Affordable and beginner bass brands.

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Bassection' timestamp='1360964443' post='1979284']
Stagg's aren't one that I ever thought I'd see people recommending as "good" basses..
[/quote]

That's what i thought. can't comment on their guitars though.

[Bigjas]

Dean Edge 1

Less than £200 and a really nice bass for the money. It plays really well and doesn't sound too bad through a decent amp. I was looking for a backup bass and now I use it as my main bass sometimes. Worth a look.

Jas

[Musky]

If your mate owns a shop he's not just looking for a decent cheap bass to sell. There's also the brand on the headstock to consider.

There are stacks of decent enough cheap basses out there, to the point where it's actually harder to find stuff that really is just junk. I would have killed for the kind of choice that's available for peanuts nowadays when I was starting out.

But he's also got to consider his market. A lot are going to be young where a brand really matters, and plenty will be parents who've head of nothing but the biggest brands. This probably means Epiphone and Squier are top of the tree due to their association with their parent brands. Unfortunately Fender's policy regarding stock levels probably rules them out, and I'd imagine Epiphone are no different.

Your Peavey suggestion was a good one I reckon, as was the idea to import his own brand. I remember Johnstone made some headway regarding sourcing stuff from the Far East, but unfortunately he's not about to tap for any more info.

[Musky]

[quote name='Bigjas' timestamp='1360965059' post='1979301']
Dean Edge 1

Less than £200 and a really nice bass for the money. It plays really well and doesn't sound too bad through a decent amp. I was looking for a backup bass and now I use it as my main bass sometimes. Worth a look.

Jas
[/quote]

Dean are well worth looking into IMHO. A few years back I went Xmas shopping for a bass for a mates son and narrowed things down to a Peavey Zodiac and a Dean Edge 10a. Walked away with the Dean. Oddly enough a Squier CV was the worst bass I tried that day,

[Mykesbass]

29 posts and no Cort yet! Cracking basses, not at the very lowest end of the market but quite cheap and exceptional value for money.

Edited February 15, 2013 by Mykesbass

[Lozz196]

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1360944865' post='1978832']
I would aggree with Dingus and bremen. I've had cheap Squier and Yamaha basses and been happy with both.
But, as with everything, try before you buy if you can.
[/quote]

Yep, either would be fine, and both would be ideal as a backup bass to a more expensive main instrument, as the quality/sound/playability of these is far more than you would expect for the money.

[jackers]

I guess it depends what you mean by the word 'beginner'. Do you mean people who want to give the bass a go to see if it is for them, or do you mean someone who definitely wants to play the bass and needs a decent bass to keep learning on?

If it is the former then they aren't necessarily going to want to spend 200 quid on a peavey/squier vm are they?

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1360965765' post='1979309']

There are stacks of decent enough cheap basses out there, to the point where it's actually harder to find stuff that really is just junk. I would have killed for the kind of choice that's available for peanuts nowadays when I was starting out.


[/quote]

This is absolutely right, and also feeds into the main point of this post which is that your friend is unlikely to make any money from selling surprisingly-good cheap basses. There are too many, and they're too cheap.

The real money with cheap basses is in the set-up, the accessories, the aftercare, the teaching, etc.

On the subject of the set-up, I've played (at jam sessions etc.) a variety of uber-cheap basses. Properly set-up by someone who knows what they're doing, and even more so with relatively small upgrades to pickups, a Westfield or Shine bass is capable of sounding as good as anything else.

[chrismuzz]

I own 5 Peaveys, I don't think I need to say more

[dincz]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1360966289' post='1979320']
29 posts and no Cort yet! Cracking basses, not at the very lowest end of the market but quite cheap and exceptional value for money.
[/quote]

Dead right. It's a mystery why Corts aren't more popular.

[KingBollock]

Yup, I was going to go with Cort, I love my Cort T-35.

Westfield too.

[Grangur]

[quote name='jackers' timestamp='1360966818' post='1979333']
I guess it depends what you mean by the word 'beginner'. Do you mean people who want to give the bass a go to see if it is for them, or do you mean someone who definitely wants to play the bass and needs a decent bass to keep learning on?

