campbell166 Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 hello...I am new to the bass guitar & have had a P-bass with flat wounds on loan for a while. I am going to have to hand it back soon & get a bass of my own . I love the sound but found the guitar very heavy & the neck is a bit wide for me.A work mate is selling an almost new Fleabass for £200 (ish) , he is selling it because he said it was "a one trick pony" tone wise & wants a bass with a couple of pickups etc. All the youtube vids seem to show this type of bass being used for slapping & popping etc. My question is would this guitar be suitable to string with flat wounds ? & whats peoples opinion on them as an instrument ? as I understand they are not being made any more !....cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 (edited) [size=5][sup]Never played one, but they have a somewhat bad reputation, as being badly built junk. (maybe if all you want is to [i]slap & pop[/i] it might be ok ?)[/sup] [sup]However if someone who has played one wants to dispute it ?? [/sup][/size] [size=5][sup]For my mind I would buy something like one of these.[/sup][/size] [size=5][sup]for instance, here are some ebay links: For less than 200 quid you could get a nice secondhand [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fender-Squier-Classic-Vibe-Jazz-bass-Olympic-White-mint-condition-/330721428963?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item4d008885e3"]Squier Classic Vibe [/url]or one of the [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Yamaha-RBX-374-Bass-Guitar-Metallic-Red-/180863415077?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item2a1c4cb325"]Yamaha basses[/url]. both would be very suitable for a learner.[/sup][/size] Edited April 22, 2012 by daz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jezzaboy Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 (edited) Go for a Squier or a Yam as Daz says. Much better playability and if you buy s/hand and want to move it on, you will get your money back. Buy a Yamaha 414, you will find some glowing reviews on here for them and the neck isn`t too wide. Also as your friend is selling the fleabass as it`s a "one trick pony", why would you be happy with it? Oh, and the s/hand Fleabass I tried in a shop was sh*t! Jez Edited April 22, 2012 by jezzaboy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 I missed a Yamaha BB414 today - it went for £55.66. I missed it by less than £1!!! Bah!!! But these are great basses & you can get them dirt cheap. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pietruszka Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 I have had the misfortune to play a flea bass and it was the most appalling excuse of a bass I have ever played. Badly built and finished with a mediocre sound. From someone (Flea) who is the reason most people including myself have started playing bass, I personally find it unacceptable. As a few others have said, Yamaha make great basses in the lower budget. I'll admit they're not the best things out there but their quality control is extremely consistant. Browse the for sale section and see whats out there for your money. Play as many as you can in shops, friends basses, even find basschatters near you and see if you can try what they have. Hope you find something you can settle on. Dan p.s Sorry the brutal response! They really are bad though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grand Wazoo Posted April 22, 2012 Share Posted April 22, 2012 Let's all agree: no bass is one trick pony otherwise what would a standard Precision bass that has scored the history of popular music from 1950 to this date, be classed as? The way you play can get lots of different sounds from one bass depending on how far or close you play to the bridge the neck and the pickup itself, then let's not forget that the amp you play it through can help you shaping different sounds in addition to what you can do with your own personal touch and feel. Having said that... £200 for a Flea bass depending on the very good conditions is the top I would pay for them, especially considering that only 5 months after they were introduced the Bass Centre was offering a deal on some of them (there are 2 models if I remember rightly one with better specs and than the other) I believe it was the lesser spec'd ones for £250 new. Yes I have had a thorough go on one of these and I thought not a lot about them, my negative judgement was intended at the built and consistency of them, they did feel like the mass produced, lowest end possible copies of Stingrays as you can get. I believe £200 quid can't get you much these days but as mentioned above you can get Yamaha's, Squier's and other with more tonal variations. I wouldn't go as far as saying they are sh|te but they didn't fair well with me to even consider them as a bargain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
campbell166 Posted April 22, 2012 Author Share Posted April 22, 2012 thanks guys to be honest I was expecting to hear pretty much what you all said.....but I am glad I asked before I threw my money away.... a local shop has a few Ibanez SR300s in stock so I might give those a try ..... thanks for the replies....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackhammer Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I have a Fleabass, and as much as I love flea, don't bother, nice looking bass, but hard to play and doesn't really have much of a sound, I imagine with a new pickup it would be ok however Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pietruszka Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 [quote name='jackhammer' timestamp='1335181750' post='1626739'] I have a Fleabass, and as much as I love flea, don't bother, nice looking bass, but hard to play and doesn't really have much of a sound, I imagine with a new pickup it would be ok however [/quote] Says it all really. When I first heard about them I thought "Great! That's an excellent idea, they'll fly off the shelves". The problem ended up being the bass them selves and the fact they were about £450 when they first hit the shops. Way over priced! Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackhammer Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Yep! Get a squier jazz instead or buy my Fleabass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
