above all, keeping time and providing that solid foundation for the band to move on.

 

[reyrey]

+1,agree with that,always start with a strong basic...it'll help alot...good timing contributes to the groove too

 

[reize]

thanks for the replies....now is the time to go tell my dad with the "HAH! What do you know?" things.

Probably gonna save up and buy something simple and hook up with another player to learn the basics.

 

[btherl]

I got a Squier P Bass from Music Theme for $370 (including bag,cable,strap), plus $35 for a change of strings. Strap was not very good though. It's pretty good. I got a cheapo amp for $70, just for practice. I would recommend getting a decent amp if you want your bass to sound good during practice. It doesn't matter so much for me.

Oh, and I started out with 6-string And piano even before that. If you can play 6-string then you can play bass. But I don't see why you would need to play 6-string before bass. It's not necessary.

There are cheaper basses, but with Squier at least you have some minimum level of quality in the parts (even if it is assembled in China). It keeps tune well and sounds great.

There's also the Jazz bass, which has a totally different sound.

 

[gsonique]

The basics, be it your chords, scales etc and of cos above all, keeping time and providing that solid foundation for the band to move on.

bassman is the main man