Total newbie here, wld like to ask for some honest opinions..

[skidmark]

hi everyone, i'm a total newbie to bass(and to all things music ) but recently gained intrest in bass.

i've been looking ard the bass section the past few days, and u guys sure are informative! ok, i've read the FAQ, searched ard for beginner recommendations, went thru the list of shops, did a field recce of the shops in peninsular, bras basah and queensway.

actually i found out queensway got new shop, lucky for me the guy was frenly enuf to let me try the bass they had, but i could only inspect the physical aspects(didnt dare to try ). and stoopid me, i didnt note down the brand(wth??) anyway it was gng for $200 plus. then the guy told me i have to get an amp, so i thot ok, thats gonna cost me another $100plus.

so i hunted for second-hand online, and found out abt starter kits.

after further reading and research it seems the general consensus is that the amp that comes in these starter kits aren't good. so i thot i can just buy an Amplug since i'll be playing at home and dun wanna be noisy.

sorry im making this draggy, i'll just get to my qns...

1. are the reputable brands for guitars can be applied for bass? because firstly, so far i've been only researching on bass, i know nuts of guitars, and secondly, i asked my fren who's into guitars but he doesnt seem to know stuff like "active" and "passive"...

2. so far i've been to a few of the big guitar shops, but i see like they only have a few selection of bass.. i didnt talk to the ppl, cos they didnt seem interested in me(except for the one in qeensway, probably cos i was theonly one there) are basses really that hard to find in sg?

so sorry for being soo long-winded i welcome any comments, good or bad

peace out, I LOVE BASS!!!!

 

[alanchia]

welcome to bassing.

no, bass guitars arent hard to find. which shops did you visit?

 

[skidmark]

thanks for the welcome! i went to bras basah, lvl 3, swee lee, and theone just opposite.. also went to peninsular, a few on the upper lvls and one at basement. i went on a sunday, so soem of them were closed. what i meant is i noticed the selection on display is very little compared to the guitars.. and the ones are wayy out of my price range

 

[alanchia]

i see, so your bass guitar budget is about S$200?

 

[skidmark]

yeah! ard $200.. any recommendation? im thinking either i get them starter kits or get a something like a yamaha and get the amplug later...

 

[tpiledriver]

i recommend you kgarage jazz bass from tymc located at the basement of peninsula. It retails at $235 with a gigbag n cable. but no amp comes with it.

 

[alanchia]

dont think yamaha bass can be bought at S$200. typically for 'branded' gear the budget will be around S$500 minimum. of course unless you refering to 2nd hand market. you may try the buy/sell threads here.

yes, you may try the Stagg bass too (at zen guitarwerks @ peninsula basement). the cheapest is within S$300 i think. and no amp too.

 

[skidmark]

tpiledriver & alanchia,

Thanks guys! will check both shops tomm! yesterday i went from queensway to bras basah to penin at 5+ pm so i basically didnt have time to take note of all the shops.

btw, what's the proper name for those backpack-type softcase? definitely need it cos im riding...

 

[tpiledriver]

tpiledriver & alanchia,

Thanks guys! will check both shops tomm! yesterday i went from queensway to bras basah to penin at 5+ pm so i basically didnt have time to take note of all the shops.

btw, what's the proper name for those backpack-type softcase? definitely need it cos im riding...

you can say a gig bag.

 

[skidmark]

you can say a gig bag.

oh ok thanks.. i was under the assumption that gig bags do not necessarily have 2 shoulder straps

It seems there are specific bass guitar bag... does that mean i cant use a normal guitar bag to fit a bass? is it because the bass is longer?

 

[crazywoman]

oh ok thanks.. i was under the assumption that gig bags do not necessarily have 2 shoulder straps

It seems there are specific bass guitar bag... does that mean i cant use a normal guitar bag to fit a bass? is it because the bass is longer?

Usually, you won't be able to squeeze your bass into an average guitar gig bag. Do check whether the bass you intend to purchase comes with a gig bag.

 

[Hickey_]

I recommend SX which can be found at davis. It comes with amp and whatnots that you need, i think? I started with a TGM which costed me abouy 265? but with the money you can invest a bit more and get a squire.

 

[skidmark]

cool, tomm i will be checking out starter kits as you mentioned from the shops, this time with a guitar playing fren I'll weigh my budget and have a feel of the bass in my hand.. im just worried that i might fall in love at first sight

Thanks everyone for your inputs! i appreciate it

 

[Bryandt]

cool, tomm i will be checking out starter kits as you mentioned from the shops, this time with a guitar playing fren I'll weigh my budget and have a feel of the bass in my hand.. im just worried that i might fall in love at first sight

Thanks everyone for your inputs! i appreciate it

haha.. its easy to buy on impulse for your first bass.. i remember those days.. i see, i like, i want, i buy.. bring home then regret i bought it too quickly ^_^

actually, that still happens now~!! hahaha.. just that i got better at making my choices for the bass. lol

but do try out as many basses and see which suits you best before deciding.. ^_^

 

[Ocean]

You could try craftsman bass at citymusic too.

 

[shinobi]

at the entry level i would highly recommend you to disregard the brand. whether it is a little known brand or a more well renowned brand, at that price range, the variance in build quality is much higher i.e. the quality becomes more inconsistent compared to a bass in the higher brackets. in other words, brand reputation means nothing at the entry level. in the end, you still get what you pay for.

as such, you would do well to try each bass and see which one you like the best. in fact, the same can be said whether you are buying a $200 or $2000 bass. however, people can either be loyal to a brand because a manufacturer may build models to the specs that they favour, or they simply can't tell if a bass is good or not if not for the brand.

 

[skidmark]

Hey guys! (and girls, if any) After much thought, i decided on finding a Decent guitar, since i have enuf of a headache from all the brands.. thanks shinobi! After much shop-hopping on tues and some more today, I finally got my bass! its an Ibanez! tho i got off a fellow forumer I did find some of the starter kits u guys mentioned, had a feel, but not suprisingly i always had eyes for the more pricy ones

Now i have my bass, now for the amp. most of the shops i spoke to only recommend good(?) amps, in the $300 range. is it possible for me to get good(?) one under 150? or at least, can u guys point out any which i shd avoid?

ok now my fingers are cramp... been fingering my bass the past 3 hrs

 

[alanchia]

you looking for practise amp? that will be within your S$150 budget as the power is limited to about 20W.

 

[alanchia]

someone selling Ibanez SW65 65W Bass Amp in the buy/sell thread at very good price. please check it out.

 

[schmuardian]

I wouldn't be too worried about the amp if I were you lah. As long as you can hear what you are playing should be okie. anyway I think it's like Shinobi said, for all the entry level stuff, the differences is not huge. so just get whatever is within your budget and start rocking!

btw ibanez rocks the GSR (i'm assuming that's what you got for that price?) is a pretty fantastic started bass imo.