Nostromo Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 A mate of mine, a hobby guitarist, who plays 6 string acoustic & electric guitars is thinking of taking up bass. He's on the verge of purchasing a second hand Shine Bass (not sure if I've spelt Shine correctly ?) He’s described it as a 4 string Bass, natural timber finish with a telecaster guitar shaped body, maple neck with R/W board and in mint condition. I've never seen, touched, picked up or played such a bass . . . In fact I'd never even heard of the make Shine until about 15 minutes ago ! He says it appears to be reasonably well put together, says it has good (for budget) components and he reckons its got a nice action. He's asked me if I think its worth buying as a starter bass ?. . . . . As I have absolutely no knowledge of this brand at all, so I thought I'd seek the views of any of you who've tried one or own one ? I never dabbled with starter gear, so don’t know anything about really budget bass gear to be honest . . I got a second hand jap fender Jazz Bass Special as my very first bass . . . However, there must be some starter brands that are believed to be better than others ? . . so if any of you give the Shine a thumbs down, it would be nice to know what you think would be a better starter brand. I think he’s offered £100 for it . . I think ? Any thoughts ? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clauster Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Casting my memory back, I remember these from about 20 years ago (?) Nice basses IIRC - japanese made in one of the well known factories. My memory of course could be completely wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ou7shined Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 [quote name='Nostromo' post='1259641' date='Jun 7 2011, 01:21 PM']....He's on the verge of purchasing a second hand Shine Bass ([b]not sure if I've spelt Shine correctly[/b] ?)...[/quote] I think there's a "t" in it. I'm sure it'll be fine for a starter bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 It'll be one of these... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ancient Mariner Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Didn't GAFbass sell one of these last year? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 I had a Shine 6 string which was a really good bass. Great tone and really low action. It was incredibly heavy though and the nut was apparently made out of butter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 [quote name='paul h' post='1259719' date='Jun 7 2011, 02:24 PM']I had a Shine 6 string which was a really good bass. Great tone and really low action. It was incredibly heavy though and [b]the nut was apparently made out of butter[/b].[/quote] That's a good thing, playing like butter, isn't it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Sein (shine)make decent quality reasonably priced gear IMO.I tried one of these about 4-5 years ago and was quite impressed,iirc it was about £250 new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostromo Posted June 7, 2011 Author Share Posted June 7, 2011 [quote name='hillbilly deluxe' post='1259984' date='Jun 7 2011, 05:46 PM']Sein (shine)make decent quality reasonably priced gear IMO.I tried one of these about 4-5 years ago and was quite impressed,iirc it was about £250 new.[/quote] Thanks for your thoughts guys and girls ? Im still unsure as to what to tell him tomorrow ? . . . so this is a sort of bump just in case anyone else has a view . . . . . . Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted June 7, 2011 Share Posted June 7, 2011 Okay, so IMHO if he doesn't mind if it's a bit weighty, and if he is handy enough to do his own set ups and any minor mods that maybe needed it's worth a punt for £100. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 I've worked on a couple of Shines & played a few more. They are not as low-budget as some I have seen around &, in fact, a 335-type guitar a friend of mine had was actually quite a decent guitar as were a couple of the others, although there was one that was just bad - poor fit - poor finish etc. Best thing is just to go & inspect & play it. If it all looks, feels, plays and sounds good for the asking price, then go for it. Otherwise walk away. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bankai Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 My first bass was a Shine Extreme Series 845. Very very tasty, obviously not going to be as good as a £400+ bass but definitely good as a starter/intermediate player! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostromo Posted June 8, 2011 Author Share Posted June 8, 2011 [quote name='Bankai' post='1260941' date='Jun 8 2011, 11:11 AM']My first bass was a Shine Extreme Series 845. Very very tasty, obviously not going to be as good as a £400+ bass but definitely good as a starter/intermediate player![/quote] Thanks all, Hes bought it . . . . . £110.00 cash . . . . and is bringing it over to my place at the weekend . . . . I'll post up a foot note to say what I think of it. Thanks for posts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gafbass02 Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 [quote name='Ancient Mariner' post='1259706' date='Jun 7 2011, 02:10 PM']Didn't GAFbass sell one of these last year?[/quote] I did. That pic was of mine. With some fettling they can be great, very heavy though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted June 8, 2011 Share Posted June 8, 2011 (edited) [quote name='gafbass02' post='1261797' date='Jun 8 2011, 08:41 PM']I did. That pic was of mine. With some fettling they can be great, very heavy though.[/quote] Agreed. One of the best bass players I knew a couple of years ago was not a rich man. His main bass was a rather nice Jazz but his bass for jam sessions and the like was a Shine. Apparently it was pretty crap when he got it, but really just needed a few QC issues sorting out and a decent set-up. ps: I don't think that Gafbass meant to imply that the fettling was what made them heavy ... Edited June 8, 2011 by Happy Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nostromo Posted June 10, 2011 Author Share Posted June 10, 2011 So, I'm still waiting to see this Shine Bass ! . . . maybe it'll be ok . . . or can be made ok ? . . . . from whats been posted it sounds quite interesting ? ? Out of interest here's a bit of blurb I found on the internet about this manufacturer who I hadn't even heard of until a couple of days ago ! . . . [color="blue"][i]"Saein Musical Instrument Co., Ltd. Is located in Namdong Industrial Complex in Incheon, Korea. Saein was estabulished in 1991. Currently, we have 100 employees, and our monthly capacity is 4,500pcs still growing to expand. Our main business is OEM work for the famous brand Epiphone. Also, our own sole branded Shine models are increasing in popularity steadily. In February, 2001, we successfully launched a new independent factory in Gaomi City, China. It is only an hour away from Qingdao Shandong province. Our China factory employees are 300 people, and monthly capacity is 10,000pcs still growing to expand. In China we are an OEM vendor for famous brands Ibanez and Peavey. Also, our sole branded Shine is gradually gaining in popularity. We have become one of the famous leading guitar manufacturer in China".[/i][/color] Well there you have it ! . . . useless detail but . . . well, my band aint got a gig tonight so I'm twiddling my fingers ! Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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