If it is the former then they aren't necessarily going to want to spend 200 quid on a peavey/squier vm are they?
[/quote]
I agree to some degree, but it's possible that someome "giving it a go" will get turned off if the fretboard buzzes and the sound is wrong. If they aspire to a good sound, then the sound needs to be what they expect to hear.

I'd advocate secondhand, but they need to try some basses out. Also, off subject maybe, but if you want to keep your local music store to still be there next year, then buy your gear from them. They won't survive if you only use them to try stuff.

[thisnameistaken]

I've never had a bad Yamaha and I've had a few, one RBX and a few BB models. I've only had one Squier but I've still got it 4 years later so apparently that's a pretty good bass too.

I'm sure Ibanez also make good beginner stuff since they've been doing it for so long but I don't get on with their necks.

[oggiesnr]

It's going to be down to what either his wholesaler stocks or who he can persuade to do business with him. My personal approach would be to work out how much I could afford to spend on basses and then rather than just buy cheap basses buy fewer but across a price range with a little conservative eye candy at the slightly higher end.

The problem is going to be pricing. He won't be able to afford the discounts that G4M etc offer which is based on volume and he's not going to appeal to the bassheads who know exactly what they want and are just interested in the cheapest price so he's got to appeal to the parents buying presents for kids and the casual buyer. In that case name recognition has value, so "Squier by Fender" has a value, ditto Yamaha, Ibanez and possibly Peavey. The sort of names that non-playing parents may have picked up.

The other issue is that he can't afford to sell dogs, if he sells a crap bass it will come back to haunt him. So, even though it can be hard, if his supplier sends him a dodgy bass it needs to go straight back.

Good luck to him,

Steve

[Deep Thought]

I was in my local shop the other day, he says the Musicman SUB basses are flying out the door, excellent giggable basses for sub £300 (£269 at Soundslive).

[jackers]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1361005811' post='1979582']
I agree to some degree, but it's possible that someome "giving it a go" will get turned off if the fretboard buzzes and the sound is wrong. If they aspire to a good sound, then the sound needs to be what they expect to hear.

I'd advocate secondhand, but they need to try some basses out. Also, off subject maybe, but if you want to keep your local music store to still be there next year, then buy your gear from them. They won't survive if you only use them to try stuff.
[/quote]

are the cheap instruments really that bad? I've certainly never picked up a 'cheap' bass (sub 100 quid) and been put off playing because of it. I still quite regularly pick up my girlfriend's Benson bass to practice because it is closer or my P bass is packed away.

The only bass that put me off playing it was a 500 quid MiM Fender P-bass, it was just awful.

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='Grangur' timestamp='1361005811' post='1979582']
if you want to keep your local music store to still be there next year, then buy your gear from them. They won't survive if you only use them to try stuff.
[/quote]

I'm constantly buying stuff from there. i'm buying an acoustic guitar from there as soon as i have the money.

[Chaos Daveo]

I had a shecter diamond series 4 string for years, great basses imo.

[BassTractor]

[quote name='thumbo' timestamp='1360964086' post='1979280']
I generally found that people could see the quality difference between the basses, hence we sold many RBXs!
[/quote]

Exactly my experience as a buyer and a noob.
I'd have the RBX well over the Squier Affinity. Ended up with a RockBass and three Classic Vibes, but that was not due to anything negative about the RBX.


best,
bert

[JwK94]

Squier Vintage Modified or perhaps Classic Vibes, need any more be said?

[MiltyG565]

[quote name='JwK94' timestamp='1361062156' post='1980652']
Squier Vintage Modified or perhaps Classic Vibes, need any more be said?
[/quote]

Yes...

[iconic]

Yamaha is no brainer, always great, never cheap AND nasty!

.....and my current goto bass aria STB jazz, change from 120 slices!

[Grangur]

I've bought basses off ebay, done them up and sold them. Basses I've had:
Stagg - ok for what it was.
Westfield - when all set up, with a reasonble action there was a fret that still buzzed.
Wesley - now a defunct company I believe, but they brought in Asian basses - it was ok. Played well, if it did feel cheap
Ibanez EDB600 - loved it.