throwoff Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 I'm sure a BC'er bought one and ended up paying about what the bass was worth on new p/up, electronics and some serious setup work to make it into a playable instrument. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charic Posted April 23, 2012 Share Posted April 23, 2012 Squier CV Jazz - £200 : [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174098-squier-cv-jazz/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174098-squier-cv-jazz/[/url] Spector Performer DLX - £150 : [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/168561-spector-performer-dlx-for-sale-superb-condition-l150/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/168561-spector-performer-dlx-for-sale-superb-condition-l150/[/url] Yamaha BB414 - £150 : [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/172780-yamaha-bb414-orange-metallic/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/172780-yamaha-bb414-orange-metallic/[/url] MIM Fender Jazz - £200 :[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174243-mim-fender-jazz-and-peavey-bxp-millennium-5-string/"]http://basschat.co.uk/topic/174243-mim-fender-jazz-and-peavey-bxp-millennium-5-string/[/url] There's LOTS more on here and you can buy in confidence Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deefer_dog Posted May 3, 2012 Share Posted May 3, 2012 I got one a few days ago ( Model 32 Water ) and I must have gotten one from a good batch, feels solid, no paint overspray, nut is nice and neat, straight neck and no fret buzz, fingerboard is nice, no saw marks and fret wire is smooth. I think it's good fun to play, and using it through my Laney it did have a surprising presence after I messed with the EQ a bit. 90% of reviews seem to bring up the QC and there doesn't seem to be much love for them. I like mine and would have no problem gigging it along with the D-1, and Tanglewood Bassmaster. I do plan on swapping the pup in the future though, but that's about all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tom1946 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 I have to agree with the majority here, I had one to try out before stocking them and it went back sharpish. It was a bass in looks only. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 (edited) [quote name='deefer_dog' timestamp='1336049875' post='1640035'] I got one a few days ago ( Model 32 Water ) and I must have gotten one from a good batch, feels solid, no paint overspray, nut is nice and neat, straight neck and no fret buzz, fingerboard is nice, no saw marks and fret wire is smooth. I think it's good fun to play, and using it through my Laney it did have a surprising presence after I messed with the EQ a bit. 90% of reviews seem to bring up the QC and there doesn't seem to be much love for them. I like mine and would have no problem gigging it along with the D-1, and Tanglewood Bassmaster. I do plan on swapping the pup in the future though, but that's about all. [/quote] kudos to you for giving it a try and deciding to keep it on its own merits. As you say, you must be lucky to have got a good one that they accidentally let through. The lack of quality control bloke must have been in the bogs. Edited May 5, 2012 by daz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 Yeah, I'd give the flea bass a WIIIIIIDDDDEEEE berth. £200 will get you a really good squire VM Jazz bass which is a far better bass in terms of playability, sounds, feel - pretty much everything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deefer_dog Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 [quote name='daz' timestamp='1336115041' post='1640970'] kudos to you for giving it a try and deciding to keep it on its own merits. As you say, you must be lucky to have got a good one that they accidentally let through. [/quote] I must be, it's had three days of solid playing, and is still tuned perfectly. I took a chance, and I got a fun bass with actually quite a nice sound. I'm happy with mine anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomBassmonkey Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 I first tried a Fleabass at LIMS just before they were actually released. I was expecting them to be a MM equivalent to the Squire Affinity range (i.e. £120-150). I think I actually did a double take when I saw the original price tag at £450. I don't think they're horrible basses, just vastly overpriced. The QC seems to be all over the place though, some people have said they're unplayable, some people have said they're amazing basses with a few mods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deefer_dog Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 EMG-HZ will be going in soon I'd say. ( Most put the EMG-35CS in but I can't be arsed with the converting of passive to active ( It's the only passive bass I own ) I definitely go one of the good batch and for 199 yo-yo's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackhammer Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 [quote name='deefer_dog' timestamp='1336129054' post='1641271'] EMG-HZ will be going in soon I'd say. ( Most put the EMG-35CS in but I can't be arsed with the converting of passive to active ( It's the only passive bass I own ) I definitely go one of the good batch and for 199 yo-yo's. [/quote] The hz is a straight swap I take it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deefer_dog Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 [quote name='jackhammer' timestamp='1336130067' post='1641288'] The hz is a straight swap I take it? [/quote] Apparently so....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noelk27 Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 I'd say save up, and buy a G&L Tribute L2000. There will be some who disagree, particularly those who say "too many tone options", but has to be the best one-stop-shop in the entry/mid level market available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Modulus Posted May 4, 2012 Share Posted May 4, 2012 On the counterpoint, my first bass was a "Wild Thing" Touring Bass Flea Bass and I played it until I got my Modulus. I still love it, it has a decent action (after a quick setup of course) and there were really no QC issues as far as I can tell. Maybe some bad paintwork but it really doesn't bother me in the slightest. The stock pup may have been made out to you to be worse than it is. It sounds a lot like an OLP or sub stingray. Obviously the quality is nothing like a stingray (hence why the flea is a tenth of the price) but it really was a great purchase for me. I do not see myself ever selling it, partlyor sentimental reasons, but partly because I would happily use it as a backup for my main bass. If you do get one, take off the fugly pickguard and clear off the resin- I promise the bass will look a lot better to you. It is a cracking bass if you can get one second hand. I payed £100 for mine, it was really worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deefer_dog Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 After a week of hard testing, I have to say I'm very very surprised. I paid 199e new for the Model 32 version. I like the sound (great sustain aswell) and the neck is smooth and very fast. It would seem that Fleabass did make some genuinely good examples, and I'm happy to say I seem to have gotten one. It hasn't missed a beat. Tuning is still perfect, action is lowered, and it's generally fun to play! The more I play, the more I like the sound of the standard PUP through my Laney DP150 4x10 combo. I may keep the PUP and change the pots I am a fan of cheaper, fun basses ( as my gear list suggests ) and am quite happy to continue this way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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